The morning times., 1895-07-07
The Lay Of the
Fannie Bradford

JOHn winthrop Lodge, mariner, and q
Resident of Martha Vineyard aged seventy
years, was seated in his room at The hotel
had been told that the old gentleman had
passed an adventurous youth, half buc-
Cancer, half slave. Gradually l brought
him to talk of it.
There's another way we Yankees made
money! said John Winthrop Lodge-for
hc and also discussed New England riches
which you haven't mentioned 1t was
ocean work, but clear off one side from
whales, seals, Goldfish, priYateering or
Janaica rum 1t was bringing niggersfrom
Africa. Yes, was in the slave trade my
self / didn't see il was any worse to
own a nigger on s. boat than own him
ashore. l don't yet For that mat
ter, L don't think it's any worse to held
a nigger in slavery than to cage canary
b!Fds, or hold any other animated thing
agin its viii. / made three years OF 1t
Shaving and got sick OF IL ana cult. Here's
the way we worked. Our owners was a
Boston firm, and apparently carried on d
straight ocean traffic But pile of their
money, as well as outside money, was in
the slave business. We had u station on
the Guinea coast, where our agents bought
niggers and ivory and other African pro-
William stoweil, went between Boston and
this station, carrying out calico, looking
glasses, knives and cheap guns for barter,
and bringing back the ivory The boat L
was in was the Fanny Bradford, and we
carried the niggers. We took 'em TO Ha-
ydna to our agents, who afterwards worked
them into the United States in small
punches, generally through New Orleans.
We never took 'eLn further than Havana,
FOR 1t wouldn' do to take a regular SLAYER
like the Fanny Bradford into such crowded
waters as the Gulf We couldn't have
got into Havana, but We had everybody
III the way bought up
The Fanny Bradford was sort OF half
schooner, half brig. She was square rgged
for ard, but she was jibbed and had after
sails like a schooner. She counted twenty
seven men for ard and 1oUr in the cabin
Our papers Were all made out in Boston and
showed we was in tie regular Guinea trade
for ivory and truck OF that kind. They
We're always new because the William
Stowell always brought US out q new set
each time she came. This took more bribes
at the Boston end. We had TO do this as
both the English and American Eavies Were
after us. We wern't afiaid of the Ameri-
cans, for they didn't hunt for US very
hard, but the English Were different. They
stuck right 10 it. 1t sort kept the rust off
their navy and got little prize money out
of the boats they captured, so their crews
could get good and drunk ashore. We were
always on the lookout Tor the British union
jack and always tore our anchors out OF
Africa just at evening so as TO get one
good run in the dark.
THE Fanny Bradford was built in
Bangor, and was good sharp sailer, as
Were many of the boats they built down
Maine way them days. She might be
called a fast vessel. During the three
years / was with Ter we left many a last
boat behind. No; we never let anybody
come close to US. We turned right away
the minute we made out a tCpsel. But II
was a dirty business. You ought TO just
smell the Fanny Bradford once. You
could smell her mic agin the wind and
to cross our lee was to simply get blighted
right there. We on board were used to the
odor, and even then II made me sick more
than once. We didn't have TO fo'es'l for
the men. It was given up TO the niegers.
The slave deck ran from her bows clear art,
most to the cabin. The men berthed about
the deck which was no hardship in hot
lattudes. We got S6GO a niger for EN-
in the States, and all told, original cost,
expenses and everything else was about
SIS each. We could take 3O0 niGsers each
wage, which was $135 eco profit. One
wage would pay for the ship itself even il
it was lost the second, and in three years
| was with EN- made seven trips myself.
How cid / get sick OF il? Wen. it was,
rs Ia wyers say: The slave deck was about
four feet between decks, The ship stores
were aft with the cabin. We used to stow
the nigEerS like this: Two good sized chain
cables one on the sta rbOaTd and one on the
portside, were eCarTiedfrom tn ebu wsaft. and
each hooked onto d bolt in two Of the ships
staunChiOnS. The forard end of the chains
was carried out through hawse- holes and
fastened to two biganchOrs, Oaeou each side
OF the bowsprit. / want to call your atten-
ton to this because these anchors come in
agin AftPrthe chains were ruUfOr' ardaud
aft, fastened and rigged asI say, wehrOught
on our niggers and fastened en-. each with
an iron cuff on his right wrist to these
cables We had fourlines OF niggers up and
down the ship, 4 line on each side of these
cables and fastened as | say. We used to
give EN- an houron deCkeverytwo days. bar
weather We had 'em out ten at a time,
day and night alike, but always under close
guard No, there was no danger OF their
pitching into us; but they was likely, bein'
a Gesparin' set of people anyway, to go
pitChn' int othe sea to be drowned. I've
knowed q heap of 'em to do it. Four times
Cay we sluiced their deck with water and
made a batch OF 'em scrub it as well as we
could. Twice q day we fed 'em; always
porridge, so thick and slab they could cat
it outen bowl with their fingers.
Now this is how came to quit. / was
first mate OF the Fanny Bradford. 1t was
about endin up my third year We was
four days out from Guinea. All the mornin'
we'd had some sort OF vessel astern and a
Ieetle to leeward Wed tried all we knew
shake her loose goin' free, but we couldn't
makeit. She could go ofasterthantheF Fanny
Bradford thought then and always stuck
to it, the Fanny Bradford could have beaten
herif our captain had dry-docked her or had
had divers clean the barnaCleS off her
copper when | wanted him three months
before. But he wouldn't and it being clear
day we could not shake loose this strang-
er. At any rate she was coming up, she
was goin to overhaul us byeight bells inthe
afternoon. So we couldn't expect the
night to help us none.
What do you think she is, Mr. Lodge?"
says my captain
81 think she's a British war vessel
says I, and takes long look through my
glass, but / can't see nuthin' at her
peak
but I don't want to, no how he says,
slammin' ii his glasses; 'our business is
to keep away from her, no matter who she
is
'But that was the trouble; we couldn't
keep away.
"'They kin beat US sailin' free, Mr..
Lodge says the captain
~ wonder now says the captain, If
we could not outpfnt EN-
"'We kin try l says, but here's the
trouble, if we tack to starboard, we run
down to EN-; if we tack to port, it gives
'em the weather-gage. As it is we hold 'em
a little on our lee
(which is all true says the captain,
but well try her anyhow so he puts the
Fannie on the port tack; and right off the
stranger not havin' to haul her wind 50
hard, begins right away 10 come up. So
then we goes back 10 our old CourSe.