Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, July 18, 1878, Image 1
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VOL. 24. YORKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1878. IN~Q. 39.
pbetia. !
From the News and Courier.
THE AZOB'S TERRIBLE TRIP.
mr. a. b. william8' detailed history of
the voyage.
Sierra Leone, May 30, 1878.?You all'
know how the Azor, with her experimental
load, left Charleston amid the sounds of "The
Gospel ship is sailin'" and "We'r boun' for
the promis' land," sung from the bark's decks,1
and reechoed from the Pocosin and Allison.
The last sounds of Charleston heard by the
emigrants were the notes of "The Sweet Bye
and Bye" from the excursionists aboard the
Pocosin. It is customary in letters similar to j
this to give over two or three pages of
"reflections on leaving our native i
land,"
as if anybody cared a snap what your reflee- j
tions were. We, aboard the Azor, had our reflections,
and very grave ones, on leaving our j
Dative land. We retlected whether or not we ;
were destined to be sea-sick, and to what ex- ;
tent. Doubts on the point were speedily and
decisively decided after crossing the bar. One
by one the passengers fell, until, with one or
two honorable exceptions, everybody was
down. But surely such a good natured and
philosophical set of sick people was never before
seen. The steerage passengers would
each, between the intervals of his or her own
attacks, laugh at and imitate with grotesque J
gestures and words of some unfortunate comrade,
amid the uproarious hilarity of the others.
The few who were not affected seemed ,
to witness the sufferings of their fellows with
exquisite eujoyment. The hours passed thus ,
until bedtime, when most of the passengers
"turned in." A few, however, preferred |
catching what breeze there was by sleeping on .
the decks. There was little application for t
or dissatisfaction concerning the food that ,
evening.
I think most of the passengers were much |
disappointed in the ocean. They had evi- ,
dently expected to meet with waves about a
hundred feet high, ornamented with piscatorial
banquets of whales, leviathans, sharks,
mermaids, sea cows, and all the real and ,
mythical monsters of the deep. They were,
therefore, somewhat disgusted at the ripples ,
which sparkled in the sunlight in every direc- *?
tion, and the fish which declined showiug
themselves in any direction. .
The morning of the second regular day,
found everybody languid, feeble and disposed '
to fasting. Despite sickness, however, amusement
could be found, for one way, in watch- .
ing the arrangement of society which even so
soon began to take place. The cabin passengers
composed the elite?the cremede la cremc.
The quarter deck composed the "West end" .
of the Azor, (she was steering east) and there
the foot of the plebian who lived and moved
and had his being in the lower strata of the
steerage, could not tread. The captain, the
two mates and I, the only white souls aboard, .
represented those frayed ends of society ashore
who are tolerated everywhere, and welcomed
no where. At 12 o'clock on Monday, April
22, it was announced that we were
NINETY MILES FROM CHARLESTON BAR, j
win or haAn hfiralmpd dorinc a lar?e DortioD ]
"" "6 ? ? o o i
of the uight All traces of land had faded
from sight, and I felt some curiosity to see how
the sentimental, or love of home, would display
itself. Careful observation, however,
failed to discover an indication of either of
those feelings. When the strip of mist, representing
the land of these people's birth and
bringing up, which coutained all the memories,
sweet and bitter, of their past lives, and
? on which their friends and kin yet remaiued,
was fading from their sight forever, there was
no development of any feeling other than a
slight interest in the distance from them at
which it could be seeu.
Every witling and witless wight who has
ever been to sea has exhausted his literary
abilities in describing the developments of seasickness.
It is unnecessary, therefore, for the
description to be gone into, especially as my
appreciation of the humorous features of the
performance is as yet slight. Suffice it, therefore,
to say that the affliction was generally
remarkably well borne. The passengers of
tho Azov had been forewarned, and seemed to
have made up their minds to submit with
equanimity. I wou d take this opportunity
to give notice that, having been rocked in the
cradle of the deep, I am prepared to sell out
my stock in that article of furniture on extremely
moderate terms, the subscriptions
having been (very) fully paid in, and no dividends
having as yet been drawn.
The second nautical day terminates at noon
on Tuesday. During that day we made 134 i
miles, having had a light wind nearly abeam,
and steering northeast. This put us 224 miles
from Charleston bar?the "miles" referred to
being nautical ones, a fraction longer than
the statute measurement. On this day the
captain and mate weut vigorously to work reducing
THE ISSUING OF FOOD AND WATER
to a system. Messes were formed among the
noeonn/toro nnnto ir?Trs nr fpAm ton
tw CCU UCV/ft a wuvwiuiug ??viu vvu ,
to twenty-five persons each. Some man was <
appointed to draw cooked provisions for each f
of these messes, two meals a day being allow- 1
ed, at about 11 A. M. and 4 P. M. These pro- '
visions were taken from the general store, and I
cooked in the galley. One of the emigrants '
assisted the ship's cook each day, the African j <
potentate engaged for that purpose having |
absconded in Charleston. As soon as the food I
was cooked, the name of the head of each j'
mess was called from a list, and he was given |
prepared food sufficient for his party, which it j'
was his duty to divide equally. The food was ;
generally not good. There was a superabun-!'
dance of meal, flour and rice and a good , i
quantity of meat, the latter being pork and i
salt beef. The flour, however, was coarse and i
black, and the meal seemed to give general j ]
dissatisfaction, being freely stigmatized as i
"kilu-dried stuff, only fit for hogs to eat." The j
rice, too, was broken and dirty, requiring ' <
much cleaning. The meat was enough to last i
when carefully doled out. All of it, except
five barrels, belonged to the "six months' j
stores," intended by the emigrants for their | i
support in Liberia until the first crop is made; j '
but it was of necessity used on the voyage.; <
Of this matter I shall have more to say here-11
after. The supply of molasses was so scant i
that it could only be issued occasionally as a 1
treat. In the haste and confusiou generally I <
prevailing about the galley, the food was al- j
most invariably ill-cooked, causing much 1
complaint, and doubtless, suffering, to persons
whose stomachs, made delicate by sea-sick- 11
ness, loathed the coarse and badly prepared :
food which might have been eaten with toler-11
able relish at another time under the influence j
of exercise and health. A significant remark
was that made by one of the emigrants : "I
ate a piece of that fat bacon, sir, and huDg :
over the ship's side for two days." Each |
steerage passenger received about a full pint!
of cooked rice, corn and wheat bread, of each ;
about as much as is contained in an ordinary j <
baker's loaf, and some two square inches of!
meat at each meal. There was therefore no j <
danger of starvation. The supply of coffee
was small, rendering an extensive dilution
necessary. Tea there was in plenty, but the
emigrants were not generally drinkers of that
beverage. What are technically known as
"medical comforts," consisting of small quantities
of good spirits and wine, sago, arrowroot,
&c., were entirely absent. Wheu stira- i
i
ulants were needed for the sick, the slender
private stores of the captain or myself had
to be called on.
I
THE CABIN PASSENGERS, i
of course, fared differently. They h d their
meals in the forward saloon, having a comfortable
table, chairs, napkins, knives and
forks, &c., while those in the steerage had ,
nothing of the sort. The fortunate ones in j
the cabin had also a cabin boy and steward to j
wait on them. Of course the ration system
did not apply to them, they partaking of their :
food at a general table, as at a hotel. The j
captain, the two mates and I took our meals :
in the after saloon, getting the same food that,
the cabin passengers had. Indeed, I think >
some of them used to watch us closely to
make sure that we did not have the advan- j
tage of them either in quantity or quality of
"grub." Our salt beef was usually made intn.
kool> /"lfnnnin nmrtncr Rpafariuf folk as
lv v.? CJ o I
"mystery,") while our bacon was carefully
boiled, cooled and sliced. We had also an
occasional roast or broiled fowl, generally
good biscuit or bread, butter, potatoes, codfish,
baked beans, curry, every now and then,
and rice, with an invariable dessert of pies,
puddiog, or hot cakes and syrup. We had
two meals a day. Other advantages that the
aristocracy of the Aior possessed were pickles,
vinegar, a limited supply of fresh water to
wash in and a plenty to drink. There should
have been a good supply of vinegar for everybody,
for it would have rendered much of the
food and the water greatly more palatable;
but there was only a small cask aboard, and
it was a scarce luxury among the people in
the steerage. The latter were required to
perform their ablutions in salt water, (when
they did perform them,) and were allowed
three quarts of the beverage per adult. From
this was subtracted a sufficient quantity with
which to make coffee and tea. Each adult
received about a quart and a half a day. It
was issued as early as possible in tbe morning.
Capt. Holmes tried all imaginable ways
in makfi the food "po" as well as possible.
having it made into general stews, <fcc. Now,
[ expect most of us have seen the time when
rice, meat, meal aud other etceteras, well
hoiled together and seasoned, would have been
relished; but these people took a curious antipathy
to it, and would have none of the
mess. However bad the supplies may have
been, it seems as if any sane person, out at
sea with all the possibilities of a long voyage
before him, would refrain from wasting them.
!iTeL I've seen nearly enough bread, meat and
rice which would have looked eatable enough
to a starving man, thrown carelessly or angrily
over the Azor's side, to feed all aboard
if her for a week.
On this second nautical day of the voyage,
Tuesday, the "good order" of the quarter
leek was treated to that most cherished and
relished of all things by good society everywhere,
a mild scandal involving matrimonial
infelicity. Among the good society aforesaid
was a light colored missionary of youthful aspect,
who wore a meek expression of countenance
and a tall bat. He had a wife of
ibout his own age and color, and from the
[irsc there were indications of war between
;hem. On this evening he summoned her to
ittend with him a prayer meeting in the
iteerage, and upon her declining, went below
into the forward saloon, from whence, in a
Few moments, his voice came through the sky
light ia dismal groans and tervent prayers, to
je delivered from the power of this "tormenthg
woraan.,r After this he rushed up, and '
damping wildly about the deck, speaking
sitter words of his spouse, and fiercely clutchng
his hair, like an Othello with the black
martially washed off. This incident, of course,
urnished material for much gossip and grave
noralizing, and was a perfect windfall in the
vay of a social event. I went down to
THE PRAYER MEETING
ind wished, for the first time, that the News
md, Courier was a "picture" paper, that I
.vas an artist, and that the scene could have
seen reproduced in all of its strange picturisqueness,
even were the other two conditions
"ulfilled. The loner, low apartment, with its
jrowded bunks, was dimly lighted. About
;ach of the three lamps, placed against the
two hatches and the foot of the foremast, was
dustered a group of men bending over tat- j
iered hymn books, and singing with full j
strength. From the serai-darkness around, I
:ame voices of all varieties, joining in the j
:amp meeting refrain, while the half-dressed
forms of men and women were dimly to he
seen, leaning forward, listening and participating,
the benches were crowded with others
similarly engaged, and the children slept
soundly through it all, bundled up in a wonderful
diversity of ways in bed. The ladder
ind doors and windows of the main hatcbaouse
were crowded with other faces and
forms, and at the foot of the former stood the
preacher. When the hymn was over, all
tieads were generally bent in prayer, the devotions
being led either by the miuister or
some promineut man in the congregation (for
this is but a sample of scenes often repeated.)
The preaching was launched into the darkness
when the time came, most of the preacher's
audience being invisible to him. On almost
all of these occasions I was fervently
prayed for; oue brother revealing by a little
extra plain language the probable inspiration
of this portion, when he said, in tones of passionate
pleading, "Bless the Reporter. Oh!
help him not to write any lies to Thy glory,
and the advancement of Thy work." Though
the grammatical construction of this sentence
rendered it somewhat dubious, it was easy to
discern its meaning.
This minister brought along in charge of,
the A. M. E. congregation is a fair specimen j
of his class. I think, from close observation, j
that he is a man of really earnest piety, who j
does his best according to his lights. But the j
lights are so dim. He lacks entirely the education
and training which many colored ministers?especially
in the cities?possess. He
3eem8 barely able to read and write, mispronouncing
the simplest words, and producing
paioruny ludicrous enecis m tuw must smciuu
momenta. With crude, twisted and half de- i
veloped ideas and reasonings on subjects, he j
covered up and hopelessly confused what
meaning he had, with a flood of misapplied,1
miscalled, and confounded words.
To the observer who thiuks a moment there j
is something peculiarly saddening in this. ;
This man is a representative of those chosen \
expounders of the plan of salvation who 1
taught, and doubtless believed, in '76 that <
servants of God could only work and vote for
Chamberlain, and that his political opponents I
constituted the world, the flesh and the devil. '
Is not this most literally the leading of the i
blind by the blind ? Heaven only knows j
what diverse, tangled and mistaken ideas and '
theories these poor darkened minds do extract
from the shapeless mass of confused words, ,
sentences and metaphors hurled upon them j
by their teachers. The negro's intensely de- j
votional nature is distracted and wanders until
nearly every one acquires a separate belief ;
and doctrine, some of them as horrible and .
gross as can be. It seems to me that the j
managers of the L. E. A. could do better than
feed these unfortunate involuntary prodigals '
on theological and doctrinal husks, which satisfy
the natural craving for a religion with- !
out strengthening the spiritual life which is
to be the negro's greatest incentive and aid to
civilization. For a preacher who can teach
his people sound, simple Christianity, there is
work to do among these emigrants. While
we are told that from the mouths of babes j
and sucklings shall proceed wisdom, I don't
believe it was ever intended that those perBous
or their grown-up prototypes, should
furnish a steady intellectual diet for men and
women.
The third nautical day closed at 12 o'clock
on Wednesday, April 24. The Azov has
made good use of the fine breeze of the preceding
twenty-four hours, and scored 214
knots, or miles, thus bringing her total run
to 438 miles in three days, and putting her
on !he average required to make Monrovia in
twenty-five days?144 miles per diem. On
this day the captain and mates raided on the
steerage and had every piece of bedding
brought on deck and spread out in the sun
and wind to be aired and ventilated. The
quarters were then
THOROUGHLY CLEANED OUT,
the floors being scraped, and everything
thrown open to admit fresh air. The selection
of officers for the Azor really seems providential,
for not one sailor in a hundred would
have taken the unceasing pains to secure
health and cleanliness that Capt. Holmes and
his mates, Messrs. Home and Thatcher, did.
One of the greatest obstacles that they had to
contend against was the wonderful indifference
displayed by the passengers themselves
on the subject. It was only by the most unremitting
begging and driving that they
could be induced to "clean up" around their
own berths, and in many instances even those
meaus failed. So it was throughout the passage.
They were not rebelious or illnatured,
but their inaction appeared to result solely
and simply from a profound indifference and
aversion to trouble. Of course there were
some honorable exceptions. The Shaw and
Reeves families from Georgia, Clement Irons
of Charleston, who voluntarily surrendered
his cabin passage for which he had paid, and
went in the steerage to make room ; William
Adams from Lancaster and a few others set
examples worthy of imitation, cheerfully dott?Uft*A?*A?i
aoamA/) nnnonooo t<n f a malm flia
Illg THJOtCTCI OCCIUCU HtVVtOOOIJ UV luunv IIUV
voyage a success; Dever grumbliDg, and
always looking at the best side. Early on
the trip the steerage had begun to assume the
the appearance of the plantation quarter so
familiar to all Southerners. Scraps of rags,
bones, pieces of bread and "chunks" of rice
lying about; dirt and grease about the
floors, and "piccaninies" crawling about over
it all; and the old man or woman sitting
around, munching, smoking and "jawing.'
Against all of these things did the officers
perpetually war.
On the evening of the third diay, the missionary
and his wife fought on the quarterdeck.
The skirmish culminated in a running
battle, lasting to the cabin door. Here tbe
affair was stopped, good society gathering in
a body on the field, where Mrs. Missionary
gave, in panting tones, an account of the fray,
while her spouse contemplated her visage
with his head on one side, weariug a critical
air, as if he rather thought that another
thump on the left eyebrow and a touch of a
scratch on the starboard side of the nose,
would lend the work an artistic finish. The
pair were reconciled, however, and retired on
their laurels.
At noon on Thursday we had made 206
miles, making the total for the four nautical
days 644, giving a full average and something
. A I P IV _ * - J
10 spare, a oura jer 01 craiis were sigiueu,
although none came near enough to speak.
The eager outlook for marine monsters was
rewarded by the sight of a whale blowing
away off to windward. He did not, however,
create half the excitement that a poor, tired
little land bird, which had probably been
"ETffvvn on shore, did. It alighted on the
spanker boom, and flew about the ship amid
many expressions of wonder and delight.
The idea that it was a good omen sent especially
by Provideuce seemed to strike the
popular mind at once. The little creature
was assiduously fed and petted, but disappeared
during the evening. Probably not
one of the passengers had ever read or heard
of "Ye rime of ye Ancient Mariner," hut the
mysterious taking off of the little visitor was
received with as much genuine gloom probably
as was displayed by the companions of
Mr. Coleridge's hero. Always aftewards,
whenever there was a prospect of anything
like "dirty" weather, this matter was generally
recurred to with solemn head shakiugs,
expressive of evil forbodiug. My own theory
is that the bird was taken for food to the
"mariner's hollow," but which mariner's hollow
it is difficult to say, all the mariners appearing
to me to be in a habitual state of hollowness,
albeit well fed. The only MoeeB of
the exodus, however, a huge black cat of the
captain's bearing that cognomen, was generally
suspected of the crime, getting into bad
odor thereby, and being regarded as an emissary
of the devil.
During the day ending at noon on Friday,
April 26th, we made 155 miles. Total distance
799 miles northeast of Charleston, 79
miles ahead of the required average. During
most of this time there had been fresh breezes,
and as we were steadily working northward,
there had been no suffering from heat after
tho first two nights, which had been very unpleasantly
close and hot in the steerage. Sea
sickness still lasted, although
A GENERAL RECOVERY
from that malady bad begun. The weather
had been generally fine and sunshiny, and
general health was good. It was announced,
however, that two children were dangerously
sick below. The decks and the tops of the
different houses made splendid lounging
places, and the emigrants, having begun to
feel better, and being tired of looking at the
water, usually lay about in a confusion by no
means beautiful, most of the men sleeping on
their backs the entire day. As recovery progressed,
the Exodites, liice their exemplars of
Israel, became more and more discontented
with food, water and surroundings, and
murmured, especially when certain developments,
which this narrative will hereafter develop,
were made. I myself could not but
coufess a longing for the flesh pots of Egypt
as embodied in the sofi boiled eggs, buttered
toast and beefsteak of the Pavilion ; also remembering
with regret that at that hostelry
there was no necessity for holding fast to your
soup plate to prevent its drifting down to
leeward, and becoming a nameless and shapeless
wreck against the butter dish.
During Friday night the wind shifted to the
east, and finally dead ahead, driving the Azor
to the north. She, however, made 112 miles,
bringing her total to 911, and keeping her
still ahead of her average. The" head winds
continued all during Saturday, still driving
her north, and occasioning may relapses to
the sick, dashing bright hopes, and reducing
victims to the depths of despair. There was
one man, however, who was not reprostrated.
That was the man who owned and operated
the accordeon. On Saturday evening he produced
the article and opened up. He was
not particularly well acquainted with its
manipulation, and his music was mostly of an
experimental nature. He would grind along
at random until some note was stumbled upon
that bore the semblance of something he had
heard before. Carefully learning how ihis
was done, he would feel around until he found
something to fit it, and so go on building up
a tune, a note, a bar and key at a time.
Sometimes the foundation, or some other important
part, would be forgotten, and then
the entire structure would tumble, with a
wild squeak or hollow groan, a disastrous
and melancholy ruin. During Saturday night
the force of the head wind increased, obliging
the furling of all light sails, and keeping the
vessel constantly careened, and still driving
her north of her course. On Sunday morning
THK FIliST DEATH
occurred, being that of a four year old da ughter
of William Johnson. The child had been
ailing when brought aboard in Charleston,
and had steadily grown worse during the
whole time. A few moments before its
death, the minister was summoned, and it
I was baptized "Amelia Johnson." Very soon
j after breath had left the little body, it was
j prepared for burial, and that saddest of all
j funerals, a funeral at sea, was arranged for.
A plank seven feet long by two wide was laid
across the end of a barrel, one end projecting
over the lee (port) gangway rail. A folded
American flag was knotted around this plank,
and that much of the simple preparation was
complete. One by one and in knots, the emigrants
gathered about this suggestive object,
I until all were crowded around it, observing
J a profound silence, and watching with cuj
rious eyes for the completion of the, to them,
novel ceremony. The cabin pasrengers gathered
on the poop overlooking the scene, and
the neighboring shroudc and rigging were
filled with other spectators. In a few minutes
two sailors came up from the steerage,
replacing their needles in their cases with a
business-like air, and then two or three men
stumbled up the ladder bearing the shapeless
canvas bundle containing the corpse and the
large stone wrapped with it at its feet. The
body, in this sea coffin, was laid upon the
plank and the flag spread over it, a sailor
standing at each side. One by one the men
who stood about took off tbeir hats, and the
crowd clustered closer as the minister came
forward and proceeded to read the Methodist
burial services. At the words, "We commit
this body to the deep," the flag was lifted,
the inside ends of the plank tilted up by the
sailor, and the body slid off into the water,
which boiled and surged against the vessel's
side, sinking immediately to its resting place
"till theseagives up her dead." Then the
crowd slowly dispersed.
THE 8AME SCENE
was repeated later in the same day, Shellevy
Adams, an infant son of William Adams,
dying that evening. He also was christened
a few minutes before his death, which was attributed
to dysentery. Apropos of these
deaths, I must speak of a matter that strikes
me as being an outrage. In giving the particulars
of the arrangement for the first voyage
of the Azor, the managers of the Exodus
distinctly stated that a physician from Washington
would accompany her, and that statement
was published in the News and Courier.
NO PHYSICIAN
from Washington or anywhere else could be
found among her passengers. The law requires
the presence of oue aboard emigrant
ships, and George Curtis was used to clear
with. I am informed that the Rev. B. F.
Porter assured the Customhouse authorities
~ ? j .L- c
that uurtis unaersioou me prnuuoe ui ujcuicine,
having studied it in bis youth. He
knows about as much of medicine as a street
car mule. During the whole voyage be was
prowling around 'tween decks with a small ;
book called "the mariner's medical guide" in
one hand, and all sorts of compounds extract- ;
ed from the medicine chest in the other.
Even the book was given him by the captain. 1
I feel very confident that he was unacquainted '
with the symptoms of the simplest diseases, .
and my idea is that he went almost entirely
by guess-work. When he bad formed some
opinion as to what the disorder was, he would 1
refer to the book ; and treat it thereby. He
used continually to be consulting the captain
as to what be should do. I was called in to
one or two of the consultations, but my medi- '
cal knowledge being"acquired principally
from a fence somewhere, and consisting of a ,
vague idea that Tutt's liver pills were good
for something or another, I was subsequently,
and wisely, ignored. This thing seems to me
to have been either a deliberate crime, and a
very grave one, or equally criminal careless- 1
I >ioft nf t ho monncrprs of t.hfs exo- I
1JCOD U1J IUU J/u? v w? kmv
dua. It is horrible to think of
A BLUNDERING IGNORAMUS J '
I
like this man having charge of the health of |
some three hundred people, a large majority ]
of whom were women and children. It is ,
only Heaven's mercy that there are not even j
more deaths to record. Capt. Holmes, while
possessing considerably more knowledge of ,
the simpler diseases than Curtis, of course (
could not be expected to be able to cope with |
anything of a complicated nature. So there
we all were, entirely at ihe mercy of any pes
tilence that might arise. I am certain that |
the more intelligent of the passengers agreed j
with me in my estimate of the "Doctor's" skill. |
I don't think he was ever allowed to experi- ,
ment on any one in the cabin, and I know ,
that his practice (and it literally was prac- i
tice) was a laughing stock on the quarter |
deck, where he was generally known as "cal- ,
omel and jalap," that being his favorite pre- (
scription. He adminisitered it to Johnson's
child, which died in convulsions. Its death j
was attributed to worms, although he was in j
doubt as to whether it was that or cerebro j
spinal meningetis. Of Dr. Curtis, too, I
shall have more to say hereafter.
The log showed on Sunday at noon that (
we had made 144 miles that day, making a |
total of 1,055, and leaving us still ahead of '
the necessary average. In addition to the 1
funeral services already mentioned, .egular '
onminoa mprp holit t.wirft on Sundav. beint?
largely attended. On Monday, 28th, the
log pcored 125 miles, a total of 1,180. Still
slightly ahead of the average. On this day
THE FIRST BIRTH
took place, being that of a boy, (reported to
be a fine one,) to the wife of Ned Clark, a
steerage passenger. Mother and child both
flourished from the first. We bad by this
time been driven into about 39 north latitude,
being about the latitude ol? Cape May, and
two degrees further north :han the captain
had intended going, he having proposed to
run only as far up as Baltinore, latitude 37.
As soon as the head wind s bated the vessel's
course was changed, and she went into her
long southeast stretch.
On Tuesday, 29th, we made two hundred
and fourteen miles, gaining a trifle south, the
wind having shifted somewhat, and making a
total for the nine days of one thousand three
hundred and ninety-four miles We were
still ahead of the required average, but lost
considerably by being becalmed during j
Tuesday night, only making seventy-two miles |
to Wednesday at 12 o'clock. The sea dur- ,
ing nearly ill of Wednesday lay like a sheet |
of flexible glass, only disturbed by a heavy j
butquiet sw ell, which rolled abeam, producing,
as heavy swells generally do, a most unpleasant
effect, keeping the vessel rocking violebt- '
j ly. During the evening, however, a brisk I
; breeze carae up, just forward of the quarter, i
and the Azor went bowling along before it,
running on her port side, keeping everybody <
and everything drifting to leeward, making 1
the holding of one's self in a bunk a process '
requiring considerable sciet ce, and adding to j
the difficulty of the problen bow to stow six '
feet of anatomy comfortably in five feet eight 1
inches of bunk, which I hi.d been eudeavor- <
ing to solve from the beginning. The wind [
continued to freshen until i . became 1
A LIGHT GALE,
! and the vessel tossed on the waves at a great ,
rate. The royals, and stay, top gallant and
upper topsails were taken in one by one, and
the pumps were Bet to work. Wednesday !
was the regular "bed-airing" day, but the '
spray aud wind obliged the hasty taking in of :
all such furniture. The emigrants had great 1
fun at 6rst coaxing their luwary fellows to
stand near the windward jjangway, and get
well "soused" by the water, which now and <
then came dashing over the rails. Much di
version wan also caused by the loss of several <
bats, which took to themselves wings and flew
away, that being the only thing about them
suggesting riches even in the most remote
manner. (By the way, I believe nearly every
man aboard the Azov lost head gear at some
stage of the voyage, and a collector of curiosities
in the way of ancient and dilapidated
tiles, might have reaped a rich harvest had he
been in our wake.) Towards night, however,
when the vessel careened so much as to dip
up water through her lee scuppers, and the
wind still freshened, many of the passengers
became first anxious, then timid, and finally
thoroughly frightened. The doors of the
hatch houses were closed and everybody sent below.
A driving rain had set in, and neither
in the lowering sky above nor in the rushing
water beneath, was there any comfort.
I took a walk through the steerage on
Wednesday night and found everybody nervous
and disposed to be sick. The nervousness
and sickness both increased, and on
Thursday morning they had become almost
universal. We scored 213 miles Thursday at
noon with what sail we carried, bringing the
total run to 1,679 miles. Daylight brought
anma nnmfnrf hut thp winH Bt.ill hlflW freflhlv.
with occasional light squalls, which brought
rain and kept everybody indoors. Thursday
night the blow had reached its height, and
there was
GENERAL DARK FOREBODING
and dismay. The minister organized a
prayer meeting 'tween decks, and another
scene was presented which beggars description.
While the wind whistled and howled
through the rigging, and the water surged
against the sides, and waves now and then
came down on the decks with a "swish-h-h,"
the people Bat in the dim light below, listening
and shivering. They evidently supposed
that they were going through a great storm,
aud asked many questions based on that belief,
greatly to the amusement of the sailors.
When service was begun, fear gave place to
or combined with religions enthusiasm, and
some persons in the congregation became perfectly
frantic, rolling about the floor, shrieking,
calling out hoarsely that they were prepared
for death, and professed their willingness
to be taken at once, ejaculating over and
over, "Jesus, come now ! come right now 1"
A few really displayed courage of a high order,
for they were firmly persuaded that they
were menaced by great danger. They took
matters very coolly, sayiog that as they had to
die sometime, they were willing to do it then if
necessary. In the midst of shouting, leaping,
clapping and rolling, the Captain came down,
and by a few words of quiet assurances stilled
i Ml
the excitement which seemed necommg wilder
every moment. During the night a squall
blew the jib from the bolt ropes, tearing it to
tatters.
On Friday morning the sun shone out genially,
and everybody cheered up and quieted
down. At noon the log shewed 216 miles
run?total, 1,895?still ahead of the average.
The wind kept up briskly, though not too
much so to alllow the setting of all sail.
Then there was a great comparing of experiences,
thoughts and feelings during the blow
of the previous two days. One man said ,
that what he feared was that "the boat would
turn over," while another had apprehended '
that if "she kept rocking so much she'd burst ;
open." Of course many funny things could ,
be told of the sayings of the passengers,
but such things lose their flavor without a reproduction
of the negro dialect, and that has
always seemed to me in bad taste. While on '
Win subject ttilnfc a minute. Quppeae any ufyou
had, intentionally or unintentionally,
broken a man's spine, wouldn't it be a horrible
thing to wince and laugh at the unfortunate
cripple's contortions and gestures? We
white people are certainly responsible in a
great measure for the deprivation of the negro
of his educational backbone, and, aside
from the general broad rule that it is not a ,
genteel thing to ridicule the misfortunes and
deformities of others, this mimicry of the dar- ,
AOMA An nAn! O 1 1 ? Ko A r? T*Q nc> I
acjr occiuo wu uuiuc mtu cc^tumnj wuu ,
from us. I know that this aside is a sort of
cross between a sub-editorial and a Sunday- ,
School story, but it's true nevertheless.
The second Saturday out passed off without 1
any particular incident. The fore deck was
enlivened during the morning by a fight be- ,
tween the cook and an emigrant, during
which the former doused the latter with hot
water. This was the second affair of the kind
that the chef de cutinc had been engaged in,
and both parties were severely reprimanded
by the captain. Nobody was hurt. As usual, 1
several craft were sighted at greater or less ;
distances. It may be mentioned here, that
throughout the voyage the Azov never failed
to pass any craft steering in her course, thus
demonstrating that her sailing capacities are
at least considerably above the average. At
12 o'clock on Saturday, the log registered 200
miles. Total 2,095 in the thirteen days, an
average of 161 miles aod a fraction per diem. (
Sunday seemed to be
A FATED DAY.
On the third Sunday died Anna Maria
Sigler, an unmarried daughter of Boatswain
TP QKo i*7 o o onntYiof nf j
CJlglCI, Ui JUUgCUCIU. UUt n ho HUUKIIVI v.
George Curtis' patients. He attributed her
death to a cold caught while suffering from 1
measles. The unfortunate woman had cer- '
tainly been very imprudent, having gone
on deck a few days before her death with '
what was apparently a case of measles on 1
ber. On the morning of her death she was (
administered coffee with an infusion of gin- '
ger, a Dover's powder, and Friar's Baisam.
What before, it is hard to say. After her '
death, it was ascertained that she had been 1
confined only a day or two before coming
aboard, and had exposed herself to the dan- '
gers and discomforts of the embarkation while 1
in that delicate condition. This with the mea- <
ales, probably formed a complication of disor- '
ders with which Curtis coped about as intelli- 1
gently and effectively as I could have done. Of ]
course there is no telling how far the three 1
deaths are attributable to his malpractice. '
[ know that after this affair, Capt. Holmes 1
put his veto on any further independent prac- '
tice by this "physician," and refused to allow 1
bim to dispense any more medicines except 1
under his supervision. The News and Couri- '
ir has always given this scheme a perfectly *
fair showing before the community. I hopo *
therefore that the colored people will heed 1
what is said now, and believe that it is dicta- 1
ted by no prejudice, but by a knowledge of 1
facts. B. F. Porter willfully and ?
\
DELIBERATELY MISLED THE COLLECTOR
by assuring him he "knew" that George Cur- i
tis was capable of acting as ship's physician, t
ind he also wilfully and deliberately sent the j '<
Azor to sea with the health of her three hun- :
ired passengers in the keeping of a man of (
whose competency he either knew nothing ; or j ^
knew enough to doubt. The same person and
?ome of his assistants sent the Azor to sea hav- j
ing reason to believe that she had measles ]
iboard of her, and they assiduously sought to j
conceal, and did conceal, that matter from the j
Customhouse authorities. I have said noth- j
ing, and, in any charges or statements that |
I may make hereafter, will say nothing, ex- j
cept what I can establish in a court of justice j
if need be.
The dead woman was buried with the usual j
ceremonies on the day of her death, her young
infant being taken charge of by its grand pa- l
rents. This Sunday was the first that the ex- ^
istence of I
MEASLES ABOARD ,
was definitely known, although there had ]
come rumors of it from the steerage on pre- <
vious occasions. Indeed it had been suspect- <
ed before we left Charleston, but the matter 1
was promptly hushed up. The intelligence t
caused no panic, every one seemed to realize
immediately that there was no escape, and to
resign themselves to whatever might come.
The log on Sunday showed 130 miles. Total i
2,231. The weather was now beautiful, and i
EVERYBODY WAS RECOVERING
from sickness and despondency. The emi-1
grants became more cheerful and active as i
they felt better and had grown more accus-:
tomed to their new surroundings. Appetites
also improved, and, arrangements for assisting
the cook being perfected, the cooking became
more tolerable, and the issue of rations better
regulated. It was now a source of pleasure
and amusement to go to the galley and watch
the distribution of food. The bread, if made
of black flour, was now thoroughly cooked
and sweet, a little molasses was mixed with
the corn bread, rendering it quite a dessert,
and every means was taken to gratify the varying
tastes of those who respectively preferred
"fat" or "lean," and beef or pork. The
mate, Mr. Home, would sit at the galley door
and call out his list, the mess system being
abolished, and each bead of a family would
come up with a pan, plate or bucket, and have
his allotted portion rapidly served to bim as
it was passed out. First would come into the
utensil a large portion of boiled rice, from
the big iron pots; on top of that great "hunks"
of meat, as specified, and then the appropriate
quantities of corn and wheal breads, and
molasses cake, with occasionally a taste of
molasses for everybody in a separate cup, and
always a potfull of coffee of varying strength.
A perfect jewel of a mate this was, too, with
a pleasant word of badinage for everybody,
producing many broad grins and guffaws, and
casting a cheery influence over the whole performance.
There is no doubt that the almost
uniform good humor which prevailed through
all the discomfort, was largely due to the never
failing pleasantry and inexhaustible good
temper and spirits of this officer. From this
time, cheerfulness was the prevailing order of
things. After their meals were completed the
emigrants generally dispersed
ABOUT THE DECKS
in the sun. Probably one-half could read and
about a fourth could write. These fortunate
ones would lie about poring over bibles, learning
hymns by heart, or studying over old geographies,
histories, newspapers or slates.
Pleasant to relate, some would gather around
them a few of their uneducated fellows, and
laboriously instruct them in the rudiments of
the three "R's." Others would lie on their
backs staring at the blue sky and wbite clouds,
constructing, nobody knows what, grotesque
r\rt of] i-ia m a att* A /mi hf 1 aaa liAinanap aninnin/v
toonco iu a.j, uuuu? , <-ujlug
the atmospheric architecture as iotensely as
those whose buildings, similarly erected, are
more symmetrical and fair to look upon. Then
there were others who would gather about the
rails, and alternately look out for sails, whales,
Portuguese men-of-war, bunches cf sea-weed,
dying fish, and the fragments of old wrecks,
which, now and then floated by, and indulge
in repartee and jest, which, if not polished,
were generally harmless and provocative of
much mirth. The women and children generally
sat about gossiping and laughing, plaiting,
combing and arranging each other's hair.
This last seemed to be a favorite amusement,
and before we reached the end of the voyage
every head was decked with countless little
pig-tails, tied up with strings, and drawn so
tightly that it was a matter of wonder to me
how the possessors managed to shut their eyes.
The sick, too, generally revived under the iraproving
1 nntlSSees, SHa TffSHeFS 16oked deci- '
dedly better in every way. Good society on
the quarter deck passed its time very much
in the same way ; even the one or two chronic
grumblers there having, at last, agreed to
give the others "a rest." The younger portion
of good society usually gathered about
the wheel in the evening and amused itself by
singing Sunday-school and other hymns:
"The ninety and nine," "I is done," "In the
sweet bye and bye," "Rescue the perishing,"
&c., the music sounding very sweetly when
heard at a little distance. The log showed
on Monday 61 miles, the bark having been
becalmed nearly the entire 24 hours. Total
2,292.
About this time a Baptist congregation was
organized 'tween decks, the Methodists having
previously had it all their own way. Robert
Williams seemed to take the lead in this
movement, and generally, on one or two nights
in the week he and his assistants used to be
heard below, exhorting, singing and praying.
"&4t-il - 4-Ua nnino a n/\ma
J.no irieiuuuiBi icauci tuuu iiiio paiuo lu wuio
and state to me that a discourse, delivered on
the previous evening, was from one of the
Baptists, and not any of his flock's doings.
He evidently thought that I intended burlesquing
the whole affair. That persons have
burlesqued, and, in a feeble way, attempted to
make "fun" of, the utterances of a, man striving
to teach the Word of the Almighty is one
of the shames of the press, and shows what a
false, vulgar and insane idea some of its contributors
have in mistaking irreverence for
wit, and idiotic imitations of well-meant words
for humor. The remarks already made regarding
the Methodist leader will apply equally
to this other. A particularly loud and enthusiastic
singing, a night or two after the
formation of this congregation, was caused, I
was told, by a woman present having professed
conversion. I looked anxiously thereafter
to see how the ordinance of immersion
sould be performed aboard a ship running at
an average of six knots per hour, expecting to
be furnished a choice "Fatal Accident" thereby,
but it was postponed. On Tuesday we
made 145 miles. Total, 2,437.
On Wednesday George Curtis distinguished
himself in another role by having a violent
altercation with his wife, during which she
jlaimed that he struck her. The cabin boy,
with wide opened eyes, summoned the captain
with the announcement, "Dr. Curtis and his
wife fighting," and good society was stirred to
ts very depths. The wife had certainly, as
far as 1 could see, conducted herself in the
most exemplary manner, and I am inclined to
ihink that the gorgeous fraud of a "Doctor"
was in fault. I earnestly urged, at that time,
is a measure of public safety, that the Doctor
ae thrown overboard with a jar of calomel
ind jalap suspended from his neck. The cap;ain,
however, contented himself with a reprimand
and caution. It seems unfortunate that
;be Missionary and the "Doctor" sent out
with this first expedition should each have
leen fit to beat his wife. During Wednesday
we made 172 miles. Total 2,609. On Thurslay
the usual weekly sweeping, cleaning and
liring was had. On this day, May 9th, and
he eihgteenth day out, while in north latitude
32 deg. 4 min., and longitude 29 deg. 28 min.,
A SUDDEN DEATH
nkiorlrytfo MflUfin ncrorl 43 VAflrn
/ViL U I 1 V-U JV/VW A'AMWW M f MgVV* ?W J WM*?y I
ihe wife of William Mason, of Abbeville, had
ust recovered from her sea sickness, and had
eft her bunk for almost the first time. Upon
-eturning to it, she suddenly fell in a fainting
it, but was subsequently revived. In about
jalf an hour, however, she began to sink rapdly,
and soon passed into a state of insensiaility,
from which it was impossible to arouse 1
aer. The body retained its warmth for an i
aour or two after action of the heart had
leased, and hopes were entertained that death
aad not actually occurred. These were subjequently
given up, however, and the body
ivas lowered into the sea that evening with
;he usual ceremonies. Death was attributed j
.0 some affection of the heart. It seems a curious
fate that this woman, who for forty-three
rears had passed her life in the quiet of the
jountry, knowing no world beyond the prejincts
of the township or county, should find 1
ler grave beneath the waves of the Atlantic, i
;bree thousand miles from anywhere previous
ly within her ken. Her husband was generally
sympathized with, as he was a hard working
and amiable man. He acted as assistant
cook during all the latter portion of the voyage,
and performed the duties very satisfactorily.
On Thursday the log scored 159 miles.
Total 2,768 in eighteen days. Still ahead of
the average necessary to make Monrovia in
the time promised. On Friday, nineteenth
day, we made 144 miles, the exact average.
On this day
THE FIFTH DEATH
occurred, being that of Whitfield Smallwood,
aged 23, the son of Jackson Smallwood, of
Edgefield, S. C. His death was attributed to
measles, that disease having become quite
prevalent between decks. He also was buried
with the usual ceremonies.
Saturday, May 11th, was the twentieth day
out, and the log showed 132 miles, the wind
having been light and variable. It was the
habit every day when the solar observation
was taken at noon, to gather around and get
the exact time of eight bells, or 12 o'clock. <
All who had watches had carefully set tbem
by St Michael's clock before leaving Challeston,
and kept tbem at that time, the object
being to note the difference between the time
of Charleston and Monrovia. As we progressed
eastward, we, of course, gained, and
the change was watched with much interest.
Indeed, these watches did seem a sort of connecting
link with the shore left behind. The
owners would look at them when the ship's
clock, for instance, indicated 10 o'clock A.
M., and say "it's 7 o'clock in Charleston, and
so and so's doing so and so." Then when the
sun set, the time in Charleston would be noted
with much curiosity. This was a sweet
comfort. I could sit on the Azor's quarter
deck and think at certain hours of friends
and familiars far away. When the bell tolled
midnight, on Saturday night, I could think,
"Now it's 9 o'clock in Charleston, and t*,o
policemen are lugging Rachel Mazyck out of
Elliott street to the Guardhouse, to recover
from her regular weekly drunk ; the Orderly
Sergeant has just given orders to put all the
tramps together in cell 8, so as to make room
for a pickpocket, two inebriates and an amateur
pugilist with a club slash across his
head; and there'll be a gorgeous "Clubs and
Stars" report for the News and Courier on
Monday. Such are the sweet reminiscenses
and delightful reveries of a newspaper man.
The event of Sunday, May 12th, was tbe
FORMATION OF A SUNDAY-SCHOOL,
a young man named Moultrie taking charge
as superintendent. Quite a number of the
children attended, and were divided off into
classes. A considerable number of tracts, papers,
&c., were distributed among them. Services
were also held by the two different denominations
at different times during the day,
tbe Baptists appearing rather to outnumber
iUaim iLlf IymaAI* MAn a afvanna
tUCIl iTIClUUUIOt UlCtUiCU. VT itU ? OUUUgu
persistency tbey one and all refused to heed
suggestions that the services be had on deck,
but seemed to prefer crowding down into the
narrow, close and dark space below. Indeed,
there were some who, I verily believe, did not
come on deck during the entire voyage, but
lolled in their bunks all the time. The log
this day showed only 72 miles, the Awr being
on the verge of the trade winds, and encountering
the light winds generally prevailing
there.
On Monday the log showed sixty-one miles.
Total in twenty-two days 3,177 miles, being
iust a fraction ahead of the required average.
*a:t! tJKuas Hud uyiuis llitie Begun to IflOk rorward
to the speedy termination of the journey,
and calculations were made that Monrovia
would be reached by Thursday. These
bright hopes were dashed, however, by the
captain, who, in answer to eager inquiries,
informed the passengers that the vessel bad
been driven so far, and kept so long, northward
of her course by the almost continual
headwinds, that she was still a full thousand
miles from "the haven where she would be,"
and could not be reasonably expected to
reach that point before Saturday. From this
point I believe the passengers were
COUNTING THE MINUTES.
The longing for the sight of some green
thing; for some break in the weary monotony
of "sea and sky, sky and sea; the dreary sea
and sky again;" for something solid on which
to rest .the foot, seemed to be most intense.
Some gratified this feeling in a simple way by
posting themselves up in the bow, sitting
there all day long, and straining their eyes
before them to catch the first glimpse of the
shore. On Tuesday the log showed 125
miles. About noon, however, the wind came
in briskly, almost abeam, and the bark responded
well, skimming smoothly along with
all her sails well filled. The Aaor, by the
way, is a remarkably easy runner, pitching
very little, and going through the waves with
a motion that can only be described by the
word "sliding." The weather was now becoming
decidedly warm again, and the steerage
was unpleasantly close. While the passengers
had "waked up" on some subjects,
their indifference on others was discouraging
in the extreme. Some of them, as I said before,
would persist in lying around below,
and keeping their children there, thus making
the atmostphere continually close and disagreeable,
instead of going on deck and allowing
the air to be purified against the inevitable
pollution of the night. The captain
bad disinfectants and various substances of a
fumigating nature distributed about in the
steerage quarters several times during each
day and night, thus keeping the atmosphere
what seemed to me to be barely endurable,
but which many of the passengers seemed to
find very comfortable. Not even the glorious
tropical moon, which made us seem to be
floating down an endless track of mellow,
sparkling, liquid light, could tempt these people
from the dark stifling quarters below. The
very demon of perversity seemed to have taken
possession of them. Then again, none of
them seemed to have the slightest desire for
or annreciation of exercise. Thev seemed to
regard my walks on deck as caused either by
a terrible restless aud uueasy conscience, or a
mild form of lunacy. They couldn't understand
it. I never saw, of all that 300, a single
one higher in the rigging than the foot of
the ratlines, and only one or two there, except
one young man whose leg became entangled
in a rope, causing his elevation about
twenty feet up the foremast. Some lusty yelling
proclaimed the situation of this unlucky
emigrant, and he was released, while his fellow
passengers fairly fell down and rolled
over and over in their spasms of laughter at
the mishap. I interviewed the emigrants
quite generally on
THE OBJECTS OP EMIGRATION
as soon as they were strong enough to undergo
the process. My conclusion is that there
is no cause or reason which can be called general.
The grievances complained of and the
hopes entertained were almost invariably of a
local or personal nature. Some were going
because they thought they would have a better
chance to "rise in the world" with a generous
and cheaply procured soil and perfect
Bocial equality with their neighbors; others
were tired of "renting" or "working out,"
and wanted to be their own masters ; others
complained that the farmers were banding
more and more firmly together to keep down
the wages of the laborer; others could give no
good reason for going, falling back on the old
talk of "Ku Klux," "Night Hawks," and
"politioal persecutions." Some assigned nearly
all of these reasons, others some, others
none. One of the most intelligent of the
Georgia emigrants said that it was becoming
such a general practice for farmers in that
[continued on fourth page.]