Captain Canot | Page 9

as I was
considered the master's pet, I soon began to feel the bitterness of the
subordinate's spite. This fellow was not only cross-grained, but
absolutely malignant. One day, while the ship was skimming along
gayly with a five-knot breeze, he ordered me out to the end of the
jib-boom to loosen the sail; yet, without waiting until I was clear of the
jib, he suddenly commanded the men who were at the halliards to hoist

the canvas aloft. A sailor who stood by pointed out my situation, but
was cursed into silence. In a moment I was jerked into the air, and, after
performing half a dozen involuntary summersets, was thrown into the
water, some distance from the ship's side. When I rose to the surface, I
heard the prolonged cry of the anxious crew, all of whom rushed to the
ship's side, some with ropes' ends, some with chicken coops, while
others sprang to the stern boat to prepare it for launching. In the midst
of the hurly-burly, the captain reached the deck, and laid the ship to; the
sailor who had remonstrated with the mate having, in the meantime,
clutched that officer, and attempted to throw him over, believing I had
been drowned by his cruelty. As the sails of the Galatea flattened
against the wind, many an anxious eye was strained over the water in
search of me; but I was nowhere seen! In truth, as the vessel turned on
her heel, the movement brought her so close to the spot where I rose,
that I clutched a rope thrown over for my rescue, and climbed to the lee
channels without being perceived. As I leaped to the deck, I found one
half the men in tumultuous assemblage around the struggling mate and
sailor; but my sudden apparition served to divert the mob from its fell
purpose, and, in a few moments, order was perfectly restored. Our
captain was an intelligent and just man, as may be readily supposed
from the fact that he exclusively controlled so valuable an enterprise.
Accordingly, the matter was examined with much deliberation; and, on
the following day, the chief mate was deprived of his command. I
should not forget to mention that, in the midst of the excitement, my
sable friend the cook leaped overboard to rescue his protegé. Nobody
happened to notice the darkey when he sprang into the sea; and, as he
swam in a direction quite contrary from the spot where I fell, he was
nigh being lost, when the ship's sails were trimmed upon her course.
Just at that moment a faint call was heard from the sea, and the woolly
skull perceived in time for rescue.
This adventure elevated not only "little Theodore," but our "culinary
artist" in the good opinion of the mess. Every Saturday night my
African friend was allowed to share the cheer of the forecastle, while
our captain presented him with a certificate of his meritorious deed, and
made the paper more palatable by the promise of a liberal bounty in
current coin at the end of the voyage.

I now began to feel at ease, and acquire a genuine fondness for sea life.
My aptitude for languages not only familiarized me with English, but
enabled me soon to begin the scientific study of navigation, in which, I
am glad to say, that Captain Solomon Towne was always pleased to aid
my industrious efforts.
We touched at ST. HELENA for supplies, but as Napoleon was still
alive, a British frigate met us within five miles of that rock-bound coast,
and after furnishing a scant supply of water, bade us take our way
homeward.
I remember very well that it was a fine night in July, 1820, when we
touched the wharf at Boston, Massachusetts. Captain Towne's family
resided in Salem, and, of course, he was soon on his way thither. The
new mate had a young wife in Boston, and he, too, was speedily
missing. One by one, the crew sneaked off in the darkness. The second
mate quickly found an excuse for a visit in the neighborhood; so that,
by midnight, the Galatea, with a cargo valued at about one hundred and
twenty thousand dollars, was intrusted to the watchfulness of a stripling
cabin-boy.
I do not say it boastfully, but it is true that, whenever I have been
placed in responsible situations, from the earliest period of my
recollection, I felt an immediate stirring of that pride which always
made me equal, or at least willing, for the required duty. All night long
I paced the deck. Of all the wandering crowd that had accompanied me
nearly a year across many seas, I alone had no companions, friends,
home, or sweetheart, to seduce me from my craft; and I confess that