North American station, from 1808 to 1811—Bermuda—Anecdote—Death of Captain Conn.

We had a long passage out, running far to the southward, and crossing the tropic of Cancer before we hauled to the westward for the islands of Bermuda. In a squall we carried away the fore-yard, which, being a bad stick, went in three pieces. However, we soon made another, which answered our purposes remarkably well, and at the end of six weeks we arrived in Murray’s anchorage.

These islands consist of a group of three hundred and sixty-five, which the Bermudians tell you is the reason there are three hundred and sixty-five days in the year. They are very picturesque, and covered chiefly with sweet-smelling cedar trees, of whose timber several fine 18-gun sloops-of-war and small schooners have been built.

Had the Bermudians been permitted to follow their own plan, no doubt these would have been very safe vessels: but our Navy Board took out a patent for making coffins, and sent them out plans and dimensions, from which they were by no means to deviate. The consequence was, such a tribe of little tubs, in the shape of two and three-masted schooners, were built, that it was absolutely throwing money away to construct them. Several of them, indeed, did founder, with all their crews. The ship-sloops were certainly better—I may say, with truth, they were favourites—very good sea boats, and in every respect excellent vessels.

Besides cedar trees, these islands produce arrow-root of the best quality, tobacco, Indian corn, &c., but not in sufficient quantities for their own consumption: they, therefore, import flour and other articles of food from the United States, and other places. Abundance of fish is taken, such as grouper—which is a fine, firm fish of the rock species, frequently weighing several pounds—chub, porgay, and various other kinds; and in the spring of the year a spermaceti whale fishery is carried on, this species frequenting those seas at that period.

The scenery of these islands is very pretty. Everything here is in miniature—little hills, valleys, and lakes; whilst blue and red birds, flitting about under a brilliant sun, give the whole the appearance of fairy land. The heat in summer is very oppressive, and the heavy tempests of wind, or, to use the native expression, “the blow,” accompanied with frightful storms of thunder and lightning, are most terrific. In winter the gales generally commence from the S.S.W. to S.W., and then fly round to the N.W. at once in a most severe squall.

The approach to the Bermudas, amongst coral rocks and breakers, is attended with great danger, unless you are quite sure of your reckoning. Before the great improvements in navigation, many an unfortunate vessel was wrecked on them.

The whole chain of these islands is formed like the coral banks in the south seas; there are no real springs of fresh water, and most of the inhabitants get this necessary article from tanks attached to their houses to catch the rain, and when these are dry they go to wells dug in different parts of the sea coast, through which the salt water filters, and becomes tolerably sweet. From these the men-of-war, too, generally get their supply, which has the effect of Cheltenham water, and saves the trouble of applying to the doctor.

With regard to society, much depends upon the military and naval commanders-in-chief, the regiments, and king’s ships. Some of the Bermudian families are highly respectable.

Much merriment was afforded one evening at a party, to which a naval captain, who is now dead, was invited. He had come in from a long cruise, and had been paying his addresses to a certain young lady living on one of the islands; but the tongue of slander had been busy against him during his absence, and on his making a proposal she refused him. This came to the ears of the lady of the house, who, wishing to quiz the poor man, and to be very facetious, forgetting that her husband had but one eye, and was not very handsome otherwise, began her attack thus: “So, Captain ——, I hear Miss —— has refused you,” and went on very cruelly to torment the poor man, in his distress, as ladies can do sometimes when they wish to be mischievous. He bore it all for a long time with great patience and forbearance; being goaded at length beyond endurance, he rose from his chair and said, “Mrs. ——, when such an old, ugly fellow as your husband, with but one eye, can get a pretty young woman like yourself for a wife, I ought never to despair.” And out he walked, the tables fairly turned on the facetious dame. Having mentioned the word “slander” in the above anecdote, I am induced to add another story by way of advice to young ladies.

Whenever your friend—and many young ladies have a confidential one—abuses or throws out hints to the prejudice of your absent lover, listen to her with caution. The following little tale will point out the necessity of not relying entirely upon the recommendation of bosom friends in love affairs, for it is an old saying that all advantages in love, war, law, and elections are considered fair. Two young ladies from twenty-three to twenty-five years of age, who lived in a large town in the north, were first cousins, and dear confidential friends; the one, a widow, had soft, pretty, languishing, blue eyes, that said, “pray do love me;” the other, a spinster, had black, sparkling eyes, that said, “you shall love me.” The former had an offer of marriage from a widower, who had a son about fifteen years of age, whom he wished to put into a profession previous to his marriage, but wanted some ready money to do so. He, therefore, proposed that the fair widow should advance him the money necessary to enable him to do it. She, very properly, consulted her friends; some gave one opinion, some another. She hesitated between love and money—she called in her cousin, Miss Black-eyes, who strongly advised her by no means to part with her cash. She still hesitated, asked other advice—sent for her cousin again—went so far as to purchase her wedding dress and make preparations for furnishing a house. In the meanwhile Miss Black-eyes had had frequent communications with the gentleman, and also with her cousin. At last, she got some friends to back her opinion, and, finally, the match was broken off. But the same day the spinster gave the money to the gentleman, who had a license ready—off they went to the next parish and were married. Therefore, I say, be very cautious in adopting any opinion where the least chance of a clash of interest is likely to exist, particularly in love affairs.

Our cruises in winter, during the time we were on this station, were generally to the southward. Sometimes we ran down to the island of Porto Rico, the Mona passage, and off Anegada, with the hope of picking up some of the French vessels from Martinique or Guadaloupe; but the whole time we remained here, nearly four years, only one ship letter-of-marque, a schooner, and brig, fell into our hands.

In our summer cruises, we, on one occasion, went to Madeira; another time to Fayal, one of the western isles, and when there, paid our respects to the nuns in the convents, and bought some of their pretty wreaths for ladies’ hair, beautifully made of parrots’ feathers, in imitation of myrtle. When first we went to the bars of the convent, the abbess sent some of the elder sisters to offer flowers for sale, but these finding no market, she changed her set, and the next time some pretty, interesting young nuns offered their goods, which we immediately bought from such fair hands. If the old harpy of an abbess went away for a minute they used to smile, talk, and give us their hands to kiss through the grates; and their handsome dark eyes seemed to say, “Oh! that these bars were removed, that I might get out of this horrid prison, to which I am consigned by sordid parents to make way for some male branch of the family.” Several of these young ladies, we were informed, had been expatriated from Portugal, from that motive. A short time after we left Fayal, one young nun did make her escape with a captain in the navy, who very honourably married her; but her poor friend, who tried to accompany her, met with a serious accident, falling down and breaking her leg, when getting out of the convent window. She was taken back to her cell, where, it was said, she underwent purgatory upon earth.

When on the North American station I met with a severe hurt, while making sail in chase, which laid me up for a considerable period. A rope having got loose, struck me on the face, broke my jaw, and knocked out five of my teeth.

In winter, the ships used to rendezvous at Bermuda; during summer at Halifax, Nova Scotia. At the latter place we used to enjoy pleasant society, amongst very kind-hearted and friendly people, whose pretty daughters made sad havoc with the hearts of both the army and navy.

After one of our long summer cruises I got leave of absence for ten days, and travelled with a friend, an officer of the Royal Engineers, in his gig, across the country to Annapolis Royal; the scenery did not strike me as being particularly interesting. I saw a great deal of barren, dreary, uncultivated land, that wanted the hand of man to clear it, and make it “bring forth its fruit in due season.”

Driving along the road we frequently started coveys of spruce partridges. I used occasionally, when time permitted, to get a shot at them. These birds do not, like our partridges, take to the fields, but on rising from the ground always fly into fir trees; they are very stupid, and once in a tree will allow you to shoot them all, provided you begin with the lowest and proceed upwards.

I recollect at one place where we breakfasted after leaving Windsor, a large brown bear and two cubs had been caught during the night in a pit fall; the old one was shot in the pit, and the young ones kept alive, probably to be sent to England.

The native Mic Mac Indians are a poor race, those, at least, that I saw in Halifax and its neighbourhood. They are confined to a few families. They used to come to the town in their slight bark canoes, bringing game, and skins of the silver and black fox, and boxes made of the bark of the birch tree, ornamented with the small quills of the porcupine, dyed of various colours. I have often been in their wigwams, and always found the people civil. Some of the young squaws were passable, but the old women frightful. These wigwams are easily built: half a dozen poles placed triangularly and covered with the bark of the birch tree, is the general plan; the fire is in the middle of the hut, the smoke finding its way out at the top, and by the door-way. These habitations appear warm, and the inmates healthy. When travelling, the women carry their babies in a kind of basket, strapped to their back, which resembles the lower part of a fiddle-case, peeping out of which their little smoked faces have a curious appearance. After disposing of their wares, these people generally get drunk and fight, the men beating the squaws, who, in their turn, belabour the men. It not unfrequently happens that those who return by water contrive to upset their canoes, when they lose all the articles they have bought; it is, however, very rare that any of the crew are drowned. Fish of various sorts are most abundant, and the market very good. The harbour of Halifax is safe, but sometimes difficult to make, on account of the thick fogs, which in particular winds,—those from south-east to south-west,—hang about the coast.

A very provoking circumstance occurred to one of the lieutenants, who was a Welchman, and a married man, during a cruise, caused by a nanny-goat eating his letters that he had just received from England, previous to his having read them.

A schooner joined us at sea from Bermuda, bringing the mail and letters from there and Halifax, Nova Scotia. We all felt very anxious about news, for it was nearly ten months since we had heard from “sweet home;” in consequence of our being out cruising, and going from place to place, they had missed us.

The weather was squally when the above vessel joined us with the letters, and by the time her boat had reached us, and they were delivered to their owners, it was necessary to turn the hands up to reef the topsails. Poor M——, for fear his letters should get wet in his pocket, for it began to rain as well as blow, left them for safety on the rudder-head in the wardroom, and went on deck to his station. No sooner was the evolution performed than down he ran below, thinking, poor fellow! to have a nice, quiet reading of his two letters from his wife, giving an account of a new bit of mischief that had been added to his establishment during his absence, for he had left his wife near her confinement, previous to his leaving England. Now, only imagine M——’s rage, vexation, and consternation, on beholding Mrs. Taffy, the Welch goat, mounted on the rudder-head, very quietly eating up the letters. One was quite gone, and a very small corner of the other sticking out of the goat’s mouth, which she was endeavouring to masticate with all possible dispatch. “Nanny” was seized by the throat in a moment, and measures adopted to make her disgorge the precious writing, but all in vain, for she had taken such good care to bite them in small pieces, in order that they might the more easily be swallowed, and readily digested, that not a fragment larger than a crown piece was recovered, and he had to wait eight long months more, before he got others to tell him the contents of those, and give him information about his family.

This was a trial of temper. We commiserated, sympathised, and found fault with him for not putting them in his pocket, writing-desk, or any safer place than where he had left them; in short, he had all Job’s comforters, but was obliged to have recourse to Dame Patience, hoping that some other vessel might soon come from home and bring him others. Eight long months elapsed ere he received information from England—making in the whole nearly eighteen months—a vexatious period at any time, but still more so in his case. The goat had been used to run in and out of the ward-room, for she was a great pet, and generally after dinner had some biscuit and a little wine or grog given to her, which she was very fond of. After the unfortunate affair of the letters she was banished for a month. After that period it was forgotten, and she came in for her biscuit and grog as usual.

On one of our spring cruises, in May, 1810, we lost our captain (John Conn), who, in a fit of derangement, jumped overboard out of his stern cabin, and was drowned. He was a thorough seaman, and very much beloved by us all. He served in Lord Rodney’s fleet in the action of the 12th of April, 1782, and commanded the Dreadnought (98), at the battle of Trafalgar. He was mate of the Ramilies (74), Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves, when she was lost in that dreadful gale, which proved fatal to the Ville de Paris (110), Glorieux (74), Centaur (74), and various other men-of-war, transports, and merchant ships, in the gulf stream, not far from the latitude of Bermuda, when returning to England in August of that year with the prizes taken by Lord Rodney.

He gave me a piece of advice respecting the coast of America which I shall never forget, and as it is of that sort which all seamen liable to be sent on the North American station ought to be acquainted with, I shall mention it here. “Never lay your ship to at night in a gale of wind to the S.S.W. on the coast of America on the larboard tack, for the wind generally flies round at once to the N.W. with a heavy squall, and takes the ship flat back.” It was this, and lying-to under a main-sail, which caused the loss of the Ramilies at that period. He often gave me an account of that misfortune. It was as follows:—“We were on the larboard tack, with a reefed main-sail set. The gale commenced from S.E., and gradually came round to the S.S.W., blowing extremely hard. When in the middle watch of the night of the 16th of October, 1782, the wind flew round in a most tremendous squall to the N.W., taking the ship aback, and throwing her nearly on her beam ends. We tried to brace the main-yard round, but, finding it impossible, we cut the foot rope of the main-sail, which was quite a new one, with the hope of splitting it, but it was bound so tight against the mast and rigging that we could not effect this. The ship at this time had great stern-way upon her; the sea, breaking over her poop, stove in the dead-lights and windows, and filled the ward-room and admiral’s cabin with water, and before anything could be done the main-mast, mizen-mast, and foretop-mast went over the side; the stern-post was much shaken, and the ship, nearly a new one, sprung a dangerous leak. At daylight the whole convoy was scattered; many of the vessels dismasted—some had foundered—and the sea was covered with wreck; the wind blowing a hurricane. By dint of perseverance, having thrown overboard most of her guns and heavy stores, we succeeded in keeping the ship afloat until the 22nd, when, finding she would not float much longer, we took advantage of a lull of wind, and saved the crew on board a few of the merchant ships that had continued by her.”

Captain J. Conn also mentioned that had the orders of Rear-Admiral Graves been attended to the ship would probably not have been lost. The admiral came out of his cabin in the middle watch, and, after looking about him and making his remarks to the officer on deck, said, “It looks black under the lee bow, and I see some flashes of lightning. Should the clouds appear to near you, immediately haul up the main-sail and wear ship.” Unfortunately the admiral went into his cabin without sending for the captain, who slept in the ward-room. The moment the admiral had gone in, the officer of the watch ran down to Captain S. M., and mentioned the directions he had received. The captain replied, “It is my positive order you do no such thing without first coming to acquaint me.” The lieutenant of the watch had scarcely got on deck when he saw that a most violent squall, with shift of wind, was about to take place. Down he ran to acquaint his captain, according to orders, but before he could get again upon the deck to give the necessary directions the mischief had been done: she was taken aback, lost her masts, and was finally abandoned and burnt—all owing to adhering too closely to etiquette. The captain very properly was never employed afterwards.

From Bermuda we sailed to Halifax, where, one afternoon, a man fell from the main-top, and striking first against the main-rigging, then against the spare topsail-yard in the chains, dropped into the sea. Being on deck, I ran to the gangway, and, seeing no time was to be lost, jumped overboard, and, fortunately, getting hold of the man just as he was sinking, I kept him up until a boat was sent to our assistance. His fall having been broken by the main-rigging, previous to his striking the topsail-yard, was probably the cause of his life being saved.

After remaining in port some time, orders arrived from England for the 7th Fusiliers, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Blakeney, to proceed to join the army of Lord Wellington. We embarked the headquarters and four hundred men of this fine regiment. The remainder were sent out in other men-of-war, and, after a passage of three weeks, were landed at Lisbon. The officers were a most pleasant, gentlemanly set of men; but out of the whole of those whom we took thither only the gallant Sir Edward Blakeney (now a Major-General) and another are alive.

After returning to Halifax nothing of interest occurred on the station for the remainder of our time, except that Captain Charles Austen, a very amiable man and excellent officer, who had been placed in command of the Swiftsure in lieu of Captain Conn, who was drowned, was appointed to the Cleopatra, Captain Lloyd joining the former ship in his stead.

We returned to England in the spring of the year 1811, and the ship was paid off at Chatham.

After a month at home, I took a passage in the Port Mahon, brig, of 18 guns, to Lisbon, and on the 11th of June arrived in the Tagus, and was placed on the Admiralty list for promotion.