The Boy Soldier; Or, Garibaldi's Young Captain — page 345: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

_ engine-room and stoke-hole, THE BOY SOLDIER; OR; GARIBALDI'S YOUNG CAPTAIN. 399 —_—Xs_~YQY “6 A.M.—The barometer inclined to fall; and the weather looked yery squally, with thunder and lightning. “8 A.M.—All working hard, and the ‘ Dounton’ pump doing its duty—water not decreasing—an some leak supposed to exist, though not a large ‘10 A.M.—The anchor before mentioned we weré _ now able to secure, and to move about more. freely on the deck. ! ‘How shorn of its beauty did our noble ship appear, : “Forward, in addition to the damage’ already mentioned, the bob stays and lee bowsprit ready were broken ; iron outriggers bent double, all th _ rigging very slack; traces and’ lifts carried away to leeward, and in knots, with the remnant of the sails, rudder chain’ gone and jamméd on the screw, starboard quarter galley swept away. | : “7 P.M.—Reduced the water’ to five feet 'in the __ “4 little before this we got the “donkéy engine ; at work below, and on deck, about 4.30 pin., the steam had helped 'a little working of the “Doun- ton’ pump. How refreshing to thé pussengers was the sound of ‘steam,’ a sure telief' fo the really very Ward work at the pumps, 9 // ~~" “Tl patL—The engines” began working! very ' slowly, and we felf our troubles would now sdon be lightened if only we could keep the fires lit and steamup. wat jarete ome ae _ “12 p.M.—Fine weather ; but ship with a strong list'to starboard, and rolling heavily, ©’ | SUNDAY, May 1st.—Hngines working slowly ; pumping still going on and baling ; the crew very exhausted, and but little impression being made on the water in the ship. © | ) : ‘‘We could not get up sufficient steam to throw ‘much of their labour of pumping on the engines ; and, therefore, considering all the circumstances, the captain, at 5 a.m., resolved to return to-port, “In the wisdom of this all concurred—neither passengers, crew, nor ship were in a fit condition to encounter another severe gale, and the weather looked far from settled. bes rhe ‘The passengers formed a strong able-bodied force, and very fortunate it was for the safety of the ship and for themselves that they were so strong, for, unquestionably, the unaided efforts of the crew and*stewards could never have so far reduced the water as to get the fires lit. | “Ttwasa pleasant’ sight’ to see passengers of all ranks and ages working vigorously at the pumps and baling. | ed | »“ We formed ourselves into gangs and worked in, succession, each gang doing a_ fixed number of, strokes. | | . “In the great heat the work was very conducive to intense thirst, and the number of refreshing jugs of ‘shandy gaff,’ made aad brought, to us bya young. member. of our community, will always, be gratefully remembered, “The party of engineers of the Royal Navy, com-, ing from China, were very. valuable, from their hearty working and help at the pumps. “Qn this morning, the last task falling to the ‘passenvérs was to form sanitary gangs, and clear the debris out of the cabins. a. “This duty performed, the saloon was a little more ‘bearable ; but the cabins still remained very Offensive from the smell of wet clothes, boards, &c. “2 p.mM.—I fancy few steamers or ships have gone through sugh severe’weather coming Soisuddenly on them, a! ‘She is a splendid ship, and stood wonderfully the tremendous blows which she constantly received from the sea, making her tremble from head to stern—had we shipped seas to windward we must have foundered. | “Such severe weather is, I believe, seldom known, and, on account of the heat, these mail ships havea great number of large openings along the upper deck and main deck. ; “Caught thus suddenly in’a cyclone, the seas effect an entrance before it is’ possible to securely cover in the said openings, * “The admirable skill, energy, and pluck of the Mexican captain and his officers are worthy of all praise. “The crew undoubtedly was completely cowed, but the European officers came out more than equal to the emergency. , They were everywhere at the right time, doing the right thing. “They ‘and they only made’ gallant, but vain attempts, in the first tremendous ‘gusts of the hurri- cane, to take in the sails. ee ‘The chief officer, and chief engineer, were very prominent in their deyotion to their duty, and it is difficult to say which service presented the most danger—the attempts to keep ‘the engines going, whilst the sea was pouring down into the engine- room, and steam flying almost ineyery direction, or that on deck where the wind had its full swing, and blocks, ropes, spars, boats, hen-coops, &c., were dash- ing about, in all directions, : “The passengers have marked their sense of the services of the captain, officers, and steward, by presenting the captain with a letter and a sum of £100 to purchase a piece of plate ; the chief officer and chief engineers with letters and sums of £50 to each; and the stewards ‘with a sum of £90 divided amongst them. I must not omit to note that the value of a body cf'strong able-bodied } stewards was fully shown; no men could have | ——————$—— ome workéd better, more cheerfully,’ or more willingly. The stewardesses received separate presents, having lost all their effects. Many of the officers of the ship have lost all their baggage, and’ the passengers on the starboard side have suffered severely. The married parties especially on that side of the ship have lost, on.an average) by luggage utterly ruined, not less than £80 each. , ‘When we arrived at Carthagena once more, I took passage for one of the Texan ports, and by stress of weather we were obliged to run into the little harbor of San Patricio, where we now are. — “T haye not time to write a longer letter this time, for the wnt have moderated and we shall sail again in less than an hour, perhaps, for Gal- veston. : “Thinking that ‘a few lines from me would be agreeable, and hoping at the same time that both you and our gallant little band of Boy Soldiers are well and hearty up the country, _ “J remain, your Brother, “Tom FORD. “NB. —I send this letter by an American who is on his way to join the republican army in search of abrother of his, a trapper, who. has long been in the Comanche and Blackfeet.country. oy. “He is a gallant fellow, and if he finds you in his rambles, make him welcome for my sake.. When IL reach Havanah, I shall. write again, for lamin a great hurry to get a good ship, for the other had * Some ship, supposed, on account of the number of'silk bales floating about, to be a China ship, apparently was lost in the “cyclone.” On Monday mortting we passed bales, and the bedy of a lascar lashed to a mast. @