Chapter 11 - Page 2

of water a day, and the forenoon's watch
below. All this was put in black and white, and it gave us some trouble
before we got to our destination.

Our passage out was a very long one, lasting two hundred and ten days.
When we got into the trades, we stripped one mast after the other, to a
girt-line, overhauling everything, and actually getting new gangs of
rigging up over the lower-mast-heads. We were a long time about it, but
lost little or nothing in distance, as the ship was going before the wind
the whole time, with everything packed on the masts that were rigged.
Before overhauling the rigging, we fell in with an English ship, called
the General Blucher, and kept company with her for quite a fortnight.
While the two ships were together, we were chased by a strange brig, that
kept in sight three or four days, evidently watching us, and both vessels
suspected him of being a pirate. As we had six guns, and thirty-one souls,
and the Blucher was, at least, as strong, the two captains thought, by
standing by each other, they might beat the fellow off, should he attack
us. The brig frequently came near enough to get a good look at us, and
then dropped astern. He continued this game several days, until he
suddenly hauled his wind, and left us. Our ship would have been a famous
prize; having, it was said, no less than two hundred and fifty thousand
Spanish dollars on board.

We parted company with the Blucher, in a heavy gale; our ship bearing up
for Rio. After getting rid of some of our ballast, however, and changing
the cargo of pig-lead, our vessel was easier, and did not go in. Nothing
further occurred, worth mentioning, until we got off Van Diemen's Land.
Two days after seeing the land, a boy fell from the fore-top-gallant yard,
while reeving the studding-sail halyards. I had just turned in, after
eating my dinner, having the watch below, when I heard the cry of "a man
overboard!" Running on deck, as I was, I jumped into a quarter-boat,
followed by four men, and we were immediately lowered down. The ship was
rounded-to, and I heard the poor fellow calling out to me by name, to save
him. I saw him, astern, very plainly, while on the ship's quarter; but
lost sight of him, as soon as the boat was in the water. The sky-light-hood
had been thrown overboard, and was floating in the ship's wake. We steered
for that; but could neither see nor hear anything more of the poor fellow.
We got his hat, and we picked up the hood of the sky-light, but could not
find the boy. He had, unquestionably, gone down before we reached the spot
where he had been floating, as his hat must have pointed out the place. We
got the hat first; and then, seeing nothing of the lad, we pulled back to
take in the hood; which was