Chapter I: Preface

It has been repeatedly represented to me by disinterested friends, that among the innumerable works of both fact and fiction dealing with the sea, there are none telling in a comprehensive way what are the conditions of life in the Merchant Service; in other words, that there is no work to which a parent, yielding to his son's importunity to be allowed to go to sea, and seeking to know something of the nature of things on board of a merchant ship in detail, can turn with the assurance that he may there find what he needs. Nor can the youth anxious to go to sea in the Merchant Service find any guidance which will at once be comprehensive and reliable compacted into one handy volume. And as these same friends have done me the honour to suggest that I have the qualifications necessary for producing such a work, I have, not at all unwillingly, acceded to their suggestions, and undertaken the task.

The recollection of many kindly criticisms on the preface to the "Log of a Sea-Waif," scolding me good-naturedly for what it has pleased them to term my exaggerated modesty, prevents me from sinning now in that direction. I will merely say that I have done my best to justify my friends' confidence in me, and that I earnestly hope the book will not fall too far short of their expectations.

The planning of such a work seems to be comparatively easy. The first thing that suggested itself was the setting forth, in a series of chapters, the duties, required qualifications, difficulties, privileges, etc., of the various members of a ship's company.

A doubt has naturally arisen in my mind as to how far it is justifiable to deal with sailing ships in these latter days. My own personal knowledge and predilections are on the side of the "wind-jammer," and consequently I feel the less inclined to deal with her perfunctorily. I cannot, however, conceal from myself the fact that the passing of the sailing ship is being greatly accelerated of late years, and that in all probability another twenty years will witness her final disappearance. On the other hand, I should not be at all surprised to see a sudden recrudescence of sailing ship building. Considering the sailing ship's economy, her vast carrying capacity, the fact that her very slowness as compared with the steamer is actually no mean advantage in a great number of instances, viz. to quote one, where goods are bought in a low market and are not required by the buyer for some months, so that their shipment by a sailer actually saves warehouse charges as well as freight--I cannot understand why the sailer should be suffered to disappear. Nevertheless, as engineering science advances, economies will doubtless be found possible in steamships which will so greatly lessen their expenses as to make the competition of sailers out of the question. The opening of a Panama Canal, too, which will certainly not be much longer delayed, will deal a tremendous blow at the vast sailing trade around Cape Horn. It seems, indeed, destined to be the final factor in the elimination of the sailing ship. Meanwhile the white-winged fleets come and go in far greater numbers than landsmen have any idea of; and as nearly all authorities are agreed that, in spite of the immense strides taken by steam navigation, the sailing ship is still the only school wherein to train a thorough seafarer, she will certainly receive her full need of attention here.

Care has been taken to avoid, as far as possible, all technical treatment of the subject. I have not assumed the possession of too much nautical knowledge on the part of my prospective readers; not nearly as much, for instance, as would be permissible in a work of fiction. Having before me, too, the hope that sons as well as parents will be able to read and enjoy, as well as thoroughly grasp the meaning of this book, I have aimed at making it entertaining, giving a plentiful supply of anecdotes as well to illustrate as to lighten what might easily become rather "stodgy."

Finally, I feel constrained to add that, even if my friends are wrong, and there are works with which they, as well as myself, are not acquainted, better calculated to serve the purpose for which this book is intended, I have the temerity to believe that no apology is necessary for its appearance. The overwhelming importance of our over-sea commerce to Great Britain cannot be too greatly emphasized, while the astounding ignorance of maritime matters manifested by British people generally makes one gasp in amazement. Any book, therefore, that does anything to popularize knowledge of Mercantile Marine details cannot be superfluous in this country; and should this present one succeed in bringing home to our inland dwellers with any clearness the conditions of life on board the vessels upon whose regular advent depend our supplies of daily food, I shall feel abundantly justified in issuing it to my countrymen.

Dulwich, _July, 1900_.

SYNOPSIS.

CHAPTER I.

THE RISE OF THE MASTER (IDEAL).

PAGE

Magnitude of the Merchant Service--Ignorance of its details
ashore--Want of information upon the subject--Popularity
of sea-fiction--And unreliability of its details--"Master" or
"Captain"--Cadet ships--Their value--The way up (ideal) 1

CHAPTER II.

THE RISE OF THE MASTER (REAL).

Apprentice difficulties--Sketch of an officer's progress--Looking
for a ship--Classification of masters--Range between
Atlantic "liner" and foreign-going schooner--Enviable
position of the master of a "liner"--Pilots' responsibility--Reliable
officers--But the master is emperor--All responsibility
centres in him 9

CHAPTER III.

THE MASTER (OF A TRAMP).

Tramp masters--Less pay, more work--Hardships of tramps--Economical
owners--Anxious considerations--And all-round
qualifications--The aristocracy of tramps--Shore
berths for old skippers--Black sheep 18

CHAPTER IV.

THE MASTER (SAILING SHIPS).

Sailing ships--Their gradations--The beauty of seamanship
in Sunda Straits--Ship handling and pluck--Devilish
ships--Local knowledge _v._ "book larnin'"--The Horn--"Swansea
men"--A glorious old skipper--Overdue ships--Mediocrities 26

CHAPTER V.

THE MASTER (SAILING SHIP)--_continued_.

The skipper's temptations--His power over young officers--Painting
_v._ sailorizing--And the result--Various temperaments
of skippers--The discipline of the "Yank"--And of
the "Blue-nose"--Their seamanship--The "Down Easter"--The
Yankee clipper--His passion for cleanliness--And
brutality--Elementary methods 36

CHAPTER VI.

THE MASTER'S QUALITIES.

The personal equation--An ideal commander--Want of tact--They
do these things better in "Yanks"--Good to have a
hobby--High standard of excellence--Difficulties of the
British shipmaster with respect to his crew--Unpalatable
truths--The fear of God--Honesty of shipmasters--Incitements
to dishonesty 45

CHAPTER VII.

THE MASTER'S DUTIES.

A glimpse of navigation--The unstable compass--Dead reckoning--Pilotage
anxieties--The shipmaster as trustee--As lawyer--As
doctor--Rough-and-ready surgery--A true hero--The
"malingerer" 53

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MASTER'S DUTIES--_continued_.

Voluntary duties--Knowledge of engineering--Of ship construction--Of
natural history--The danger of drink--A drunkard
or two--A memorable voyage--The Blue-nose skipper--His
all-round excellence 63

CHAPTER IX.

THE MATE.

The "mate and his duties"--An ancient and honourable title--His
range of importance--A long step from mate to master--Both
in position and pay--Education of British officers--Examinations 73

CHAPTER X.

THE MATE'S WORK.

A good mate precious above rubies--Some difficulties of the
young mate--Sensitiveness--Manager of a large business--A
great gulf between tramp and liner for the mate--Low
wages--Difficult generalship--A scandalous miscarriage of
justice--Again better in the "Yank"--Compensations 82

CHAPTER XI.

THE MATE'S WORK (IN A SAILING SHIP).

Peculiarities of status--The excellence of the sailing-ship
mate--"Humouring" a ship--Care of her aloft--The mate's right-hand
man--Keeping them at it--The joy of a good sailing
ship--A happy mate--Keeping the log 91

CHAPTER XII.

THE MATE'S WORK (IN A SAILING SHIP)--_continued_.

Ideal log-book literature--Ruffianly mates--But splendid seamen--A
"nigger-driver"--The mate as cargo clerk and warehouseman--His
temptations--An exultant Hebrew--The
drink question again--The mate's privileges 101

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SECOND MATE (IN STEAM).

"Hazing" a second mate--His importance--His assured
excellence in a liner--Careful selection--Really first lieutenant
in a liner--But in the tramp "a servant of servants
shall he be"--An upper housemaid--An anomalous position--As
stevedore--The Yankee second mate 112

CHAPTER XIV.

THE SECOND MATE (FIRST STEPS).

The passing of the "Board"--School-boy work--Theoretical
navigation--Practical seamanship--Colour-blindness--Queer
instruction--A kindly examiner--The astonishment of the
schoolmaster--Only mate--And "bo'sun-second-mate" 121

CHAPTER XV.

THE SECOND MATE (OF A SAILING SHIP).

The difference between steam and sail--A kindly skipper for a
beginner--The second mate's position as pupil--The seamy
side--Everybody's dog--Again the difference between lime-juicer
and Yank--The second mate of the _East Lothian_--Oh,
what a surprise!--The value of muscle--The want of
discipline in our ships 131

CHAPTER XVI.

THE THIRD MATE.

Of great importance or none at all--A suggestion from the Navy--No
respect due to him--The owner's pet--The poop
ornament--His bringing up--A lost opportunity--The bully
third mate of an American ship--An error in judgment--Idlers 142

CHAPTER XVII.

THE BO'SUN.

A romantic figure--Rough but genuine--The naval bo'sun--The
working foreman--Bo'sun and "lamps" combined--The
old-time bo'sun--A thorough sailor--A queer bo'sun--A
broken-down bo'sun--A brevet bo'sun 151

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE CARPENTER.

His general excellence--And unique position--A man of many
qualifications--All carpenters in British North America--As
in Finland--"Chips" and sailor too--An independent
member--Always plenty of work--The whaleship carpenters--And
boat-builder 161

CHAPTER XIX.

THE SAILMAKER.

An occupation that is passing--Its fascination for good sailors--The
art and mystery of sailmaking--The Yankee sailmaker--His
contempt for British sails--Like the carpenter, the
sailmaker always has plenty to do--The beauty of sails 171

CHAPTER XX.

THE STEWARD (IN STEAM).

Wide range of status--But always a steward--Wonderful
management--A small army to control--Work never done--The
tramp steward--His duties and difficulties--The
"providore" 180

CHAPTER XXI.

THE STEWARD (SAILING SHIPS).

The passenger sailing ship almost extinct--Consequently few
chief stewards in sail--The responsible steward--The
captain's pet--Funny little ways--A bitter experience--The
Yankee steward--His onerous post--The stewardess--My
friend's pathetic story 188

CHAPTER XXII.

THE COOK (IN STEAM).

The most interesting figure on board ship--A chef indeed--Where
do they come from?--Difficulties of ship cookery--Under
the best conditions--Careful, hard-working men--Australian
cooks--Black Sam--Humpy Bill--His tribulations
and triumphs--The cook of a tramp 195

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE COOK (SAILING SHIPS).

His materials--His usual qualifications--No room for a good
cook--Good sailing ships--And bad--From the food point
of view--Bad food wasteful as well as dear--The craving
for vegetable--The cook's day's work--So different in
Yankee ships--Blue-nose cookery--"Cracker hash"--"Duff" 205

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE COOK (SAILING SHIPS)--_continued_.

Salt junk--The never-satisfied sailor--Pork and peas--Dirty
cooking--Abysmal ignorance--A lower depth--Bad weather 215

CHAPTER XXV.

THE APPRENTICE (SUGGESTIONS).

A serious matter--Want of knowledge--The system of apprenticeship--Need
for revision--The influx of foreign officers--No
want of aspirants here--An experience of my own--No-premium
apprentices--Training ships--The housing of sea
apprentices--A vexed question--To stop the waste of young
seamen--An A.B. no mere labourer--A good example--A
model ship for apprentices--Training ships in America 223

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE APPRENTICE (SOME FACTS CONCERNING HIS LIFE).

The average boy's helplessness--The need for lessons in homely
things--An unhappy home--Waste of outfit--Need of
personal supervision--And honest treatment--Apprentices
substituted for sailors--Some instances--All depends upon
the master--Wasted years--The embryo officer in the U.S.
and Canada 234

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE APPRENTICE (SOME PRACTICAL INFORMATION).

How to get your boy to sea--Beware of the apprenticeship
broker--A typical instance--Some hints as to outfit--A list
of necessaries--The choice of a ship--Personal relations of
parents with officers--Hints to apprentices themselves 244

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE A.B. (GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS).

The "common sailor"--His one-sided view of things--His
difficulties--The reading sailor--Argumentative qualities--His
shyness ashore--The religious sailor--Misconceptions of
his duties--Hardships of good men from the shipment of
duffers--The skilled A.B., some of his duties--The "steamboat
sailor"--One instance 253

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE A.B. (HIS ROUTINE).

Some details fixed--Others varying indefinitely according to the
will of the master--The incidence of watches--Difference of
work in steamships and sailing vessels--No easy times in
American ships--Keeping them "at it"--Wheel and look-out
case in point 263

CHAPTER XXX.

THE A.B. (HIS POSITION).

Putting a premium on incompetency--The steamship partly to
blame--Are we getting lazy?--The need for a Naval Reserve?
Why does the Reserve languish?--Not a bad life after all--Plenty
of British seamen to be got--But they must have
discipline 276

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE O.S. (ORDINARY SEAMAN).

His elimination--No system--Many better than A.B.'s in the
same ship--A typical instance--An O.S.'s duties--A piece
of technical detail, crossing a royal yard--His position in
the fo'c'sle--"A servant of servants shall he be"--A rough-and-ready
way out 283

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE BOY.

A romantic figure--Changed conditions--The bad old days--Better
treatment forward than aft--The unfair change for a
boy from the training ship to the trading ship--Cleanliness
barred--Bad advice--What to do for him--Running away
to sea--An old-time shipping office--Small ships, bad and
good 294

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE ENGINEER.

Need for literary engineers--A noble calling--Its perils and its
pride--No sea-joys for the engineer--A nineteenth-century
hero--A unique profession--Producing a high-grade man--The
evolution of the marine engineer--No foreigners allowed--The
E.R.A.--In case of war--No mere mechanic--The
blindness of the Admiralty with regard to the engineer 305

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE FIREMAN AND TRIMMER.

Why do men become firemen?--A terrible calling--Some of his
duties--The voice of steam--Better drunk--Cleaning fires--The
slavery of civilization--A lower deep--Are we
nearing finality? 317

CHAPTER XXXV.

CONCLUSION.

Pertinent questions--The whole truth--Does magnanimity
answer?--The peril of the alien--No Trade Union for
sailors--The officer's chance--A valuable educational factor--Our
national safeguard--Finis 328

THE MEN OF THE MERCHANT SERVICE.