Saturday, 2nd of September
Latitude 26 degrees South
Longitude 46 degrees East
Off the south end of Madagascar _______ is gone, and we are out of the Tropics once more. The wind is _____ and fair, and our glad Bark is bounding on. The sun shines out beautiful and fair. A year ago, we were very near here bound to the Orient. Now, here for the ________. Nothing in particular to write about. Everything is drawing well and ______/____ /_____ has got the tow rope, hauling with a will. I have got nearly through the third volume of Bancroft, and have read Mrs(?) Stowe’s Sunny memories in foreign lands…
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Sunday-3rd of September 53 days out-
We are past Madagascar, having made a good run the last day of 220 miles. Mother Carey’s chickens, are all around. It’s a beautiful day. The sun is out from the ______ and shining bright, and no one would ever know this ocean could be ______ into such a fury as it often is. The pets are all doing well. There is an old gray headed sailor forward who went to sea when I was born. A _____ old genius and stutters. His name is H_____ Dunn McColeman(?) He took charge of Nancy (the cat) and her kittens as soon as he came aboard. Feeds them all with ____ and gives them coffee to drink, and they all know he is their patron. One of her second litter (Nancy’s), he called Mucha, and tied a ribbon around its neck. Finally Mucha was found dead down below and Dunn mourned for it as a child. The next day being warm and still, Dunn got paper and pencil and went under the forecastle. The mate spied him out, and after giving…
gave him an order to execute, went under the forecastle, to see what the paper was for. It was headed, “Thoughts on the death of beloved kitty-Mucha”. So it seems Dunn is a literary sailor. One day the mate spied him asleep with his paper and pencil. I forgot to say Dunn is Pious, and has _________ all the different _____ and tracts from aft, so these were all laying round him with a bible and a pair of horn-rimmed scpectacles. Hallao Dunn says the mate” What are you doing here?” Dunn woke up and rubbed his eyes said he was comp-p-p-posing a p-p-p-prayer! Dunn don’t mix much with the other sailors, eats his hash…
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…One day at the wheel he tended his hat to me and said,” If you please sir, I should like to ask you a question Sir!” I squared up, expecting to hear a complaint about the cook or something of the sort, and told him to speak out. “Can you tell me sir if OG was R-R-R____ him or a P-P-P_______? I gave him the bible dictionary and told him to “Enquire Within.” Today he got Nancy’s kittens down from under the box where he kept them. He has them in a small box, lined with old stocking legs, so- on the box was their names. One was “Lady Alice” and the other I have forgotten.
Poor old Dunn! When they were born, he very confidentially told the mate _______ that were not to be kept- ought to be destroyed before they got their eyes open, else it would bring bad luck to kill them after!
There ain’t many like old Dunn left. Something will be all gone, and nobody know how or where they go.
There is something inexplicably sad about this to think of. Of all the old sailors I have been with, and they are many. I have hardly ever seen one after the voyage was up. From youth to age, they spend lives of every conceivable toil, danger and hardship. They go to the bottom of _____ mostly too. Do not _______, avarice, great dishonesty, intrigue, cowardice are unknown to them. There is no helping hand for them- no comforts-nothing but to tumble overboard, and be eaten up by some hungry shark.
“Oh God of the Mariner _______ there.”
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In todays portion of ________ occurs the account of the death and burial of Moses(?) A chapter I have read, and wondered over a great many times. Here is
food for fancy. Imagination can weave a thousand bright or melancholy lines out of it. I have never seen anything upon the subject ‘till lately. While in Batavia, a lady passenger in the ship “George Peabody” was stopping at the same hotel with me. She had been a schoolteacher and her scholars as they grew old were in the habit of sending her trials of poetry. She entertained us evenings with reading some of their verses among the rest were her adjoining. I think worthy of a place here, though they tell lovely of the new …
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“The Burial of Moses
By Nebos(?) lonely mountain,
On this side of Jordan’s wave,
In a rale in the land of Moab,
There lies a lonely grave,
And no man dug that Sepulchre,
And no man saw e’er,
For the angels of God upturned the sod,
And laid the dead man there.
That was the grand funeral
That ever passed on earth,
But no man heard the trampling,
Or saw the train go forth,
Noise ____ as the daylight,
Comes ______ the days begun,
And the crimson streak on Ocean’s cheek,
Grows into the great sun.
____________ as the Spring time,
The crown of verdance(?) weaves,
And all the trees on all the hill,
Open their thousand leaves,
So without sound of music,
Or voice of them that wept,
Silently down from the mountain crown,
The great procession swept.
Perchance the bald eagle,
On grey Bethpen’s light,
Out of his rocky _________,
Looked on the wonderous sight,
Perchance the lion stalking,
Still shows that hallowed spot,
For beast and bird hath seen and _______,
That which man _______ not.
But when the warrior ________,
His comrades in the war
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They show the banners taken,
They tell his battles more,
And after him lead the masterless steel,
While peals the minute _____,
Amid the noblest of the land,
Men lay the sage to rest,
And give the _____ an honored place,
With costly marble dressed,
___ the great minister transept(?),
Where lights like glories fall,
And the sweet choir sings, and the organ rings,
Along the emblazoned wall.
This was the greatest warrior,
What _____/______/______
This the most gifted ______,
That ever breathed a ______,
And never the earth’s philosopher,
Traced with his golden ______,
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And had he not kept ______?
The hill side for his pall;
To be in state while angels wait,
With stars for tapers(?) tall?
And the dark rock pines like _____ _____,
O’er his ____ to make,
And God’s own hand in that lonely land,
To lay him in the Grace?
In that deep grave without a name,
Whence his uncoffined day,
Shall look again, most wondrous thought,
Before the judgement days,
And stand with glory _______ ________,
On the hills he never tread,
And speak of the strife , that men in life,
With the incarnate son of God
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Speak to these curious ______ of ______,
And teach him to be still,
God hath his mysterious of ______,
He hides them deep like the secret sleep,
Of him, he loved so well.
This is a horrible pen and the ink is worse. I can hardly write.
Saturday, September 9th- 59 days out
Latitude 32 degrees South
Longitude 32 degrees East
Now we are drawing up to the Cape fast and ought to be round it in a few days. We have had no real headwinds yet and so we may have a _____ of it yet. Who knows? I hope not with this deep sugar loaded ship.
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…pleasant places and “He leadeth me beside still waters”.
We had a very heavy head sea the other day, showing me there was a gale raging not far to the SW of us. On looking over the bow, a large portion of the copper was washed off, she had ______ so heavy. I hope she won’t ____ old _____ off. Last Thursday, we killed our big hog. I should think he weighed 300 lbs. He was a regular Berkshire. I bought him out of an English Bark in Rangoon eight months ago for a barrel of flour. It was coming to sunshine and out to the slaughter. The mate had him by the right ear, another strong man by the left and ( Man’s name here) had him by the tail and him walking off with all of them. While the rest of the crew was trying get him by his feet…
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Head soup and everything else in the pork line. It goes awful nice to us ______ have not had any pork since we left home for nobody eats pork in the East Indies. I have got six small hogs I got Ilo-ilo. They are comical looking things. Don’t grow a bit. I should like to have father ______ because of them, how he would laugh.
I am getting on with my Bancroft’s History. It is a good work. If his description be true of the expulsion of the French, ______ for their territory, after it’s cession to Great Britain, by the English it was ____ most heartless, cruel things I have heard of, in all my reading of history. How a nation could prosper after, I don’t …
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I have struck an original character in Sec. mate. Augustus Graves, a young man from Duxburg. He came out with me before ______/_________. He was very smart and told me he has been to Sea six years and nobody would help him. But he wanted to get on board very much so when I came to need to Second mate, I procured him from Hind, which ______ I have given him. He is not buff so I ______ as he was, and I have to scold to him for sitting down when he is on duty. That makes him downhearted and even sulky. So one day, he said he did not know what to do, he knew he did not know his place and wished I would tell him. I was struck all aback. I ______ he was an officer or a sailor before _______/_______/_________ himself on knowing his place whether he did or not.
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Soundings!
Friday, Sept. 10th. For the last few days we have been highly favored , fine fair winds, and ______ we usually ____ head gales. It is a pleasure to look on the chart. Where the days ______ / _______/ ______ of many voyages are dragging. In three of this, we wipe out nine days of the last voyage, a clear gain of six days. ______ before we saw any land, a change in the color of the water from deep blue to dirty green told us we were on the bank that skirts the southern expanse of Africa..
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…as a ___________ may get a long way out, but all at once, a long low ribbon of land peered out of the smoky horizon and-
“Land Ho!” was the cry. Old Deck Bucket was the first to see it, for no eye can see so far as the anxious master. Now the smoke lifts up and shows to us rocky mountains and sandy shores, and very near to us too. So, “Ready about!” is the order. ”All ready Sir!” Hard Lee! Hard Lee Sir!! Jacks and Sheets! Main top sail haul! And thundering and flap! The great ship terns her other side to the coast. Now she was heading…
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The man with lead in hand stands near the forward part of the ship, and shouts; “All ready Sir! Heave! Heave Sir! Watch those ! Watch!! The line was __________ over the side ‘til lit stops with the lead on the _______. The little K gets on the line- “Show 50 fathoms in the captains hand, all right! Fill away the _____ yard, let go and ______! The sails fill, the ship gathers level way, and the sailors hand the lead up. There is fish down there, they have bitten one hook into and took all the bait off the other, and night comes on and we steer away into the southern ocean.
So we are at the turning point, 64 days out…
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…________ looking so pitiful. “Passing away”, through all this, my remaining four o’clock plant puts out flowers as regular as can be. I take great comfort in looking at it. We have been living high the last week off and on, Piggy and I have had to suffer for it. Sometimes I have seen my grandfather then the hog itself coming after me with jaws wide open, and other terrible various _____ in my sleep of course.
All sorts of marine birds are around us. Beautiful; Cape pigeon, Albatross, Hens and _______. The spirit of old Hogan(?) has come back in an old _________ ________. I believe I have written the superstition of old sailors about it. Hogan was Capt. Hollis’ old black cook.
And now we turn our prow for Boston and the next cape we hope will be Cape Cod.
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Sunday, September 11th-
Looking over my journal for last voyage, I see- Round the Cape! 71 days out! This time we made -Round the Cape! 66 days out! A gain of five days and by far a new ______/________ , and a ship nearly three feet deeper. Our track on the chart looks well. Not a day lost, only off Anjer, while waiting for supplies. Not a gale, and the ______ sails never taken in. Surely we are highly favored. Yesterday, soon as we cleared the Cape, a gale sprung up, but luckily we were in a position to work it fair. Our siege(?), she has fairly bounded before it, carrying all sails. Sometimes she jumps. It is magnificent to stand on the quarter deck and see her noble bow crack(?) the sea aside and leap on and every leap brings us nearer home. We are steering directly for Cape Cod. The sea is deep blue again- bright and sparkling. Now 60 days more, and ______ please God, “My papa has come!” I can hardly ______ it. This is so different from…
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Monday, September 18th- 68 days out-
Lat. 32 degrees South, Long. 11 degrees-32 minutes East
And so we date our journal “South Atlantic” once more. A year ago the 11th of September we left it. A roasting time we had of it, and it makes us gone old. The Mate said today was his 27th birthday. That set me to thinking how old is was. I have to stop now and count up. Well! 38 next 1st of Jan’y. Dear me! I did not think I was such an ancient mariner, but I get the hand mirror and looked in the _________ and I found it so, just as mama told me.”Oh!” Yes, a wasted, broiled wrinkled old fellow, but I can’t help it. My little canary has been rather silent lately, shedding his feathers, etc. But as soon as we got round the Cape, he bust out in the prettiest little carol one ever heard. It went clear to me….
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South Atlantic. Lat. 28 degrees South, Long. 8 degrees East. 73(?) days out.
Saturday 23rd, September.
Drifting, _________ since passing Cape of Good Hope one week ago, and we have been drifting _____ 104 miles a day. But this would have been good in the “India Sea”. Today the sun crossed the Equator, three seconds past twelve o’clock, so ______/________ Equitorial is passed. It _______ dreadful hard for a storm. The sky perfect itself ____ ____ all sorts of grimaces. There was a large halo round the moon- a sure sign of a storm. There were “Markered Skies and mare’s(?) tails, that ______ lofty ship’s ______ _____ sails.” But no storm. It was perfectly calm. All our kites were out…
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…the thing seems stranger, the entire absence of vessels. No ships in company. I have seen only four since we left Anjer, and before this I have seen forty of the Cape at one time. I suppose they have all gone through the Suez Canal. The nights are delicious now. I can sleep nine hours as easy as possible.
We lost one more feathered chick. Little Dick, the Bantam Rooster. Sad little thing, he looked so pitiful. He knew he was going to die. He has crowed every morning for us for the last year and we miss him sadly.
I am making a c______ for my ….
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281.24 miles today. It is awful tiresome writing with ______ pen. I am almost a good mind to give it up.
Sunday, 24th September
Well! Our Equitorial is all over perhaps-at any rate if it should come now, it would catch us “de Trop”, for we have everything ________ that will draw – stud’g sails ______/____ way out on both sides. As the sailors call it, “_______ Wing(?)”
(Hand drawing of sails on both sides by Capt. Drew here)
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Sail Ho! Last evening the setting sun through the clouds sent his last beams on the white sails of a ship, just ____ the top of the water in the East. It is good to know that someone is near, and not going any faster than we are. As soon as a sail appears on the horizon, the experienced eye of the seamen pronounces the rig , the nation, the destination almost before he has had a good look at her. His practiced vision, will tell if she is large or small. They are miles off. From the proportion of her mast and placing of her sails, her water’s(?) and from the angle of her masts describe to his own, her destination, and generally without mistake. This is a large English ship bound to the United States.
Oh let her go. How many more Sundays did you say Deck Bucket? Well! About eight I hope…
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Saturday, last day of September, 80 days out, in the Southern Tropics!
______/______/______. We are making very slow progress. The days glide swiftly by. All hands are busy working on rigging, getting all ready for _______. Chin is busy in the cabin, clearing out store rooms and ________. It seems only yesterday that we were doing all this, yet it is a year. Capt. D.B. writing, making up accounts, etc. and the world moves on.
Last night a ship came with, and passed us. He looked beautiful with the full moon shining on her white sails. I had my first attack of sickness last night. I woke up and found that it was excruciatingly painful to move. This is strange, thinks I. I was quite well when I went to sleep, but there was no mistake about it. The pains were all through the lower part of my back and very disturbing, and I could only lay on one side.
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