For Name and Fame; Or, Through Afghan Passes, Page 3

  Chapter 3: Life On A Smack.

  "Now come along, Gale," Mr. Eastrey said, at last, "the Kitty isclose by."

  Following his master, the lad went out from the store and along thewharf and, presently, stepped upon a smack on which several men,and a boy, were at work.

  "Harvey," Mr. Eastrey said, "I have brought you a new lad. He willsail with you, tomorrow. I have a very good account of him, and Ithink you will find him quick, and ready."

  "So as he's not up to tricks, I shall do very well with him, Idon't doubt," the skipper said; "but boys are an awful trouble, thefirst voyage or two. However, I will do my best for him.

  "Are you ready to begin work at once, young 'un? What is yourname?"

  "William Gale, and I am quite ready."

  "Very well, Bill, chuck off your jacket, then, and pass those bagsalong from the wharf."

  The boy was soon hard at work. He was a little disappointed atfinding that the skipper was, in dress and manner, in no waysuperior to the rest of the crew. The Kitty was a yawl offorty-five tons, deep in the water and broad in the beam. Her deckwas dirty and, at present, in disorder; and she did not come up tothe perfection of neatness and cleanliness which William Gale hadread of, in the pages of his favorite author. However--as he toldhimself--there must, of course, be a good deal of differencebetween a man of war, where the crew have little to do but to keepthings neat and bright, and a fishing smack.

  The work upon which he was, at present, engaged was thetransferring of the provisions for the voyage from the quay to thehold. These consisted principally of barrels of salt meat, and bagsof biscuits; but there were a large tin of tea, a keg of sugar, asmall barrel of molasses--or treacle--two or three sacks ofpotatoes, pepper and salt. Then there was a barrel of oil for thelamps, coils of spare rope of different sizes, and a number ofarticles of whose use William Gale had not the most remote idea.

  After two hours' work, the skipper looked at his watch.

  "Time to knock off work," he said, "and we've got pretty neareverything on board. Now, be sure you are all here by six in themorning. Tide will begin to run out at eight, and I don't want tolose any of it.

  "Bill, you are to come home with me, for the night."

  It was but a hundred yards to the sailor's cottage, which stood onthe edge of the sharp rise, a short distance back from the river.

  "Here, wife," he said as he entered, "I've got a new apprentice,and I expect he's pretty hungry; I am, I can tell you, and I hopetea's ready. His name's Bill, and he's going to stop here,tonight."

  "Tea is quite ready, John, and there's plenty of mackerel. Ithought you would not be getting them again, for a spell.

  "Do you like fish?" she asked the boy.

  "I don't know, ma'am--I never tasted them."

  "Bless me!" the woman cried, in astonishment; "never tasted fish!To think, now!"

  "I've been brought up in a workhouse," William said, coloring alittle as he spoke, for he knew the prejudice against the House.

  "Ah!" she said, "we have had a good many of that sort; and I can'tsay as I likes 'em, for the most part. But you haven't got the lookabout you. You don't seem that sort."

  "I hope I shall turn out none the worse for it," the boy said; "atany rate, I'll do my best."

  "And none can't do more," the good woman said, briskly. "I likeyour looks, Bill, and you've a nice way of talking. Well, we shallsee."

  In a few minutes tea was upon the table, and Will sat down with theskipper, his wife, and two daughters--girls of ten and twelve. Thelad enjoyed his meal immensely, and did full justice to the fish.

  "You will have plenty of them, before you eat your next tea onshore. We pretty nigh live on them, when we are on the fishinggrounds."

  "The same kind of fish as this?"

  "No, mackerel are caught in small boats, with a different sort ofgear, altogether. We get them, sometimes, in the trawl--not shoalsof 'em, but single fish, which we call horse mackerel."

  After tea, the skipper lit his pipe; and his wife, after clearingup, took some knitting, and sat down and began to question the newapprentice.

  "It's lucky, for you, you found such a good friend," she said, whenhe had finished his story. "That's how it is you are so differentfrom other boys who have been apprenticed from the House. I shouldnever have thought you had come from there.

  "And she gave you good advice as to how you should go on, I'll bebound."

  "Yes, ma'am," Will said, "and I hope I shall act up to it."

  "I hope so, Bill; but you'll find it hard work to keep yourself asyou should do, among them boys. They are an awful lot, them smackboys."

  "Not worse nor other boys," her husband said.

  "Not worse than might be looked for, John, but they are most of 'empretty bad. The language they use make my blood run cold, often.They seems to take a delight in it. The hands are bad enough, butthe boys are dreadful.

  "I suppose you don't swear, Will. They look too sharp after you, inthe House; but if you take my advice, boy, don't you ever get intothe way of bad language. If you once begin, it will grow on you.There ain't no use in it, and it's awful to hear it."

  "I will try not to do so," Will said firmly. "Mother--I always callher mother--told me how bad it was, and I said I'd try."

  "That's right, Will, you stick to that, and make up your mind tokeep from liquor, and you'll do."

  "What's the use of talking that way?" the skipper said. "The boy'ssure to do it. They all do."

  "Not all, John. There's some teetotalers in the fleet."

  "I won't say I'll never touch it," Will said, "for I don't know,yet, how I may want it--they say when you are cold and wet through,at sea, it is really good--but I have made up my mind I'll neverdrink for the sake of drinking. Half the men--ay, nineteen out oftwenty in the House--would never have been there, I've heard mothersay, if it hadn't been for drink; and I told her she need neverfear I'd take to that."

  "If you can do without it on shore, you can do without it at sea,"the skipper said. "I take it when I'm on shore, but there's not adrop goes out on the Kitty. Some boats carries spirits, some don't.We don't. The old man puts chocolate on board instead and, of a wetnight, a drink of hot chocolate's worth all the rum in the world.

  "As for giving it up altogether, I see no call for it. There aremen who can't touch liquor, but they must go on till they getdrunk. That sort ought to swear off, and never touch it at all.It's worse than poison, to some. But for a man who is content withhis pint of beer with his dinner, and a glass of grog of anevening, I see no harm in it."

  "Except that the money might be better spent, John."

  "It might be, or it might not. In my case, the saving would be ofno account. The beer costs three pence, and the rum as much more.That's six pence a day. I'm only at home ten days, once every twomonths; so it come to thirty shillings a year, and I enjoy mydinner, and my evening pipe, all the better for them."

  "The thing is this, Will: you don't know, when you begin, whetheryou are going to be one of the men who--like my John--is contentwith his pint of beer, and his glass of grog; or whether you willbe one of them as can't touch liquor without wanting to make beastsof themselves. Therefore the safest plan is, don't touch it atall--leastways, till you've served your time. The others may laughat you, at first; but they won't like you any the worse for it."

  "Thank you, ma'am. I will make up my mind to that--not to touchliquor till I am out of my apprenticeship. After that, I can seefor myself."

  "That's right, lad. When you come back from your first trip, youcan join the lodge, if you like. I and my girls are members."

  "Thank you, ma'am," Will said; "but I won't take any pledge. I havesaid I will not do it, and I don't see any use in taking an oathabout it. If I am so weak as to break my word, I should break myoath. I don't know why I shouldn't be able to trust myself to do asI am willed, in that way as in any other. If I'd a craving afterit, it might be different; but I never have tasted it, and don'twant to taste it, so I don't see why I can
't trust myself."

  "Yes, I think as how you can trust yourself, Will," the woman said,looking at him; "and I've noticed often that it isn't them who saymost, as do most.

  "Now, I daresay you are sleepy. There's my boy's bed for you. He isfourth hand in one of the smacks at sea."

  The next morning Will was out of bed the instant he was called,excited at the thought that he was going really to sea. Theskipper's wife had tea made, and the table laid.

  "Here," she said, "are some oilskin suits my boy has given up. Theywill suit you well enough for size and, although they are not asgood as they were, they will keep out a good deal of water, yet.You will get half-a-crown a week, while you are at sea so, by thetime you get back, you will have enough to buy yourself a freshsuit."

  Half an hour later Will was at work, getting two spare sails andthe last of the stores on board.

  "Now, Bill, come below," the skipper said. "I will show you yourbunk."

  The cabin was larger than Will had expected. It was about twelvefeet square, and lofty enough for a tall man to stand upright. Bythe side of the companion stairs was a grate, on which a kettle wasboiling; and this, as he afterwards learned, was a fixture, exceptwhen cooking was going on, and the men could have tea whenever theychose. Round three sides of the cabin extended lockers, the topsforming seats. Above were what looked like cupboards, running roundthe sides; but the skipper pushed open a sliding door, and showed abed place.

  "That is your bunk," he said. "You see, there are two at the end,and one each side, above, and as many under them--eight bunks, inall. You will have to help Jack--that is the other boy--in cooking,and make yourself useful, generally, in the day. The crew aredivided into two watches, but you will not have much to do on deck.If the night is clear you can sleep, except when the trawl is beinggot up. Of a thick or stormy night, you will keep your watch.

  "Now, as the other lad is more handy on deck than you are, you cantake charge here. All you have to do is to see that the kettle iskept boiling. You can come on deck and lend a hand, if wanted; butyou must come down sometimes, and see the fire is all right."

  After inspecting the contents of the kettle, and seeing that it wasfull, Will climbed up the steep ladder again; and was soon workingaway, coiling down the ropes with the other lad, while the crewhoisted sails and got the boat under weigh.

  "Are there only two hands under the captain?" he asked the otherboy.

  "There are two others," the boy said. "They will come on boardafter we get out of the river, and you'll see they will be just asdrunk as they can stand."

  "What, drunk at this time in the morning?"

  "Yes, they got drunk last night and, as they won't have fairlyslept it off, they will be beginning again this morning. The oldman will look them up, and get them off."

  "Who is the old man?"

  "Old Eastrey, of course, stupid.

  "I wish they were all on board. There's a fine breeze, and I hatewasting four or five hours off the bar, waiting for the hands tocome off."

  "I wonder the old man stands it," Will said.

  "He can't help it," the other answered. "Scarce a smack goes out ofYarmouth without half the hands being drunk, when she starts. Theydon't get much chance afterwards, you see; and they sleep it off bynight, so it don't make any odds. Our skipper is always sober, andthat's more than many of them are. I have gone out when me and theother boy were the only two sober on board."

  "But isn't it very dangerous?"

  "Dangerous? No," the boy said, "one of them is sure to be soberenough to manage to stand at the helm and, though I've bumpedpretty heavy on the sands, sometimes, we generally strike thechannel. There is no fear of anything else. We never start, if agale is blowing; and the smacks are safe in anything but a gale.They are too deep to capsize and, at sea, there's no moredrinking."

  The smack dropped down the river and stood, off and on, near itsentrance. Will was delighted with the bright sea, dotted with shipsand fishing craft. The sun was shining, and there was just enoughwind to send the smack along briskly through the water, withoutraising any waves sufficiently high to give her a perceptiblemotion. At eight o'clock the captain went on shore in the boat,with a man, to look after the absent sailors; leaving only one handand the two boys on board. At ten the boat was again seen, comingout.

  "One, two, three, four," the boy said, "he has got them both. Nowwe shall be off."

  The boat was soon alongside. The two drunken men were helped onboard and, at once, went below to sleep themselves sober. Then theboat was hoisted on board and, the second hand taking the helm, theKitty started fairly on her way.

  "Now," the captain said, "let us get her a little tidy."

  It took some hours' work before the deck was washed, the ropescoiled down, and everything ship-shape. By the time all was done,the low coast of Norfolk had sunk below the horizon, and the smackwas far out at sea. There was more motion now, but the wind wasstill light.

  The skipper was pleased with the earnestness and alacrity which thenew apprentice showed.

  "Now, Jack," he said to the other boy, "take Will below with you,and show him how to make tea."

  The process of tea making, on board a smack, is not a difficult oneto master; the sole operation consisting in putting a few morespoonfuls of tea into the kettle boiling over the fire, when itbegins to get low, and filling up with fresh water. But, simple asthe thing was, William Gale did not learn it on that occasion. Hehad been feeling somewhat shaky, even while on deck; and the heatof the cabin, and the smell of some grease which Jack had just putin the frying pan, preparatory to cooking some fish brought offfrom shore, completed the effect of the rising sea. Until nextmorning he was not in a condition to care, even had the tearemained unmade to the end of time. He did not go below, but layunder the shelter of a tarpaulin, on deck.

  In the morning, the skipper roused him up.

  "Now, lad, just take off your coat and shirt. Here is a bucket ofwater. Put your head in that, and give yourself a good sluice; andthen come down and have a cup of tea, and a bit of biscuit, and youwill find yourself all right again."

  Will followed the instructions, and found himself wonderfullybetter.

  "Now, lad, lend a hand in tidying up on deck. There is nothing likework, for keeping off seasickness. Jack shall cook, for today."

  The boy set to work with a will; and felt so refreshed that, by oneo'clock, he was able to go below and take his share of the dinner.At present, while on their way to the fishing grounds, their mealswere taken at the same time as on shore but, once at work, therewere only two meals a day. Of these the first was taken when thefishing was over, the fish cleaned, picked, weighed, andpacked--the hour varying between nine and eleven. The second mealwas taken before the trawl was lowered, at six or seven o'clock inthe evening.

  After five days' sailing, the smack arrived off the fishing ground;but another two days were spent in finding the fleet, as thefishing grounds extend over a distance of some hundreds of miles.When they came up with it, William Gale was astonished at the vastnumber of boats that dotted the sea.

  In the Yarmouth fleet there are between four and five hundredvessels and, were it not that the most perfect order and disciplinereign, the number of accidents which would occur, from so manyboats fishing close to each other at night, would be terrible. Thefleet is commanded by one of the most experienced skippers, who istermed the admiral. His authority is absolute. He leads the fleetto the grounds he selects for fishing and, by signals by day androckets by night, issues his orders--when the nets are to belowered down and drawn up, the course which is to be steered, andthe tack on which they are to stand.

  The fishing is entirely done at night. The trawls are let downabout dusk, and the fleet attached to these moving anchors forgeslowly ahead and to leeward, until daybreak. Then the trawls aregot in, and the fleet sail in a body to the spot where the admiraldecides that fishing shall be continued in the evening. At 10o'clock at night the trawls are hauled in, and the nets emptied.All hands are
called up for this operation. When it is concluded,the trawl is again lowered and the fish cleaned and packed; by thelight of a torch formed of rope, dipped in tar. The watch who havehitherto been on deck turn in, and the others remain on deck untilmorning, when the nets are again hauled in.

  There is not, indeed, much for the watch to do; as the smack needsno steering, and the attention of the men on deck is directedchiefly to see that no other smack drifts down upon them. Shouldthere appear any danger of this, a flare is lit to warn the othersmacksmen. The trawl rope is slacked out or hauled in, as the casemay require and, generally, volleys of strong language pass betweenthe respective crews.

  The trawl beam is a heavy pole, some 30 or 35 feet long. At eachend are fitted strong iron hoops, of about three feet in diameter.These keep the pole from touching the ground, and keep open themouth of the net; one side of which is attached to the pole, whilethe other drags along the bottom. The net resembles in shape along, deep purse; and has various pockets and other contrivances bywhich, when a fish has once entered its mouth, it is prevented fromreturning.

  The trawl rope--which is from 40 to 80 yards in length, accordingto the depth of water--is hauled in by means of a winch; and itsgreat weight taxes the united strength of the crew, to get it levelwith the bulwark. When it is up, the net is hauled on board, thesmall end is opened, and the fish tumble on to the deck. They arethen separated and packed in trunks--as the wooden cases, in whichthey are sent to market, are called.

  Soles fetch by far the highest price, and fortunate are the crewwho get a good haul of this fish; for the men work upon shares, anaccount being kept of all the sales made, during the fishing trip.The owner deducts the cost of the provisions and stores which havebeen put on board, and takes one or more shares for the vessel.Each man has one share, the skipper and mate receiving rather alarger proportion than the others; thus the men have a livelyinterest in each haul, and great is the satisfaction when the netcomes up well filled, and there is seen to be a good proportion ofsoles among the contents.

  The coarse fish--as they are called--include brill, haddock, hake,ling, whiting, and many others. Turbot are also caught. In eachhaul there would probably be a vast number of objects which woulddelight the heart of a naturalist. Dog fish, too, are sometimestaken; as are conger eels, and horse mackerel. Stones, and oysters,too, come up in the nets; and the latter are the betes-noires ofthe fishing. Sometimes, when the fleet gets over a bed of oysters,a score of nets will be lost in a single night for, when the bagbecomes full of oysters, its weight is so great that the utmostpower of the fishermen's exertions, on the winch, is insufficientto lift it from the bottom; and there is nothing to be done but tocut the rope, and abandon trawl and net. Upon these occasions thelanguage applied to the admiral is scarcely of a kind for politeears.

  The food of the crews, when once upon the fishing ground, consistsalmost wholly of fish. With the exception of soles, each man mayselect any fish he fancies from the glistening mass upon the deck;and the amount which each consumed at a meal at first astonishedWilliam Gale, accustomed as he was to meager workhouse rations. Hesoon, however, found himself able to keep up with the rest; but theoperation of frying seemed sometimes interminable, so many timeshad the pan to be filled and emptied.

  Hard biscuits were eaten with the fish, and the whole washed downwith copious draughts of tea, without milk. Two or three times aweek the men would, as a change, have a meal of salt meat; and onSundays a duff--or pudding--of flour and currants was made.

  A few days after joining the fleet the weather changed, the skybecame gloomy and threatening. The wind blew hard, and a heavy seagot up. Will found that keeping watch at night--which was pleasantenough on a fine, star-light night--was a very different thing,now. It was no joke looking ahead with the wind blowing fiercely,and showers of spray dashing into the eyes; and yet a vigilantwatch must be kept for, if the rockets which ordered the hauling ofthe trawl were not noticed, some other smack, moving rapidly whenreleased from the drag of its net, might at any moment come intocollision with the smack.

  Still more important was it to notice upon which side the trawl wasto be lowered, after being emptied; and upon which tack the vesselwas to proceed. For a mistake in this respect would be certain tobring the smack across another; in which case the trawl ropes wouldbecome entangled--involving, in a heavy sea, the certain loss ofone or the other. Many of the smacks carry dogs, and it is foundthat these become even better watchers than their masters; for theycan be relied on to call the attention of the watch, by sharpbarking, to the letting up of the rocket, however distant.

  A rocket may seem to be an easy thing to see but, in a large fleet,the stern-most smacks may be three or four miles away from theleaders and, in a dark, thick night, it is exceedingly difficult tomake out even a rocket, at that distance.

  The wind increased to a gale. The trawls were up now, and the fleetlay to. It may be explained that this operation is performed bybringing a ship nearly into the eye of the wind, and then haulingthe foresail across, and belaying the sheet. The aft sail--ormizzen--is then hauled tight, and the tiller lashed amidships. Asthe fore-sail pays the vessel off from the wind, the after sailbrings her up again; and she is thus kept nearly head to sea, andthe crew go below, and wait till the storm abates.