Home: Documents: Diaries: Mission To America: 160-169
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Home: Documents: Diaries: Mission To America: 160-169 |
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 170-173
160 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
John Clarkson
To
the different Captains of the
)
Messrs Hartshorne, Wallace and myself
were busy till 12 o'clock in checking the various provisions sent on board each
ship, and upon the whole we found rather a day over than under-Of course I repaired
on board satisfied Halifax January 15th 1792 Dear Sir I must refer you to my friend Mr. Hartshorne for every particular,
and with affectionate regards to all my friends I remain dear Sir
161 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
January 16th - At 4 P M took my departure from Sambro's Light house bearing West four leagues, made the signal to Steer S S E for the night, and for the Fleet to form the order of sailing Made the Eleanor's signal to make more sail, and get into her station. A little before dark I shortened sail to Shew the proportion I meant to carry for the night. At 12 at night fresh gales, with squalls of snow, and a high sea, the Eleanor's light bore S W to S about one mile distant At daylight shortened sail for the Fleet to close-One of the Fleet missing-Peter Cockburn an infant died this morning- At 9 A M made the Felicity's signal to come within hail, and desired her to look out upon each beam, and a'stern for the missing vessel, at the same time desired her when she was a'stern to make a signal for the Sternmost of the ships to make more Sail-At noon the missing vessel joined us-Lat Obs 42-47-N Long-61-18-W- January 17th - Strong gales with a rough sea, at 3 PM made the signal for the Sternmost vessels to make more sail-Read the burial service over the body of the late John Cockburn-At midnight all the vessels in sight & in their stations-A M stormy gales with squalls of snow, At noon all the Fleet in company-Lat Obs 41-12-N-Long 60-09 W- January 18th - At 2 P M made the Felicity's signal to come within hail, desired Captn Wickham to hail all the vessels to know how they all did, and if they wanted any assistance-At midnight, squally weather, with heavy showers of hail & rain-The ships in their stations at 9 A M fumigated between decks, at noon all the Fleet in Company-No observation Lat pr Acct-39-34 N Long 58-16 W January 19th - Fresh gales at 1 PM made the signal with a gun, for the Fleet to alter their course one point to Port-At 8 A.M. the wind
162 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
January 20th - At 2 P.M. made the signals to
form the order of sailing-At 4 Strong gales. At S S E made the signal for the
Fleet to have to on the starboard Tack-At 2 A.M. two of the ships missing At
8 made the signals for the Fleet to close, and at 10 for the ships to make more
sail. January 21st - Strong gales & stormy At daylight found three of the vessels had parted Company-Made the signal for the Felicity to come within hail, and desired her to haul in each quarter, and a'stern to look out for the missing ships-Found myself so extremely ill, that I was obliged to quit the deck, informed Captain Wickham of it, and begged him to do all in his power, to keep the Fleet together-Made the signal for the Sierra Leone and Mary Barnard to shorten sail, and get into their stations-At noon two of the missing vessels joined the Fleet, and at 4 P.M. all the vessels in the stations except one which parted company last night- By the advice of the Doctor I shall not interfere with the management of the Fleet until I get better-The indisposition I felt at times, previous to my leaving Halifax, and the fatigue and anxiety I have had since, has quite knocked me up, as I have regularly had fever, with violent pains in my head, since I quitted Halifax-The remainder of this journal is taken from the Log Book of the ship, till the 17th February-Lat Obs 38-16 Long 52-18 January 22nd - Heavy gales with rain and hail, and very heavy claps of thunder & lightening-split the Main Top Sail and hove to, under the reefed Trysail-At 6 P M last sight of the Fleet-at Midnight got down the Fore & Main yards-At noon six sail in company. Lat pr acct 33-57 Long 51-15. January 23rd - Strong gales and cloudy-five sail in Company- Several of the ship's company taken ill. Lat Peracct 37-24 Long 50-41 January 24th - Fresh breezes and squally-The Main Yard remains down, not having people to get it up-five sail in Company Lat Obs 36- 38-Long 51-13 W- January 25th - Hard gales and squally weather. Christophr Pratt, one of the Free Blacks died-Lat 35-05 Long 49-19 January 26th - Strong breezes with hail Hailed the Felicity, and desired her to speak the ships in company & request assistance, having only the Captain and Mate capable of doing duty. Lat Per Acct 33-35-Long 47-53
163 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
January 28th - Moderate gales and clear weather-Unbent the Main Top sail to repair, five of the vessels in company Lat Ob 31-23 Long 44-36- January 29th - Strong gales with rain in Main Topsail-Close reefed the Fore Topsail-A heavy sea from N W-At midnight was pooped by a heavy sea Stove in the dead lights, furled the Fore sail and scudded under the Close reefed Fore topsail. Lat per Acct 30-52 Long 41-34 January 30th - Fresh breezes & clear weather-set the Fore top sail & close-reefed the Main Topsail, at noon five sail in company-Lat Obs 30-23 Long 37-47- January 31st - Fresh breezes & cloudy five of the Fleet in company-Lat per acct 30-23-Long 34-42- February 1st - Hard gales and squally weather-Made the signal for the Fleet
to heave to, in consequence of a heavy beam sea-At midnight more moderate made
the signal for the Fleet to make sail-William Bell, one of the Ship's company
died-Lat 30-50 Long 31-49
February 3rd Light breezes and fair weather-washed
and fumigated between decks-A heavy sea from the N N W-five sail in company
Lat obs 30-20-Long 26-31 February 4th - Light airs and clear weather-Made the Betsey's signal to make more sail-five sail in company Lat obs 30-22-Long 25-20 February 5th - Do weather-saw a sail standing to the Southward-Made a signal for the Betsey to speak. Cleared the ship Fore & Aft, and fumigated between decks. Lat obs 30-30 Long 23-50
February 6th - Made the signal for the Venus to come within hail, and requested
Captain Evans to send us some men on board, to assist in repairing the sails & rigging,
those received on the 27 January from the Felicity, Venus & Eleanor, were sick.
The Venus could not give us any assistance, but Captain Ray of the Betsey sent five men
on board who were returned in the evening-Lat obs 30-39-Long
23-06 February 7th - Light breezes and fair weather-Made the Eleanor's signal-signal to speak a vessel to the Westward At noon she informed us the vessel, she spoke was from Amsterdam bound to Surinam, and was in Long 28-30 west-At noon five sail in company Lat Obs 29-30-Long 23-06 February 8th - Do weather-The Venus made a signal for a sail in the N W-Made her signal to chase in that quarter, but sent the widow
164 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
February Light airs & fine weather - Made the Venus signal
to come within hail, She informed us the ship she spoke yesterday was
from Denmark, bound to America, she was in Long at noon yesterday,
24-30- W-Lat Obs 28-51-Long 2-48
February 11th - Do weather; employed
cleaning the ship Fore & Aft Lat obs 28-02 Long 20-33 February l3th - Light airs and clear-At 8 A.M. made the Island of Ferro bearing E N E, fifteen Leagues, At noon five sail in company- Made the signal to tack Lat Obs 27-18-Long 19-15- February 14t11 - Light airs-Sent the Surgeon on board the Venus, which had upwards of forty of her passengers sick, and some of her ship's company Lat obs 26-42-Long 18-24- February 15th - Do weather-Captain Coffin confined to his cabin with a fever, and the whole of the passengers & crew in a convalescent. state-Lat Obs 26-06 N-Long 17-44-W- February 16th - Do weather-Made the Eleanor's signal to chase to the S W At noon five sail in Company-Lat obs 25-52-Long 17-39-W- Feb 17th - Do weather-Saw a strange sail standing to the Southward-Washed between decks & fumigated with Tar Vinegar & Tobacco- Lat obs 25-03 N Long 17-29-W- February 18th - Light airs & clear weather-departed this life Peter Peters, my poor servant, who from great attention to me during the days that I was delirious is supposed to have caught the fever of me-his death affects me greatly-I was this day brought upon deck on a Mattress, as I was not able to walk or to be moved in any other way-My friend Wickham kindly assisted in doing this, and in otherwise making me comfortable-This was the first time I had been on deck since the 21st January- Had my cabin and bed place cleaned out and washed with vinegar as well as fumigated with Tar & gunpowder balls-From my poor servant's illness, as well as Captain Coffin's I experienced great neglect in the latter part of my illness, as previous to the latter being taken ill, all the crew were sick on board except himself and the Mate, and I should certainly have been killed during the gales of wind, on the 29th Jan when the vessel was pooped, if it had not been for that accident which providentially obliged the Captain to come down into the Cabin to secure the dead lights, which had been stove in, when he found me rolling from side to side, quite exhausted, covered
165 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
February 19th - Fresh breezes & squally with a heavy swell from the N W. Lat obs 23-13 Long 17-12 February 20th - Light airs and clear Spoke a Spanish vessel at anchor in 29 fathoms, who told us Cape Barbas bore S, S W, five leagues. At six p m, saw Cape Barbas bearing S & by E five leagues. Caught several fish, and bought as many as served the Crew and passengers, for some salt beef-At 8 AM, made the signal with a gun for all the Captains and desired they would carefully investigate the situation of their passengers on board, as to their want of clothing, and make a report to me the following day of their wants- Captain Coffin still continues dangerously ill-My illness has made me so nervous and occasioned such debility, both in body and mind, that I requested the Captains on board today to speak their minds freely to me, upon every occasion as to the course we should steer &c-I find that I cannot remember any one thing told me before, neither can I remember anything as yet as to the navigation of a vessel-Lat Obs 22-15-Long 16-58 February 21st - Light airs & clear weather-Caught a quantity of fish-Sounded 24 fathoms Lost sight of Cape Barbas Lat obs 22-03 Long 17-18 February 22nd - Calm & clear-At 4 A.M. Captain Coffin died-I cannot but consider that his death was occasioned by his attention to me, after losing my servant Peters, as he died of the same fever as that with which I was affected so long-He was a worthy, good man, and his loss will be greatly felt by his Owners-As a last mark of attention to his memory, I endeavoured to read as well as I could, the burial service over him at 11 o'clock, when he was thrown over board although I was not able to stand or to hold the book The Surgeon advised me this day to take an airing in the boat, and to row around the Squadron, I was accordingly lifted into the boat and lowered with her into the water-Upon my going along side each ship, the Black passengers had collected themselves upon deck with their Muskets, and fired three volleys, and afterwards gave three cheers, as they had entirely given up all hopes of my recovery, which was to them of the greatest consequence Lat ob 21-58 Long 17-57- February 23rd - Moderate breezes and clear weather-At 4 P.M.
166 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
February 24th - Pleasant weather Fumigated and washed between decks-At noon six sail in company Lat obs 18-20-Long 18-53 February 25th - Light airs, people employed in repairing boats-Washed & fumigated between decks, and distributed to the different ships the following clothing, in lieu of woollen ones which were thrown overboard- Made the signal for all Captains to come on board & Gave them a dinner for the first time since my illness-As the rest of the Fleet had parted company, I gave to those with me the remainder of clothing purchased by Government, and kept for the other ships the white shirts and Osnaburgs which I intended to distribute to them upon my arrival in Africa- Lat Obs 16-28 N Long 19-20- February 26th - Moderate breezes and fair weather-Made the signal for Captain Wickham of the Felicity to come on board, and gave him some casks of Beef & Pork, with some money to go to the Cape de Verd Islands to purchase stock for the Colony; desired him to make every enquiry, relative to the best method of supplying the Colony with live stock, or provisions of any kind, the best mode of receiving intelligence from Europe or conveying to thither, and every other information likely to promote the Comfort and happiness of the Colony, requested him also to make all the haste he could to join me at Sierra Leone-At noon parted company with the Felicity-Lat Obs 15-10 Long 19-39--Read prayers and attempted to preach to the passengers, but I was so exhausted that I did not recover myself for some time. February 27th - Light airs and clear Washed and fumigated between decks Rowed round the different ships and invited the Captains to dine with me Lat obs 13-54 Long 19-35- February 28th - Light airs, visited the different ships, and enquired into the state of each as to cleanliness, and was obliged to be hoisted in a chair on board the several vessels, found them all remarkably clean, and the people recovering from their illness-Lat obs 12-39-Long 19-32- February 29th - Light breezes and clear weather-Isaac Gratton one of the passengers died-The Betsey made the signal to speak me-She informed me her Captain had just died-These deaths coming upon me so suddenly, affect me greatly, and very much retard my recovery particularly when I consider that Captain Ray a fortnight since, would not have changed situations with me-Made the signal for the Captains to come & dine with me-At noon five sail in Company. Lat obs 11-53 Long 19-29- March 1st - Light breezes & clear weather Washed and fumigated the
167 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
March 2nd - Do weather-bent the
cables several Whales in sight-Saw an immense number of fish-Made the signal
for the Captains to dine with me, and as it was calm, I gave leave to the passengers
to visit each other on board the different ships-At noon all the vessels in
company Lat Obs 09-28-Long 18-22 March 3rd - Light breezes and clear weather Got the people's chests upon deck that they might inspect them and arrange them ready to be put on shore-Washed and fumigated the b'tween decks-the passengers and crew recovering fast Three of the sailors returned to their duty this day, and many of the Free Blacks quite recovered-Captains Redman and Evans dined with me today-Lat 8-55 Long 17-1- March 4th - Fine moderate weather-Saw a sail in the N E quarter- hoisted our Colours, and fired a gun-At 5 P.M. fired a shot to bring her to-At 6 spoke her, She was the Mary of Bristol-Thos Grimes Master from Lisbon-bound to Annamabo for Slaves. At 11 A.M. made the signal for Divine Service, and read prayers and preached to the passengers;
168 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
March 5th - went on board the different ships and addressed their passengers in the same way that I had done those on board the Lucretia- All seemed in high spirits, and promised obedience and attention to all orders given them upon their landing-I was much pleased with the happy and contented countenance of all of them-Their expressions of respect and gratitude upon this occasion were most gratifying and affected me much Most ardently do I hope that the change they are about to make will ultimately turn out to the advantage of them and posterity-At two P.M. returned on board, and made the Eleanor's signal to make sail and steer E N E to sound At 8 P.M the Eleanor returned, but could not get any soundings-Hailed her and desired her to make sail ahead, and carry a light, at such a distance at to discern signals, and to sound every hour- At 2 P.M. she made the signal for sounding and joined us Heaved the lead, and found we had 53 Fathoms water-red and white sand-At 6 A.M. sounded 30 Fathoms, and at noon sounded 21 Fathoms-red and white sand with grey specks Lat obs 8-53-Long-14-10- March 6th - Light breezes and clear Made the Eleanor's signal to go ahead and make the land, desired her to carry a light and to sound every half hour, and when she came into 8 Fathom water to heave to, and make a signal-As we were now so near the land, and as we were all strangers to the coast, I could not be prevailed upon to quit the deck- At 2 A M the Eleanor made the signal for getting into 8 Fathom water- Fired a gun and made the signal for the vessels to heave to-Sounded 7 Fathom water, small gravel Went to bed till daylight, At 6 A M made the signal for the ships to make sail, and for the Eleanor to go ahead and make the land-At 8 as I was walking the deck, I was the first to see Cape Sierra Leone bearing S E to E distant about five leagues, and soon after two of the Squadron made the signal for seeing the land-The passengers on board the different ships gave three cheers and fired the vollies-It is not in my power to describe my sensations at this moment, for I knew not what the next hours might produce The fatigue of being up the greater part of the night added to the great anxiety of mind, had quite exhausted me and filled me with gloomy ideas-I could not help fancying the report I had heard at the Governor's table at Halifax, respecting the hostile disposition of the Natives at Sierra Leone might have some foundation in truth, At other times I thought, as I had not heard from England since I left it it was possible some of my letters might have miscarried, and the Directors might not have provided for our reception, but particularly when I reflected upon the small quantity of provisions on board, the Transport (not having more than sufficient with most rigid economy for a month) with no probability of recruiting them should it be necessary, our ignorance of the Coast and its inhabitants, and my total inability to any exertion should it be required, I could not help giving way to
169 CLARKSON'S MISSION TO AMERICA 1791-1792
March 7th - At 1 A.M. fired a gun and hoisted a Dutch Jack, reversed at the Fore top Gallant Mast head, as my private signal to the Governor, as well as for a Pilot-At 2 sounded 3 Fathoms water-At half past 2 saw seven or eight vessels at anchor up the River, and soon after perceived two boats coming out, in one of which I thought I saw the Governor, and ordered a salute of thirteen guns to be fired, upon his coming on board-At 4 P.M. the vessel struck upon the middle ground-tacked immediately and made the signal for the Fleet to do the same observed several of the vessels strike the ground-At ½ past 4 the boats came along side, one was the Harpy's belonging to the Sierra Leone Company, and the other the Parr's belonging to the Transports-In the former came several gentlemen in the Sierra Leone Company's Service, who informed me on coming on board that Mr. Dalrymple the intended Governor had resigned, and that the Directors had appointed me Superintendent of the Colony, with a Council of seven members, all filling important situations, and all having an equal vote in the Government, except that the Superintendent had the casting vote in Council-My astonishment was beyond measure great at this information, and particularly as I had positively declared before I left England, that nothing should induce me to continue in Africa, or to undertake anything more than collecting the people in America and afterwards seeing them properly conducted to Sierra Leone- As the Guns were ready for saluting, I paid the Council the compliment of saluting them with thirteen guns, but soon perceived from the conversation of every gentleman, that nothing but quarrels had taken place during the voyage, on board the Harpy and Amy, and that in short, every one seemed to speak of each other with a degree of asperity highly reprehensible; but the delight I felt in having safely arrived in Africa, so entirely engaged my mind, that it prevented the least reflection upon my new appointment, although I could not but feel disappointed at the idea of not being likely to enjoy the quiet & repose I so much required In working the Lucretia into Harbour the Catherine ran on board us, and carried away our Bowsprit, I immediately made the signal to anchor, and after seeing the vessel safe and being much exhausted from working the ship, and being up the preceding night the Gentlemen Councilor's persuaded me to attend them into the Harbour-At 11 at night I
170-173
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