54 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



THE TROPICAL WANDERINGS OF FRED 

 BEVERLY— Second Letter. 



: OP BERMUDA- -HABITH OF FLYING FISH — THE 

 ISLAND OF MAIVI'INIQUE— SPIDERS LAIIOE AS SAUCERS— 

 TROPICAL ESFEU] KNCE8. 



AT last our vessel's injuries were repaired, the last nail 

 anil boll driven, the last brushful of paid applied, 

 slid from the railway into the sea. Haviug re- 

 sumed her deck loud of lumber, she was hauled out into 

 the harbor, her s;iils spread loosely to the breeze, ready for 

 the pilot. At i o'clock he came, the anchor was weighed, 

 and we glided slowly past, the wharves, past the shipping, 

 past the picturesque while-walled town, pabt the frowning 

 fortress at the narrow entrance lo the harbor, between high 

 rugged cliffs, out upon the blue ocean. The pilot left us, 

 pur course was shaped south .southeast, and a gentle land 

 bid ze waited us on our way. The suu went down behind 

 the land, and we bade adieu to the island that had proved 

 to us so great a hindiance, on which ws had spent a month 

 which we had confidently expected to pass nearly twenty 

 degrees Dearer the equator. Well, il had gone, and the 

 memory enriched with many things new and interesting. 



For two days we sailed on with a five-knot breeze, and 

 gathered in our cabin had ample leisure to compare notes 

 re-pecting die character of the people we had met. Prom- 

 iueut among our acquaintances stood the wreckers. They 

 were the first lo meet aud greet us, and the last to leave 

 us. Doubtless, also, tliey regretted our departure as much 

 as any one — even more than ourselves. Regarding the 

 character of the wreckers we had but one opinion, and 

 that is fully shared in by the public with whom the names 

 wrecker and pirate ate almost synonymous. If the opin- 

 ion of the captain and mate are entitled to consideration, 

 the wreckers of Bermuda are little else than pirates pursu 

 ing their avocation under legal sanction. But perhaps the 

 extent to which they bled our worthy captain may have 

 been in a measure answerable for his feeliDgs. As has 

 been related the wreckers swarmed from the shore upon 

 our vessel, and six of them remained until she was towed 

 into port. No one of them rendered the least assistance, 

 as our injuries were of such a character that our own crew 

 w.;re able lo manage the vessel alone. For their claims 

 lur services the judge to whom Ihey were submitted for 

 arbitration awarded them one hundred and fifty pounds 

 ($750). 'litis was very manifestly an outrage, and un- 

 doubtedly there was, as other sea captains who had suf- 

 fered avowed, collusion between judge and negroes. This 

 was only one item of expense, and the bill total footed up, 

 for real and imaginary repairs, over $3,000. It may be im- 

 agined that our captain did not leave port in a very happy 

 frame of mind; aud if I were lo undertake to paint the 

 character of a Bermuda wrecker * la Captain it would re- 

 quire a very thick deposition of pigment. 



There are, of course, two views to be taken of the wreckers 

 It is confined to the colored people, who reside 

 in little cottages scattered all along Bermuda shore, especi- 

 ally along the western and northern, outside of which are 

 the reefs. They arc hardy, muscular, and perfectly at 

 home iu ihe water. They pursue their business as a means 

 ef livelihood, and to suppose that ihey brave the dangers 

 of the sea from philanthropic motives is perfectly absurd. 

 Their motives are purely mercenary. Can it be supposed that 

 when looking off upon the reef, they discover a ship in dis- 

 tress, they ihink of the people in that ship? Certainly not. 

 Their lint thought, as they hurry to the shore and ltunch 

 their boats through the roaring surf, is of the cargo in that 

 ship's hold. They will save life, if it comes in their way 

 to do so; but the saving of life is not the motive that ur- 

 ges thtui on. There are men, old residents of Bermuda, 

 who have bieu the means of saving mauy lives. One I 

 now call to mind, Capt. Masters, a resident of Port Royal, 

 as gallant a while man as ever breathed, has saved above 

 a score of lives, and often at the risk of his own. But his 

 not that of a professional wrecker. Having, then, 

 i in view of getting as mucb out of a wreck as 

 it is not strange that, if thwarted on the water, 

 they should enjoin the assistance of their friends on land, 

 higher in authority than they. This was the view enter- 

 tertaintd by the Doctor aud myself. Indeed, my friend 

 waxed warm on the subject and raked up his poetic fires, 

 :.o to speak, and one evening, after lying on his back all 

 the afternoon, presented us with, what he called a con- 

 densed history of the whole affair. He said it was his first 

 effusion; a statement worth its face value. 



Full forty nipgers were perched on our rail 



Forty there, were; and two, 

 They pumped no waterand hoisted no sail, 

 Liioy aid our crow. 



And when oar vessel was towed into port. 



These niggers, lurty two, 

 T!.'it:.;it.-iieU CO earry oar captain to conrt, 



Snore tht-y would "put nun through." 



So they took him to town, and vowed that brown, 



They'd "cook the captaiu'R •toote." 

 And that, unless he with the stamps came down, 



lie never should get loose. 



And ihey brought him before a magistrate— 

 Hublcnnd, he, with wine— 



ddled out law in a second-rate 



Judgment shop, sis by niue. 



Then the Jndge.'ssaid he, "it Is clear to me, 



These men you've tried to wrong, 

 And if all agree, I will pitch the key 



To quite another eorg. 



There urn thirty-three men at four pounds, ton, 



Seven and six forme. 

 I wish you a pleasant passage- arocu!— 



Over Uie stormy aea." 



Then the Judge, he tipped the niggers a wink, 



To the wreckers a wink wunk he, 

 And arm id arm they went out for a drink, 



And the court adjourned—: 



When this rendering of the story was read In us Hie 

 opinion of captain, mate and steward was unanimous that 

 the Doctor had eclipsed even himself; that his name would 

 be handed down to Dosterity as a marine poet of the first 

 waiter. 1 suggested "horse marine," as perhaps most ap- 

 plicable, but the captain seriously objected, and said that 

 poetry like that should be embalmed tor future ages; and 

 if the Doctor would make the round voyage with him he 

 would give him his board free for a poem— a regular stun- 

 ner— of the whole trip. 1 thought the Doctor seriously 

 intended accepting litis proposal, as he was unusually 

 thoughtful that night and the next forenoon; hut I fouud 

 that his pertsiveness was occasioned by premonitory qualms 

 of sea-sickness, and nol his poelical fervor. 



Our first Sabbath out, after leaving Bermuda, was a 

 beautiful day, with a good westerly breeze filling all our 

 sails; mainsail, foresail, jib, flying aud outer jibs, main 

 and fore-topsails aud staysail all drawing. The sky was 

 blue, with smoke p^arl clouds fleecy, and lying along the 

 horizon. The mate, who would encourage us, gives us a 

 history of his experience on a voyage "'long with Capt. 

 Lord in the North Star," coming from Europe, when we 

 had just such weather as this from Madeira Isles to Ber- 

 muda; twenty-five days of slow, sliddy sailing, about five 

 knot au hour, and we painted the ship from truck to water 

 line." At night he prognosticated a pleasant voyage, for 

 the stars were "thick as spatteis and bright as blazes." 

 But he was not so weather wise as we would have desired, 

 for the very next morning the wind left us becalmed, roll- 

 ing at the mercy of a heavy sea, aud our deadly foe, old 

 Neptune, exacted tribute as before. Fiom the effects of 

 that exaction we did not recover for many days, and every 

 rough day we would have a return of nausea and sick 

 headache, when we could neither read, write, walk, or eat. 

 I fear we are land lubbers. One of us is, the captain says, a 

 "Jonah." If he knew which one he would be tempted to 

 throw him overboard. He lost his opportunity, though, 

 just before we struck Bermuda reef, for an excellent whale 

 came alongside within pistol shot — so near that wc feared 

 he would strike the vessel, I was certain the Docior was 

 our Jonah, and suggested he be thrown overboard, but he 

 was equally confident that 1 was that prophet, aud while 

 we were disputing the whale disappeared. 



After the calm came a fresh breeze, and we bowled along 

 once more. AVe have been favored with sight of only a 

 few birds, some beautiful terns, or sea ^wallows, which 

 would come in the morning, chase us for au hour or so, 

 then disappear unlil towards night. We baited a fish hook 

 with pork aud towed it astern, hoping they would take a 

 fancy lo it, but were not f oi tunale enough to get even a 

 bite- After the third day they did not appear. At about 

 latitude 25 we struck the first of the trade winds, which 

 should blow from the northeast, but which were easterly 

 from the first. Each day they blew stronger and stronger, 

 unlil reaching latitude 20 we encountered a perfect gale. 

 Itwas at midnight. Being unable to sleep, I went on 

 deck. The vessel was tearing along fearfully under a 

 double reef foresail and jib, plunging madly into the wa 

 ters, which stretched out into the darkness black as ink, 

 except where the sheets of foam made the blackness more 

 conspicuous from contrast. The man at the wheel was 

 silent and watchful; the mate, whose watch itwas, clung 

 to the rigging, his eyes peering ahead, glum and grim. I 

 went out iulo the fore rigging, and there felt tha force of 

 the wind as it howled through Ihe shrouds and drove i)to 

 waves across the bows and clear over the deck load. There, 

 above me, the sails bent far out over the water, the sheets 

 creaking aud singing with the tension. 



Two degrees further south the wind drew further aft, 

 and we shipped several seas, dashing into the cabin win- 

 dows aud down the gangway, setting everything afloat, ' 

 latitude 17 the flying fish, which have been growing more 

 numerous every day, dart about us in flocks. The sea is 

 in huge walls, which !he schooner climbs, to descend again. 

 Across these seas, from crest to crest, skim the tlyiug fish, 

 Iheirfins flashing, silver sides gleaming in the sun; they 

 dash against a huge wave, wet their fins anew, and recew 

 their flight. I saw many fly upwards of a hundred yards 

 without touching the water, save wilh their tails, which 

 they would use to swerve theni from one side to the other, 

 or to give fresh impetus. Now and then a whole flock of 

 little fish would dash out, looking like so many swallows, 

 and I could see them as they plunged through a wave, 

 gleaming white in the blue water sua reappearaug beyond. 

 At night many came aboard, and we would tad them bad- 

 ly mangled from the violence with which they struck. The 

 temperature has not sensibly increased since leaving Ber- 

 muda, owing to the heavy winds, but it is much hotter in 

 the sua. Rain squalls have become frequent, I 

 at night, and accompanied Uy violent gusts of wind. 



Monday night, January 11th, we hove to, for wo wdltin 

 the latitude of our destination, and should be less than a 

 hundred miles from land. The weather was thick, and 

 our captain did not care to ruu for land iu a foggy night. 

 At daylight she was headed west, and at eight o'clock the 

 first land was sighted— a mountain of fog towering up into 

 the sky. Before a strong wind we rapidly nearcd the 

 island, and in a couple of hours could distinguish green 

 slopes, black gorges, and mountains wilh their summits 



in the clouds. A black cloud overhangs the whole. We 

 pass close in by precipitous cliffs, down which is drawn 

 the silvery line of a cascade. Delicious valleys disclose 

 themselves, with bananas and cocoa palms fringing beaches 

 of sand, and mingled with the dark green of the mountain 

 side are trees in snow T y bloom. Alternate calms and show- 

 ers greet us as we draw near this tropical haven, and it is 

 late ere we take a pilot, drop our anchor, and are al rest in 

 front of the town of St. Pierre. 



Our little schooner, after discharging cargo, keeps on to 

 the South American coast to load with cocoaauts; the 

 Doctor will soon return north again, while I will take pas 

 sage on some coasting sloop to an adjacent island, where 

 are forests of primeval growth, mountains that pierce the 

 clouds, birds and bulteiflies of brilliant hues, and snakes 

 and lizards of gigantic proportions— in short, a naturalist's 

 paradise. There are, however, no mails there, aud for 

 several months I shall be deprived of papers and letters 

 from home, and have no opportunity for writing myself. 

 But we cannot have everything at once in this world, so I 

 will be conlent. to be a hermit for a year or so, believing 

 that the deprivation will but enhance their enjoyment when 

 once I am in the world again. 



Later — I have taken a tramp ashore and into the woods a 

 short ways, and the introduction I got was to anything but 

 agreeable acquaintances. 1 had scarce entered a shady 

 grove beyond the town, when a snake darted across our 

 path, which my guide said was deadly poisonous; aud a 

 few rods further we came across a spider as large over as a 

 saucer, covered with hair, and with a thousand eye, that 

 gleamed like diamonds. Two humming-birds dashed by 

 and hovered over some gorgeous flowers. I sat down upon 

 a flat rock to admire them at my ease, when my guide cried 

 out in French (they all-talk French here, even the children) 

 that I was in danger. I didn't see it, but my guide turned 

 over the stone on which I had been silting, arid 1 did see a 

 centipede six inches long, wilh venom enough in him to 

 set one into a fever. These are only a few of the resi- 

 dents of the woods; but they are said to be less plentiful 

 on the island to which I shall go first, so I shall get used to 

 them. Anyway, I mean lo enjoy my life in the woods, 

 aud long to get out with gun and note book. One shouldn't 

 mind such trifles as snakes and tarantulas, when'wiue is 

 only a franc a bottle, oranges four for a cent, an 

 nuts two cents apiece. 



Here is your health in health-giving cocoanut milk ficsb 

 from the treel Fred Beverly. 



St. Pierce, Martinique, Windward Island, Jan. -<)!<<, 1877, 



P. S.— I would like to acknowledge the courtesies of a 

 few Bermuda friends. Capt. Masters, of fort Royal; 

 Samuel Masters, Esq., of Hamilton; and R. A. Young, 

 Esq. The latter gentleman is a Wew Yorker by birth, 

 a resident of Hamiton, Bermuda, and well known to every 

 sea captain that visits the island. If consulships go a- 

 begging ihia year it is to be hoped that Mr. Young will he 

 appointed to that office, as lie possesses talents peculiarly 

 fitting him for it. It would certainly prove a boon to 

 Americans visiting Bermuda. There are several Americans 

 in Hamilton, and the largest and best hotel ihere is kept by a 

 New Hampshire lady— Mrs. Dodge, who is so well 

 lo every visitor to 'Ml. Washington. Though I can 

 from personal experience, the hotel is said to be well con- 

 ducted and generally full. To the U. S. Consul at Martin- 

 ique, Capt. Bartlett, I would take this opportunity of ex- 

 pressing my thanks for many favors. Fred Beverly. 

 • ■♦♦♦■ ■ 



gporting <§,otes ^om Jfflraad. 



FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. 



London, Feb.lOlh, 1877. 



BEEF! Beef. American beef! is the refrain which is 

 being sung through Great, Britain. 1 observe that 

 scarcely a mention is made in your papers of tie subject 

 which is being agitated from one end of the Kingdom to 

 the other, and which is a perfect god-send for the penny-a- 

 liners. One million and a half pounds of Amei 

 entered the Mersey alone in one week, without mentioning 

 the almost equal amounts which come by the way of the 

 Clyde. It is very amusing to observe the various -ways 

 and moods in which this new movement is received. 

 John Bull's pride is touched lo think that he must 

 look lo the Yankees for his roast beef, a dish which ho 

 has come to look upon as being as peculiarly national 

 as Magna Charta itself. Then there is ihe pool man, the 

 laborer and the mechanic, who rarely sees meat save perhaps 

 on Sunday, who thinks that now he shall be able to feast lo 

 his heart's content. But alas! beef has fallen hut a penny a 

 pound, and the rich imported steak or roast, is not tor him. 

 Your Yankee beef is either of such excellent quality origin- 

 ally, or else it is so greatly improved by Ihe voyage, that il has 

 Supplanted the home-bred article, aud the aristocracy of the 

 West End cry for American beef. Then there is another 

 party who regard the innovation with dismay and mis- 

 trust. These are the farmers, the beef producers, and also 

 the land owners, who lease their lands to the fanners and 

 derive their income therefrom. These apprehend that if 

 the importation increases prices for home-fed cattle will 

 have to be reduced also, while the. cost of production will 

 remain the same, hence the laud will not, produce so much 

 and rents must fall, The usual nonsense and ; 

 regarding the United States is being displayed by Ihe 

 writers who get up the articles on this subject for the 

 papers. The residents of Indiana aud Kentucky must be 

 delighted to know that many of them feed from lftn.ooo to 



