The money was drawn, but the man died, and I
saw no more of it.
Godfrey and I were shipped in a vessel called the William Taylor, a
regular Savannah packet. It was our intention to quit her as soon as she
got in--by running, if necessary. We had a bad passage, and barely missed
shipwreck on Hatteras, saving the brig by getting a sudden view of the
light, in heavy, thick weather. We got round, under close-reefed topsails,
and that was all we did. After this, we had a quick run to Savannah.
Godfrey had been taken with the small-pox before we arrived, and was sent
to a hospital as soon as possible. In order to prevent running, I feigned
illness, too, and went to another. Here the captain paid me several
visits, but my conscience was too much hardened by the practices of
seamen, to let me hesitate about continuing to be ill. The brig was
obliged to sail without me, and the same day I got well, as suddenly as I
had fallen ill.
I was not long in making a bargain with a fisherman to aid in catching
shad. All this time, I lived at a sailor boarding-house, and was
surrounded by men who, like myself, had quitted the vessels in which they
had arrived. One night the captain of a ship, called the Hope, came to the
house to look for a crew. He was bound to Rotterdam, and his ship lay down
at the second bar, all ready for sea. After some talk, one man signed the
articles; then another, and another, and another, until his crew was
complete to one man.
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