USA > Maryland > Cecil County > Portrait and biographical record of Harford and Cecil counties, Maryland. Containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties. Together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 11
USA > Maryland > Harford County > Portrait and biographical record of Harford and Cecil counties, Maryland. Containing portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the counties. Together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 11
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The "Peacock " proceeded from MInscat to Bombay, where it was found necessary to put her in the dry dock for repairs. There was thus a delay of over a month in that typical city of the Orient, where can be seen every type of nation- ality of the east in most grotesque contact with the civilization and manners of the west. As one of Dr. Harlan's comrades writes: "It was a novel sight to see kummerbanded Hindoos, tur- baned Banyans, and lofty capped Parsees in white, sitting in English built buggies, driving active horses, having a Hindoo in white costume running alongside with a hand on the shaft or just ahead, ever and anon crying out 'paish,' to warn foot passengers out of the way." The strange costumes of the females and their unbecoming employments; the absence of costume in the males; the variety of equipages; Brahmin priests in yellow robes; naked devotees smeared all over with clay or dust; the females of a better order attired in bright colored robes, but barefooted and loaded with tinkling ornaments about the ankles and rings on the toes. Did space permit, we
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would quote from Dr. Harlan's diary his descrip- tion of some of the strange sights of this land of wonders, where one could have the services of four stalwart fellows to carry him about all day on their shoulders in a silk-cushioned palanquin, with a massol boy to run alongside to answers questions and wait on him, for the trifling sum of two and one-half rupees a day, about one dollar. Now he tells of a grave Hindoo reverently sa- laaming to the new moon and at another time going to bathe to cleanse himself from the sup- posed contamination of an eclipse of the sun; now, of the weird sight of eight funeral pyres all burn- ing at the same time along the low sandy beach, the several bodies in all stages of consumption, some a mere heap of smoking ashes, while others, just arrived, are being placed on the pile prepared for them, and around each a few relatives or friends linger to keep the flames supplied with fresh faggots until their work is fully done; now le describes a marriage procession that he saw, with its brass bands, its six " floats" of artificial flowers, its thousands of torches and lanterns, with red, blue, green and yellow fire burning, its display of fireworks, including rockets and elab- orate fixed pieces, its crowded procession of women gorgeously dressed and literally loaded down with jewelry and ornaments on wrists and ankles, fingers and toes, and in their ears and even noses, resembling more a Mardi Gras page- ant than anything the western world has to com- pare with it,-and all to betroth a boy of ten years to a girl of six.
From Bombay an excursion was made to the island of Elephanta, with its wonderful cave- temple, which contains a colossal monolithic bust, supposed to represent the Hindoo trinity, viz .: Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. The plan of this tem- ple is extremely grand and magnificent, and the whole is carved out of the solid rock of the hill- side. It is believed to liave been excavated more than a thousand years ago, and lias been deserted by its priests and worshippers for several cen- turies. While at Bombay the "Peacock" re- ceived back the cannon which had been thrown overboard to ligliten the ship when aground. The Sultan of Muscat had them fished up and
sent on to her at Bombay, thus adding another to his many acts of courtesy to our government.
The voyage from Bombay to Ceylon was un- eventful, the ship coasting along generally within siglit of land and being constantly visited by natives with boat loads of fruit and poultry for sale. They arrived at Colombo in the middle of December, 1835, and stayed nine days, which were made most pleasant by the courtesies of the English governor of the island and the officers of the garrison stationed there. Dr. Harlan and his fellow-officers spent much time while there in driving about this most beautiful of tropical islands with its cinnamon plantations, its banyan trees with their descending branches formning true sylvan arcades, and its bread fruit trees. But this earthly paradise must have its serpent, and Ceylon has the venomous cobra de capello, whose bite is death, one of which they killed in a cinna- mon garden, and the iguanas, an ugly lizard that grows to be two and one-half feet long.
From Colombo the "Peacock " sailed for the island of Java, passed through the Sunda Strait, and anchored off Batavia to secure ship's stores and provisions. Here they received their first letters from home, which had been written more than four months before, The water with which the ship's tanks were filled at Batavia proved to be very bad and caused much sickness On the way to Bangkok two of the crew died of dysentery, and thirty were on the sick list at one time. For the fourth time on this voyage the "Peacock " crossed the equator and then coasted along within sight of the island of Borneo, the liome of the Dyaks, the "head-hunting savages." Sailing up the Gulf of Siam, they passed several small float- ing islands, as they were called, and great num- bers of water snakes of strange colors and shapes, specimens of which Dr. Harlan preserved in alco- hol and brought home with him.
March 26 the ship anchored off Paknamn, situ- ated at the north of the Meinam River, and the port of Bangkok, the capital city of Siam. The object of this visit, as already stated, was to exchange ratifications of a treaty of amity and commerce negotiated the year previous by Edmond Roberts, as minister of the United States. Both copies of
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the treaty were written in English, Siamese, Chinese and Portugese. In accordance with Asiatic ideas, the copy of the treaty delivered to his "Magnificent Majesty, the King of Siam," was handsomely engrossed, bound in rich and costly binding and enclosed in an inlaid box. The seal of the United States attached to it was encased in a sutall round box of gold. The de- livery of this treaty was also accompanied by the presentation to his Magnificent Majesty of costly presents, including two gold-mounted swords of exquisite workmanship and costing between thir- teen and fourteen hundred dollars apiece, two very large and elegant mirrors, an American flag and other things.
It would be useless to attempt even the most casual reference to the incidents and events of in- terest that accompanied the "Peacock's" stay in Siam, where the whole life and manner of thoughit · of the natives are so entirely different from ours that the mnost trivial features of every-day life are worthy of note. There could not fail to be found many things worthy of record in a land where the king's patent of nobility and commission to his governors are a tea-kettle, cups, spittoon and tobacco box, all of gold, on a gold tray, which is borne before the owner "whene'er he takes his walks abroad" and at the sight of which every native must prostrate himself to the ground. The Siamese name for Siam is Thai, literally "free country," yet the natives are virtually in a state of slavery to their rulers, and the sovereign of this free country is never mentioned except by such soft and flattering epithets as the "Sacred Lord of Heads," "The Sacred Lord of Life," "The Owner of All," "Lord of White Elephants," "Most Exalted Lord, Infallible and Infinitely Powerful." The habits of the Siamese often exhibit the most curious combination of luxury and magnificence with squalor and dirt. Lizards and shakes were seen hiding in the walls and rafters of the palace of his Magnificent Majesty himself, and at a dinner given to the "Peacock's" officers by the Rajalı of Lagore, a tributary state of Siam, the viands were served on gold and silver dishes, there being by actual count not less than fifty-four gold vessels used in the entertainment,
and yet the Rajah himself and his servants did not hesitate to mount upon the table and walk over it in their bare feet. At an audience given to the "Peacock's" officers by his Magnificent Majesty, they were permitted to wear their shoes in deference to American custom, but were re- quired like the Siamese to salaam three times upon coming into his presence. The captain of a merchant ship was by his own request allowed to be present with the ship's officers at this audience, and shortly after they had entered and made their three salaams, his Majesty wished to inquire from him something about his ship and he was ordered to again salaam three times before answering. This so disgusted his American independence that while going through his salaams he said, sotto voce: "What a fool I was to come here. I have just got through this monkey business and 110w have got to do it again," which remark afforded much amusement to the Americans present.
While in Siam, the Asiatic cholera broke out aboard the "Peacock." One night a boat's crew of the sailors staid ashore. They built a large fire, cooked a lot of fowls and spent the night in a carouse. The next morning many of them were stricken with symptoms of the cholera, and within twenty-four hours out of the two hundred and one souls on the ship's register, twenty-three men were down with the cholera and one was dead. The fleet surgeon, Dr. Ruschenberger, was at Bangkok, two hundred miles in the interior, and the captain applied to Dr. Harlan to know what was to be done in the serious and alarming cir- cunstances in which they were placed. He re- plied that it was necessary to get the ship out of the sultry miasmatic atmosphere of her present anchorage into the gulf, where by tacking across the gulf they could ventilate the ship, and by em- ploying the men at light work keep their minds from dwelling on the sick and dead. This was serious advice to give, for it entailed on him the whole care and responsibility of their medical at- tendance through what promised to be a violent epidemic, but its wisdom was fully justified by the result which followed its adoption. The sick list was kept down to thirty-two and .there was but one other death.
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From Siam the "Peacock" proceeded to Cochin- China, which country Mr. Roberts was also com- missioned to open negotiations with, looking to commercial treaty. For that purpose the vessel proceeded to Turon, but the visit was without re- sults. The natives were very suspicious, and direct intercourse with their emperor was found to be very difficult and attended with so much loss of time that the attempt was given up. The great amount of sickness aboard both the "Peacock" and "Enterprise," Mr. Roberts him- self being seriously ill, hastened this conclusion; in fact, it was absolutely necessary that the ship should proceed to some more hospitable port, where they could be properly supplied with pro- visions and stores. All on board were either en- feebled by disease or debilitated by the climate and the unwholesome water which they were often obliged to use. Their supply of bread liad become worin-eaten and had to be cast overboard, and they were reduced to a diet of salt ineat and rice. They therefore proceeded to Macao, the port of Canton. Here Dr. Ruschenberger, the fleet surgeon, rented a house and took all the sick ashore. Dr. Harlan stayed aboard the "Peacock" to care for the convalescent. Mr. Roberts, the diplomatic envoy, and Lieutenant. Commandant Campbell, the commanding officer of the "Enter- prise," died liere and were interred in the British burying ground. The other sick gradually im- proved in the hospital. After being again pro- vided with stores, the "Peacock" and "Enter- prise" started across the Pacific for the Sandwich Islands, but made a pleasant stop on the way to the Bonin Islands. While here the men caught about forty large sea turtles, any two of which furnished ample food for one hundred and eighty persons during a day. They weighed two or three hundred pounds each.
In the early part of September the ship arrived at the Sandwich Islands after a tedious and unpleasant passage of forty-nine days. During their stay of about a month on the islands, Dr. Harlan spent much of his time on horseback. He took daily baths in the cool mountain streams and gave himself up to a diet of fresh meats and vege- tables, and took every means to recuperate from
the state of debility that had taken hold upon him in common with all his shipmates, as a conse- quence of their long stay in the most unhealthy part of the tropics. His journal records a visit of ceremony to the king of the Sandwich Islands, a personage whom they often met in the billiard rooms and bowling alleys; a "louari" or native feast was given to the officers of the fleet, at which the king was present. One of the favorite dishes at the banquet was baked dog.
From Honolulu the "Peacock" made a quick voyage to Monterey, Upper California, then a part of Mexico. In this portion of the Pacific they constantly fell in with whalers, many of whom, in those days before the introduction of petroleumi, made rapid fortunes for their owners in an industry that is now a thing of the past. The whales themselves were often seen, one day several of them appearing in the harbor of Mon- terey, and as Dr. Harlan and some others were coming out of the ship in a small boat, a huge whale came up to blow several times quite near their boat, so near as to make them desire to give him a wider berth. When he went down again, though it was difficult to tell where he would come up next, they pulled hard for the ship; as they did so, there was a ripple in the water behind them, the boat rocked with the impulse of a wave, and suddenly the whale reared his enormous head with open mouth, six or seven feet out of the water, and just behind the boat. The rowers were so startled that they stopped with cars in mid air; the next minute a lieutenant sang out "give way" and they did with a will. One second later, one stroke less, and the whale would have come up directly under the boat and capsized it.
From Monterey the "Peacock" went to Ma- zatlan, Mexico, thence proceeded southward and touchied at San Blas, Acapulco and Payta, arriv- ing at Callao, the port of Lima, to find it under a weak blockade by Chili, which was then at war with Peru. Commodore Kennedy was appealed to by the United States consul to remain and pro- tect American interests, and though all on board were anxious to get home after their long voyage, he felt constrained to do so. The "Peacock" remained at Callao more than six weeks, whichi
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gave her officers a fine opportunity to become acquainted with the gay capital of Peru; for the Peruvians were gay, notwithstanding the fact that the country was at war and the Chilians were trying to blockade the port of their capital. Dull care sits lightly on the shoulders of the Spaniards and the ladies of Lima danced and sang, gambled and smoked as unconcernedly as if they knew nothing of war. They were fond of riding, were skillful horsewomen and rode fine spirited horses beautifully caparisoned, but they preferred to ride straddle, and fashion did not forbid it. They were fond of sea bathing and many of them spent much time at Chorillos, the fashionable seaside resort for Lima. The gayeties were increased by the occurrence of the carnival season. Then the torreo, the bull baiting, which is the national sport of the Spaniards, was entered into with zest by the inhabitants of Lima. Dr. Harlan found the torreo disgusting, the sickening slaughter (eight bulls and several horses were killed) and the cruelty of the show could not be compensated for, in his opinion, by the excitement to be derived from the hazard the metadors ran of being killed, or the skill and coolness they displayed in the encounter.
Lima is seven miles from Callao and the journey was generally made either in a stage or on horse- back. Though a short distance, highwaymen infested the road and frequently asked for a trav- eler's purse and valuables at the point of the pistol. The authorities seem to have made no serious attempt to suppress these outrages. One Sunday the ship's sergeant of marines was halted by two highwaymen and forced to dismount and empty his pockets. Meanwhile several people rode by on donkeys and simply laughed at what was going on. While the ship was in the harbor of Callao, the blockade squadron had several skirmishes with some Peruvian gunboats protected by the fort, but no serious damage was done on either side.
From Callao they proceeded to Valparaiso, stop- ping one day at the island of Juan Fernandez, made famous by the romance of Robinson Crusoe, dear to every boy's heart. They found it a land of "milk and honey," beautiful in its verdure and
abounding in fruits. From Valparaiso a visit was made to Santiago, and Dr. Harlan afterward spoke most gratefully of the hospitality and courtesy of its citizens. From Valparaiso the ship returned to Callao, where Dr. Harlan was transferred, July 3, 1837, to the "Enterprise," which was to stay in the Pacific squadron, while the "Peacock" was to return home. After he had left the "Peacock" he received a very grateful mark of the high esteem in which he was held by those who had been under his care. The crew, numbering over two hundred men, subscribed SI each to purchase a handsome gold-mounted sword to be presented to Dr. Harlan as a mark of their appreciation for his attention to them throughout the cruise, but especially when they were attacked with cholera in Siam. Upon his return to the United States two years later he received a sword bearing this inscription: "Presented to Doctor David Harlan, by the crew of the U. S. ship Peacock, in grateful remembrance of his kind attentions to them in the hours of sickness during her late cruise, Noveni- ber 1, 1837."
The "Enterprise" sailed from Callao to Valpa- raiso, where she stayed about ten days and returned to Callao, whence she sailed for Mazatlan. She stopped at the Gallipagos Islands to catch ter- rapin, for which purpose and to gun, the officers and men were allowed to go ashore. At one o'clock the ship fired a gun to call all aboard, but when night came the purser and four men were missing. They were lost and could not find the ship. The captain became justly alarmed for their safety on this uninhabited island without fresh water. He sent a party ashore to build a watch fire on the highest point and to fire a musket every ten minutes during the night. Early the next morning the purser and one man came within sight of the ship, and the others were recovered before night. They had suffered all the agonies of men dying of thirst; they were pale, emaciated and racked with fever, though they had resorted to every expedient to allay the agonies of their thirst. They had killed turtles and birds and drunk their blood, had bathed their bodies in the sea and had tried to rest covered with wet sand, but with all their efforts they were
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almost delirious when they reached the ship. Though these five men suffered so much through their want of care, in losing their way, the rest of the crew, apart from the subsequent anxiety on account of the missing, spent a pleasant day at Hood's Island and captured many terrapin, twenty-five being taken the first day.
After a few days at Panama the ship started for Mazatlan. During the night of October 17, 1837, she was overtaken by such a furious tempest that nothing but the most strenuous efforts of every soul on board, from the captain to cabin boy, with the aid of divine Providence, kept her from sink- ing with all on board. All day there had been a fresh easterly wind and considerable sea, both of which increased toward sundown. In the middle watch the wind veered and came rushing upon the schooner with the violence of a tempest from a different direction. Great seas immediately broke over the struggling vessel and the water rushed down the hatches in such masses that the cry rose from the berth deck "The water is up to the hammocks." The rush of wind and water had extinguished all lights; there were occasional lurid flashes of lightning and the constant glim- mier of the phosphorescent water rushing from side to side as the ship rolled, carrying with it every- thing that would float. We quote Dr. Harlan's own words as written in his journal just after the storm: "To look along the berth deck and behold the scene was awful. On deck was the roaring of the wind and the breaking of each wave over the ship; the shouting of officers and men, show- ing clearly the extreme distraction when sailors forget the silent obedience they are wont to give; in the midst of all this confusion and uproar, so violent a sea came upon the vessel that the star- board bulwarks were buried and so far did she sink, that those below and some on deck said she was on her beam ends. I was sitting at the larboard end of the ward room table, when the vessel was at the extreme point to which she sank; she remained stationary, how long I cannot say, but it seemed long; the situation of the vessel was so strange that the noise of voices on deck was hushed, there was a breathless in- voluntary pause; the sense of instant destruction
was so apparent that the oldest seamen ceased momentarily their efforts, but when she rose a shout burst forth and the labors were resumed. After this the mass of waters below and on the spar deck seemed to hold her still in the water and she never careened so far again. A light was got and every hatch and scuttle was secured; the pumps were fully manned; the ward room skylight was raised for men to come down from on deck; a number came down to pass shot to throw over- board; I assisted. A line was formed and from hand to hand rapidly the round shot, twenty-four pounds, grape and canister, passed up the hatch and overboard. On deck they were working the pumps, trying to throw the guns overboard and keep the ports and skuppers open. Three times they were washed from the long forward gun, the water coming up to their waists, and the utmost exertion was necessary to hold on and prevent the reflux from carrying them out of the ports. Below there were about twelve of us in line pass- ing shot; several hundred had passed each hand and not a word had escaped anyone; the perspira- tion flowed freely from the severe labor. At length some one said, 'What shall we do if we meet the Mexicans now?' and the quarter gunner of the gang replied, 'Beat them with our cutlasses.' Here ended the conversation, and it will appear strange to anyone acquainted with the talkative man-of-war sailor. The vessel seemed relieved, but so great was the quantity of water on the spar deck, that the forecastle, boats, trunk, bin- acle, armchests and guns were all that were to be seen within the bulwarks; the water seemed so per- manent that it was the belief of Lieutenant Leigh that the vessel was settling, and he proposed to the captain to cut away the mainmast. The cap- tain himself took off his overcoat to be free to swim if the ship sank. But the casting away of the guns and shot now evidently relieved and lightened the ship; the pumps gained fast on the water below; the hatches were so completely seeured that they kept out the water. One long nine-pound gun and one twenty-four pounder were thrown overboard. The seamien began to talk, and it became evident that the ship was saved from the present gale."
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After the storm, and without further mishap, the "Enterprise" arrived at Mazatlan, where she stayed twenty-two days. She then started to return to Callao, stopping at San Blas, the island of Tobogo in the bay of Panama, Payta, Lan- bayéque, and Truxillo, and reaching Callao April 13, 1838. After a stay of five days, during which Dr. Harlan found time to visit Lima twice, the ship sailed for Valparaiso, where she arrived May 20, and after a stay of nine days set sail on her return to Callao, tonehing at Ariea, Islay, the port of Arequipa, and Piseo. During his long stay at these various Spanish-American ports, Dr. Harlan became familiar with the language and habits of the Spaniards, and his journals are espe- cially full in deseribing their manners and customs, their houses, their strange boats and the ease and freedom with which they receive strangers. He often mentioned the beauty of the phosphorescent sea, a phenomenon they often met with. Under the date of Mareh 13, 1838, he writes: "This evening, as soon as it was dark, the whole sea was white from phosphoreseenee. The color was somewhat like the milky way, but more brilliant. At the verge of the visible horizon the luminous effect seemed increased, probably from the eye being nearer on the horizontal, and it shone a brilliant zone all around. Dark clouds were hang- ing about the horizon, contrasting strongly with the radiant arena of the ocean. The breeze was moderately fresh and wherever it ruffled the top of the waves or the wake of the ship or the log line or a bucket, or anything agitated the water, it showed the most brilliant phosphoreseence I have ever seen. We took up some water and found it filled with animalculæ or ova. When a bottle of the water was agitated it shone with innumer- able bright spots of strong light, which whirled around the bottle with the rapid motion of the water."
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