USA > Rhode Island > The "Old Stone Bank" history of Rhode Island, Vol. II > Part 20
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pass the foundation and graveyard of the old Narragansett Church. At the mention of the dreaded spot, Cuddymonk broke down. But again he pleaded in vain, for the doctor reprimanded him severely and or- dered him to drive on.
With his eyes rolling in terror and moan- ing to himself Cuddymonk drove on until he came to the church. Then with a wail of fright and despair, he suddenly gave way entirely. Even the doctor himself was startled, for there ahead of them by the road- side a tall eerie shape, human-like, was pal- pitating and glowing with an uncanny light. The doctor took the reins from Cuddymonk's nerveless hands and brought the horse to a stop. When he started to climb out of the carriage to investigate the weird shape, the negro came to life, startled out of his lethargy, and threw his arms about the doctor imploring him not to venture from the carriage and leave him behind. But the doctor's curiosity had been aroused, and he was determined to solve the mys- tery. In passing through the graveyard of the church he stumbled and fell into an open grave, half-filled with water. Not at all frightened but fearing fresh attacks of rheumatism, he shouted for Cuddymonk to come and pull him out. He might as well have called upon a stone statue for help; the negro had lost the power to move.
Unassisted, the doctor clambered out of the grave and stubbornly made his way to- ward the ghost. When he reached the ap- parition he paused, said nothing, but im- mediately returned to the carriage. Grasp- ing the terrorized negro by the collar, he fairly dragged him toward the shimmering white shape. Only when he had the poor black directly before the dreaded "moon- ack" did he say, "Look at the ghost, Cuddy!"
What was it? Merely a shad bush in full bloom, its myriads of white blossoms seeming to glow in the moonlight. In a sudden revulsion of feeling Cuddymonk almost fainted.
The doctor, having solved the mystery, again began to think of his rheumatism, and telling Cuddymonk to drive as fast as possible, directed him toward the nearest farmhouse. There the old doctor woke up the inhabitants and secured treatment for his rheumatism as well as shelter for the
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night. As he started to go to bed, he called Cuddymonk and told him to continue on home, tell Mrs. Greene of the mishap, and return for him in the morning. Solemnly assenting, Cuddymonk left the doctor to sleep in peace. But once downstairs the negro followed an idea of his own. He un-
harnessed the horse and led him to a stall in the barn adjoining the farmhouse, then clambered into the hay in the loft and slept the night through.
In the morning he woke early, hitched up the horse, and was waiting, as he had promised, before the door.
CAPTAIN JOHN DeWOLF
J JOHN DEWOLF, known as "Nor'west John," was of the third generation of the famous Bristol family which, along with Captain Simeon Potter, played a prominent part in making the name of the old Rhode Island seaport known throughout the world. Seaports sometimes seem to rise and wane not only with the passing years but with the various changes in ships and shipping that come inevitably with invention and prog- ress. Bristol's fame as a seaport is now but historical, for her day was the day of square riggers and packets. In that day, however, she bred men whose skill and daring upon the high seas was second to none.
When John DeWolf was born, in Bristol, in 1799, his uncle, James DeWolf, later the owner of the famous "Yankee" and other privateers, had already acquired a pretty thorough knowledge of the sea for he was master of his first vessel at the age of twenty. But the former was a close rival of his uncle for he went to sea at the age of thirteen and received his first ship at the age of twenty-four. When he sailed this ship, the "Juno," out of Bristol, in 1804, he began a series of voyages and travels which car- ried him completely around the world, and he did not see Rhode Island again for three years and eight months. Upon his return to his native town he continued in Russian- American trade until he retired from the sea at the age of forty-eight. For a while he remained in Bristol, taking up the life of a farmer, then moved to a farm in Brighton, Massachusetts, and thence to Dorchester, where he spent the last years of his life with his daughter, Mrs. Downing. Here he died, in 1872, at the age of ninety-two.
His granddaughter provides us with a tenderly written sketch of his last years.
She writes : "I never knew a more beautiful old age. Beloved by those of all ages, he had many friends among the young people and was young with them, and his grand- children were devoted to him. They called him 'White Grandpa,' on account of his silvery hair, to distinguish him from my father. They always knew in just what spot in the room to look for candy and fruits which he always had for them, and if there was anything they particularly wanted they were always sure that 'White Grandpa' would give it to them. Like so many old people it was hard for him to adapt himself to modern improvements. And especially the new ideas of shipbuilding were not always to his liking. At the window of a room in our summer home, commanding a fine view of Boston harbor, we would often find him holding his spyglass at arm's length, and if sometimes we would ask, 'What do you see, Grandpa?' he would invariably reply, 'I was looking at those blasted three-masted schooners'." During his seafaring days, three-masters were unknown and even schooner-rigged vessels were rare, and he had never outgrown his preference for the old square sails of the brigs and merchantmen.
So much as a brief résumé of his life. Now to relate the tale of his first and most exciting voyage as ship's master. The "Juno" was a sturdy vessel of two hundred and fifty tons. She had just previously brought into Bristol the first cargo to be received from China and was generally con- sidered a crack ship. She was armed with eight carriage guns and other smaller pieces and seemed much like a warship as she stood out of Narragansett Bay bound for the Northwest Coast with young John DeWolf in command.
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Near the Cape of Good Hope the Rhode Islanders fell in with the ship "Mary", of Boston, also bound for the Northwest Coast, and agreed to keep company with her in rounding the Cape. But after the negligence of the latter's helmsman had resulted in a broadside collision of the two vessels, the "Juno" went on alone. Shortage of provi- sions and fuel made Captain John head for Valparaiso, in spite of the fact that he would thus expose himself to Spanish hostility. There was a good deal of fuss about his com- ing into the harbor, but he was finally allowed to provision up and proceed on his way.
The next long course was set for Newettee, a small inlet in Vancouver's Island, where the Rhode Islanders expected to begin their first trading with the natives. In entering the narrow straits to the harbor the vessel, because of a lack of wind, was swept by the strong currents within oars' length of the high cliffs, and the crew had a difficult time in keeping her off the rocks. The Indians in this vicinity were hardened to trading with white men and were much too avaricious in their demands, and the "Juno" again put out to sea, this time headed northward for a Russian settlement at Norfolk Sound. Here the Americans met with excellent treatment at the hands of the Russian gov- ernor and succeeded in disposing of a lot of rum, tobacco, molasses, sugar, rice, wooden ware, and cloth in return for sea otter pelts.
The "Juno" then turned back down the coast, stopping at many little harbors to trade with the natives and frequently having to display her full armament to discourage threatened attacks, until she again reached Newettee. Leaving this harbor and heading northward once more, she sailed far up the Chatham Straits and, on coming out, struck on the rocks and was lodged there high and dry. That the Indians might not suspect the actual mishap, Captain John ordered his crew to go overboard and seemingly pro- ceed to work on the hull of the vessel, as if they had driven her upon the rocks to accomplish this very end. The ruse worked (and the crew did actually make some needed repairs), and with high tide the "Juno" floated off successfully. This unfor- tunate occurrence had given the crew a good chance to inspect the vessel and note the immediate need of a complete overhaul-
ing, so Captain John determined to return to the friendly Russian settlement where full repairs could be made without the accom- panying danger of Indian attacks. On the way the "Mary" was sighted, and she pro- ceeded to the settlement with the "Juno."
The governor again received Captain John with hospitality. The "Juno" was speedily hauled up on shore and recondi- tioned. The thousand otter skins already in the "Juno's" hold were sent on to Canton, China, by the "Mary." Meanwhile a Rus- sian brig arrived at the settlement, bring- ing three lieutenants of the Russian Navy; Nicholas Resanoff, a powerful nobleman, and Dr. George Langsdorff, from Germany. Captain John was introduced to them all by the Russian governor, and within a short time sold the Russians the "Juno" for $68,000, getting a small Russian brig to boot. In the latter vessel, with a cargo of 572 sea otter skins, Captain John sent his crew and officers on to Canton, but he, him- self, accepted the invitation of the Russians to remain at the settlement through the winter. They promised to take him on with them to Ochotsk and St. Petersburg in the spring.
It was a rather long and dreary winter for the Rhode Island sea captain for the whole population of Russians and Aleu- tians was kept hard at work and he was left much to himself. However, he made a close friend of Dr. Langsdorff, who was an ardent naturalist, and with him roamed all about the surrounding country in "baidarkas" (log canoes), encountering many Indians who, although hostile to the Russians, accepted the two explorers with good grace. When the winter became too strenuous for even the Russians to be outside, games and square dances were held in the larger log buildings to cheer them up during the long evenings.
In the spring the Russians were slow about keeping their promise to Captain John, and he finally asked them to let him take one of their smaller vessels and go on by himself. To this they were glad to assent, and he sailed away in the brig "Russisloff," taking a crew of seven Russians and natives, and Dr. Langsdorff as a personal compan- ion. They sailed north, touching at various points along the coast of Alaska. At Illuluk they picked up a woman and her daughter
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who wished to go back to their native town of Irkutsk, in Siberia. But, inasmuch as the ship had not left the Russian settlement until August and was a very slow sailer, the chances of reaching Ochotsk before autumn were slim, and rather than proceed to that port and have to cross Siberia in the winter, Captain John decided to spend the cold months at Kamtchatka. Here his explora- tions continued, for he purchased a sledge and dog team and soon became an expert driver. The "Juno," which had overtaken the "Russisloff," also wintered here.
In the spring the "Juno" broke out of the ice and got on her way first, but Captain John was not slow to follow and reached Ochotsk in June. Here he left the sea and his good friend Dr. Langsdorff and started a long journey by horseback across Siberia, in company with a small band of Russians. He reached Yakutsk and there took to the water again, assuming command of a small river craft and sailing it up to Irkutsk. Here he was again joined by Dr. Langsdorff who
had been pushing on in small boats to over- take him. But Captain John's immediate destination was St. Petersburg, and he took leave of his friends and set out in a sort of rude carriage for his goal, 3,500 miles away. This was in August, 1807, but by October the traveler had reached St. Petersburg. Here he learned that his original crew and officers had returned to Bristol and that the net profits of the undertaking had amounted to $100,000.
Thus there was nothing further for him to do but return home. He sailed for a short way down the Baltic as a passenger on a Dutch galiot, but shortly sighted an Amer- ican vessel homeward bound for Portland. Transferring to her, he had a forced stay of two months in Liverpool while she under- went repairs, but finally reached Bristol again on April 1st, 1808. This is the barest outline of a real tale of adventure, but it shows that Rhode Island was early repre- sented among the travelers around the world.
THE CLIPPERS
SAIL HO! That was the call of the look- out for years and years of navigation. Sails! Since the beginning of all recorded time men have used them. They were spread in ancient days above the tiny craft of the adventurous Tyronese. They drove the famed Phoenician merchant vessels to all the ports of the Mediterranean. They urged the Grecian galleys on to conquest and colo- nization, and they lent their aid to the warriors of Carthage and the sturdy Roman conquerors. Trader, Viking, discoverer, and pirate, men of peace and men of war have all raised their sails high on the masts of their ships and fared forth upon the unknown expanses of the trackless sea.
In all history sails have aided men, ex- tending his commerce, assisting in his wars, and making possible the thousands of voy- ages which gave him understanding and control of the world. Now the end has come. Sails have fallen to the level of playthings. The spotless sails of the graceful little
sloops and racing yachts which one sees in society's harbor and the dirty sails of some solitary two or three-master slinking down the coast are both totally unworthy of com- parison with those of the gallant vessels which formerly sailed the seas. Of course such a sweeping statement is not completely true. Here and there some tiny little port like Gloucester, Massachusetts, still has its hardy sailors and its white-sailed ships both dependent on the wind for service and a living. But very rarely, in this day of coal and oil burners, are seen the tall masts of a ship, crossed by spars intended for the carrying of sails, and gone from the sea is that most beautiful of all the maritime works of man-the clipper ship.
What were these clippers that have won a place in the heart of every lover of the sea?
We must go back to the early days of exploration, when the Americas were just coming into prominence as lands of hidden wealth and promise. In those days when the great English trading companies were formed, one must be mentioned. The
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British East India Company probably did the greatest amount of trading the world had seen up to its time, and the success of this company was due to one thing alone- the magnificent British East India ships. They were built like frigates and moved with all a frigate's stateliness. Their officers wore dress uniforms; their finer appoint- ments were of mahogany and brightly polished brass; and their snow-white sails were one mighty cloud of canvas.
But in these majestic vessels there were no radical changes in the lines of the hulls, or the cut and number of sails. The old models were simply duplicated in larger sizes. These ships were still the clumsy and slow vessels that their predecessors had been. They took eighteen months for the round trip to India, proceeding leisurely, little dreaming of the downfall that was to come.
The monopoly which England held on the East India trade was the guardian of these ships and their leisure. With the rising competition in trade by other na- tions, changes began to appear which pres- aged the end of the East India merchant- men. From 1832, the way was paved for the immediate development of the clipper, but even for a while before that some of the precedents which had safeguarded the old- time ships had been broken down.
Probably the American packet lines, which began to win fame on the Atlantic shortly after the close of the War of 1812, were the most devastating of all the in- fluences which were to prove fatal to the supremacy of England and her grand East India merchantmen. These American-built vessels were the forbears of the great trans- atlantic lines which now operate between America and Europe. They were the direct result of the great increase in commerce and the rapid development of manufacturing. They sailed on time always, and made a specialty of carrying only passengers, mail, and bullion. For the men who were begin- ning to realize that speed was beginning to count in industry and commerce as never before they were a necessity and a Godsend. These small packets did their utmost to make rapid crossings of the Atlantic. They crowded on all sail possible, riding through gales under full sail when the East India ships would have cut down to only a small
square of canvas. Naturally they obtained more passengers than the slower vessels, and just as naturally they were a tremend- ous source of profit to the owners.
However, before these packets had begun to disappear from the lanes of the sea, the designers who had planned them were al- ready building a new type of vessel which was, in turn, to surpass them as they had surpassed the British East Indiamen. These were to be the clipper ships.
The first clipper ships were not, in the present day meaning of the word, clipper ships at all. They were only the small swift vessels that were developed on Chesapeake Bay at the time of the War of 1812. They were small and attracted very little atten- tion at the time. But, even the real clippers when they first appeared were small. A Baltimore firm built the first one in 1832, christening her the "Ann McKim." Her distinguishing points were her very narrow beam and her skysails. The latter had never before been used by any type of ship whatsoever.
Although the "Ann McKim" turned out to be a very fast ship, she failed to influence nautical design. It was a young man named Griffeths who designed the clipper which set the pace for all American shipbuilders. This ship was the "Rainbow." She had all of the features of her predecessors and, in addition, had a new type of hollow bow, a sharper prow and stern, and a very narrow beam.
Despite the adverse comment of critics, she not only sailed but made a voyage to China in 92 days and a return trip in 88. Clipper ships were the immediate vogue in American shipping circles after this feat. They set new records on nearly every voy- age completely outclassing the famed British merchant marine. They were built larger and larger, one, "The Great Repub- lic," having a tonnage of 4,500 tons. Some of these swift vessels could average between twelve and fifteen knots on long cruises, a record better than the majority of steam vessels can set today.
And Rhode Island was not behind in her share of these vessels. Not a few of the clippers were built on the shores of Narra- gansett Bay, at Fox Point shipyards, now extinct. In particular did the shipping firm of Edward Carrington, a gentleman and
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military leader of the old school, build and maintain a fleet of these ships. In this fleet was the "Carrington" a splendid ship which carried many tons of valuable mer- chandise to foreign ports, and which re- paid the Providence firm many times over for its building. The white sails of the clippers were as frequent in these Rhode Island waters as in almost any other port, and they did their share in building up the shipping industry of Providence.
The last clipper built in Providence was the "Haidee," that eventually became a "slaver." The date of her completion was 1853, and she was the last ship to be built in Providence. Despite the beauty of the
little vessel, she was destined, because of her calling, to be outlawed, and was finally scuttled.
The days of the clippers came to an end shortly after. Steam began to be too power- ful an adversary. Within a few years the great white sails were gone from the hori- zons of the Seven Seas. Even the English clippers-built later than those of America -also disappeared, and the only substitutes were the smudges of smoke which marked the triumph of steam. Steam has won, but where in the present day can one find in the mechanical perfection of an ocean liner, the thrill of acres of billowing canvas, stretching before the wind?
ODD CHARACTERS OF OLD NARRAGANSETT
P RACTICALLY every community has its eccentric individuals and rare per- sonalities-if one searches them out-but in the thickly populated cities and larger towns of the present day they are apt to be absorbed by the life about them and not so outstanding as in the days of a century or more ago. Then, whole families were gener- ally well known throughout long stretches of countryside, while individuals with espe- cial charm or some rare abilities would be famed the length and breadth of the Col- ony. And servants as well as masters shared in such renown. Many held honored places in the families they had served for several decades and, though colored, were held in the greatest respect by whites and negroes alike. It is in a few of these old-time serv- ants as well as in a number of picturesque characters among others of their race that we shall herein be interested. In olden days in Rhode Island, negro servants were- employed almost exclusively, and it is these romantic-souled people who were found on many a farm, the women bustling in the height of their glory about the kitchen or rocking the younger children in the nurs- ery, the men working in the fields or regal- ing a group of admiring youngsters with some of the tall tales that only a negro could invent.
One of the most noted negro characters of Narragansett, especially after the Revo- lution, was Old Guy. He had been a volun- teer and had served through the war in Col- onel Greene's regiment, a fact which, in his opinion at least, was greatly to the advan- tage of this country. Certainly the war pro- vided him with abundant raw material from which to weave all sorts of tales to recite solemnly to circles of pop-eyed children. Invariably he was the hero in all such tales, and on scores of occasions he had saved the fortunes of the country by some deed of timely bravery.
Whatever his actual exploits may have been, the government saw fit to provide him with a pension in addition to his freedom; and ever after his prestige among his own people was heightened enormously. Every Independence Day found his tall, military figure among the rest of the war veterans on parade, and on nearly every "Nigger 'Lec- tion Day" he filled some position of honor.
But let us go on. There was that famed old soothsayer, Silvia Tory. She was a thin and angular old woman, harmless enough despite her "evil" eye and general air of gloomy mystery. She had her cabin on a tract of land called the "Minstrel" (mean- ing "ministerial") because of its owner-
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ship was a subject of dispute between Dr. MacSparran of the Episcopal Church and Dr. Torrey of the Congregational parish. From the latter Silvia took her surname, claiming to be the last of his slaves.
Young people often came to call upon her, bringing small amounts of tea as gifts in order to inveigle her into telling their fortunes. She was easily persuaded and would retire into a separate room with each one of a group, there to make mysterious incantations over a "drawing of tea" before unveiling the events of the future. For girls she had one invariable formula, guaranteed to be acceptable. She would prophesy the coming of a handsome suitor with a "dark, but fair" complexion who would involve the lucky girl in a whole series of "crosses and losses" before she married him in the end. "And," she always concluded, "you'll live happy ever after, in a fine home on a high hill with wood on one side and water on the other."
But in addition to pleasing young people, Silvia took on many a serious commission from older folk. To her they came when, they had reason to think some of their live- stock had been stolen or lost, and she would give them all sorts of minute occult direc- tions for its location and recovery. Per- haps it is strange to think of mature per- sons following the solemn advice of this old crone, especially since the time was about 1850, yet, up to her death at the age of 104 years, Silvia never lacked clients.
Of course, no rural community would be replete without its one all-capable and fav- orite musician. In Old Narragansett, one Polydore Gardiner filled the bill. He was a free man and a landowner besides, though his father had been a slave before him, and had his little hut on the untillable pasture land of the Matoonuc Hills. Polydore was a fiddler by profession, one who knew each and every old tune that was calculated to send feet tapping and dancing. An affable old fellow, he was always willing to lend his incomparable services to many an old- time dance and he enjoyed a reputation of great note.
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