USA > Texas > Harris County > Houston > Texas and the Gulf of Mexico ; or, Yachting in the New World, volume 2 > Part 9
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but still inclined to hear the arguments pro and con, was ordered to be silent on the subject. He replied, that his was a free country, where every one had a right to express his opinions. This right apparently was not acknowledged, for he was put into a boat and sent to the mainland : strange occurrences in a country calling itself free.
The National Guard of Galveston were kept constantly in battle array, and paraded through the town. The guns, too, were kept in readiness to protect the town against the fleet which was every day ex- pected from Campeachy or Vera Cruz. I cannot say that the artillery at the forts presented a very formidable appearance : there were not more than a dozen eighteen- pounders, one or two of which had been lying harmlessly on the sand ever since we had been here. In the yacht, we
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fancied ourselves quite secure, concluding that the British flag would be treated with due respect. I had little real expectation, however, of seeing anything of the Mexi- cans, and was inclined to think that the ex- citement would end as it had begun, in words.
Our drives into the prairie were now much more agreeable than before. The weather was warmer, and the land much dryer; and there were also more living inhabitants ; blue birds, cardinals, &c. We shot some pelicans, and afterwards reproached ourselves for our cruelty, for they were quite useless for stuffing, or any other purpose. There were immense flocks of curlew and plover, who were evidently on their passage to some other clime. The prairie was becoming quite gay with flowers; in many places, however, they were setting it on fire, and a very cu-
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rious sight it was, -a sheet of fire flying rapidly before the wind. The cactus, or prickly pear, was beginning to blossom ; and I expected in a few weeks I should re- cognise some of the glowing descriptions which travellers have given of the country. Alas ! I had no chance of realising my an- ticipations, for we were soon to take our leave of the Gulf. The pilot had returned ; he found at Aransas only six feet of water on the bar, and at Matagorda seven ; he gave it as his opinion, however, that there were times when vessels drawing eight feet might enter the latter port with safety.
The Galveston pilot fell in with the Mexicans at Copano; a fortunate circum- stance for him, for they gave him fifteen dollars for some tobacco, which had cost him but three. This was a good "opera- tion," and they begged him to return as
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soon as possible, to do some more business, promising to purchase, on the same terms, as many thousand bales of tobacco as he could manage to bring. This circumstance shows us what the trade with Mexico is likely to be when peace is established.
I shall not be surprised to hear, before any very long period has elapsed, that the valuable mines (I believe of gold, silver, and copper,) which are to be found in this country, are worked; to say nothing of the coal-mines, which perhaps I ought to have placed first in the scale, at least of useful- ness. When population increases, and the demand for wood, for steamers, building, &c., becomes proportionately great, this ne- cessary article will no doubt also become scarce, and the working of the coal mines will then be a work of absolute necessity.
Cedar is the commonest and cheapest
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wood here, besides being much the most useful for building purposes. It is very va- luable in the erection of wooden piles, which are exposed to the action of water, as no insects or marine animals will adhere to it. This wood is the one most in use, too, for firing; and as you pass near the houses where there are fires burning, the perfume is delicious.
On my last day at Galveston, I passed near the burying-ground, and a sad sight indeed it was! I should not have been aware of its proximity, had I not perceived a human skull under my horse's feet ! On looking round, I saw many similar relics, and hurried from the spot with a feeling of dismay and horror, which it would be difficult to de- scribe. The reason for this desecration of the dead is as follows. The sandy soil has so little depth, that no sooner are the dead
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deposited in the ground, than they are de- nuded of their light covering, and the sea, which washes the limits of the burial- ground, claims its share of these neglected remains. The consequence is, that the ad- joining land is actually strewed by human bones in every direction.
I stood upon the place of graves! There, where eternal ocean laves The land bound shore. The wind's low moan Through the long grass was heard alone ; Save when at intervals the sea Rippled in mournful melody. I was alone! meet spot for thought ! In that deep solitude, when nought Reminded me of life ! Far off The city's tumult, and the scoff Of laughing crowds. They are forgot Who lie in silence here; where not A stone or mound is rais'd to show Who are the dead that sleep below ! Whose are the bones that whitening lie, Sad relics of mortality, Strew'd on the flow'ring herb, or prest By heedless feet ? a heartless jest
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To some ! - I look upon the sea ! Its waves are dancing in their glee And sporting bright and merrily. But mark ! whose is the brainless skull, That, like the wreck'd and useless hull Of some once stately ship, floats on Buoyant in its emptiness ? None, None answer, and the lightsome wave Sports with the outcast of the grave. Now on the crescent foam it rides, Now 'neath the dashing wave it hides ; And now it slowly onward glides, Say, busy man ! Is this the end Of all thy labour? To descend Into a nameless grave ; no tear Shed on thy poor and lonely bier, Forgotten in the busy strife Of those who were thy friends in life. What now thy country's cause to thee ? Thou reck'st not that she now is free. Boldly thou strove in freedom's cause ; High (at the murmuring applause Of wondering nations,) beat thy heart ; Now low, and hush'd, and still, and part Of that dear earth thou bled'st to free - A lesson to posterity !
Our last act and deed before we left
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Galveston, was watering and victualling the Dolphin. A large supply of salted beef was taken in, which I should not have men- tioned, but for an accident which occurred in consequence, and which gave us a good deal of uneasiness. During the process of stowing the meat, it was necessary to re- move some of the iron ballast, and for this purpose, an instrument of the same metal is made use of, about a yard long, with a handle at one end, and a hook at the other. One of the men was tugging away at the handle of the rod, and another was lying down in the act of assisting him, when un- happily the iron bent slightly : the iron bal- last immediately slipped off, and the man who held it fell backwards. The conse- quence was, that the iron hook entered the eye of the unfortunate man. By ill luck, our doctor was on shore at the time, and
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did not return to the yacht for some hours afterwards, when he did not at all approve of the treatment practised by the Texan surgeon, who had been summoned when the accident happened. The agony the poor man suffered must have been very great ; he fainted away almost immediately, and soon became delirious. He was a long time on the sick list, and eventually lost the sight of his injured eye.
I confess, I should not much like to trust a serious case in the hands of the Texan doctors. Some of them may be clever and well educated, but the medicines in general I believe to be bad, in spite of their fre- quent announcement as cargo, and the words, "drugs" and " chemicals" appended to so many of the stores.
A death by violence had lately taken place in this country, and as the circumstances
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under which it occurred caused a conside- rable excitement, I think them worthy of narration, and the more so as they throw some light on the reputed frequency of vio- lent deaths in Texas.
A Colonel H-a mild and benevolent man, had a quarrel (as even the mildest men will sometimes have) with one of his neighbours. There were no means of ad- justing their differences, and, accordingly, Colonel H- - was informed by his adver- sary, in the usual terms, that he should take an early opportunity of shooting him dead. Colonel H- was not a particularly ner- vous man, and for some time after this plea- sant announcement had been made, he went about, perfectly convinced, from the charac- ter of his foe, that he would not fail to keep it to the letter. After a while, however, the suspense and anxiety became too much for
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his spirits, and he resolved to put an end to the affair. Acting upon this resolution, he watched his opportunity, waylaid his adver- sary, and -mild man as he was, - put a period to his existence. This affair, which would have been called a murder by preju- diced and ill-informed historians, is after all but the Texan mode of managing a duel ; it certainly differs from our way of settling a quarrel, but when all is said, I do not know that it is a much worse form of manslaughter.
I have omitted to mention the extreme ease with which divorces are obtained in Texas. During our residence of only a few months in the country, no less than forty couple were disunited, and this merely by taking an oath on both sides of mutual in- compatibility of temper. This circum- stance ought to be generally known; as it may be of service to those similarly situated,
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to learn that by a six months residence in Texas, they may enjoy the benefit of this liberating system.
I received a present on this my last day in the Republic, which though of little value, I prized as a proof of kindness of heart, and good feeling. Mrs. Kelsey the wife of the Captain of the little Houston steamer sent me a cap of her own knitting ; I had par- ticularly admired it when on board, and it was worked with great labour and skill. She looked for no return ; and the circum- stance was the more gratifying, because I had seen her but once, and did not expect to renew my acquaintance with her. Such things are not common in the " old country."
If we set off such instances of good will as these (and I could mention many others) against the trifling annoyance occasioned by the apparent familiarity and want of refine-
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ment, on the part of these young settlers, we shall be more satisfied with the real good we find among them.
I one day heard a rough Texan, dressed like a ploughman, ask one of our English friends for the loan of his gun for a few days, and another, trusting (and not too much) to his good nature, said on another occasion, " well now Commodore, I want you to lend me your bed room for a short time, if you please." It is the consciousness of their own extreme willingness to confer similar obligations, which renders these people so little scrupulous in making somewhat exor- bitant demands of others.
But I must draw my Texan annals to a conclusion. We were, as the Yankees say, " bound to go" and to leave this land of free hearts and untrammelled actions, for one which owns a despot's sway-and for
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a colony where the broad hand of authority presses down the energies of the People.
Let me, before I bid adieu to the shores where we had so long ridden at anchor, waft good wishes to the land, and to its in- habitants.
May the country " go ahead," and pros- per - may wise men lead her counsels and brave men direct her arms - above all may her financial, and commercial character be unsullied; then will her word be good in the Great Exchange House of Nations, and she may hope to stand alone * - an inde- pendent Republic - a great people among the powers that are.
* The opinion that Texas is incapable of standing without the assistance of some established power, is very prevalent, and her possible annexation to the United States is exciting much interest. It is to be hoped, for many reasons, that she may never become a portion of the Union ; but that event appears now to be not far off.
CHAPTER XV.
DEPARTURE FROM GALVESTON FOR THE HAVANA. SE-
VERE GALE. APPEARANCE OF THE SEA UNDER ITS INFLUENCE. DANGEROUS NAVIGATION OF THE GULF OF FLORIDA. INCIDENTS ON BOARD THE YACHT.
ARRIVAL AT THE HAVANA. MORO CASTLE. THE
BAY. VISIT OF THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES. DIN-
NER ON SHORE AT THE CONSUL GENERAL'S. HEAT OF THE CLIMATE. MANNERS, HABITS AND AMUSE- MENTS OF THE LADIES. VISIT TO THE CAPTAIN GENE- RAL VALDEZ.
Hail to thy face and odours, glorious sea ! "Twere thanklessness in me to bless thee not. How welcomer Thy murmurs than the murmurs of the world ! Though like the world thou fluctuatest, thy din To me is peace, thy restlessness repose.
CAMPBELL.
MARCH 31st .- We took our Pilot, Simp- tom, again on board and made sail. The men, as before, were busily employed in
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shifting ballast. A north wind had been blowing for some days, but the weather was calm and fine; after crossing the bar, the pilot was discharged, and I then really felt that I had bidden adieu to Texas.
Gradually the low shores of Galveston receded from our view ; I stood on deck as long as I could catch a glimpse of the land, and continued my speculative reveries on her present and future fate, till other ob- jects arrested my attention, and till the horizon was bounded only by the wide and quiet ocean. I entertained such dis- agreeable recollections of the September gales, that I rather dreaded putting to sea in March, but our master assured me that the vernal equinox was not at all to be dreaded, and I felt my courage strength- ened. All this day, and the beginning of the next, I had reason to be satisfied with
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the weather, and reposed in confident be- lief of a pleasant and quiet voyage to Havana. Alas ! for the short-sighted an- ticipations of a woman !- in the afternoon of the 1st of April, as I was quietly eat- ing my luncheon in the cabin; I heard distinct preparations for a gale, dark- ness crept over the sky, and I heard the voice of the mate, " Take in a reef in the fore stay sail ;" I never liked the sound of the reefing process ; we always carried a great deal of sail, and I knew it was never reduced without absolute necessity. Soon after, it was " Take in another reef in the foresail, look alive;" the lowering of the mainsail soon followed, and by this time it was blowing a violent gale of wind. The sea, in an incredibly short space of time, had risen to a great height, and in- stead of enjoying the placid motion of the
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waves, reposing on my couch on the deck, I had to hold on and devote all my ener- gies to prevent myself rolling about in all directions. There is certainly something very laughable in the efforts made by lands- men and women to keep themselves steady on the deck during a gale of wind. Our present storm, indeed, was really no laugh- ing matter ; at a late hour I retired to rest, and continued putting up my head out of my cabin every five minutes to en- quire how the wind was, and whether there was any chance of its abating. On such occasions as these, the appearance of daylight was always hailed by me with unwonted satisfaction; I liked to see my situation with my own eyes, and to have the power, at any moment, of applying for information to one or other of the crew; of course they always comforted me with as-
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surances that it was nothing ; - it was only blowing fresh ; this always reassured me, but more than all the rest, I rejoiced to see their cheerful faces, and to hear that they could joke. On the morning of the 2nd of April I went on deck early; it was not seven o'clock, but I had had a sleepless night, so I wrapped a large cloak about me, and staggered up to see the aspect of affairs ; and a scene of blank desolation it was! The decks were wet and slippery with the spray ; everything looked out of order and forlorn ; the watch on deck had on their rough pilot coats and south-westers well secured under their chins, and were crouching under the bulwark, to leeward, to avoid the constant showers of spray. The sea was of one dull heavy leaden hue, except where the summits of the huge tumbling waves were crested with a snow white
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foam. It is one of the most fearful ef- fects of the tremendous waves in a heavy head-sea, that your view is bounded only by high walls of inky looking water. Around, and a-head the prospect is circum- scribed by these tremendous bulwarks of the raging element, which seem ever on the point of engulphing you in their descent. As I stood on the poop, and the bowsprit pitched into the hollow pit of waters, it seemed almost like a perpendicular descent, and I closed my eyes for a moment as though all was over.
Before eight o'clock, a second reef was taken in the fore topsail ; there was no break in the clouds till about noon, when the sun for a moment appeared through a thin veil of grey. In the afternoon the weather be- came much more moderate, reefs were sha - ken out, and I began once more to feel happy
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and at ease. The swell, however, was still very heavy, and we were told was likely to continue so, the Gulf of Florida not being notorious for the quiet of its seas. We saw a great deal of the gulf-weed, which floated past us in large quantities. This sea-weed is very light and pretty when first taken out of the water, but it soon becomes shapeless, and will not bear drying. I
believe a vast number of shipwrecks have occurred in the Gulf stream; there are fearful currents and eddies, and ships are frequently driven out of their course. From the narrowness of the channel the sea is always in a state of commotion, and after the violence of the late gale, the waves were more fearful than ever. We were all, I mean the "idlers," more or less pros- trated, either by internal or external mal- aise. Poor Monsieur de C- was quite VOL. II. N
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hors de combat, with the best intentions of making a good fight against the enemy. He never tasted food for five days, and to this moment I am at a loss to understand how he contrived to exist through such a period of inanition. As usual, we went through the ceremony of every meal, as regularly as if we were on land. The cook was never put out by weather, and let the ship roll about as she would, he never made any alteration, and his entrées were as good and as numerous as ever. The table, which was a swinging one, sometimes caused a little delay in the consumption of the viands; often, when on the point of securing a mouthful on our forks, the well spread board would mount up towards the ceiling on one side, and we were forced to wait its pleasure before we resumed our meal. This was amusing enough to me, and as no
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one was very hungry at such a time, the delay did not so much signify; but the noise is not to be described. I believe the Dolphin to be (without partiality) as quiet as a ship can well be, but the masts and bulkheads began, after their long rest, like giants refreshed, to labour out their peculiar noises with a spirit unknown before. I was told it was nothing, and certainly, after the first night or two, I slept soundly and heard it no more. How we were flung about ! my swinging cot rocked to and fro like an insane thing, whilst I felt myself a passive victim to its sport. One night I found myself, with a sudden shock, pros- trated on the deck : I had been sleeping soundly, and at first could not make out in the least what had happened. I soon, how- ever, ascertained that the lashings of my cot had given way, from the constant strain
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upon them : luckily for me the bump upon the deck was not felt by my head, as it was the lashing at the feet that had given way. It was not pleasant, however, to find one- self, in the dead of the night, in an angle of forty-five. The occurrence recalled to my mind some descriptions of practical jokes, related by Captain Marryat, and I thought how hard it was for unwary midshipmen, to be cut down at the head, when they least expected it ; the escape from concussion of the brain must be narrow. It is to be in- ferred, from its unfrequent occurrence, that the young gentlemen in the navy, half a century ago, were not very susceptible in that organ.
April the 3rd, was rather squally, but it was only single reef weather, and I did not mind it. 4th, light breezes, " out all reefs," delightful sound ! but it was not to last, and
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during the three following days it blew hard enough; the current was running very strong, and we were driven forty miles out of our course. I believe that nothing but the violence of the gale would have induced our poor passenger to come on deck ; I had not seen him for four days, when on a sudden he made his appearance on the companion ladder ; sickness and suffering had made sad havoc with his outward man, as indeed they had with most of us. The weather on the eighth was more mode- rate, and in the morning several sail were in sight. It was delightful to watch them, -to speculate on what they might be, and to feel that this stormy stage of our aquatic journey was so nearly at an end. At eleven o' clock A. M. the man at the mast head sung out land "a-head." The wind was S.E. half east ; the current was driving us
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to the eastward. We gradually neared the land, and at five o'clock P. M. I heard the welcome order to clear anchors. Soon after we sighted Moro Castle ; the high lands were beautiful ; once more we rejoiced in the sight of the waving tops of the cocoa- nut trees, and felt the hot sun of the tro- pics. But we had no time for admiration, the British ensign was hoisted and flowing gaily aft-the little schooner had passed the Moro Castle, and was sailing up be- tween the closely packed shipping in such a perfect manner! She certainly excited great admiration, if we could judge by the faces and marked attention of those on board the ships through which she passed. I was prepared by description for the striking appearance of the harbour, par- ticularly of its entrance. The Moro Castle is on the left, a high imposing building. On
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the right is the fort of Punteo, and the pri- sons built by Tacon, when he was Captain General of Cuba. The bay, in which more than one thousand ships may anchor with safety, opens out beyond this narrow en- trance. Our Master almost always made a point of taking a pilot, and this was one of the few occasions on which he deviated from his rule. The yacht, after threading the mazes of this difficult navigation, brought up at six o'clock P. M. in seven fathom water; decks were immediately cleared ; and sails furled, and we prepared once more for a quiet life.
There was so much to interest, and to at- tract attention, that I stood on deck abso- lutely staring at all the interesting objects I saw. There were ships of every nation, and we were soon boarded by a number of dingy looking men from a wretched looking boat
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bearing the Spanish flag. The deck of the schooner was soon crowded by these officials, for such I supposed they were, while some rushed below, examining her in all direc- tions ; an order was given at last that no more should come on board. They could not all have a right to board us, and civility evidently was not the object of their visit. I had been so long in democratic countries that I was quite rejoiced at the sight of some faint symbols of royalty. And, (I confess my weakness) the dirty crown, on the still more discoloured flag, was quite refreshing to my feelings. To be sure, it was but the crown of degraded Spain, the lowest of the monarchies of the earth, but I respected it nevertheless. I began almost to despair of being ever left to ourselves. No sooner was the curiosity of one party satisfied than another boat-load made its appearance.
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They dispersed themselves over every part of the vessel, and poked their black and tan faces into every hole and corner, filling our eyes and noses with tobacco smoke, and defiling the white decks of the Dolphin with the odious consequences of their national habit. The fact was, that they could not be made to comprehend the nature of our craft. She was armed -that was suspi- cious - but then we were evidently not a belligerent set - were we traders ? No - they concluded that there must be concealed cargo somewhere, and consequently hunted about in all possible and impossible places for our supposed merchandize. Monsieur de C- with the dismal recollections of his late sufferings fresh upon him, remarked " I think it very natural,- of course they find it impossible to comprehend how any rational beings can be sea-sick for pleasure !"
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The Spaniards evidently could not under- stand it; they shrugged their shoulders, looked puzzled, and with most dissatisfied faces returned to their boats. Then came the sharks in the shape of bum-boat women, entreating and coaxing the sailors to buy of them ; jokes were cut as they leant over the ship's side, and. every now and then, when some adventurous individual completed his purchase, it was handed up in triumph, and the fortunate possessor began to discuss its real value coolly and at leisure. My at- tention was diverted from this rather amus- ing scene by perceiving an English man-of- war's boat pulling towards us. She con- tained, besides the rowers, only a midship- man, a small boy, who if only as a clean countryman of our own, we were delighted to see. He had been dispatched from the Thunder surveying ship, Captain Barnett,
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