Transcription
Ship Arnold [Heller] July 19. 1834
South Atlantic Lat 23.50 Long. [21?] 47
/Copy./
Eben’. Irving Esq.
New York
My dear Father
Here I am one more west of the Cape of Good Hope, and within / a few days sail of St. Helena; We left the coast of Sumatra on the 11th May and/ were very fortunate in being able to get away so soon for one ship carries a / very large cargo _ we were the first vessel loaded, but were detained in wooding / and watering; in consequence of which two vessels got two days the start of us, / bound to America, by which I would have written to you if I had known they were / loaded _ I wrote you from the coast, the 10th January last by the Brig [Horner?] which / sailed about the 20th March for New York, in which I mentioned we were going to the / northern part of the Island _ We arrived at Archaen on the 24th and went / on shore the next morning to visit the King of the Island __ his brother sent / his compliments that it was not convenient to see us, it being [Rafsen] (or / as they call it in Calcutta Ramadan) which lasts a month, during which / they do not eat or drink any thing in the day time _ the City lies about / two miles up a river, on a very Extensive plain nearly ten miles square / and not more than two feet about the level of the sea, surrounded [page torn] / very high mountains __ it resembles all the other places on the coast, except / it has a custom house, where the king collects a duty on every thing that is / taken into the city _ I saw some beautiful guns, English make, different / from any I have seen or heard of _ they are made of composition and the metal / very thin _ one of them had the date and makers [page folded, illegible] perfect and smooth / as when it was made laying half buried in the mud; it was about twelve feet / long and two in diameter _ there were two large granite balls, one lying each sid e/ of it, about Eighteen inches in diameter; similar to the description of those at the / Dardanelles. We also saw a number of field pieces, some mounted and some lying / on the ground _ The City from its present ruinous stage, I should suppose was / a place of some consequence in former times _ we were not able to sell any of / our cargo there as we expected, owing to our not having an interpreter (who was / taken sick on the passage up and we had to put him on shore) and the goods / have to carry the proceeds too great a distance down the river, and would be / liable to be attacked by the natives _ I went on shore but once whale we / were / there (which was only four days) and in consequence did not see as much of / the place as I wished _ We did not continue on to the [Pedic] coast as we first / intended; for me would not be able to do any thing without an interpreter; / but returned down the coast again to the port where we had contracted for / [pepper?], where we commenced surveying, which gave us occupation toll / the crop began to come in, which was about the middle of March; from that / time we were very busy in securing our cargo; for there is not the least / confidence to be put in a contract made with the natives _ We did not /
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Load where we had first contracted, for a French ship came in and where we were / when they raised the price at once _ One of the greatest difficulties a Sumatraman / meets with, is to have a vessel heave in sight where he is loading, for they (the natives) / will not give any pepper while he is there in hopes of raising a competition between / the vessels and by that means raising the price _ they are the worst lot of human / beings I ever heard of; they have not the least principle or honesty about them: / Even the head men, when they are on board the ship will steal whatever they / can lay their hands on _ we had a watch and several other things stolen from / us _ they always go armed with a [Kriss] (a knife little longer than dirk) and / a large knife resembling something between a sword and a Butchers cleaver; / they is, they are [broader?] as the first end than at the handle, and without any / guard for the hand. I recollect reading of a grand attack description of / the attack the [Frigade?] Potomac made upon the [Qualeah?] Battoo _ they are such / great cowards that if they had known they were to be attacked, there would, [page torn]-y have been one found in the place _ they are continually at war / among themselves, but as soon as one man is killed they call it a bloody / engagement, when they begin to talk of peace, which is generally settled by / the victorious party paying for the man they killed _ During this passage / we have passed within sight of the Isles of France and Bourbon, and made / the land several times near the Cape of Good Hope _ we have uncommonly fine / weather there for the season _ we experienced [^ but] one gale which caused us / to lie too about twenty four hours _ since passing the Cape we have had just / fair winds. I am gladd to be once more approaching a civilized place, / for this voyage has not been a very pleasant one to me _ I have not spoken / a dozen words to the Captain since we left Sumatra, and have none else / but the mates to converse with. Capt. Gillies leaves the Ship at St. Helena / and returns home, and the chief mate takes charge of her from there to Genoa. / it was so intended when we left the United States, but I did not know it till / after we had been some time at Sumatra. I think I shall like him very much / for a Captain, for we have been very good friends the whole voyage _ his hame is / Jacob Caldwell _ I thought it singular he should leave a Captains birth / and go mate in this Ship _ but if the ship should go out to Sumatra again, he / is to have charge of her, but I do not know whether she will or not, any / more than when I left home _ but if they want me to go in her, they / must pay me for it _ for, as a Captain observed to me, “a man does not want / to go to Sumatra more than four times and then he goes for money.” / all the officers of the ship have been to most of the parts in the East Indies, / and they say that the Sumatra trade is the worst _ We are unfortunate in not / having any Steward; the fellow that goes by that name did not know /
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Any thing about his business, and was lame with an ulcer on his leg when he shipped / which became so offensive that we turned him out of the cabin the second week / after we left New York, and he has not had his foot in it since _ from lying / about the deck, and not doing any thing he has got the Scurvy _ we shall get rid / of him at St. Helena. In my letter by the [Homer] I mentioned something / about having an [affection] of the [such] _ it was the first symptoms of an / eruption of the skin which I have had ever since then, and has given me a / good deal of trouble; more so perhaps than it would have done if I had not / endeavored to conceal it from the officers of the Ship _ it arose from the fit of / sicknefs I had just before I left home, for I had some slight indications of it / there _ a few warm baths at Genoa I expect will remove it _ otherwise my health / has been very good _ All the news I have of home since I left was your / old advertisement of Guns, cutting &c which I saw in an October paper about / two months since. I am very anxious to get to Euprose, for besides being tired / of these confounded long voyages, I want to hear how you are all getting [page torn] / home, and how Aunt Paris got through the winter. I did intend writing / to Pierre + Edgar, but my time has been spent, pretty much the same as though / I had been at saw all the time, and have nothing to say that would interest / them _ I hope they will not be equally neglectful of me, for I wish very much / to hear how their affairs have flourished. I suppose you have heard / often from William as vessels are continually sailing from Canton for the U.S. I have / not had any opportunity of writing to him, expecting a few lines by a Dutch / vessel bound to Batavia, which we [spoke] on our passage out _ Brig Homer has been the principal cause of all the vessels on the coast of Sumatra / the year paying nearly ⅜ $ more than it might have been got at _ when we saw / him we had made our contract for $5 per [picul], but he was anxious to get away / and there was about enough of the old crop to load him and he offered that / much more for it _ the consequence was a general rise the whole length of the coast /
I expect our cargo is nearly ¼ $ less than any other vessel and I have no doubt but we / shall make a very handsome voyage of it _ my privilege or adventure in the ship coast / $14.2 and I calculate to make from ninety to a hundred percent on it
St Helena July 23d. We arrived here yesterday afternoon about 5 ½ o’clock and / went immediately on shore, but it was so late I could not see much; I however had / a great treat which consisted of tea with cream and a piece of fresh bread and butter / - this morning I breakfasted at the American consul’s McCarroll, who is a very / nice man _ I saw a beautiful daughter of his . who is married to a Mr. Brookhouse of Salem _ She returned from America about four months since _ / although she does not know much about N.Y. I find great pleasure in talking / with one so lately from the U.S. _ besides you must recollect [page torn] / I have not seen one of the fair sex a long while [page torn] / After breakfast I took a ride to the
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Torch of Napoleon and to Longwood, during which I met with something of / an adventure. I went on horseback which made me feel very awkward as I / have been something of a tar lately. I overtook an elderly soldier looking man / after passing a short distance a head of him, I thought I must have passed the / road and said I had better continue on to Longwood as I had got past the / tomb, and take it on my return, which I did _ When we got to Longowod he asked / me to walk to the [??] house that was built for Napoleon (which is now the residence / of the Governors) when I thought it time to introduce myself, which I did, and / found that it was the Governor himself _ he showed me all over the house and / sent a Sentinel with me to show me the house that Napoleon died in.
I did not return to the House again, as I thought I might have intruded myself / but started off for the tomb when he overtook me again and passed a few civil / words when he proceeded on to town, and I to the Torch. I had a long yard with / [page torn] old veteran Sergeant and obtained some twigs of the William that hangs over the tomb / [page torn]-turned. I had not been back long when I received an invitation to dinner at / [10] o’clock from the Governor, to which I sent a civil refusal as I had engaged to dine / with [Mc]Carroll for there were great inducements than there would be at the / Governor’s _ At dinner I saw another of his daughters, who after all the rest of / the guests had departed favoured me with a song and some music on the guitar / among were some of my favorites that Catharine used to sing, which reminded / me very much of home _ I am sorry our stay here is so short (for we are new getting / under weigh) for this day has been spent so agreeably that I am not in a hurry to get / on board ship again _ besides I have not had time to see as much of the place as / I wished _ My time has been so agreeable that I forgot to end this letter till / the last minute that I am obliged to cut short – the latter part of this voyage I / expect to pay me for all that I have undergone _ I expect a host of letters to / greet me on my arrival at Genoa _ Expenses here are exceedingly dear – / for a horse to go to Longwood (about 6 miles) they charged me $4 _ a pair of com - / mon brogues $2.50/100 and several other little things in preparation _ with love to Aunt / Paris and all the family - I remain
Your affectionate Son
Sanders IrvingTranscriber
Kathryn AlexanderLanguage
English
