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SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD [Illustration: The "Spray" from a photograph taken in Australian waters.] SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD By Captain Joshua Slocum Illustrated by THOMAS FOGARTY AND GEORGE VARIAN [Illustration] TO THE ONE WHO SAID: "THE 'SPRAY' WILL COME BACK." CONTENTS CHAPTER I A blue-nose ancestry with Yankee proclivities--Youthful fondness for the sea--Master of the ship _Northern Light_--Loss of the _Aquidneck_--Return home from Brazil in the canoe _Liberdade_--The gift of a "ship"--The rebuilding of the _Spray_--Conundrums in regard to finance and calking--The launching of the _Spray_. CHAPTER II Failure as a fisherman--A voyage around the world projected--From Boston to Gloucester--Fitting out for the ocean voyage--Half of a dory for a ship's boat--The run from Gloucester to Nova Scotia--A shaking up in home waters--Among old friends. CHAPTER III Good-by to the American coast--Off Sable Island in a fog--In the open sea--The man in the moon takes an interest in the voyage--The first fit of loneliness--The _Spray_ encounters _La Vaguisa_--A bottle of wine from the Spaniard--A bout of words with the captain of the _Java_--The steamship _Olympia_ spoken--Arrival at the Azores. CHAPTER IV Squally weather in the Azores--High living--Delirious from cheese and plums--The pilot of the _Pinta_--At Gibraltar--Compliments exchanged with the British navy--A picnic on the Morocco shore. CHAPTER V Sailing from Gibraltar with the assistance of her Majesty's tug--The _Spray's_ course changed from the Suez Canal to Cape Horn--Chased by a Moorish pirate--A comparison with Columbus--The Canary Islands--The Cape Verde Islands--Sea life--Arrival at Pernambuco--A bill against the Brazilian government--Preparing for the stormy weather of the cape. CHAPTER VI Departure from Rio de Janeiro--The _Spray_ ashore on the sands of Uruguay--A narrow escape from shipwreck--The boy who found a sloop--The _Spray_ floated but somewhat damaged--Courtesies from the British consul at Maldonado--A warm greeting at Montevideo--An excursion to Buenos Aires--Shortening the mast and bowsprit. CHAPTER VII Weighing anchor at Buenos Aires--An outburst of emotion at the mouth of the Plate--Submerged by a great wave--A stormy entrance to the strait--Captain Samblich's happy gift of a bag of carpet-tacks--Off Cape Froward--Chased by Indians from Fortescue Bay--A miss-shot for "Black Pedro"--Taking in supplies of wood and water at Three Island Cove--Animal life. CHAPTER VIII From Cape Pillar into the Pacific--Driven by a tempest toward Cape Horn--Captain Slocum's greatest sea adventure--Reaching the strait again by way of Cockburn Channel--Some savages find the carpet-tacks--Danger from firebrands--A series of fierce williwaws--Again sailing westward. CHAPTER IX Repairing the _Spray's_ sails--Savages and an obstreperous anchor--A spider-fight--An encounter with Black Pedro--A visit to the steamship _Colombia_--On the defensive against a fleet of canoes--A record of voyages through the strait--A chance cargo of tallow. CHAPTER X Running to Port Angosto in a snow-storm--A defective sheet-rope places the _Spray_ in peril--The _Spray_ as a target for a Fuegian arrow--The island of Alan Erric--Again in the open Pacific--The run to the island of Juan Fernandez--An absentee king--At Robinson Crusoe's anchorage. CHAPTER XI The islanders of Juan Fernandez entertained with Yankee doughnuts--The beauties of Robinson Crusoe's realm--The mountain monument to Alexander Selkirk--Robinson Crusoe's cave--A stroll with the children of the island--Westward ho! with a friendly gale--A month's free sailing with the Southern Cross and the sun for guides--Sighting the Marquesas--Experience in reckoning. CHAPTER XII Seventy-two days without a port--Whales and birds--A peep into the _Spray's_ galley--Flying-fish for breakfast--A welcome at Apia--A visit from Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson--At Vailima--Samoan hospitality--Arrested for fast riding--An amusing merry-go-round--Teachers and pupils of Papauta College--At the mercy of sea-nymphs. CHAPTER XIII Samoan royalty--King Malietoa--Good-by to friends at Vailima--Leaving Fiji to the south--Arrival at Newcastle, Australia--The yachts of Sydney--A ducking on the _Spray_--Commodore Foy presents the sloop with a new suit of sails--On to Melbourne--A shark that proved to be valuable--A change of course-The "Rain of Blood"--In Tasmania. CHAPTER XIV A testimonial from a lady--Cruising round Tasmania--The skipper delivers his first lecture on the voyage--Abundant provisions--An inspection of the _Spray_ for safety at Devonport--Again at Sydney--Northward bound for Torres Strait--An amateur shipwreck--Friends on the Australian coast--Perils of a coral sea. CHAPTER XV Arrival at Port Denison, Queensland--A lecture--Reminiscences of Captain Cook--Lecturing for charity at Cooktown--A happy escape from a coral reef--Home Island, Sunday Island, Bird Island--An American pearl-fisherman--Jubilee at Thursday Island--A new ensign for the _Spray_--Booby Island--Across the Indian Ocean--Christmas Island. CHAPTER XVI A call for careful navigation--Three hours' steering in twenty-three days--Arrival at the Keeling Cocos Islands--A curious chapter of social history--A welcome from the children of the islands--Cleaning and painting the _Spray_ on the beach--A Mohammedan blessing for a pot of jam--Keeling as a paradise--A risky adventure in a small boat--Away to Rodriguez--Taken for Antichrist--The governor calms the fears of the people--A lecture--A convent in the hills. CHAPTER XVII A clean bill of health at Mauritius--Sailing the voyage over again in the opera-house--A newly discovered plant named in honor of the _Spray's_ skipper--A party of young ladies out for a sail--A bivouac on deck--A warm reception at Durban--A friendly cross-examination by Henry M. Stanley--Three wise Boers seek proof of the flatness of the earth--Leaving South Africa. CHAPTER XVIII Bounding the "Cape of Storms" in olden time--A rough Christmas--The _Spray_ ties up for a three months' rest at Cape Town--A railway trip to the Transvaal--President Kruger's odd definition of the _Spray's_ voyage--His terse sayings--Distinguished guests on the _Spray_--Cocoanut fiber as a padlock--Courtesies from the admiral of the Queen's navy--Off for St. Helena--Land in sight. CHAPTER XIX In the isle of Napoleon's exile--Two lectures--A guest in the ghost-room at Plantation House--An excursion to historic Longwood--Coffee in the husk, and a goat to shell it--The _Spray's_ ill luck with animals--A prejudice against small dogs--A rat, the Boston spider, and the cannibal cricket--Ascension Island. CHAPTER XX In the favoring current off Cape St. Roque, Brazil--All at sea regarding the Spanish-American war--An exchange of signals with the battle-ship _Oregon_--Off Dreyfus's prison on Devil's Island--Reappearance to the _Spray_ of the north star--The light on Trinidad--A charming introduction to Grenada--Talks to friendly auditors. CHAPTER XXI Clearing for home--In the calm belt--A sea covered with sargasso--The jibstay parts in a gale--Welcomed by a tornado off Fire Island--A change of plan--Arrival at Newport--End of a cruise of over forty-six thousand miles--The _Spray_ again at Fairhaven. APPENDIX LINES AND SAIL-PLAN OF THE "SPRAY" Her pedigree so far as known--The lines of the _Spray_--Her self-steering qualities--Sail-plan and steering-gear--An unprecedented feat--A final word of cheer to would-be navigators. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE "Spray" Frontispiece FROM a photograph taken in Australian waters. THE "Northern Light," CAPTAIN JOSHUA SLOCUM, BOUND FOR LIVERPOOL, 1885 CROSS-SECTION OF THE "SPRAY" "IT'LL CRAWL" "NO DORG NOR NO CAT" THE DEACON'S DREAM CAPTAIN SLOCUM'S CHRONOMETER "GOOD EVENING, SIR" HE ALSO SENT HIS CARD CHART OF THE "SPRAY'S" COURSE AROUND THE WORLD--APRIL 24, 1895, TO JULY 3, 1898 THE ISLAND OF PICO CHART OF THE "SPRAY'S" ATLANTIC VOYAGES FROM BOSTON TO GIBRALTAR, THENCE TO THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN, IN 1895, AND FINALLY HOMEWARD BOUND FROM THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE IN 1898 THE APPARITION AT THE WHEEL COMING TO ANCHOR AT GIBRALTAR THE "SPRAY" AT ANCHOR OFF GIBRALTAR CHASED BY PIRATES I SUDDENLY REMEMBERED THAT I COULD NOT SWIM A DOUBLE SURPRISE AT THE SIGN OF THE COMET A GREAT WAVE OFF THE PATAGONIAN COAST ENTRANCE TO THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN THE COURSE OF THE "SPRAY" THROUGH THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T SHIP WITHOUT ANOTHER "MON AND A DOOG" A FUEGIAN GIRL LOOKING WEST FROM FORTESCUE BAY, WHERE THE "SPRAY" WAS CHASED BY INDIANS A BRUSH WITH FUEGIANS A BIT OF FRIENDLY ASSISTANCE CAPE PILLAR THEY HOWLED LIKE A PACK OF HOUNDS A GLIMPSE OF SANDY POINT (PUNTA ARENAS) IN THE STRAIT OF MAGELLAN "YAMMERSCHOONER!" A CONTRAST IN LIGHTING--THE ELECTRIC LIGHTS OF THE "COLOMBIA" AND THE CANOE FIRES OF THE FORTESCUE INDIANS RECORDS OF PASSAGES THROUGH THE STRAIT AT THE HEAD OF BORGIA BAY SALVING WRECKAGE THE FIRST SHOT UNCOVERED THREE FUEGIANS THE "SPRAY" APPROACHING JUAN FERNANDEZ, ROBINSON CRUSOE'S ISLAND THE HOUSE OF THE KING ROBINSON CRUSOE'S CAVE THE MAN WHO CALLED A CABRA A GOAT MEETING WITH THE WHALE FIRST EXCHANGE OF COURTESIES IN SAMOA VAILIMA, THE HOME OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON THE "SPRAY'S" COURSE FROM AUSTRALIA TO SOUTH AFRICA THE ACCIDENT AT SYDNEY CAPTAIN SLOCUM WORKING THE "SPRAY" OUT OF THE YARROW RIVER, A PART OF MELBOURNE HARBOR THE SHARK ON THE DECK OF THE "SPRAY" ON BOARD AT ST. KILDA. RETRACING ON THE CHART THE COURSE OF THE "SPRAY" FROM BOSTON THE "SPRAY" IN HER PORT DUSTER AT DEVONPORT, TASMANIA, FEBRUARY 22, 1897 "IS IT A-GOIN' TO BLOW?" THE "SPRAY" LEAVING SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, IN THE NEW SUIT OF SAILS GIVEN BY COMMODORE FOY OF AUSTRALIA THE "SPRAY" ASHORE FOR "BOOT-TOPPING" AT THE KEELING ISLANDS CAPTAIN SLOCUM DRIFTING OUT TO SEA THE "SPRAY" AT MAURITIUS CAPTAIN JOSHUA SLOCUM CARTOON PRINTED IN THE CAPE TOWN "OWL" OF MARCH 5, 1898, IN CONNECTION WITH AN ITEM ABOUT CAPTAIN SLOCUM'S TRIP TO PRETORIA CAPTAIN SLOCUM, SIR ALFRED MILNER (WITH THE TALL HAT), AND COLONEL SAUNDERSON, M. P., ON THE BOW OF THE "SPRAY" AT CAPE TOWN READING DAY AND NIGHT THE "SPRAY" PASSED BY THE "OREGON" AGAIN TIED TO THE OLD STAKE AT FAIRHAVEN PLAN OF THE AFTER CABIN OF THE "SPRAY" DECK-PLAN OF THE "SPRAY" SAIL-PLAN OF THE "SPRAY" STEERING-GEAR OF THE "SPRAY" BODY-PLAN OF THE "SPRAY" LINES OF THE "SPRAY" [Illustration:] SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD CHAPTER I A blue-nose ancestry with Yankee proclivities--Youthful fondness for the sea--Master of the ship _Northern Light_--Loss of the _Aquidneck_--Return home from Brazil in the canoe _Liberdade_--The gift of a "ship"--The rebuilding of the _Spray_-Conundrums in regard to finance and calking--The launching of the _Spray_. In the fair land of Nova Scotia, a maritime province, there is a ridge called North Mountain, overlooking the Bay of Fundy on one side and the fertile Annapolis valley on the other. On the northern slope of the range grows the hardy spruce-tree, well adapted for ship-timbers, of which many vessels of all classes have been built. The people of this coast, hardy, robust, and strong, are disposed to compete in the world's commerce, and it is nothing against the master mariner if the birthplace mentioned on his certificate be Nova Scotia. I was born in a cold spot, on coldest North Mountain, on a cold February 20, though I am a citizen of the United States--a naturalized Yankee, if it may be said that Nova Scotians are not Yankees in the truest sense of the word. On both sides my family were sailors; and if any Slocum should be found not seafaring, he will show at least an inclination to whittle models of boats and contemplate voyages. My father was the sort of man who, if wrecked on a desolate island, would find his way home, if he had a jack-knife and could find a tree. He was a good judge of a boat, but the old clay farm which some calamity made his was an anchor to him. He was not afraid of a capful of wind, and he never took a back seat at a camp-meeting or a good, old-fashioned revival. As for myself, the wonderful sea charmed me from the first. At the age of eight I had already been afloat along with other boys on the bay, with chances greatly in favor of being drowned. When a lad I filled the important post of cook on a fishing-schooner; but I was not long in the galley, for the crew mutinied at the appearance of my first duff, and "chucked me out" before I had a chance to shine as a culinary artist. The next step toward the goal of happiness found me before the mast in a full-rigged ship bound on a foreign voyage. Thus I came "over the bows," and not in through the cabin windows, to the command of a ship. My best command was that of the magnificent ship _Northern Light_, of which I was part-owner. I had a right to be proud of her, for at that time--in the eighties--she was the finest American sailing-vessel afloat. Afterward I owned and sailed the _Aquidneck_, a little bark which of all man's handiwork seemed to me the nearest to perfection of beauty, and which in speed, when the wind blew, asked no favors of steamers, I had been nearly twenty years a shipmaster when I quit her deck on the coast of Brazil, where she was wrecked. My home voyage to New York with my family was made in the canoe _Liberdade_, without accident. [Illustration: Drawn by W. Taber. The _Northern Light_, Captain Joshua Slocum, bound for Liverpool, 1885.] My voyages were all foreign. I sailed as freighter and trader principally to China, Australia, and Japan, and among the Spice Islands. Mine was not the sort of life to make one long to coil up one's ropes on land, the customs and ways of which I had finally almost forgotten. And so when times for freighters got bad, as at last they did, and I tried to quit the sea, what was there for an old sailor to do? I was born in the breezes, and I had studied the sea as perhaps few men have studied it, neglecting all else. Next in attractiveness, after seafaring, came ship-building. I longed to be master in both professions, and in a small way, in time, I accomplished my desire. From the decks of stout ships in the worst gales I had made calculations as to the size and sort of ship safest for all weather and all seas. Thus the voyage which I am now to narrate was a natural outcome not only of my love of adventure, but of my lifelong experience. One midwinter day of 1892, in Boston, where I had been cast up from old ocean, so to speak, a year or two before, I was cogitating whether I should apply for a command, and again eat my bread and butter on the sea, or go to work at the shipyard, when I met an old acquaintance, a whaling-captain, who said: "Come to Fairhaven and I'll give you a ship. But," he added, "she wants some repairs." The captain's terms, when fully explained, were more than satisfactory to me. They included all the assistance I would require to fit the craft for sea. I was only too glad to accept, for I had already found that I could not obtain work in the shipyard without first paying fifty dollars to a society, and as for a ship to command--there were not enough ships to go round. Nearly all our tall vessels had been cut down for coal-barges, and were being ignominiously towed by the nose from port to port, while many worthy captains addressed themselves to Sailors' Snug Harbor. The next day I landed at Fairhaven, opposite New Bedford, and found that my friend had something of a joke on me. For seven years the joke had been on him. The "ship" proved to be a very antiquated sloop called the _Spray,_ which the neighbors declared had been built in the year 1. She was affectionately propped up in a field, some distance from salt water, and was covered with canvas. The people of Fairhaven, I hardly need say, are thrifty and observant. For seven years they had asked, "I wonder what Captain Eben Pierce is going to do with the old _Spray?"_ The day I appeared there was a buzz at the gossip exchange: at last some one had come and was actually at work on the old _Spray._ "Breaking her up, I s'pose?" "No; going to rebuild her." Great was the amazement. "Will it pay?" was the question which for a year or more I answered by declaring that I would make it pay. My ax felled a stout oak-tree near by for a keel, and Farmer Howard, for a small sum of money, hauled in this and enough timbers for the frame of the new vessel. I rigged a steam-box and a pot for a boiler. The timbers for ribs, being straight saplings, were dressed and steamed till supple, and then bent over a log, where they were secured till set. Something tangible appeared every day to show for my labor, and the neighbors made the work sociable. It was a great day in the _Spray_ shipyard when her new stem was set up and fastened to the new keel. Whaling-captains came from far to survey it. With one voice they pronounced it "A 1," and in their opinion "fit to smash ice." The oldest captain shook my hand warmly when the breast-hooks were put in, declaring that he could see no reason why the _Spray_ should not "cut in bow-head" yet off the coast of Greenland. The much-esteemed stem-piece was from the butt of the smartest kind of a pasture oak. It afterward split a coral patch in two at the Keeling Islands, and did not receive a blemish. Better timber for a ship than pasture white oak never grew. The breast-hooks, as well as all the ribs, were of this wood, and were steamed and bent into shape as required. It was hard upon March when I began work in earnest; the weather was cold; still, there were plenty of inspectors to back me with advice. When a whaling-captain hove in sight I just rested on my adz awhile and "gammed" with him. New Bedford, the home of whaling-captains, is connected with Fairhaven by a bridge, and the walking is good. They never "worked along up" to the shipyard too often for me. It was the charming tales about arctic whaling that inspired me to put a double set of breast-hooks in the _Spray_, that she might shunt ice. The seasons came quickly while I worked. Hardly were the ribs of the sloop up before apple-trees were in bloom. Then the daisies and the cherries came soon after. Close by the place where the old _Spray_ had now dissolved rested the ashes of John Cook, a revered Pilgrim father. So the new _Spray_ rose from hallowed ground. From the deck of the new craft I could put out my hand and pick cherries that grew over the little grave. The planks for the new vessel, which I soon came to put on, were of Georgia pine an inch and a half thick. The operation of putting them on was tedious, but, when on, the calking was easy. The outward edges stood slightly open to receive the calking, but the inner edges were so close that I could not see daylight between them. All the butts were fastened by through bolts, with screw-nuts tightening them to the timbers, so that there would be no complaint from them. Many bolts with screw-nuts were used in other parts of the construction, in all about a thousand. It was my purpose to make my vessel stout and strong. [Illustration: Cross-section of the _Spray_.] Now, it is a law in Lloyd's that the _Jane_ repaired all out of the