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MY CONSULATE IN SAMOA
CHAPTER II.
The John Wesley in Trading Trim - Heavy Weather-Off Port Stephens - Gale subsides- Ablutionary Difficulties - Mixed Nationalities - The Inevitable Deported One - Sunday Island - Arrive at Tongatabu - Leave for Samoa - Metis Rock - Arrive at Apia.
WHEN I first inspected the John Wesley, I inwardly congratulated myself upon my luck in having dropped upon so smart a vessel, affording every promise of a most comfortable trip to Samoa. All that was wanted was fine weather, and that secured, nothing more could be wished for-bar, perhaps, that she were a steamer. Alas for the sight that met my eyes on joining! Where was the spacious poop-deck, white as snow, with all its metal fittings shining brightly in the morning sun, on which I had pictured myself pacing in the most approved nautical manner between the periods apportioned for sleeping and eating? All was changed now, and most distinctly for the worse. She was filled from stem to stern with lumber-timber for Tonga-main-deck and poop. On the latter it was piled up as high as the wooden part of the bulwarks, leaving but a small space clear in front of the companion, and just room enough for the man at the wheel. These two spaces, with the gratings on both sides of the steering-gear, were the only portions of the ship's deck to be seen. Of course the whole of the top of the timber pile was available, but this sort of perch was by no means inviting. The main deck was very much worse for travelling upon, being full of spars, planks, and casks of all descriptions, in the stowing of which security was more studied than comfort. I did not like the sight at all, and nasty thoughts concerning deck cargoes and overloading would keep cropping up, and unpleasant conjectures as to how the ship would behave in a sea-way with all that top-hamper. However, it was no use thinking about it; I had gone so far, and must go the remainder.
In the saloon things were just as badly crowded. When I last saw it, there appeared right aft a spacious semicircular transom sofa, handsomely upholstered, giving one the pleasant idea of many an afternoon's forty winks, or comfortable lounges with an interesting book; but, oh dear! the chance of such luxuries had been sadly interfered with since then. The whole of the stern portion had been cut off by a rough wooden grating, behind which was piled up in the most inextricable confusion such a cargo of 'notions' as I never saw before, and most probably will never see again. There were chairs, sofas, toys, boot-boxes, hat-boxes, soap, cutlery, millinery, and velocipedes, in a most glorious general mix, on order for the frivolous whites of the Pacific. No Yankee-notion ship ever had a more varied cargo than we carried. There was no place in which anything extra could be fastened that was not made available for the purpose, to the utter discomfort of individuals wanting to move about. Even under the table was lashed a full-length row of biscuit-tins, which most effectively destroyed any sort of comfort that one might have had when sitting there; for they were so cleverly placed that if one was not particularly careful in depositing one's legs beneath the mahogany, cuticular abrasion was sure to ensue.
This preliminary survey was indeed very disgusting, and the departure of the ship being put ofir until early the next morning, I went on shore again, returning to my floating museum the same evening. The next morning our troubles began. No sooner were we outside the heads than a gale sprang up, and before night a heavy sea was running, which, with all our unwieldy deck-load, caused the ship to labour heavily. The force of the wind increased gradually, though surely, during the night, until in the morning it was blowing fearfully strong, and the sea running mountains high. Battened down below, the situation was something awful, everything in a frightful state of confusion, thrown about anyhow and anywhere, the state of affairs in general being rather too serious outside to allow interior disarrangements to be much noticed. We could not show a rag more than a small portion of the spanker, just to keep the ship's head up to the seas continually breaking over us. About three o'clock in the morning an enormous wave broke right on board over the taffrail, carried away one of the boats, and, to make our condition worse, burst through the skylight and flooded the whole cabin; which in one way, however, was a blessing, for it gave us what was badly wanted-a little ventilation. What with bilge-water, parrots, dogs, canaries, magpies, and about fifteen people all seasick at the same time, a change of air was sorely wanted. From this to the 25th everything remained in status quo, with the exception of the sea, which naturally became worse and worse from the sustained violence of the blow. The wind was in the most dangerous position, viz. right on shore, and directly from the quarter to which we wanted to go. Not a rag could be shown but that little piece of the spanker, whilst every now and then a great green sea would break right over the ship, pressing her down in the water until she looked as if she would never come up, again. She did, all the same; although I imagine that a good many of us would not have minded if she never had, so miserable were all things at that time, with no signs of amelioration whatever.
In the afternoon land was sighted, and yet no change or sign of abatement in the weather; and we retired that evening to our dismal swampy berths, with the consciousness that should there be no favourable shift in the weather, nothing short of a miracle could save us from running on the rocks at Port Stephens, and finishing our voyage on the same bank where the bones of many a tall ship lie bleaching. As luck would have it, we got a shift of wind during the night; and none too soon, as another twelve hours must have put us on shore without hope of salvation on such a coast. We had run before the storm for nearly five days, and such a time I honestly don't want to pass again.
Although the wind had changed to a favourable one, yet the ship was very uneasy, jumping about on the sea which was still running high, but nothing to what it was when receiving the assistance of the gale. It was about time to seek for a wash, which until now had been an impossibility; I really do not think that anyone even thought of such a thing during those awful five days. Our minds were too full of our miserable surroundings and bodily feelings to find room for expectation of shore luxuries; but now it was the other way, everyone wanted to wash at once, and no portion of the requisite apparatus could be found.
At last I fathomed the mystery, but certainly did not find the ablutionary tackle on board this craft either so complete or so luxurious as on board the P. and O. One first had to get a tin basin from the nigger steward, then go on deck, draw the water from the scuttle-butt, which was found jammed away in some almost impossible place amongst the lumber; and after that, one was at liberty to make use of any part of the ship, bar the wheel or binnacle, as a washstand, and to proceed at one's own sweet will. When sufficiently washed, those who wished to demonstrate their good-breeding emptied the water over the side and politely handed the empty basin to the next customer, who was in waiting close at hand; otherwise, the utensil was left just as it was, and perhaps the next candidate was recommended to empty the thing himself.
My fellow-passengers were now visible for the first time; and, with regard to extraction, were as mixed a lot as one will ever get amongst in so small a party. There were representatives of the Australian Colonies, England, Scotland, German pure and Germano-British, colonial naturalized German, half-caste Samoan, to wind up with a nondescript half-caste Pacific Islander and a full-blood African negro in the saloon; whilst the crew were, with one or two exceptions, Danes, Norwegians or Swedes.
Of course there was the inevitable young man temporarily deported by his friends to separate him for a time from scenes of chronic indiscretion. No ship ever leaves for a cruise round the islands without one or more of such cattle. The relations of the one we had the pleasure of journeying with, people of position and wealth, offered our supercargo a large premium to leave him on some desert island or other, so anxious were they that he should not be again exposed to temptation in their neighbourhood.
The usual travelling scientific lunatic, without whom no vessel's complement of passengers is perfect, was also on board. This department was fully represented in the person of a very decent young fellow badly gone upon sugar-boiling, who was travelling with his models as part baggage.
On the 7th September we sighted Sunday Island, the largest of the Kermadees, a volcanic group lying north of New Zealand, in almost a direct line between that colony and the Tongan group. We were going to land there to look up the solitary occupier, who owed our ship some money; but the wind springing up in a favourable direction, the skipper decided to continue the voyage. On the morning of the 11th we sighted Eoa, the southernmost island of the Tongan or Friendly group; and in the afternoon arrived at Tongatabu, the principal oneour first port of call-and were soon at the anchorage off Nukualota.
Here we stopped eighteen days, during which time I remained the guest of the British Vice-Consul, Mr. Symonds, whose hospitality is a household word with all travellers in the Western Pacific, and to whose kindness I am indebted for a pleasant stay in a new and interesting place. I realized here once again the fact that the world is really not so vast as it appears to be, for on comparing notes we discovered that we were old friends, having met at the marriage of his brother, who was my chum in the old regiment. I did not see very much during my stay, but what I did was of so novel a character that I could, 1 fancy, fill many pages in recording my eighteen days' sojourn in this my first Pacific Island.
The next day we passed by the Metis rock, an active volcano, starting abruptly from the water, covered all over with sulphur, and from whose sides were pouring clouds of steam and smoke. At night it presented a grand sight, the whole rock appearing dull red in colour, speckled all over with brighter spots of various densities of flame-colour. It is put down in the old charts as being only 29 feet high, so it must have grown considerably since, as it seems to be more like 290 feet now. On the 3rd of October we sighted the easternmost island of my land of sojourn, named 'Tutuila,' and shortly afterwards came in sight of the central and principal one, 'Upolu.' We were in hopes of getting in the same evening, but the wind falling light we did not arrive off the harbour of Apia until dusk, when, not being able to get in, we stood off until the next morning.