| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Seamus |
Posted - September 09 2002 : 8:42:29 PM
August 4, 1746
Posted at Belfast Docks
For PHILADELPHIA, The SHIP NANCY, Capt. IRWIN. Will sail by the 10th of August. For freight or passage apply to said commander on board, at Mr. Samuel McCall's wharf.
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September 22, 1746
The Pennsylvania Gazette
PHILADELPHIA, September 22.
Tuesday last arrived here the Sloop Nancy, Capt. Irwin, from Belfast: she was taken in her passage by a Spanish privateer off of Bermuda, the 8th instant, who the next Day took a vessel belonging to New York. She had before taken two Bermudian sloops, a Brigt. from Virginia, and some other Vessels not known. Captain Irwin got his Sloop again, after being plunder'd, and such Goods taken out of her as they thought proper. From the Antigua Gazette we learn, that the Fawkner Packet, Captain Jeffrey, was arrived there from Martineco, into which Place she was carried by one of their Privateers; whose Owners were obliged to refund Captain Jeffrey of what Damages he received, as he was taken two Days after the Cessation took place.
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The lad was happy beyond words to be on solid ground again after nearly six weeks of the sea. Besides the terrifying ordeal with the Spanish privateers....pirates....the weather had made the voyage very rough, indeed. September is a very stormy time. His stomach might now settle down and allow him to eat something. Never, in Ireland, had he been so sick, nor so hungry as he was now. Feeling weak, the lad sat down on a bale of goods alongside a warehouse, collecting his thoughts and looking around for a chance to find some food........anything. He had sold everything he could find at home to buy passage to the Colonies, but had come up short. Capt. Irwin agreed to allow him to work off the remainder on the voyage. It did not matter that he had never been on a ship before, but he was a quick learner and performed his duties quite well. Now he was totally and completely penniless, so buying a meal was out of the question. He would have to resort to his experience to survive: beg, borrow.......or steal.
The wharf was a busy place; people coming and going, men loading and unloading ships of all sizes and descriptions, bellowing at each other profanely, men who appeared to be in charge yelling and sometimes hitting the others with a stick. As far as the eye could see, masts and riggings dominated the landscape, making it appear as though thousands of spiders had spun their webs in the leafless trees. The sounds of ships tied up at the docks, creaking and groaning, made them seem alive and gulls everywhere, screeching and calling...there was something very exciting in all this! Wealthy men in fine clothes standing with others, just watching; men in tatters sometimes with an arm or a leg or even an eye missing, and horrible scars across their faces or backs. The vicious-looking hooks which had replaced hands fascinated, yet frightened him. Odors of all sorts invaded his nostrils...the fishy salt air of the sea, even here on the Delaware River, the acrid odors of tar, oakum, and turpentine, the disgusting odor of filthy men and filthier clothes, the sweet smells coming from a bakery...my goodness! How that odor gnawed at his stomach! A rough-looking man seated on a box nearby was tearing large chunks from a fresh loaf of dark bread and feeding on them. The lad’s stomach cramped hard and his mouth tasted very coppery, as he watched. Trying to quell the hunger pains, he forced himself to look away and concentrate on something more pleasant.
At that moment, a loud shout startled the lad. Another man had tried to grab the bread away and a fight ensued. The first man kicked at his assailant while holding the loaf tightly to his chest. The second man attacked again, his arms flailing, connecting several times in succession, knocking his opponent to the ground and sending the loaf flying. A crowd gathered around them, yelling and |
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| Edmund McKinnon |
Posted - September 10 2002 : 01:54:21 AM
Aye cousin,simply a work of art EM
Edmond N.Highlander Jr. |
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