Chapter 6

HE IS INITIATED IN THE BUSINESS OF CLEANING OUT THE PIG-PEN, AND

SLUSHING DOWN THE TOP-MAST

By the time I got back to the ship, every thing was in an uproar. The

pea-jacket man was there, ordering about a good many men in the rigging,

and people were bringing off chickens, and pigs, and beef, and

vegetables from the shore. Soon after, another man, in a striped calico

shirt, a short blue jacket and beaver hat, made his appearance, and went

to ordering about the man in the big pea-jacket; and at last the captain

came up the side, and began to order about both of them.

These two men turned out to be the first and second mates of the ship.

Thinking to make friends with the second mate, I took out an old

tortoise-shell snuff-box of my father's, in which I had put a piece of

Cavendish tobacco, to look sailor-like, and offered the box to him very

politely. He stared at me a moment, and then exclaimed, "Do you think we

take snuff aboard here, youngster? no, no, no time for snuff-taking at

sea; don't let the 'old man' see that snuff-box; take my advice and

pitch it overboard as quick as you can."

I told him it was not snuff, but tobacco; when he said, he had plenty of

tobacco of his own, and never carried any such nonsense about him as a

tobacco-box. With that, he went off about his business, and left me

feeling foolish enough. But I had reason to be glad he had acted thus,

for if he had not, I think I should have offered my box to the chief

mate, who in that case, from what I afterward learned of him, would have

knocked me down, or done something else equally uncivil.

As I was standing looking round me, the chief mate approached in a great

hurry about something, and seeing me in his way, cried out, "Ashore with

you, you young loafer! There's no stealings here; sail away, I tell you,

with that shooting-jacket!"

Upon this I retreated, saying that I was going out in the ship as a

sailor.

"A sailor!" he cried, "a barber's clerk, you mean; you going out in the

ship? what, in that jacket? Hang me, I hope the old man hasn't been

shipping any more greenhorns like you--he'll make a shipwreck of it if he

has. But this is the way nowadays; to save a few dollars in seamen's

wages, they think nothing of shipping a parcel of farmers and

clodhoppers and baby-boys. What's your name, Pillgarlic?"

"Redburn," said I.

"A pretty handle to a man, that; scorch you to take hold of it; haven't

you got any other?"

"Wellingborough," said I.

"Worse yet. Who had the baptizing of ye? Why didn't they call you Jack,

or Jill, or something short and handy. But I'll baptize you over again.

D'ye hear, sir, henceforth your name is Buttons. And now do you go,

Buttons, and clean out that pig-pen in the long-boat; it has not been

cleaned out since last voyage. And bear a hand about it, d'ye hear;

there's them pigs there waiting to be put in; come, be off about it,

now."

Was this then the beginning of my sea-career? set to cleaning out a

pig-pen, the very first thing?

But I thought it best to say nothing; I had bound myself to obey orders,

and it was too late to retreat. So I only asked for a shovel, or spade,

or something else to work with.

"We don't dig gardens here," was the reply; "dig it out with your

teeth!"

After looking round, I found a stick and went to scraping out the pen,

which was awkward work enough, for another boat called the "jolly-boat,"

was capsized right over the longboat, which brought them almost close

together. These two boats were in the middle of the deck. I managed to

crawl inside of the long-boat; and after barking my shins against the

seats, and bumping my head a good many times, I got along to the stern,

where the pig-pen was.

While I was hard at work a drunken sailor peeped in, and cried out to

his comrades, "Look here, my lads, what sort of a pig do you call this?

Hallo! inside there! what are you 'bout there? trying to stow yourself

away to steal a passage to Liverpool? Out of that! out of that, I say."

But just then the mate came along and ordered this drunken rascal

ashore.

The pig-pen being cleaned out, I was set to work picking up some

shavings, which lay about the deck; for there had been carpenters at

work on board. The mate ordered me to throw these shavings into the

long-boat at a particular place between two of the seats. But as I found

it hard work to push the shavings through in that place, and as it

looked wet there, I thought it would be better for the shavings as well

as myself, to thrust them where there was a larger opening and a dry

spot. While I was thus employed, the mate observing me, exclaimed with

an oath, "Didn't I tell you to put those shavings somewhere else? Do

what I tell you, now, Buttons, or mind your eye!"

Stifling my indignation at his rudeness, which by this time I found was

my only plan, I replied that that was not so good a place for the

shavings as that which I myself had selected, and asked him to tell me

why he wanted me to put them in the place he designated. Upon this, he

flew into a terrible rage, and without explanation reiterated his order

like a clap of thunder.

This was my first lesson in the discipline of the sea, and I never

forgot it. From that time I learned that sea-officers never gave reasons

for any thing they order to be done. It is enough that they command it,

so that the motto is, "Obey orders, though you break owners."

I now began to feel very faint and sick again, and longed for the ship

to be leaving the dock; for then I made no doubt we would soon be having

something to eat. But as yet, I saw none of the sailors on board, and as

for the men at work in the rigging, I found out that they were

"riggers," that is, men living ashore, who worked by the day in getting

ships ready for sea; and this I found out to my cost, for yielding to

the kind blandishment of one of these riggers, I had swapped away my

jackknife with him for a much poorer one of his own, thinking to secure

a sailor friend for the voyage. At last I watched my chance, and while

people's backs were turned, I seized a carrot from several bunches lying

on deck, and clapping it under the skirts of my shooting-jacket, went

forward to eat it; for I had often eaten raw carrots, which taste

something like chestnuts. This carrot refreshed me a good deal, though

at the expense of a little pain in my stomach. Hardly had I disposed of

it, when I heard the chief mate's voice crying out for "Buttons." I ran

after him, and received an order to go aloft and "slush down the

main-top mast."

This was all Greek to me, and after receiving the order, I stood staring

about me, wondering what it was that was to be done. But the mate had

turned on his heel, and made no explanations. At length I followed after

him, and asked what I must do.

"Didn't I tell you to slush down the main-top mast?" he shouted.

"You did," said I, "but I don't know what that means."

"Green as grass! a regular cabbage-head!" he exclaimed to himself. "A

fine time I'll have with such a greenhorn aboard. Look you, youngster.

Look up to that long pole there--d'ye see it? that piece of a tree there,

you timber-head--well--take this bucket here, and go up the rigging--that

rope-ladder there--do you understand?--and dab this slush all over the

mast, and look out for your head if one drop falls on deck. Be off now,

Buttons."

The eventful hour had arrived; for the first time in my life I was to

ascend a ship's mast. Had I been well and hearty, perhaps I should have

felt a little shaky at the thought; but as I was then, weak and faint,

the bare thought appalled me.

But there was no hanging back; it would look like cowardice, and I could

not bring myself to confess that I was suffering for want of food; so

rallying again, I took up the bucket.

It was a heavy bucket, with strong iron hoops, and might have held

perhaps two gallons. But it was only half full now of a sort of thick

lobbered gravy, which I afterward learned was boiled out of the salt

beef used by the sailors. Upon getting into the rigging, I found it was

no easy job to carry this heavy bucket up with me. The rope handle of it

was so slippery with grease, that although I twisted it several times

about my wrist, it would be still twirling round and round, and slipping

off. Spite of this, however, I managed to mount as far as the "top," the

clumsy bucket half the time straddling and swinging about between my

legs, and in momentary danger of capsizing. Arrived at the "top," I came

to a dead halt, and looked up. How to surmount that overhanging

impediment completely posed me for the time. But at last, with much

straining, I contrived to place my bucket in the "top;" and then,

trusting to Providence, swung myself up after it. The rest of the road

was comparatively easy; though whenever I incautiously looked down

toward the deck, my head spun round so from weakness, that I was obliged

to shut my eyes to recover myself. I do not remember much more. I only

recollect my safe return to the deck.

In a short time the bustle of the ship increased; the trunks of cabin

passengers arrived, and the chests and boxes of the steerage passengers,

besides baskets of wine and fruit for the captain.

At last we cast loose, and swinging out into the stream, came to anchor,

and hoisted the signal for sailing. Every thing, it seemed, was on board

but the crew; who in a few hours after, came off, one by one, in

Whitehall boats, their chests in the bow, and themselves lying back in

the stem like lords; and showing very plainly the complacency they felt

in keeping the whole ship waiting for their lordships.

"Ay, ay," muttered the chief mate, as they rolled out of then-boats and

swaggered on deck, "it's your turn now, but it will be mine before long.

Yaw about while you may, my hearties, I'll do the yawing after the

anchor's up."

Several of the sailors were very drunk, and one of them was lifted on

board insensible by his landlord, who carried him down below and dumped

him into a bunk. And two other sailors, as soon as they made their

appearance, immediately went below to sleep off the fumes of their

drink.

At last, all the crew being on board, word was passed to go to dinner

fore and aft, an order that made my heart jump with delight, for now my

long fast would be broken. But though the sailors, surfeited with eating

and drinking ashore, did not then touch the salt beef and potatoes which

the black cook handed down into the forecastle; and though this left the

whole allowance to me; to my surprise, I found that I could eat little

or nothing; for now I only felt deadly faint, but not hungry.