Looking Seaward Again by Walter Runciman

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LOOKING SEAWARD AGAIN

by

Sir WALTER RUNCIMAN, Bart.,

Author of _The Shellback's Progress_, _Windjammers and Sea Tramps_, etc.

London: Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd.

1907.

TO
MY WIFE
THESE FRAGMENTS
ARE AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.

PREFACE.

The following tales have been told to some few men and women by the
fireside. The stories themselves only claim to be unvarnished matters
of fact; and I may repeat here what I said in a previous volume, that
my object has not been to strain after literary effect or style. My
too early desertion of home-life to graduate in the harsh and
whimsical discipline of sailing-vessels in the days when they had
still some years to live and "carry on" ere steam took the wind out of
their sails, precluded such studies as are natural to the embryo man
of letters. But the circumstances that told against mere study did not
prevent my preserving many memories of my sojourns ashore and voyages
in distant seas. I mention this fact, not as an apology, but as an
explanation which I hope may commend itself to the amiable reader.

WALTER RUNCIMAN.

_3rd December_ 1907.

CONTENTS.

THROUGH TORPEDOES AND ICE
FAIR TRADE AND FOUL PLAY
SMUGGLERS OF THE ROCK
A PASHA BEFORE PLEVNA
A RUSSIAN PORT IN THE 'SIXTIES
"DUTCHY" AND HIS CHIEF

Through Torpedoes and Ice

"Osman the Victorious," as Skobeleff called the matchless Turkish
pasha, had kept the Russian hordes at bay for one hundred and
forty-two days. Never in the annals of warfare had the world beheld
such unexpected military genius, combined with stubborn endurance, as
was shown during the siege of Plevna. On December 10th, 1877, Osman
came out and made a desperate struggle to break through the Russian
lines; but after four hours' hard fighting the Turks sent up the white
flag, and boisterous cheering swelled over the snow-clad land when it
became known that the greatest Turkish general of modern times had
surrendered. His little army of Bashi-Bazouks had annihilated more
than one Siberian battalion. The Russian loss was forty thousand, and
the Turkish thirty thousand. Had Suleiman and the other Turkish
generals shown the same stubborn spirit as Osman, the Russian army
would never have been permitted to cross the Balkans, much less reach
Constantinople.[1] But after the fall of Plevna the resistance of the
Turkish army was feeble, and the Muscovites were not long in pitching
their camp at San Stefano. Indeed, a rumour got abroad one night that
the Russians were in the suburbs of Constantinople. This roused the
indignation of the English jingoes to such a pitch that the great
Jewish Premier, with the dash that characterized his career, gave
peremptory orders for the British fleet to proceed, with or without
leave, through the Dardanelles, and if any resistance was shown to
silence the forts. Russia protested and threatened, and Turkey winked
a stern objection, but Lord Beaconsfield was firm, and suitable
arrangements were arrived at between the Powers.

Bismarck offered his services as mediator, and suggested that a
European Congress should be held at Berlin to discuss the contents of
the Treaty of San Stefano. This was agreed to, and Lord Beaconsfield,
accompanied by Lord Salisbury, were the British representatives at the
Congress. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary drove a hard
and favourable bargain for Turkey and for Britain. Turkey, it is
needless to say, got the worst of it; but, considering her crushing
defeat, came well out of the settlement. Cyprus was ceded to the
British, to be used as a naval station, and subsequent experience has
proved the wisdom of this acquisition. Lord Beaconsfield proclaimed to
a tumultuous crowd on the occasion of his return to London that he had
brought back "peace with honour." This was the acme of the great
Jew's fame. It looked as though he could have done anything he liked
with the British people, so that it is no wonder that the old man lost
his balance when such homage was paid him by that section of the
public which was smitten with his picturesque and audacious
personality.

Naturally, his policy impregnated Russia with a strong anti-British
feeling, and it was said that her activity in running up earthworks
and apparently impregnable fortifications was in anticipation of
Disraeli declaring war and ordering the fleet to bombard the Crimean
ports; hence, too, in addition to the strong fortifications, torpedo
mines were laid for miles along the seaboard, and every possible means
and opportunity were taken to make it widely known that the Black Sea
was one deadly mine-field. The Press on all sides was, as usual,
brimful of reports of the most alarmist nature--these, of course, for
the most part extravagant and inaccurate rumours. Nor did the Russian
Press minimize accounts of the terrible devastation that was wrought
on unarmed trespassers who came within the zone of terror. I read
twice of my own rapid and complete destruction. There is no doubt that
mines were laid, though both their capacity for destruction and the
number of them was very much exaggerated.

From the end of ---- outer breakwater to beyond the ---- there was a
line of mines which left between the land and them a channel less than
half a mile wide. A gunboat with torpedo pilots aboard was moored at
the south end, and vessels prior to the war and during the armistice
were compelled to take a pilot in and out; but no vessel was allowed
to pass in or out from sunset to sunrise. A gunboat was also stationed
outside the inner breakwater. A large fleet of steamers had been
attracted by the high freights, inflated by the war fever that
permeated Europe at that time, and also because the season was far
advanced, and merchants were anxious to get their stuff shipped in
case hostilities broke out. The heavy snowstorms had made the roads
almost impassable, but in spite of great difficulties the loading was
carried on; slowly, it is true, but with dogged perseverance. The
frost had become keen, and large floes of ice were rushed down the
reaches by the swift current. Booms were moored outside the vessels to
protect them, but these were constantly being carried away, and not a
little damage was done. A consultation amongst the captains was held
as to the advisability of leaving with what cargoes they had aboard,
but only two decided to start on the following morning. Some of the
others said they could force their way through six inches of ice, and
would risk waiting to receive their whole cargo. Accordingly, as soon
as it was daylight one of the captains who had made all arrangements
to leave gave orders to unmoor. The other had changed his mind, and
fell in with the views of the majority. The captain of the
_Claverhouse_, however, got underweigh, but before getting very far
his engineer reported that the hot-well cover had broken in two. It
was temporarily repaired, and she got along famously until they came
to a bend in the river where there was much packed ice. For two hours
manoeuvring continued without any appreciable result. At last the big
mass began to move, and a navigable channel was opened, which enabled
the vessel to make slow though risky progress through a field of
moving ice.

The anchorage at ---- was reached before darkness set in, and a vessel
which had left four days previously was observed to be ashore, with
the ice drifting up against her port side, forcing her farther on to
the bank. Signals were hoisted offering assistance, but before the
reply could be made a blinding snowstorm came on, which lasted all
through the night. The next morning, at daylight, signals were again
made by the _Claverhouse_ to the stranded vessel asking if they would
accept assistance. The reply came, "I want lighters." The crew were
jettisoning the cargo of wheat on to the ice as it flowed past, but
the more they lightened the farther the vessel was forced on to the
bank by the rushing current. The master of the _Claverhouse_,
observing the critical position, sent a boat away with a small line.
A communication was effected, but not without great difficulty. The
master of the _Aureola_ was worn out with anxiety and want of rest,
for his vessel had been ashore for forty-eight hours. He very wisely
accepted the assistance which had opportunely come to him. A tow-rope
was attached to the small line, and by this means a thick tow-line was
got aboard, and she was dragged off the bank; then orders were
unaccountably given to cut the tow-rope. This very nearly resulted in
a more serious disaster, as the engineers in the confusion kept the
engines going astern, and the rope drifting with the current, became
entangled round the propeller. If the anchor and chains had not held
the great strain that was put on them, she would have gone ashore
again in a worse position, and inevitably have broken her back. As it
was, the propeller was cleared in about a couple of hours. The captain
of the _Aureola_ was not well acquainted with the locality, and
arranged that he should follow the other steamer to----. Suitable
plans and signals were settled, and both vessels weighed anchor and
proceeded as fast through the ice as was compatible with safety. Once
out of the narrows and clear of the obstruction, the engines were put
at full speed and kept going until they were forced to slow down on
account of the snow squalls, which obscured everything. The sea had
become rough, and the utmost resources of the commanders were taxed in
their efforts to navigate the coast and yet keep together. They groped
their way until ---- town lights were visible. It was then seen that
the gunboat anchored at the south end of the mine-field was signalling
to them to stop; but still they went slowly on, feeling their way by
the lead, while those aboard the gunboat began to fire rockets with
exciting rapidity. Regardless of the warning, the two steamers kept on
their way until they got to the anchorage, when the warship was hidden
from view.

It was past midnight; and although the crews of both vessels had gone
through a severe ordeal of physical endurance, they were each anxious
to hear what the other had to say about the events of the last
forty-eight hours, which were beset with peril, and had culminated by
boldly running into the anchorage over the mines in defiance of the
regulations--to say nothing of the danger of being blown up, or the
mysterious prospect of Siberia! The captain of the _Aureola_ was
greatly perturbed, and he promptly ordered his gig to be manned to
take him to the _Claverhouse_. On getting aboard, he reproached his
friend for leading him into what might prove a serious scrape. The two
men talked long of the exciting doings of the day and the policy that
should be adopted on the morrow, when they would be confronted with
officials that were not over well-disposed to British subjects. They
fully realized that the case would have to be managed with great
astuteness, so they bethought themselves of one of the cleverest and
most popular men in----, and sent a message to him asking his help.
His name need not be mentioned; he is long since dead, and it is
sufficient to say that he was an educated Maltese, and held a kind of
magnetic influence over the harbour authorities. The Admiral was an
amiable man in an ordinary way, and susceptible to the temptations
that beset officials in these places; but the _Claverhouse's_ offence
was no common one, nor could it be approached in an ordinary way of
speech.

On going ashore, the captains were ushered into the presence of the
infuriated official who was to decide their destiny. He fumed and
foamed savagely, and whenever an attempt was made to speak his
paroxysms became inhuman. Their Maltese friend had come to their aid,
and was waiting patiently for the storm to subside, so that he could
explain how it happened that the regulations came to be broken. Things
looked black until Mr. C---- began to speak in Russian. It took him
some time to get the great man pacified, and as soon as that was
accomplished he said to the master of the _Claverhouse_--"You know
that you could be sent to Siberia or less. How am I to explain it? Why
did you not keep at sea all night? There is only one thing that will
save you."

"Well, then," responded the captain of the _Claverhouse_, "let that
one thing be arranged; but let me also state the cause of our breaking
the law. We could have kept the sea quite well had we known exactly
where we were, but we could see nothing, and had to navigate by taking
soundings, and as soon as we got into seven fathoms the water became
smooth, and, fearing we might run aground, the anchor was let go. As
for the rockets that were fired by the gunboat, we had passed the line
of torpedoes before our attention was attracted by the firing. The
Admiral himself could not have avoided it. Surely he cannot think we
deliberately ran into the anchorage?"

"That is just what he does think," said Mr. C----. "What am I to do?"

"Settle on the best terms," said the captain.

At this point two officers took the captains to another room, and they
were locked in. An hour afterwards Mr. C---- came to them and said--

"I have managed to get him quietened down. You have had a narrow
squeak. It took me a long time to get him to speak of liberating you,
and now I am requested to bring you to him so that you may be severely
reprimanded. He talked of gaol, and sending you out of the country for
ever, and inflicting a heavy fine; but that stage has passed, so come
with me."

When they were ushered into the Admiral's presence he frowned severely
at them. Russian officers and high officials always expect you to
tremble when they administer a rebuke. Needless to say, the reception
was harsh. There was a good deal of long stride, prancing from one end
of the room to the other, vehement talk in Russian, and wild
gesticulation. The Maltese told the somewhat callous captains that the
Admiral declared the next Englishman that attempted such a thing, if
he were not blown up, would have to be shot. An example must be made.
The genial intermediary interjected with apparent sternness--

"Captains, you must apologize for the crime you have committed, and be
thankful that you are going to be dealt leniently with. The Admiral
is right: you deserved to be blown up with your ship. But apologize
suitably, and leave the rest to me."

All but the last sentence was interpreted to the gallant official. An
apology was made, and silently accepted; but the real penalty was not
disclosed to the captains until afterwards, and then it was kept
secret by them and by the two contracting parties. The two commanders,
when being congratulated on their release, said they did not know what
all the fuss was about. They had done no harm to anybody, and if
hostilities were resumed they hoped the Turks would wipe the Russians
off the field, and so on.

Three stirring months passed before the _Claverhouse_ returned to
----. When she arrived at the gunboat guarding the torpedo channel,
she took a pilot, and proceeded into the harbour in a law-abiding
manner, while her captain, audibly and inaudibly, declaimed against a
Government whose barbarous notions led them to impose restrictions
that caused expense and interrupted the normal process of navigation.
"What right have these beastly Russians to hamper British shipping
like this?"

When the captain landed he was met by several friends, who cheerfully
inquired if he had found another new channel into the port. He
jokingly retorted--

"No; but I might have to find a new one out."

He was solemnly advised not to attempt it. The Admiral, whom he
occasionally met, was unusually cordial, and this attitude of courtesy
was ungrudgingly reciprocated. One evening the captain wished to visit
a friend of his, whose vessel lay at the forts. The sentry asked him
to retire. He refused to move, and commenced to harangue the soldier
in a language he supposed to be Russian. There must have been
something wrong about it, for after a few words of conversation the
sentry rushed at him with the bayonet fixed, and but for the swiftness
of his heels there might have been a tragedy. He immediately called at
the Admiral's office, informed him of what had occurred, and
requested that he should be escorted where he desired to go. An
officer was sent with him, and when they got to the sentry the officer
spoke to the man in a heated tone, and then slapped him on the face
with the flat of his hand. The captain asked why he had struck the
sentry. The officer replied--

"Because he told me you had used some Russian language to him that
caused him to believe you were a suspicious character. I told him he
was a fool, and that you were a friend of mine and of the Admiral. You
will have no more trouble."

A _douceur_ was slipped into the willing hand, and on the return
journey another was given to the poor sentry, who showed a meekness
and gratitude that was nearly pathetic.

On the following day there was a sensational rumour that the armistice
would be raised and hostilities between the two belligerents resumed.
At the forts and at the military quarters of the city there was much
activity. The troops were being reviewed by one of the Grand Dukes,
and there were evidences of conscription everywhere. Aboard the
warships the flutter was quite noticeable, and the frequent
communications between them and the shore augured trouble. Merchants,
agents, and captains displayed unusual energy to complete their
engagements. A strongly-worded order was handed to the captains of the
few vessels still remaining in port that, on penalty of being sunk by
the warships or blown up by torpedoes, no vessel was to go out of the
port after sundown at 6 p.m.

On the second day after this instruction was given the loading of the
_Claverhouse's_ cargo was completed. A gentleman sent a note
requesting the captain to see him, and not to remove the staging
between his vessel and the quay, as it would be required to carry out
an important shipment which would be of great benefit to himself and
all concerned. Negotiations were opened, and were briefly as
follows:--This estimable Briton had been approached by a person of
great astuteness and easy integrity, who was neither an Englishman nor
a Turk, to engage at all costs a steamer to take bullocks on deck to
a certain unnamed destination. The freight would be paid before the
cattle were shipped, but the vessel would have to sail that night, and
a large sum would be paid for running that risk.

"State your price," said the genial agent; "anything within reason
will be paid."

The captain was as eager to do a deal as his new acquaintance, though
he pleaded the almost impossible task of running out of the port
without being observed, and if observed the inevitable consequence of
being sunk, probably with all on board. The agent, having in mind his
own considerable interest, played discreetly on the vanity of the
commander, and laughed at the notion of an astute person like him
allowing himself to be trapped; appealed to his nationality, and the
glory of having run out of a port that was severely blockaded. The
captain cut this flow of greasy oratory short by stating that for the
moment he was thinking of the amount of hard cash he was going to get,
and not of the glory.

"I know what I will have to do, and I think I know how it will have
to be done; but first let us fix the amount I am to have for doing it.
My price is L----. Do you agree?"

"Yes," said the agent; "though it's a bit stiff. But the animals must
go forward."

The captain did not expect so sudden a confirmation, and remarked, "I
fancy I have not put sufficient value on the services I am to carry
out; but I have given my word, and will keep it."

In due course the money was handed over in British gold. The cattle
were taken aboard, and just as the sun was setting the moorings were
cast off, and the vessel proceeded to the outer harbour and anchored.
The chief mate was instructed to put as little chain as possible out,
and the engineer was told to have a good head of steam at a certain
hour. Meanwhile, the captain proceeded to the city to clear his ship,
and at the stated hour he was stealthily rowed alongside. The pawls of
the windlass were muffled, and the anchor was hove noiselessly up by
hand; the engines were set easy ahead, and as soon as she was on her
course the telegraph rang "full speed." She had not proceeded far
before a shot was fired from the inner gunboat, which landed alongside
the starboard quarter. The chief officer called from the forecastle
head--

"They are firing at us--hadn't you better stop?"

"Stop, be d----d! Do you want to be hung or sent to the Siberian
mines?"

The next shot fell short of the stern. They now came thick and heavy,
but the _Claverhouse_ by this time was racing away, and was quickly
out of range. The most critical time arrived when she was rushed
headlong over the line of torpedoes; and as soon as the outer gunboat
was opened clear of the breakwater, she, too, commenced to fire. Once
the line of mines was safely passed, the course was set to hug the
land. The firing from the torpedo gunboat was wildly inaccurate, never
a shot coming within fathoms of their target, and soon the little
steamer was far beyond the reach of the Tsar's guns.

Her captain had no faith in the report industriously circulated that
the Crimean coast and the Black Sea were impenetrably mined, so he
proceeded gaily on his voyage, shaking hands with himself for having
succeeded in running the gauntlet without a single man being hurt, or
the breaking of a rope-yarn. The crew were boisterously proud of the
night's exploit. They knew that no pecuniary benefit would be derived
by them, and were content to believe that they had been parties to a
dashing piece of devil-may-care work. The average British sailor of
that period loved to be in a scrape, and revelled in the sport of
doing any daring act to get out of it. It never occurred to the
captain that his crew might jib at the thought of undertaking so
perilous a course. He had been reared in the courage of the class to
which he belonged, and his confidence in the loyalty of his men was
not shaken by the thoughtless interjection of the chief officer, who,
in a shameful moment asked him to turn back after the first shot was
fired. He had no time to think of that senseless advice when it was
given, but it may be taken for granted the cautious mate did not add
to his popularity with the crew. He had commanded large sailing
vessels in the Australian passenger trade, and this was his first
voyage in steam. The new life, with all its varied sensationalisms,
was a mystery to him, and this little incident did not increase his
belief in the wisdom of his change from sail to steam. He explained
that the thought of what he regarded as inevitable disaster caused him
to spontaneously call out that they were firing.

"Besides," he continued, "I don't like the business; so I'll resign my
position and go back to sailing vessels again, on the completion of
the voyage."

The captain reminded him of the fine spirit of enterprise that
prevailed amongst the crew; only in a lesser degree, perhaps, than
that which caused Nelson under different circumstances to say of his
sailors, "They really mind shot no more than peas."

"Nelson may have said that, and our crew may have a fine spirit of
wholesale daring, but I don't like to be mixed up with either the
enterprise or the shot," retorted the reflective officer; and I
daresay if the captain were asked for an opinion now he would be
disposed to take the mate's view.

The thought of being pursued kept up a quiet excitement. The vessel
was pressed through the water at her maximum speed and arrived at her
first destination without any mishap to herself or the deck cargo,
which was landed expeditiously. She then continued on her voyage. On
arrival at the discharging port, a letter was received from the owners
complimenting the captain on the success of an undertaking which would
contribute so considerably to the profits of the voyage, and at the
same time calling his attention to a newspaper cutting. An official
telegram to the English Press stated that "_A British steamer, name
unknown, in attempting to run out of ---- harbour over the torpedo
lines, was warned and fired upon by a Russian warship which was
guarding the harbour. The steamer refused to stop. She was shelled,
and in crossing the mine zone the vessel, with her crew, was blown to
atoms!_" This was a sensational piece of news to read of one's self.

Two years elapsed before the captain again steamed into ---- harbour.
He expected to meet his old friend the Admiral, and a few other
Russian gentlemen in whom his interest was centred; but they had
either gone to their rest or had been removed. It seemed as though the
incident that caused so much commotion at the time had passed out of
recollection. Indeed, there seemed quite a new order of things. New
officials were there. The gunboats were removed from their familiar
stations. The torpedoes that had been the dread of navigators had been
lifted, and it was commonly reported that many of them were loaded
with sand. No signs were visible of there having been war defences
that were meant to be regarded as impregnable--and it is not to be
denied the earthworks justified that opinion. There were whisperings
that when those in high places discovered what some of the mines were
charged with, the persons responsible for the laying of the mines
were seized; and tradition has it that an impromptu scaffold had been
erected outside the town, and every one of the suspects hanged without
trial--and merely on the suspicion that they knew of, even if they had
not contributed to, the treacherous act. In the light of the horrors
that are occurring in Russia at the present time, it is not improbable
that there was treachery; and that when it was discovered, suspicion
centred on certain persons, who were, in accordance with Muscovite
autocracy, dispatched without ceremony, guilty or not guilty.

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