The Life of William Hodge

our anchor and the Tug took hold of us, and towed us up the river Elbe and placed us along side of the wharf in the City of Hamburg, where we got paid of after a voyage of fifteen months. Well now that Captain got such a bad name for cruelty to his men, by the sailors of Leith. But I must say that I was never along with a better man, he was a very strict man But I will say that any man that could do his work as a sailor he was just along with the right man. And also made an uneventful voyage of fifteen months, then booked our passage for Leith in one of the Leith Steamers and arrived in Leith Docks, and left for home. I was home two or three weeks and was just wondering where I was going to fetch up next. Anyhow I went down to the shipping office to see if there was anything doing, and I found a crowd of Leith sailors standing there and one of them got up and says, well boys there is a full rigged ship called the Tinto laying in Granton a small port about three miles from Leith, and she is bound to the West Indies for a cargo of sugar and Rum. So we counted the lot and found there was sixteen of us. So the spokesman says what do you say if we march out to Granton and see the captain if he wants a crew, so it did not take us long to decide. So away we goes on the march for Granton for in those days there was no conveyences to run you out as there is today. So we arrived in Granton and by good luck the captain was on board so the sixteen of us jumps on board and the mate called the Captain, and he came out of the cabin and had a look at us and asked for our discharges from the last ship and he took them all and shipped every man of us at the shipping office at Granton, and a day or two after we sailed for Matanzes [Mantazas] Island of Cuba and we found that we had shipped in a good old ship with a good captain and officers. so we arrived at Matanzes in about two months and in those days, the Island of Cuba belonged to Spain anyhow we discharged her cargo of coal into lighters as we layed at anchor in the bay, and the Spanish stevedore and his gang of West Indies n------ loaded her with sugar and Rum. we was altogether about two months in Matanzes

then sailed for Port Glasgow, and after being out in the Atlantic ocean about three weeks, we encounterd a heavy gale of wind. we was then two hundred miles to the east of New York, when her patent diamond screw connected with her steering gear carried away so we hove her to under three lower topsails and reefed spanker. Then all hands was called on deck, and unshipped one of the boats davits and cut the hook end of it while the carpenter was gouging a big bolt in the rudder head to take that boats davit and make a tiller of it to steer the ship by, and after the hole in the rudder head was ready we shipped the straight part of the boats davit into the hole and wedged it up tightly, and lashed two tackles one on each side of the tiller and three men on each tackle and steered that ship splendidly and as soon as we had everything all ship shape it was square away and run before the gale and that great ship steering wonderfully well then the cry was Grog oh. And of course if there was anything to do call all hands. And in 14 days we was running up the Irish channel and a couple of days more the tug had hold of us and laid us alongside the wharf at port Glasgow then when the news went round that the ship had been steered across the Western Ocean with a tiller lots of the captains came on board to see the patent and reconed [reckoned] it was a clever idea. So all hands got paid off in port Glasgow there trained for Leith as all of us belonged there. After being away six months but everything ran smootlhy that trip, only for that bit of a mishap to her steering gear but was blessed with a good captain and also his officers and I may say a good crew. Now that was just about the latter end of 1870 and after a spell on shore I shipped again in a Barque called the Adriatic belonging to Leith bound to Quebec. And made a long passage out and had to lay there some time waiting on the rafts of timber coming down the Gulf of St Lawrence. Anyhow we got loaded and sailed for Leith. Just in time before the Winter set in, and arrived home in Leith in the latter end of 1871 and got paid off. And the ship laid up until

the spring of 1872 and had another spell on shore so I said to an old mate of mine called John [?Finnie], what do you say if we give Leith best, and go to Glasgow,and ship for Australia. All right he says I am your man. So we packed up our chests and bags, and left Edinburgh Station bound for Glasgow and arrived at the sailors home on the Broomielaw at Glasgow for the last time to see the soil of Scotland now in those days in Glasgow before there were so many steamers a sailor could just take a walk down the banks of the Clyde and pick his ship, for any part of the world, and you could always see where the ship was bound to as there was always a board stuck in the forerigging to let you know where the ship was bound to and when she sailed, so we met a sailor coming along on the same errand as oursleves and asked him if he knew of any ship wanting a crew bound to Australia or anywhere near it. Yes he says I am just going down now to a ship that is bound to Dunedin to hand in my last ships discharge. So we thought that was near enough to Australia. So when we got alongside we found she was a large fullrigged ship belonging to Patrick Henderson a large shipowner in Glasgow and she was laid on for passengers for Dunedin New Zealand, so we asked the chief officer if he had engaged all his crew. Ne he says just pass your last ships discharges to me, and be at the shipping office a week later so after a week we signed on for three years so we got on board an got everything ready for sea then towed down for the Tail of the Bank where we dropped our anchor and lay there until we got our passengers on board, and the next day the same tug boat that towed us down from Glasgow brought our passengers alongisde and a fine lot they were all cloth weavers from a place called Gallashields [Galashiels] as a company from there was starting a cloth manufacturing at a place called Mosgeil [Mosgiel] and as soon as we had them all on board. Also there (sic) luggage. Then the cry was from the chief officer for all hands on deck and get underweigh (sic) and heave

up the anchor and the Tug took us in tow until we got all sail on the ship, then the Tug left us. And we shaped a course down the Irish Channel as far as the wind would allow us. And we found she was a good old ship, but unfortunately not a very fast sailer. So we got clear of the land and shaped away for Dunedin, New Zealand and unfortunately made a very long passage of one hundred and thirty five days, before we sighted Otago Heads. And in those days there was no tugs to tow you in to Port Chalmers as that was the name of the seaport for Dunedin. there was two passenger steamers that used to tow a ship in occasionally But there was no of them about. so we had a fair wind in and the Captain sailed her up near the mooring bouys and dropped her anchor. as there was no even any pilots in those days. So as soon as we got all her sails furled, we lowered one of the working boats and ran a line to the mooring bouys. And hove up our anchor. And hove the ship up to the mooring bouys. And shakled on both cable chains and moored her in a nice quiet and safe harbour. then commenced the next day to get clear of all the passengers in a little steamer that was chartered for the purpose. to take those passengers up to Dunedin a distance of ten miles. As there was no trains on the South Island in those days. So after the passengers had gone we commenced to get ready for the stevedores to discharge her cargo. and that night a boats crew was ordered to man the boat and run some of the custom house officers along with the ships officers on shore. But unfortunately some of the boats crew could not be found to bring the officers of to the Ship again. So they just had to man the boat themselves and pull of from the jetty to the ship so those men had bolted. and the captain didn't seem to put himself about loosing some of his crew. So the next day I says to one of my shipmates called David Emslite. What do you say if we board the Captain. and see if he will pay us off with a shilling a month. and a clean discharge. As we never intended to go outside Otago heads with her again. and we thought it would

be better to lose three and a half months wages as we had one months wages in advance before we left Glasgow as all ships usually give there crews one months wages in advance in those days to clear up a few debts and besides I always left my parents half of my pay that they could draw from the owners every month. So it would not be very much wages I would have to loose. But they had to pay you of with something if it was only a shilling a month and a clean discharge and no police running after you. So [?lie] and me went aft to see the captain. And never thinking we was going to succeed so easy as we did. As the rest of the crew reconed there was no hope. Anyhow we meant to have a try. So the steward called the captain and told him that two of the crew wanted to speak to him. So he told the steward to bring them in to the cabin so we went in and he says Hello two of my best men. What is wanted. And we told him that we would like to stay out here. And if he would kindly pay us of at a shilling a month we would willingly accept that as our wages and also a clean discharge. All right he says I will pay you of tomorrow, so we thanked him and walked forward and told the rest of the hands of our success. And they could hardly believe it. Anyhow another crowd went aft and succeeded th same and at last all the single men did the same. So there was no one left on board only the sailmaker and two carpenters. And two married men of the crew. And the next morning after breakfast all hands got packed up. the boats was lowered. one boat for men and the other for chests and bags. And away we pulled for the jetty at port Chalmers. and left all our luggage on the jetty ready for the little steamer that ran between Dunedin and port Chalmers. as there was no railway up to Dunedin in those days. There was a bus running up the road. But there was to much luggage for the bus. So we got to the shipping office and got paid off with four shillings and a sixpence and also a clean discharge he very kindly gave us one shilling over the amount