Volume 10: Elizabeth Macarthur journal and correspondence, 1789-1840

with Trail for any man" – Captn. Nepean also said "that the master of the ship had a right to do as he pleased". Without a hope of relief, I was fain to content myself within the narrow limits of a wretched Cabin, for to add to the horrors of the common passage to the deck; Captn. N ordered it to be made a hospital for the sick, the consequence of which was that I never left my cabin till I finally quitted the Ship. Thus precluded from the general advantages that even the convicts enjoyed – air and exercise – no language can express, no imagination conceive the misery I experienced – Approaching near the equator (where the heat in the best of situations is almost in supportable) assailed with noisome stenches – that even in the cold of an English Winter, hourly effusions of Oil of tar in my Cabin, could not dispel: two sides of it surrounded with wretches whose dreadful imprecations and shocking discourses, ever rang in my distracted ears: a sickly infant constantly claiming maternal cares: my spirits failing: my health forsaking me nothing but the speedy change which took place, could have prevented me from falling a helpless victim to the unheard of inhuma-nity of a set of monsters whose triumph and pleasure seemed to consist in aggravating my distresses. To a person unacquainted with the innumerable insults, and cruelties I was necessitated to bear with; this may appear the language

of passion, resentment, or of heart, desiring revenge: but it will be admitted to be the conclusions of Truth, & of Justice when it is known in addition the wrongs I have already recited that we were deprived of a part of our little ration, and insultingly told we should have less if they thought proper; that a constant watch was set over our Servant when getting our daily allowance of water lest the Seamen who had the serving of it (knowing our situation) should be induced by motives of humanity to make some small addition to the scanty pittance, and once (so low were we reduced by the connivance of the only person we could look to for support) that the servant was publicly stopped on the deck, with execrations, & abuse, and the water examined; altho at this time they were expending fifty gallons a day for their stock, and an unlimited quantity for their own use; and our whole allowance for every purpose was only five quarts. But to conclude as ungrateful a subject as ever exercised the patience or wounded the feelings of humanity – I will proceed to the last adventure we were concerned in in this detested Ship –. Mr. M – when his duties called him to visit the Soldiers, always crept through the only passage now left us, often endangering a limb by tumbling over Boxes and other lumber that this place was made the repository of, and frequently contracting heaps of the Vermin with which it was infested. The immediate cause of our leaving the Neptune is now to explain.

On the 10th. Febry. Mr. M had just come on Deck

when the Sergeant complained to him of an attempt made to cheat him of several pounds of the men's allowance of meat, which he had scarcely heard when the Chief Mate of the Ship (who was close by) exclaimed he was a D– rascal. Mr. M roused at the insult offered to the man, told the mate with some severity, that the Sergt. would do well to punish him for his insolence. In return Mr. M. received every kind of abuse that can be supposed to flow from ignorance and brutality – Angered to an extreme degree, but unable to redress himself, Mr. M sent for Capn. Nepean and related the whole affair – when strange to tell, he was highly censured for interfering in the business, & told by Capn. N "that he was sufficient to redress any wrongs offered to the men, without the assistance of any one" – This fresh insult, the knowledge of what we were hourly suffering, and the contemplation of what we had to expect in future, determined Mr. M. to apply for a remove on board the Scarborough – The request was gladly complied with by Capn. Nepean, happy to get rid of a person he thought a troublesome examiner of the iniquitous practices of the people he considered his Friends. On the 19th Febry. a favourable day presented itself, & we removed with all our little baggage, rejoiced at an escape from tyranny, insult, & every species of oppression.

No. 10 We were in the Latitude of six degrees North, when our remove took place and it being quite a calm day, Edward, & I, suffered greatly from the heat, but this was an inconvenience I thought lightly of – after what I had been taught to bear. In the Scarborough we shared a small Cabin with Mr. Abbott. Marshall, the Master of the Ship was a plain, honest man, and disposed to make things as comfortable to me, as was in his power. On the 22nd. we passed a French guinea man, bound for Martinico with Slaves. cross'd the Line on the 25th. with a light wind: and on the 14th. of April, after experiencing a severe gale of wind, anchored safely in False Bay. False Bay is about twenty miles distant from the Cape Town, at the head of the Bay there is a small Town which has a pleasing apppearance: The Houses are all uniformly white-washed on the outside, & the Doors & Windows painted green. The inhabitants are all such as make a practice of preying on the Shipping: not excepting the Governor himself, who scruples not, to supply the wants of any, at the moderate profit of about five hundred pr. cent. The manners of the people if I may be allowed to Judge, from what I saw, are as unfriendly, and rude as the appearance of their Coast. The Country which presents itself to the Sea is extremely mountainous. You see nothing but many Rocks, and tremendous precipices –

within them, however, the soil is fruitful and well repays the labour of the husbandman. I one day took a walk to what is called the Company's Garden, a piece of ground totally appropriated to the use of the Dutch East India Company, & stored with vegetables. It is situated about a mile & a half from the Town. The intermediate space is uncultivated & presents Africa in its native dress, every shrub & flower I saw, being new, was interesting; whether my admiration was excited by novelty or the effect of a long voyage, I cannot determine but I thought at the time I had never in England seen so charming an assemblage from the most laboured production of art. I forgot to mention that in our Voyage from Portsmouth to the Cape, Mr. Prentice was put in arrest by Captn. Hill. At False Bay Captn. Hill was put in arrest by Captn. Nepean. A few days before we quitted False Bay Mr. McArthur was attacked with a violent, and very alarming fever. It continued to rage till every sense was lost, and every faculty but life destroyed, and my little Boy at that time was so very ill that I could scarcely expect him to survive a day. Alone, Unfriended – and in such a situation – what do I not owe to a merciful God for granting me support and assistance