early in the spring of the year 1884 the three-masted schooner castor, from san francisco to valparaiso, was struck by a tornado off the coast of peru. the storm, which rose with frightful suddenness, was of short duration, but it left the castor a helpless wreck. her masts had snapped off and gone overboard, her rudder-post had been shattered by falling wreckage, and she was rolling in the trough of the sea, with her floating masts and spars thumping and bumping her sides.
the castor was an american merchant-vessel, commanded by captain philip horn, an experienced navigator of about thirty-five years of age. besides a valuable cargo, she carried three passengers—two ladies and a boy. one of these, mrs. william cliff, a lady past middle age, was going to valparaiso to settle some business affairs of her late husband, a new england merchant. the other lady was miss edna markham, a school-teacher who had just passed her twenty-fifth year, although she looked older. she was on her way to valparaiso to take an important position in an american seminary. ralph, a boy of fifteen, was her brother, and she was taking him with her simply because she did not want to leave him alone in san francisco. these two had no near relations, and the education of the brother depended upon the exertions of the sister. valparaiso was not the place she would have selected for a boy's education, but there they could be together, and, under the circumstances, that was a point of prime importance.
but when the storm had passed, and the sky was clear, and the mad waves had subsided into a rolling swell, there seemed no reason to believe that any one on board the castor would ever reach valparaiso. the vessel had been badly strained by the wrenching of the masts, her sides had been battered by the floating wreckage, and she was taking in water rapidly. fortunately, no one had been injured by the storm, and although the captain found it would be a useless waste of time and labor to attempt to work the pumps, he was convinced, after a careful examination, that the ship would float some hours, and that there would, therefore, be time for those on board to make an effort to save not only their lives, but some of their property.
all the boats had been blown from their davits, but one of them was floating, apparently uninjured, a short distance to leeward, one of the heavy blocks by which it had been suspended having caught in the cordage of the topmast, so that it was securely moored. another boat, a small one, was seen, bottom upward, about an eighth of a mile to leeward. two seamen, each pushing an oar before him, swam out to the nearest boat, and having got on board of her, and freed her from her entanglements, they rowed out to the capsized boat, and towed it to the schooner. when this boat had been righted and bailed out, it was found to be in good condition.
the sea had become almost quiet, and there was time enough to do everything orderly and properly, and in less than three hours after the vessel had been struck, the two boats, containing all the crew and the passengers, besides a goodly quantity of provisions and water, and such valuables, clothing, rugs, and wraps as room could be found for, were pulling away from the wreck.
the captain, who, with his passengers, was in the larger boat, was aware that he was off the coast of peru, but that was all he certainly knew of his position. the storm had struck the ship in the morning, before he had taken his daily observation, and his room, which was on deck, had been carried away, as well as every nautical instrument on board. he did not believe that the storm had taken him far out of his course, but of this he could not be sure. all that he knew with certainty was that to the eastward lay the land, and eastward, therefore, they pulled, a little compass attached to the captain's watch-guard being their only guide.
for the rest of that day and that night, and the next day and the next night, the two boats moved eastward, the people on board suffering but little inconvenience, except from the labor of continuous rowing, at which everybody, excepting the two ladies, took part, even ralph markham being willing to show how much of a man he could be with an oar in his hand.
the weather was fine, and the sea was almost smooth, and as the captain had rigged up in his boat a tent-like covering of canvas for the ladies, they were, as they repeatedly declared, far more comfortable than they had any right to expect. they were both women of resource and courage. mrs. cliff, tall, thin in face, with her gray hair brushed plainly over her temples, was a woman of strong frame, who would have been perfectly willing to take an oar, had it been necessary. to miss markham this boat trip would have been a positive pleasure, had it not been for the unfortunate circumstances which made it necessary.
on the morning of the third day land was sighted, but it was afternoon before they reached it. here they found themselves on a portion of the coast where the foot-hills of the great mountains stretch themselves almost down to the edge of the ocean. to all appearances, the shore was barren and uninhabited.
the two boats rowed along the coast a mile or two to the southward, but could find no good landing-place, but reaching a spot less encumbered with rocks than any other portion of the coast they had seen, captain horn determined to try to beach his boat there. the landing was accomplished in safety, although with some difficulty, and that night was passed in a little encampment in the shelter of some rocks scarcely a hundred yards from the sea.
the next morning captain horn took counsel with his mates, and considered the situation. they were on an uninhabited portion of the coast, and it was not believed that there was any town or settlement near enough to be reached by walking over such wild country, especially with ladies in the party. it was, therefore, determined to seek succor by means of the sea. they might be near one of the towns or villages along the coast of peru, and, in any case, a boat manned by the best oarsmen of the party, and loaded as lightly as possible, might hope, in the course of a day or two, to reach some port from which a vessel might be sent out to take off the remainder of the party.
but first captain horn ordered a thorough investigation to be made of the surrounding country, and in an hour or two a place was found which he believed would answer very well for a camping-ground until assistance should arrive. this was on a little plateau about a quarter of a mile back from the ocean, and surrounded on three sides by precipices, and on the side toward the sea the ground sloped gradually downward. to this camping-ground all of the provisions and goods were carried, excepting what would be needed by the boating party.
when this work had been accomplished, captain horn appointed his first mate to command the expedition, deciding to remain himself in the camp. when volunteers were called for, it astonished the captain to see how many of the sailors desired to go.
the larger boat pulled six oars, and seven men, besides the mate rynders, were selected to go in her. as soon as she could be made ready she was launched and started southward on her voyage of discovery, the mate having first taken such good observation of the landmarks that he felt sure he would have no difficulty in finding the spot where he left his companions. the people in the little camp on the bluff now consisted of captain horn, the two ladies, the boy ralph, three sailors,—one an englishman, and the other two americans from cape cod,—and a jet-black native african, known as maka.
captain horn had not cared to keep many men with him in the camp, because there they would have little to do, and all the strong arms that could be spared would be needed in the boat. the three sailors he had retained were men of intelligence, on whom he believed he could rely in case of emergency, and maka was kept because he was a cook. he had been one of the cargo of a slave-ship which had been captured by a british cruiser several years before, when on its way to cuba, and the unfortunate negroes had been landed in british guiana. it was impossible to return them to africa, because none of them could speak english, or in any way give an idea as to what tribes they belonged, and if they should be landed anywhere in africa except among their friends, they would be immediately reënslaved. for some years they lived in guiana, in a little colony by themselves, and then, a few of them having learned some english, they made their way to panama, where they obtained employment as laborers on the great canal. maka, who was possessed of better intelligence than most of his fellows, improved a good deal in his english, and learned to cook very well, and having wandered to san francisco, had been employed for two or three voyages by captain horn. maka was a faithful and willing servant, and if he had been able to express himself more intelligibly, his merits might have been better appreciated.
