Chapter 10
It takes a while to get your sea legs. Sometimes a few days are all that’s needed to get used to the sway of the ship. Our captain, Captain Davis, does not seem to mind the movement, and the other mates have no problem when the wind and waves pick up. If I never see another ship again after this, however, I’ll be more than happy. I’ve been told to be patient, the sickness will pass, but it has already been seven days, seven days of torture, and all I can think about, all I dream about, is solid ground.
There is a doctor aboard our ship who has been busy helping the very ill. His name is Dr. Edwards, and he is often in the hold of the ship tending to one sick person or another. And yet, even he sometimes seems taken with sea sickness.
Unlike ourselves, he has a much better place to sleep. He has been given a small cabin on the main deck. I’m sure it’s a lot better than what we have in the hold. Mr. MacDonell also has a cabin on deck. He has to bend down to enter his room, and there is enough space inside for a small bed and desk, barely six feet long. At least he is not down here with the rest of us.
It doesn’t take too long to get used to the amount of space we have, but the smell is something else entirely. Buckets are used for toileting or vomit. They are dumped overboard two to three times a day, yet the smell still lingers. When I go up on deck to take in the salt air, I can smell the stench on my clothes. Since we could only bring few items with us, the clothes I’m wearing I can’t really clean. They are all I’ve got. Oh, how I sometimes wish for the smells from the cotton mill in New Lanark. The smell of oil was terrible, but nothing could be worse than this.
Mama and Calum are having a difficult time. I try to take the baby when I can so Mama can get some rest, but I am so weak and tired I can’t hold him for too long for fear my arms will give out. Even though I feel sick, my poor little baby brother is feeling it much worse. He fusses all the time. Sometimes, Dr. Edwards gives him a little medicine to make him sleep. I think it’s alcohol.
The only person who seems to be adjusting to life on the ship is Liam. Often, he is up on deck with his friend Angus watching the men at work. Sometimes, I see Liam actually helping the crew. Of course, most of the time, Liam and Angus are running up and down the deck, pretending to be pirates or soldiers. They don’t seem to get in the way of the sailors, and no one seems to mind them playing. It’s entertaining to watch.
There is not much else to do on ship but watch them play. When I look out, I see the other ships with us far off in the distance, and after that, not much else but blue water and blue sky. There’s so much blue it seems like it could go on forever. I’ve been told we have had a lucky string of good days with clear skies. The days are cold, the wind is strong, and we have not run into any bad patches of weather.
The British man-of-war that came with us from Stornoway departed back to England about a day ago. There was no more fear a French battle cruiser would try to board our ships this far out. As the battle ship made its turn to go back to England, I felt a little tinge of fear. It had been our security the first week at sea, and now the security was gone. Mr. MacDonell gathered the men together to reassure them, stating we were on schedule to make land at York Factory in a further five weeks.
There was another man on board who also had special accommodations. Father Burke, a Roman Catholic priest, had a small cabin beside Dr. Edwards. He and MacDonell argued all the time. I asked Father Burke about a week into our journey if he liked Mr. MacDonell. He simply laughed, smiled and replied he loved all of God’s creatures, even if those creatures were Presbyterian. He then gave me a wink.