A Landlubber's Log of His Voyage Around Cape Horn; (with illustrations)

The full title is; A Landlubber's Log of His Voyage Around Cape Horn. Being a Journal Kept During a Four Months' Voyage On An American Merchantman, Bound From Philadelphia To San Francisco. Written by Morton MacMichael in 1879 and published in Philadelphia in 1883. There are 8 illustrations included in this work. (142 pages)

The illustrations are also available for viewing and download at www.digitaltextpublishing.com

The Publisher has copy-edited this book to improve the formatting, style and accuracy of the text to make it readable. This did not involve changing the substance of the text. Some books, due to age and other factors may contain imperfections. Since there are many books such as this one that are important and beneficial to literary interests, we have made it digitally available and have brought it back into print for the preservation of printed works of the past.

Introductory:

...IN launching this little volume upon the current of Christmas-tide literature, the author wishes to explain that it was not written originally with an eye to publication, but simply as a long letter for home consumption only. In that form a small edition was printed for private circulation, but without the proof-sheets having been overhauled and sundry errors corrected. The present edition, if it has no other virtue, is at least shipshape and correct. The only hope the author has of the book floating after it is launched is derived from the fact that "logs," as a rule, do float, especially when they are of light material, and that this log is certainly the reverse of heavy.
PHILADELPIA 1882

Excerpts:

...August 28. — We ran past a bark under double-reefed topsails; she was pitching fearfully. All today we have been accompanied by a large school of right-whale porpoises. They are striped black and white, and have much quicker movements than the common black species; often we could see them shooting through the crest of a big wave far above the level of the ship's deck.
...August 29. — Today the gale suddenly shifted to the southwest and south, blowing directly in our teeth, and so continued until late in the afternoon, when it sank to a fresh breeze. Mixed up with these blows there has been, as the table shows, a varied assortment of rain, snow, hail, and sleet squalls, which cut the face like needles. The quotations of the thermometer give but little idea of the cold, the fierce wind and cutting rain or spray making it many times worse than the figures would seem. The whole appearance of the ship is changed. Everything about the decks is strongly battened down, the windows across the weather side of the houses are covered with strong wooden shutters, heavy breakwaters have been lashed amidships to break the force of incoming seas, extra tackle made ready in case of accident is hanging at the foot of the mizzen-mast, and a lifeline stretches across the poop-deck, to grab at in case of a wave washing over that part of the vessel. Instead of a cloud of canvas we only carry the heavy lower sails, making the upper part of the masts look bare and forlorn. The decks are often swimming a foot deep with water, and are never dry. The men, who are now prevented from working about or aloft at their usual jobs, are only worked at tending the sails, and between orders stay under the lee of the forward house. They look very odd, being swelled to nearly twice their natural size by their thick clothes, over which they wear oil-skin coats and trowsers, and also rubber "sou'wester" hats. Those that have new suits of oil-skins look like mammoth canary-birds, the color of the garments being a bright yellow. Through all their hardships, and this weather is really very hard on them, they seem as cheerful as possible, and sing their queer, monotonous songs with a vim when pulling on the ropes where all hands or a whole watch is needed. At these times the carpenter is expected to lend a hand, and when on deck I too catch hold and help pull.