Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude
pulled down along the shore, then suddenly stopped, and I could see that
they were passing a bottle around, taking a drink. Soon I discovered a
heap on the stern, which on closer inspection proved to be nets, and my
fears boiled down showed me they were simply fishermen and I an ass and
somewhat ashamed of myself. I felt I had really no cause for fear, even
had the steamer remained in harbor for a week. Just then, with a mighty
throb, the screw gave a turn, and it was music to my ears. Then the
waters of the bay were churned into yeasty waves. The city and shores
seemed to glide by and our prow was pointed direct to the blue sea
rolling beyond. Soon the joyous billows were toying with our ship, and
huge as it was were tossing it as lightly and easily as a child a toy.
But, still ill at ease, I walked the deck restless and unhappy.
I no longer feared arrest, was confident that never would hand of human
justice be laid on me, but I dimly felt that there was a divine justice
which would exact retribution. I felt that if there was mind behind this
frame of matter we see, then He who made the natural law and decreed a
penalty for every infraction must have made an infallible decree for
every violation against the moral law. If so, where could we poor
insects go or hide, or how scheme or dodge to escape the divine
vengeance?
But as I stood on the deck that night and watched the mountains sink
into the sea I felt this all dimly, and tried to shake off the feeling.
I stood fascinated, with many conflicting emotions sweeping through my
mind, sadly watching the receding shores of Spain, and just as the
highest mountains were sinking in the sea my servant appearing at my
side informed me that dinner was ready and my wife waiting. Sending him
away and turning my face to the land, I strained my eyes through the
gathering gloom to discern the distant shore. Then with a bitter feeling
in my heart I set out for the saloon, but stopped and quoting these
lines--
"The day of my destiny is over,
And the star of my fate hath declined"
--went below.
Soon, under the warming influence of wine, forgetting all my forebodings
and looking into my wife's face beaming with love and content, I could
not refrain from saying to myself: I am a fool to doubt that happiness
is mine. Am I not Fortune's favorite? With love, youth, enthusiasm,
health and wealth on my side, what else save happy days and nights and
long years filled with content can be mine?
So, shaking off my forebodings, the eighteen days of our voyage over
green Neptune's back were ideal, and we became objects of envy to all
the passengers.
Our ship was the Martinique, with French officers and crew, and a fine,
manly lot of men they were. The passengers were mostly colonial people
returning home to the French colonies in the West Indies. They were
nice, refined people, but we were rather reserved and kept to ourselves.
One of the passengers had a dozen Spanish fighting cocks, and they
afforded us much amusement. There were frequent mains on the after deck
and sometimes on the dinner table. These were very popular, particularly
with the ladies, who were continually asking to have the cocks brought
on after dessert. A space would be made in the centre of the table and
two cocks placed on it. How they loved fighting! They certainly enjoyed
it far better than the spectators. There were four long tables, all
crowded, but when the main was started the other tables were deserted
and the passengers packed around ours.
Our opposite neighbors were two Sisters of Charity who were on their way
to the City of Mexico to fill a gap that death had made in the ranks of
their order there. They were simple, sainted souls and had never known
any life other than the religious, and never emerged from the cloister
save only to do deeds of mercy in the country town outside. They had
been selected by lot to go to Mexico. We were favored to become fast
friends of theirs, and I was glad to have them accept such attentions as
we could give. It was delightful to meet such simple, unsophisticated
people under circumstances when, they being travelers, the rules of the
Church permitted them to throw off their reserve, to associate with
strangers and to live--so far as food and drink were concerned--like the
people they were associated with for the time.
My wife and I grew to like them well, and I was never tired of getting
their views of men and things. Truly their lives were a thing apart from
the world and the ways of men. They told me with a kind of rapture that
the average life of one of their order in Mexico was only five years,
and they thought heaven had been very gracious in selecting them, that
they might give their lives to the Church and so become members of the
mighty army of martyrs who were honored in heaven by looking upon the
face of the Virgin and her Son and serving them.
They knew nothing of wines and did not suspect the costliness of those
which during the entire voyage they drank at my expense.
The dinners were rather formal affairs and occupied an hour and a half,
and between the good sisters and us two we always finished a bottle of
claret and two of champagne, and about a like quantity between dinner
and bedtime. I don't believe that up to the hour they left the world
they ever quite understood why they were so happy and merry on that
voyage.
We used to visit the steerage forward nearly every day. There was an
unmistakable lady so unfortunate as to be a passenger there. She
appreciated our visits, and eventually confided the story of her life to
my wife, and what a story it was of woman's love and man's perfidy!
I had an electric battery which I frequently took into the steerage to
astonish the natives. When I first put a silver piece in a basin of
water and told them the man taking it out could keep it, what a rush
there was! There was one would-be clever clown who was perfectly willing
to test the power of the battery, but was so clever he never would take
hold of both handles at once. He dodged around for two or three days
greatly pleased with his sharpness, but I determined to have him some
day and have him hard when I got him. So one morning when dancing about
as usual he happened to be barefooted. Apparently by accident, I upset
the basin of water over the deck, making it a good conductor, then
accepting his offer to try the machine by holding one handle, I dropped
the other on the wet deck and gave him the benefit of the whole power
of the battery. He let one terrific yell, then stood rooted to the deck
speechless for a moment; then gave vent to a series of whoops that would
have made the fortune of a Comanche Indian. When freed from the current
the clever fellow made a break for the steerage and never appeared again
at any of my electric seances. All those ignorants insisted that my
battery was surely el diablo.
After eighteen days we cast anchor in St. Thomas harbor, and pleasant as
our voyage had been we were glad to see land. We were to stop a day for
coaling.
Taking the two sisters, we went ashore in one of the many boats
surrounding the ship, all manned by scantily robed black fellows. The
town, with its hordes of gaudily dressed and noisy blacks, was most
interesting. I had hired the boat for the day, so the three black
fellows accompanied us around the town. Each wore a stovepipe hat. The
remainder of their furniture consisted of cotton shirt and trousers. The
men were barefooted, of course.
My wife was the typical blue-eyed, golden-haired Englishwoman, and was
the observed of all observers in that black mob. I myself was all in
white, from canvas shoes to white umbrella. So, between the two sisters
in their black robes and white bonnets and our attending boatmen, along
with a mob of half-naked black boys that followed, we formed quite a
circus and created a commotion in the town.
First I took the sisters to the cathedral. Both were grateful and knelt
at the altar for a full half hour while we waited. Then after visiting
several stores to make some small purchases, we went to a circus showing
there that week. I bought ten tickets for my party. Everything they saw
in the town was marvelous and strange to them. When we entered the
circus tent the sisters were perplexed and thought it must be a new sort
of church. But words would fail to express their amazement when they saw
the clown and bespangled horseman enter the ring and the performance
begin. They were in a new and hitherto undreamed-of world, and gazed in
childlike wonderment on the scene, and, like children, only saw the
glitter of the spangles and thought both men and women performers were
angels of beauty. Even after the thing was over the magic and witchery
of it all rested on them. Their hearts were deeply stirred and their
thoughts were with the performers. To please them we sat until the
audience had dispersed, and, when going out, one of them, speaking of
the performers, told my wife they must be "very near to God."
Then we went to the hotel. I dispersed my cortege and ordered a room for
ourselves and one for the sisters, and we all took a nap until evening.
Then we had some negro singing and dancing for our amusement in the
courtyard of the hotel, and at 9 o'clock we went out for a moonlight
walk under the tropical sky. About 10 we found we had had enough of it
and were glad to betake ourselves to bed.
We all breakfasted together in the courtyard the next morning and soon
after went aboard. At noon up came the anchor and we were off for
Havana, our next stopping place, twenty-four hours' sail away. The
steamer after one day's detention to take in cargo would continue her
voyage to Vera Cruz. It was my intention to go on to that port, and from
there across the country to the capital, the City of Mexico. There was
no cable to Mexico in 1873, and things there were in rather a primitive
condition. Of course, I never anticipated pursuit beyond New York, and
took it for granted that my friends at Police Headquarters would squelch
it there. But once in Mexico there would have been no danger for me. To
be in Mexico was like being in the centre of darkest Africa. There was
no extradition treaty, no railroads and no telegraph; above all, I had
plenty of cash.
I intended to buy an estate near the capital, and settle down for two
or three years, and by a liberal expenditure of money secure the
friendship of the government officials and the chief people of the
country. Official and social morals being not of the best, if my history
transpired I would probably become the lion of society, as they would
all esteem it a creditable thing to any man to secure a few millions
from the English, whose enormous wealth is the plunder of India and all
the world for centuries.
The next morning I found we were sailing along the Cuban coast, quite
near the land, which looked so inviting that I made up my mind to go
ashore and stay a month in Havana, so I had my baggage got on deck. Soon
after dinner the engines were stopped for some hours for repacking, the
captain informing me that it was doubtful whether we should arrive in
Havana in time to go ashore that night. At 6 o'clock the sunset gun is
fired, the custom house closes and no more debarkations are allowed that
day. If I went ashore the next day I must be up and off at an early
hour, as the ship sailed at 7.30, so I told the captain if he arrived
before 6 o'clock I would go ashore and wait for the next steamer, but if
we were late I would go on to Vera Cruz with him.
Once having made up my mind to go ashore, I was all eagerness to push
matters. To do so I even asked the captain to tell the engineer to force
the engines a little if possible. It was well on to 6 o'clock when we