Some changes were made; but I was glad to find
myself still in the larboard watch. Our crew was somewhat
diminished; for a man and a boy had gone in the Pilgrim; another was
second mate of the Ayacucho; and a third, the oldest man of the
crew, had broken down under the hard work and constant exposure on the
coast, and, having had a stroke of the palsy, was left behind at the
hide-house under the charge of Captain Arthur. The poor fellow
wished very much to come home in the ship; and he ought to have been
brought home in her. But a live dog is better than a dead lion, and
a sick sailor belongs to nobody's mess; so he was sent ashore with the
rest of the lumber, which was only in the way. By these diminutions,
we were shorthanded for a voyage round Cape Horn in the dead of
winter. Besides S--- and myself, there were only five in the
forecastle; who, together with four boys in the steerage, the
sailmaker, carpenter, etc., composed the whole crew. In addition to
this, we were only three or four days out, when the sailmaker, who was
the oldest and best seaman on board, was taken with the palsy, and was
useless for the rest of the voyage.
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