Page:Autobiography of Rear Admiral Charles Wilkes.djvu/47

Rh observations and, although I had had little practice at sea, I readily came to take good & satisfactory observations to myself, and the results being so readily & quickly obtained that Capt Graham said he was bound to make me a good navigator & endeavored to take the credit of my expertness by the way in which he spoke of it. But, although I was greatly afronted and provoked, I bore it patiently, believing that the credit he assumed could not last, & it soon proved to be the case, for the passengers saw how it was and this satisfied me; but what puzzled me was his continuing his growling and brutish conduct towards me, and permitted his mates to "haze" me about unnecessarily & to my great discomfort.

The sea was a great delight to me and all its excitements, though of course few, and monotonous, but this underlying enthusiasm carried me through, the vulgar and bearish manner of those on board notwithstanding. Before the end of the voyage, some of the Older Sailors took to me and I was in a manner protected from the petty cruelties that were heaped upon me. And among these I may mention the Cook, a black stalwart fellow, who was taken quite sick and in such cases the medicine chest was resorted to haphazard for remedies. He grew worse, & was attacked with a violent fever and greatly distressed. I saw the Capt feel his pulse and remark that the fellow wanted bleeding, but neither he or his mates could bleed. When he turned to me and asked me if I could bleed, altho' I had never done anything of the kind, but had witnessed the operation, I answered that I could try it, and I was accordingly ordered to bleed the black fellow. It did not signify whether it would do him good or not, he would probably die, but I felt that it ought to be done and soon persuaded him to let me try. I accordingly tied up his arm, took the lancet and opened the vein. It was followed by a copious stream of very dark red blood. I then at once became apprehensive how it was to be stopped and the quantity that ought to be taken from him. The poor fellow seemed at once relieved but in a few minutes became faint and with the little knowledge I had, it occurred to me that he might be dying. The blood gradually ceased to flow and having filled a quart pot with it, I concluded to stop it by a bandage over a pad of wet rags and gave him some hartshorn, which served its purpose to revive him. I laid a blanket under the long boat; the sailors removed him and he slept soundly for several hours. My astonishment was very great when I reverted to the quart pot and found it very like a pot of grease with streaks of blood through it, and felt greatly relieved & repaid for my venturing to make the operation. I was greatly impressed with the total unconcern of all around me at the poor fellow's state and an entire absence of feeling, but the poor fellow [had not] experience; he had become used to it, did not feel it and was so much better after his bloodletting that he became aware of the benefit I had been to him. A little more medicine and some gruel, which the little Malay made for him, soon effected his cure. He had no thanks to give me, and did not