Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/256

 19th of March. There we completed our repairs, and on April 5th set out for the Columbia River, northwest coast of North America. By the way, while in Oahu we heard of the dispute, between Old Mother  England and Brother Jonathan, about the northwest  boundary line.

For several days and nights a very bright lookout was kept for land, said by whalers to exist in this quarter,  26° north latitude. We saw nothing, however, that looked like land, though islands might once have existed  there and sunk. We saw myriads of birds which are found only in the vicinity of land; among them were  many small birds and quantities of villula, which gave  the ocean the appearance of being covered with floating  cinders.

The commodore was a great disciplinarian and always kept all hands at work when there was nothing to do. When the weather permitted he would have the quarters’ beat take charge of the quarter-deck, and would sing out  through his speaking-trumpet, "Silence fore and aft, wet  and sand the decks, knock out your ports, take off your  muzzle-bags, withdraw your tompions and cast loose your  guns." Then the captain of the gun (one of the crew) would take charge and say, "Chock your luff, stop, vent,  and sponge your guns, cartridge, wad and ram home,  round shot, canister or stand of grape, wad ram home,  man side tackle falls, run out. Crows and hand-spikes,  elevate your guns for a long shot, two points abaft the  beam to the enemy, cock your locks, blow your match,  watch the weather-roll, stand by, fire." Sometimes, in an undertone, Jack would add, "A couple of round