The Journey
They left the haberdashery and the carriage took them to the docks. When Chloe saw, the ship that she would travel to America on, it seemed to be different from what she had imagined. The books in the library talked about these enormous ships with sails that stretched to the heavens. They talked about the ships captains as men that were brilliant seaman. The truth was soon to become a different reality as they boarded the ship that would carry the two of them thousands of miles over the ocean to America. As they made their way up the gangplank, Chloe felt a certain amount of fear and in trepidation. She, Chloe Angel was really going to America. The sailor that took their ticket scowled at most of the passengers, but studied the priest and the sister carefully. He determined that he would keep an eye on them. The Captain would be interested to know that there was a priest on his ship.
Chloe found that the men were to be in the aft of the ship and the women were to have a curtained area farthest from the men. Chloe found she was to be next to an older unmarried woman who had taught school in Dublin for many years. Her husband had died, and a few years ago, her only son had left for America and had written to say how wonderful it was in America. She would be helping her son and his wife take care of their children. She was looking forward to having family to fuss over.
Father O'Connor had settled were he had a line of site to where Chloe would be bunking down. He wanted to make sure no harm came to her, and took Chloe has his responsibility very seriously. The fact that he was a priest afforded him a certain amount of respect from even the most dubious of characters.
There seemed to be too many passengers, but the priest dismissed his concerns for the task at hand of securing a place to lay his head and sleep. The rest of the passengers seemed to be a little uncertain of what to do and looked to Father O'Connor for leadership. The women did not look to Chloe, and it was simply that she was so young in the face.
The first mate came and barked orders at them, and told that the captain wanted them on deck in ten minutes that they were getting ready to cast off. Everyone was nervous and tense and knew there was no turning back once they cast off. They would be leaving everything they knew, and in most cases everyone that they knew, and would probably never see them again. They were leaving Ireland behind forever.
The captain was a burly man with a beard that needed a trim. The scar across his left cheek made everyone want to ask questions, but no one did. The captain laid down the law about how they would conduct themselves on his ship, and made it clear that he and the crew were in charge. He elaborated on the dangers of being near the sides of the ship, and made it clear that anyone that fell over the side would be lost.
No one dared ask questions except Father O'Connor, and the captain spoke as he respected the fact that he was a priest. Father O'Connor asked how often they might be on deck for a little fresh air. Father O'Connor wandered if maybe the captain had some time in his childhood-attended church. Most considered that the captain feared no man or God. The captain was careful to keep his image as well. He almost growled his answer that they might be on deck twice a day, weather permitting. Most did not realize at this time how important that going topside would be such a blessing.
Captain Blye bellowed orders to his first mate to prepare to cast off, and with one last instruction to his passengers that they were to take one last look at their Ireland, and go below without lolly-gagging around on deck. With that, the captain disappeared into his cabin.
The first several hours passed uneventful and everyone was settling into his or her existence such as it was on board the Queen bound for America, the land of opportunity, all of them filled with many emotions. It would have been fair to say that none of the passengers would have expected the accommodations that they would live with on their long voyage. Many would wish that they had never left Ireland before many days had passed. The voyage is long and hard on the well and young let alone the older or sickly passengers.
Chloe was not very hungry as she was used to having a meager fare, but she detested the water and they all said it tasted rancid. The small man that kept saying he wished he could smoke his pipe remarked that he had heard that many passengers get sick from the water during the long voyage. When the journey took longer than expected due to bad weather is any number of calamities the water was first to be rationed. One of the sweetest drinks that they would have would be some of their last. It would be from the heavens in the form of rainwater.
Everything was quiet at times except for the creaking of the ships great timbers and an occasional rat running for its life from the ships cat. Then one of the sailors hollered at the passengers, and told that the, "Cap-en, wanted to see the priest in his cabin." Father O'Connor replied to the sailor to wait up, and he would follow him. Father O'Connor wondered what the ship’s captain could want with him. Father O'Connor hoped that he was not has hard a man has he tried to make everyone think he was.
The captain's cabin was surprisingly clean for a sea captain, and there were a number of whiskey bottles and to Father O'Connor farther surprise a number of books. The captain had some learning other than his probable naval training, which Father O'Connor deduced from the artifacts that lay on a small desk. Father O'Connor thought to himself, "Usually a learned man will listen to reason."
Captain Blye wasted no time getting to say what he had on his mind. He told the priest that he expected him to step in as an advocate between he and the rest of the passengers should there be any disputes, and if the priest should over hear any information that would be vital to running his ship, he expected nothing less than to be informed immediately. With that, he put his hand out for the priest as if he expected a handshake and then with the other handed him a bottle of fine cognac.
Father O'Connor evaluated quickly the way the relationship was to be between him and the captain and reminded himself that God has ordered this sea captain, to be here in this time and place. Father O'Connor thanked the captain, put the bottle of cognac in his inner pocket to keep it from prying eyes, and made his way back below deck. Chloe eyed him, and he was sure she would like to know what the captain wanted but she spoke not a word.
Now one of the other passengers that Chloe had noticed, seemed to be very friendly with several of the other passengers, and often they were huddled together talking in a very low voice. Her name was Mairenn and she seemed to be a nice person, and yet Chloe found her seemingly staring at her several times, or perhaps it was just her imagination. Then the next day coming around and out of the makeshift dressing area that the woman had rigged up, Mairenn stopped Chloe, and asked if she had family in America. Without thinking Chloe had replied," No, no one expect the priest” When she mentioned the priest, Mairenn's look made Chloe uncomfortable, and a chill ran down her back. Mairenn cursed under her breath and scurried away.
Father O'Connor had tried to have some semblance of a church service the first Sunday that they were out to sea. The response was less than positive, and he found comfort in the few that wanted to participate. He told them that he would hear confession if anyone so desired. There were no takers, but there would be has the voyage progressed and discouragement set in. Human nature was such that it often too hard or perilous times to turn people’s attention to God.
On the ninth day they had run into a bit of choppy sea, a book fell at Father O'Connor foot as he made his way to his suitcase. It probably had fallen from a crevice in one of the overhead beams. He opened it, and was shocked to see that it had sketches showing what looked like rituals and the writing was in what appeared to be Egyptian. Father O'Connor was an educated man and this book was not anything he would have expected to on board a ship with passengers bound for America.
In a couple of minutes a passenger that Father O'Connor knew only as Damian grabbed the book out of his hand and asked what did he mean taking other people’s property. Father O'Connor said that it fell at his feet, and he wandered whom it belonged too, and what it was. Damian scowled and walked away with the book. Father O'Connor did not to get to study the book. Nevertheless, he knew that it was part of a teaching, which had its roots back to Egypt. They are a group, which was determined to be the in power, and be the elite of the world. They wanted to control the world. This was scary, and Father O'Connor had to wonder what these peoples planed once they got to America. They were not the kind of people that Father O'Connor wanted anything to do with. He would have to keep an eye on them. Nevertheless, what mischief could they get into on the voyage? He wondered if he should say anything to Captain Blye.
Chloe had befriended the retired school teacher, and enjoyed listening to her tell stories that she made up as she went along, or did she make them up? The passengers were starting to grow weary of the darkness in the hull of the ship, and the infrequent visits top side was a blessing, but too short. The thing that really was amazing was the skies seemed to have turned cloudless and so picturesque. Father O'Connor had reminded some of them that God had made a beautiful world his wonders to show.
One of the passengers, a professor had become sick with wrenching pains in his side, and then his stomach. Father O'Connor had given him about all of the rest of his cognac that the captain had given him. Most thought that it was bound to be food poisoning, until one of the crew looked at him and said that he had witnessed this before and they did not survive but 24 hours. However, he seemed pleased to report that he did not think it was the fever. There was no one that knew what to do for the professor.
The professor passed as the sun broke over the horizon and Father O'Connor gave him his last rights just minutes before. Chloe was visibly upset, although she really did not know the professor, he was a fellow passenger. Father O'Connor looked at Chloe and said, “Trust my child, dry your tears, death is a final release and I am persuaded that the professor is in a place where he would not want to come back. This is just the shell of the soul of our dear departed fellow traveler. One of the crew told the captain of the death, and he asked for the burial to be ready and asked the priest to visit him in his cabin. He told the crew to make haste to get the body away from the passengers and to prepare it but burial at sea. The crew had experienced this before on other voyages and it was a duty that they performed when required.
Father O'Connor could tell that the captain had been drinking, but he was in his right mind. Captain Blye turned and looked at Father O'Connor and asked if he had made certain that the professor was dead. Father O'Connor told him that he was certain of it. The captain said that he did not want any passenger of his ship waking up in Davey Jones locker alive.
Captain Blye asked if Father O'Connor wanted to say a few words, and as Father O'Connor nodded his approval. The captain went on to explain that he would allow only four of the other passenger's topside for the burial, and he didn't want passenger making request for anything different. A burial at sea was what the professor would get and that was all to it. Father O'Connor asked exactly what happened at sea with a burial. The captain was done with talking, and said simply we add a weight on them and over the side they go to Davey Jones locker. With that, he emptied his glass, and opened the door of his cabin for the priest to leave. That was the end of their conversation.
By nine o'clock, Captain Blye, Father O'Connor, and four of the passengers, and four of the crew were giving the professor his last semblance of a dignified funeral. Father O'Connor said a few words that seemed ignored by the others. He read a couple of verses from his Bible. Captain Blye gave his crew the signal, they raised the plank, and the body rolled over the side into the ocean without so much as a sound that they could hear. The captain and the crew turned and left, and the priest and the four passengers stood there staring at the sobering image in their mind of what had just taken place.
Father O'Connor spoke, and told that they had better get below deck. He reminded them that there is a season for everything including death, and the professor was in a better place. No one spoke as the five made their way below deck. It was never the less a sobering thought to all the passengers on board. The question that came to many of them was who would be next. Now the term "Coffin ship," was reserved for those that set sail during the famine of the late 1840s. The ships were often unseaworthy, and overcrowded, seemed to have an inadequate provision of drinking water, food, and sanitation. The history of transatlantic passage during this period had many disasters, from shipwrecks, and storms, dehydration and starvation. Another major problem for emigrants on board these ships was disease. The most common killer was typhus. It was particularly bad when the passengers where weakened by a poor diet. In 1847, during the Irish Famine, over seven thousand people, most of them from Ireland, died of typhus on the way to America. Another ten thousand died after arriving in the quarantine areas in America. All of the passengers from all walks of life seeking a better life in America. Also in the 1840's sailing ships took six weeks to eight weeks to cross the Atlantic and with bad weather the journey could take as long as three months. When this happened passengers would often run short of provisions. There were no remedies for this. To maximize their profits ship owners tried to cram as many people as possible on board for the voyage. Immigrants suffered many dangers when crossing the Atlantic, which included fires, and shipwrecks and other perils. Some talked in whispers when sailors had too much whiskey. In 1854 the steamship, "City of Glasgow," carrying 480 emigrants went missing after leaving Liverpool, and never heard of again. The ocean has always been a very dangerous and sometime very mysterious place. Now on July 12, 1848 the "Queen" was about ten days from America according to Captain Blye. The passengers were still somewhat numb to the events of the last two nights as the ships first mate and Mrs. Green had given up the ghost. Both buried at sea in a poorly organized burial that the captain had officiated over while very intoxicated. The remaining two hundred and forty-eight souls on board the Queen were in various stages of dehydration and the rations are meager. Many of the passengers were praying for God's mercy and for rain so that they might catch the rainwater and quench their thirst. Everywhere that one would look on the ship one could observe the disrepair. One could see with just a little observation that the dehydration, hunger, disease, and fear were taking over the ship. The crew was losing the will to do their job, and to keep the ship shipshape. Captain Blye was aware of his crew's foul mood and he did not like it. However, he solved this problem by drinking more whiskey. On the thirty-second day, the sailor in the bird's nests shouted down that there was something in the water on the port side. When the captain hears of this, he instructs his new first mate to go on the port side with the spyglass, and see if he could see anything. In the state, that so many of the ship's crew, and the passengers were in it was entirely possible that there was nothing there, and it was just the mind playing tricks. In about ten minutes the first mate, Perth Holland hollered to the captain, "I can see something." As the captain made his way, he became conscious of his own mind, and the fact he needed a good strong drink. As they peered down into the water below, they see a couple of wood planks that are six to eight feet and loosely held together. On the top of planks was the body of some poor soul. It looked like the body of a young man, but the sun, starvation and dehydration unfortunately had its toll on the body, and he had already begun to swell. Captain Blye cursed and said," Poor blighter, there's nothing we can do for him now." The priest had made his way to the portside and made his observations. At the sight of the lost soul as it lay bloated on the drifting planks, he made the sign of the cross and said, "May God rest his soul." He wondered what had befallen this young man, and brought him to his death adrift on planks in the vast ocean. There could be many explanations but they would never know.