Chesapeake by James A. Michener
It was a custom aboard the skipjacks for each of the four men sorting the catch to throw his oysters into the corner of the boat behind him; this distributed the weight of the catch evenly across the deck of the boat, fore and aft, port and starboard. When the long day ended—dawn till dusk, six days a week—the Jessie T was usually piled high with oysters, yet riding evenly in the water because of the planned way they had been stowed.
Toward the end of each day Captain Jake, who did none of the sorting, began to look for a boat flying a bushel basket high from its mast. This was the buy-boat, and there was usually one in the vicinity. When it came alongside, the men aboard the Jessie T had to work double-fast. Into the iron measuring bucket dropped onto their deck by a boom from the buy-boat they shoveled their catch, and each time the iron bucket rose in the air and returned to the buy-boat, depositing the oysters into its hold, Tim Caveny at the railing would cry “Tally one!” then “Tally two!”—and so on until the fifth bucket, when he would shout “Mark one!” Then he would begin again with “Tally one!”
At dusk he would report to his crew, “Twenty-two and three.” This meant twenty-two marks plus three tallies, or one hundred and thirteen bushels. And each man would then calculate what that day’s work had brought.
The Jessie T worked on shares. The skipjack itself received one third, divided evenly between the two owners, Jake and Tim, but they had to pay for the food, the cordage, the dredges. The captain received a third, which again he had to split with Caveny, who could just as easily have served as leader. And the four crewmen split the remaining third among them, except that Big Jimbo was recognized as such a superior cook that he received a little extra from everyone.
His position was anomalous. The four Turlocks hated Negroes and never hesitated in voicing their disgust. “Goddamned spades killed my cousin Captain Matt—one of them gets out of line with me, he’s dead.” They often made this threat in the presence of Big Jimbo, indicating they knew damned well he was descended from the murderer; but the cook himself was prized as a friend, as a most willing helper on deck and as the best galley-man in the fleet. “When you sail Jessie T, man, you eat. Our nigger can outcook your nigger ever’ time.”
The extraordinary contribution of Big Jimbo was demonstrated one gray February morning when the men were at breakfast, with the youngest Turlock at thé wheel. The skipjack was heeling to starboard, so that the dishes on the crowded table were sliding, and Captain Jake called up through the cabin door, “All okay up there?”
“All’s fine!” the man at the wheel shouted back, but soon thereafter he cried in some alarm, “Cap’m! Very dark clouds!” And then immediately, “I need help!”
Captain Jake started for the ladder, but Ned Turlock, one of the three crewmen, beat him to it. With a hearty bound, the young man leaped up the four steps and made the deck just in time to be struck in the face by the flying boom, which had been swept across the deck by a change in the storm’s direction. Ned was knocked into the turbulent water and was soon far aft of the skipjack without a lifebelt, but Captain Jake, taking command of the wheel, swung the boat about while everyone worked the sails in an effort to bring it under control.
As soon as the skipjack steadied and was on a course that might bring her near the thrashing waterman, who was struggling to stay alive, Big Jimbo tied a rope about his waist, then asked Tim Caveny to fashion a kind of harness, with smaller ropes lashing him about the shoulders and holding him to the main rope. When this was tested, the big cook checked to be sure that the loose end of the rope was secured to a mooring cleat, and then, without hesitation, plunged into the deep, icy waters. His arms thrashed wildly as he tried to stabilize himself, and one of the Turlocks cried, “Hell, he cain’t swim neither,” and Captain Jake growled, “Niggers cain’t never swim. Watch him with the hook.”
Big Jimbo, kicking his feet and flailing his arms, moved closer to the drowning man, but the force of the waves and the irresistible movement of the skipjack prevented him from making the rescue, and it seemed that Ned Turlock must drown. But on deck Captain Jake was willing to take great risks, so in the midst of the furious squall, he brought his boat around, almost capsizing it, and headed on a tack that would intercept his cousin in the water.
With a giant embrace, Big Jimbo caught the exhausted man, clutched him to his bosom and pressed water from his lungs as the men aboard the Jessie T pulled on the rope to drag the two men aboard. At supper that night, after the oysters had been sold and the profits calculated, the six watermen joined hands as Caveny poured out their thanks:
“Almighty God, Thou didst send the storm much like the one that swamped the fishermen on Galilee, and in Thy wisdom Thou didst sweep our sailor Ned from us. But just as Thou didst rescue Jonah after forty days and forty nights in the belly of the whale, so didst Thou urge our nigger Big Jimbo to dive into the rolling waters to save Ned. St. Patrick, patron saint of fishermen, we thank thee for thy intervention. Greater love hath no man.”
When the prayer ended, everyone had objections: “The forty days and forty nights were Noah and the ark, not Jonah.”
“They were both a long time,” Caveny said. “I thought Ned was gone.”
“Last week you said St. Peter was our patron saint.”
“A fisherman needs all the help he can get,” Caveny said.
“You should of finished the last bit.” And Captain Jake misquoted, “ ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his brother.’ ”
“I didn’t forget. I just thought Ned might take it unkindly, bein’ told he was brother to a nigger.”
With the near-drowning of Ned Turlock, the suspicion that the Jessie T might be a bad-luck boat gained so much credence that Captain Jake found it difficult to enroll a crew. One cynic at the store reminded the men, “Like I told you, that skipjack was doomed from the start. Its centerboard is out of whack. Side-assed, you might say.”
And one of the Turlock boys who sailed in it confided, “Thing you really got to watch is Captain Jake. In the fall, when arsters is plentiful, he pays his crew a salary. Come winter, when they ain’t so many arsters, he smiles at you like an angel and says, ‘Boys, better we work on shares this time.’ I ain’t sailin’ with him no more.”
When an Eastern Shore skipjack found itself unable to enroll a crew, it was traditional for the captain to make the big decision, which Captain Jake now did: “Caveny, we sail to Baltimore.”
With only Ned and Big Jimbo to help, they headed across the bay, past Lazaretto Light, past Fort McHenry, where the star-spangled banner had flown that troubled night, and into one of the finest small anchorages in the world, Baltimore’s inner harbor. Its merit was threefold: it lay right in the heart of the city; it was surrounded by hotels and stores and warehouses immediately at hand; and it was so protected by their tall buildings that no storm could imperil a ship docked there. Also, it was a joy for any ship’s cook to enter this harbor, because on the waterfront stood the huge McCormick Spice Company, its odors permeating the area, its shelves crammed with condiments the cooks sought.
As the Jessie T approached her wharf in the corner formed by Light Street, where the white steamers docked, and Pratt Street, where the skipjacks tied up and the saloons clustered, Captain Jake warned his companions to be especially alert. “We may have to pull out of here in a hurry,” he said. “Jimbo, you guard the boat while Tim and me goes ashore to tend to our business.”
“Cap’m,” the big cook said, “I watch the boat, but first I got to get me some spices,” and as soon as the Jessie T made fast, Big Jimbo was off to McCormick’s, returning with a small, precious package which he stowed below.
Now Turlock and Caveny started toward the row of saloons, and as they swaggered ashore, Jimbo called out, “Good luck, Cap’m. I be waitin’.”
There was one saloon, the Drunken Penguin, at which captains needing crew often had success, so it was natural that the two watermen should head there. “What a fine sign!” Ca
He and Caveny had a beer, then a plate of food from the free lunch. “Many people droppin’ by?” Jake asked the bartender.
“Nope,” the barman said, wiping a glass much longer than required. “They’s mostly at the other places.”
“They’ll be comin’ in,” Jake said as he attacked his food. “Tim, fetch me another pickled egg.”
There was no action that first afternoon, and Caveny suggested they explore some other bars, but Jake refused. “In other years I’ve found what I wanted here. We’ll find it this time, too.”
Toward dusk laborers from sites nearby dropped in for their evening beer, and Caveny said, “Reminds me of those great opening lines of Grey’s Energy:
“Homeward at the close of day
The weary workmen come.
Tired with their honest toil
And all lit up with rum.”
Midnight approached and nothing happened. “I told you they was at the other bars,” the barman said.
“I heard you,” Jake grunted, and that night he and Tim slept sitting at their table. Dawn broke, and along Light Street came carriages with passengers for the early steamers, and soon Pratt Street was alive with draymen. The heavy business of Baltimore was under way.
At about nine o’clock in the morning the two watermen were wide awake, and Tim suggested, “I ain’t never seen Hotel Rennert. Let’s see where our arsters goes.” So the two watermen walked a dozen blocks in the clean, brisk ail, crossed a park and stood on the Belgian blocks that surfaced all the streets near the great hostelry. “Magnificence brought down from heaven to earth,” Caveny said. When Turlock made no reply, the Irishman pointed to the towering façade and the beribboned doorman. “It’s an honor to provide arsters to such an establishment.” Again there was no response, so Tim plucked at his captain’s sleeve. “Jake, I think St. Peter, patron of us sailors, would look upon it kindly if we had a beer at the Rennert, seein’ as how we help keep it in business.”
“St. Peter might look kindly, but that flunky wouldn’t,” Jake said, pointing to his rough clothes and Tim’s unshaven face.
“There’s always, welcome to an honest workman,” Caveny replied, and he strode up to the doorman and said, “My good man, Captain Turlock and I provide the arsters used in your establishment. Would you extend the courtesy of allowin’ us to enjoy a beer?” Before the surprised functionary could respond, Caveny said grandly, “At our expense, of course.”
“Are you indeed oystermen?” the doorman asked.
“That we are,” Caveny replied, “best of the bay. Which is why Rennert buys from us.”
“Gentlemen, the oyster bar is through that door. I feel sure you will be welcomed.”
Gingerly Jake Turlock entered the mahogany-lined room. There was the glistening bar of which he had heard, the black man shucking in the corner, the chalked board proclaiming the many varieties of oysters available, and three men in business suits having an early snack. It was a handsome room, ideal for the purpose to which it was dedicated.
“My good man,” Caveny said to the barman in charge, “my mate and I catch the arsters you sell here.”
“Is that true?” the bartender said.
“As true as I stand before you like the honest fisherman I am.”
“And would you be wantin’ to sample the oysters you’ve caught?”
“God forbid that we should come all the way to Baltimore to eat arsters. What we want is a cold beer.”
“And that you shall have,” the barman said. “Compliments of the Rennert.”
“We can pay,” Caveny said.
“I’m sure you can, but we rarely see our oystermen, and this beer is on the house.”
Caveny sipped his beer as if he were a gentleman, making various observations on the quality of the hotel. As he placed his glass on the bar, depositing it gently with ten fingers embracing it, he asked, “Would you be offended, sir, if we tipped rather more handsomely than is the custom?”
“From sailors like yourselves ...”
“Watermen,” Caveny corrected, and onto the bar he tossed a sum of coins which would have covered not only the two beers but also a generous tip. “This is a grand hotel,” he told Turlock as they returned to the street, but Jake merely said, “Back to the Drunken Penguin. You never know when they’ll straggle in.”
The first prospect arrived at two that afternoon, an Englishman about twenty-four years old, seedy, bleary-eyed, underfed. He had just enough money to purchase a beer, which entitled him to gorge on the free lunch.
Turlock, watching his ravenous appetite, nodded to Caveny, who moved to the bar. “From the fair city of Dublin, I’m sure.”
“London,” the Englishman said.
“None finer in the world, I always say. Would you be offended if I suggested another beer?”
The young man was not disposed to argue about such an invitation, but when the drink was paid for, and the glass stood empty on the bar, he discovered the heavy cost of this courtesy, for suddenly he was grabbed from behind by the strong arms of a man he could not see, and his generous friend Timothy Caveny was bashing him in the face. He fainted, and when he revived, found himself bound hand and foot in the cabin of a strange boat, with a very large black man standing guard and threatening to knife him if he made one move.
Jake and Tim returned to the Drunken Penguin, resumed their seats at the back table and waited. After dark a young man came into the bar, loudly announced he was from Boston, waiting for his ship to arrive from New Orleans; he lounged awhile, had a desultory beer and picked at the spiced beets, licking his fingers as he finished. He was a sturdy young fellow, and Caveny doubted that he could be easily subdued, so as the Bostonian looked aimlessly about the bar, Tim approached the bartender to make a whispered offer. It was accepted, and when Tim took his place at the young man’s elbow to propose a drink in honor of the great port of Boston, where Tim had served in many different ships, the glass was ready.
The Bostonian took one sip, looked at the bubbles, then placed the glass on the bar. “Drink up!” Tim said brightly, gulping down a large portion of his own drink.
“I’d like a pickled beet,” the young sailor said.
“Best food in the world with beer,” Caveny said as he passed the glass bowl along.
The sailor ate two beets, took three gulps of his beer and fell flat on the floor. “Grab his feet!” Captain Turlock ordered, and watchers at the bar, who had seen this operation before, stepped reverently back as Jake and Tim lugged their second hand to the Jessie T.
When a crew had been conscripted in this way, a captain was afraid to put into port over weekends lest his men desert. He stayed out on the Chesapeake during the whole fall season, loading oysters onto the buy-boats, picking up fresh food from them when necessary and watching his shanghaied men every minute to prevent their escape.
“Don’t feel sorry for yourselves,” Captain Turlock told the two men. “You get paid just like everyone else. By Christmas you’ll be rich.”
The impressed seamen had to work like slaves. They threw the dredges into the water; they pulled them up; they sloshed them when there was mud; they stayed on their knees hours and days at a time picking through the haul; and when the buy-boat came, it was they who shoveled the oysters into the metal buckets.
Oystermen had a hundred clever tricks for hoodwinking shanghaied helpers: “Well, you see, the earnin’s I’ve been quotin’ ain’t clear profit. You’ve got to pay for the clothes we provide, the gloves, and so forth.” They also had to pay for their food. Also deducted were fees for mending the dredges, the cost of new ropes.
“When can we go ashore?” the Englishman asked.
“You mean, when can you leave our boat?”
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
“At Christmas,” Turlock promised, and Caveny added, “On that holy day all men yearn to be with their families.”
During the third week of December, when ice formed on fingers, the two impressed seamen came to the aft cabin and demanded to speak with Turlock. “We want your promise that we’ll be off this boat by Christmas.”
“You have my solemn promise,” Turlock said. And then, to make the deal binding, he added, “Mr. Caveny will swear to that, won’t you, Tim?”
“As sure as the moon rises over Lake Killarney,” Caveny assured him, “you’ll be off this boat by Christmas.”
Two days before that holiday, when the last buy-boat had loaded itself with oysters, Captain Turlock convened his crew in the galley and said brightly, “Jimbo, if one of the lads could fetch you some milk at Deal Island, could you make us a mess of he-stew?”
“I likes to,” the big cook said, and Turlock studied the two shanghaied crewmen. “You go,” he said to the Bostonian. Then, as if changing his mind for some deep philosophical reason, he said to the smaller man, “Better you take the pail. I want to talk wages with this one.” So the Englishman grabbed the pail and went on deck.
Caveny, Jimbo and Ned Turlock followed him up to maneuver the Jessie T into the dock at Deal Island, so that the Englishman could step ashore to find his milk. While this was under way, Captain Turlock engaged the Boston man in serious conversation. “Where will you be headin’ with the pay we’re givin’ you?”