Diary of Susannah Woychik, 1868 4 - More on Ship

 

Sunday May 3^rd

Dzy jezeli ludozerca Je nozem i wideleem – to postep?

Is it progress when a cannibal uses a knife and fork?

 

I have not felt like writing in my diary for these past few days. Every available container (except the pails with water, of which much splashed out) was being used as we all sicked up our stomachs and this went on for what felt like hours. No one felt able to sleep last night, as lying down made it all seem worse. Some of the people went onto the top deck , as they felt the fresh air would make them feel better, but the motion of the ship was such that they couldn’t walk around and had to cling to the masts, so they gave up as too much trouble, and returned below.

When the waves from the sea started spilling over the deck, and hence down into the hatches, the sailors covered them, so our air supply was sharply curtailed. Someone lit an oil lamp to give us a bit of light, but the smoke from it was unpleasant, and the air seemed to become frightfully bad.

I could hear my mother muttering her prayers. I think that she thought that we were all about to die. But I knew it would not be too long before things would return to normal. But for the time being, I lay in my bunk and tried hard not to be sick – so I could deal with my brothers when they were.  Soon there was nothing left in any of our stomachs, but it didn’t mean that we felt well. We still were terribly nauseated, and vomited stomach juices when there was no food left.

As the ship rolled, many people’s possessions rolled down and we were pleased  that we had taken the effort to rope our kegs and hang our other small items up. One man had had taken a keg of beer into the bunk with him, but the waves hurled the keg out of the bunk onto the deck. The man jumped out after it, and in an attempt to save it, jumped on it and rode the keg back and forth across the deck. This resulted in the ropes holding the items in the center aisle near him working their way loose, and soon everything of his was rolling from side to side in keeping with the waves. Fortunately the man managed to get himself and the keg of beer back into the bunk before he was seriously injured. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, and how awful we felt, everyone had a good laugh.

The worst of the seasickness was left behind once we left the English Channel behind and we were on the open Atlantic Ocean. We didn’t even try to eat for those few days. We had sips of water when we felt we could keep it down.

Today is Sunday, and there will be a church service of some sort up on the deck later today.  I doubt that many people will feel like going up. I haven’t much to say right now, so I will just write out the rules.

1. The deck in the passengers’ quarters and under the bunks shall be swept each morning before breakfast, and the sweepings put overboard. Once a week, the deck must be scraped.
2. Tobacco smoking is not allowed below decks.
3. All cooking utensils should be washed after use and kept clean.
4. All bedding must be taken up on deck once or twice and week and aired out, and the bunks cleaned out when this is done.
5. Clothing may not be washed or hung out to dry below deck, but each week a day will be determined for general washing.
6. All passengers who bring spirits or strong drink on board are obligated on embarking to hand over such substances for safekeeping. They can be given a reasonable daily portion.
7. Passengers are forbidden to have gunpowder or guns or other weapons on board so these must be given over to the ship’s officers for safekeeping.
8. Cards or dice are not allowed on board as these can easily lead to quarrels and disagreements.
9.  No seaman is allowed on the passengers’ deck unless he has been sent to do  specific work. Nor is any passenger allowed in the cabin or the crew or the galley
10. It is not permitted to drill holes or put nails in the beams boards or decks.
11. It is expected that all passengers will appear on deck on Sundays in clean clothing, so they can keep the Sabbath.
12. All manner of games and entertainment are allowed contributing to the maintenance of good health. Personal cleanliess is highly recommended.
13. Passengers must not speak to the man at the helm.
14. All passengers are obligated to obey the orders of the Captain in all respects.

We were told that one person in each group of eight would be in charge of the feeding arrangements for the group, and another for cleanliness.

Later

This is what it was like at lunchtime today. At noon a bell rang and the moveable tables were let down from the ceiling with boards resting on iron supports for seats. There was not enough space for everyone in one sitting.

“Soup here? Anyone want soup?”

The soup was contained in tin buckets, and these the two stewards carried up and down the length of the tables, filling our mugs by them being dipped into the buckets.  The soup wasn’t palatable and it was impossible to make out the ingredients except for rice and pepper. There was no bread with it. Then afterwards there was beef, already cut into slices and swimming in grease, and potatoes, boiled in their jackets. We stepped forward with our plates, and were given as many slices as we wanted, and we helped ourselves to the potatoes with our fingers. The beef was coarse and tasteless but probably nourishing.

Passengers wash their own dishes. Dinner over, Julianna and I gathered our families' dishes and climbed on deck. The debris was scraped over the side. There was a pot of hot soapy water, and we were sixth in line to use it. When our turn came, the water was cold and the water full of bits of potato and beef. After that we had a  new objective – to be the first to use the washing up water. Maria Sluga said she saw somebody who offered a tip, and they got their own private supply of hot water, but we didn’t have money for that sort of luxury.

We didn’t have water served with our meal and I went looking for some. There was a container of it in the main room, and I approached it with my mug.

“What you about? None of your tricks,” said the light haired steward.

I looked up puzzled.

“When will some water be served out to us?” I asked.

“There’ll be no water served out.”

“But I want a drink.”

“Well have a drink if you want to. There’s a cup.”

“I’d rather use my own mug.”

“If I let you take water in your own containers, you’d be taking it off all the time to wash yourself with. That water’s to drink. T’aint to lug off. And that cup’s to drink it out of.”

May 6

I have been trying to teach the children some English words. When the weather is fine, we sit up on deck and in a sort of circle and I throw a toy (not a ball as it would roll off)  to each in turn, and when they catch the toy they  have to say some English words – like it might be counting, or saying “My name is (whatever it is)."  They do seem to be learning a bit. But the grown ups don’t seem to be making any effort to learn.

Then we tried it with phrases. I would say it in Polish, and they had to say the English words.

Jak sie masz?             How are you?

Dazien dobry             Good morning

Dobry wieczor           Good evening

Dobranoc                    Good night

Witaj                             Hello

Dziekuje                      Thank You

Proze                            Please

Na zdrowie!               To your health

We don’t sleep very well on the ship. Some men brough liquor and others bought beer off the stewards. There was little drunkenness but one woman made a beast of herself and was sick all night in consequence.

I find my bed just short of positively uncomfortable. We decided to remove only our outer garments, and I wrap myself in my blanket and try without success to force myself to sleep. Two or three violins and an accordion are brought out and music sounds through the night.

The ladies’ lavatory is in the fo’ksle above and to reach it each morning, I have to go through a row of sailors and stokers. It is awkward in pleasant weather, but in rough weather, most of us have to ask the men for help keeping upright and getting to our goal. The washbasins are supplied with water made out of exhaust steam from the engines and has a peculiar color and odor which stays on the skin. The lavatories are kept fairly clean but the smell is still foul and I have seen lots of women enter perfectly well, and leave and become violently sick. It is so crowded in the morning that sometimes we have to wait in line for half an hour.

Sunday, May 10^th

This evening people gathered and sang hymns A kindly old man gave a sermon of half a dozen  sentences when the singing was done. The first class cabin passengers looked out and watched us. Afterwards, we had bread and tea with sugar, but no milk, for supper, and there were little tea parties on deck, with it being rather a social occasion.

There was music too. A pretty girl from the saloon played the fiddle (and we later found out she was a professional musician) and the sailors danced jigs and funny looking waltzs together. We did not see much of the cabin people except one woman who took her ugly small dog to exercise up and down our deck area each day.

 

Wednesday

Tonight the sea was rough again, and people were getting sick as the air in our quarters was unbreathable. Pa asked the steward if we could open a porthole.

“It’s against the rules at night.”

“Even ten minutes would air this place out a bit.”

“The water will be over the top deck before long.”

“Storm coming?”

“It looks a little windy.”

Thursday

But by morning we had a gale.

“This ship would get a gold medal for rolling,” said one of the stewards with grim pride.

She did roll. And wallowed and pitched.  I didn’t want to stay out in it, but Julianna did, and she later told me about it.

“There were 25 or 30 of us able to stand. A safety rope had been stretched and we had to hang onto this to go to places of shelter under the hurricane deck. Here we clung for dear life, and the ship lurched almost to the point of dipping the rail in. But the pitching sea was a sight to behold.”

Friday

The galley cooks and stewards are having an awkward time with their jobs. While we  were waiting to use the toilet, we heard an almighty crash of dishes, and fruit and vegetables rolled this way and that. Then we were told that the deck was unsafe and we all had to go below deck and stay there. The next wave might take us off our feet and send us overboard, or at least cause us to fall and break some ribs.

We finally managed to make it back to the stairs. We clung to our berths to make sure we weren’t pitched out. The tinware rattled and rolled. A half dozen trunks banged across the floor.

Moma was praying again and Carl was crying, begging Pa for water.

“Not now, Carl, but it won’t be long before things are better. We are due to land in four more days.”

Above the sound of the waves you could hear the bells continually ringing from the first class passengers who were calling for attendants. We didn’t have anybody to help us down in our section.

Saturday

Things are a bit better now and the stewards have brought around some dry toast. The wind has shifted and we are taking on less water.

By midday the sea was relatively smooth. The stewards helped the sick people up on deck.  The children were taken up piggy back and treated with special tenderness.