July 21 - 24 1862

Private Journal of the Bark Solon’s Voyage

Monday July 21st

Commences with brisk wind from N.SW steering E.SE. Employed in getting out molasses, Sugar & Dried Apples durig the forenoon. This PM engaged sailorizing not anything in sight.

Lat. 33 33 N Long. 45 23W

Tuesday July 22nd

Commences with moderate wind from W. SW. steering NE by E?E. Employed fitting Brace Pendants. Reef Tackle Block Strops and foot Ropes. During the PM had the wind from SW at sunset. Shortened sail and luffed to the wind heading NW by W?W

Jeff Davis1 is proving to be quite a Kanaka. He is roguish and full of the Old Nick. the folks have considerable sport with him after we shorten sail.

Lat. 33 25 Long. 43 44 W

Wednesday July 23rd

Had moderate wind from W.SW steering NE by E?E. Employed fittin Luff Ropes and Fore Brace Pendants. At Sunset shorted sail as usual.

Lat. 34 20 N Long. 43 33 W

Thursday July 24th

Had brisk wind from N.SW Steering N.NE by E and NE and E. Fitted Fore Lifts. This forenoon Dixie had another Fit and after he come out of it he grew worse and worse. All the time it seemed as though he was in awful pain. I gave him some Castor Oil but it seemed as though he was worse after it. About 8 o’clock he was in such misery that I got the Cooper to knock him on the Head. It came very hard to have to do it but it put him out of his misery.2
Lat. 35 22 N Long

1 I wonder which name on the crew list is being referred to as Jeff Davis. It does not mean the real Jeff Davis (President of the Confederacy) was aboard—just that the crew carried the tensions of the Civil War with them at sea.

2 Like Dixie, President Martin Van Buren died on July 24, 1862.: The former president died at age 79 from bronchial asthma and heart failure. Van Buren was the first president to have been born a U.S. citizen after the American Revolution and the only one whose first language was not English (he grew up speaking Dutch).