I collapsed over a pile of rope and landed face first into the hard wood deck. I lay there for a few moments pondering if it was safe to get up. I started to move my hands but was kicked in the side by a black boot. I cringed in pain and tried to hold my scream in; a gasp of air escaped me and I received another kick in the side.
I rolled over onto my back and looked up into the eyes of a tall white man with mean blue eyes. He was dressed in a fancy coat with bands of gold cloth hanging from his shoulders, chest, and sides.
“Get up!” The man yelled at me. I stared at him for a while, which was another big mistake. I saw his foot go back and swing forward again into my side.
I cringed again but forced myself to stand up from my previous position. My hands were shaking and I was holding back the pain. My eyes fixed upon the man that kicked me. His eyes drifted upward and landed upon me.
“What’s your name?” He asked.
“Lyle, Sir.” I answered.
“I’m Captain Jacob Oswalt, but you can call me Captain Jake,” the man said and held out his hand. I stared at it unsure of what to do. I realized I was supposed to shake it and I did.
I was a slave; I was being shipped down to South Carolina. I don’t speak English very well and the only words I could really say were, “Lyle” and “Sir”.
The wind on that boat was cold, it was autumn, I think. The days were getting a lot shorter and colder. I only had a white pair of shorts and a torn brown shirt on.
Captain Jake turned and walked back to his cabin. I looked around and saw a woman and two men sitting together with their heads turned towards me. I saw that each of them were shaking, just as I was. My fingers were almost numb, so I rubbed them together to try and heat them up. I slowly walked towards the men and woman, they stared up at me as I towered over them.
“You can sit here if you want,” the woman said. She was wrapped in a blanket and she had a weak smile on her face. I nodded and began to sit next to them. a sharp pain shot through my side and I breathed out heavily.
“I’m Sue, and these fine men are Tim and Robby,” she said. Two similar looking men turned there heads towards me and nodded. They both had brown eyes and brown hair with the same features. Sue had light brown eyes and the most awkward color of black hair. It looked brown but you could tell it was black.
“I’m Lyle.” I smiled. I shivered as a strong wind made the boat sway. I looked up at the sails and saw them at full mast. A few sailors controlled the ropes that pulled the masts in different directions.
“Left!” One of them yelled and the men pulled the giant ropes to their left. It took about three or four of them to pull it and as they did they sang.
Sway, sway, sway with the wind.
The ocean is brutal and fighting is futile,
but we are the sailors that will Fight to the end.
And so we sing,
Sway, sway, sway with the wind.
They repeated this as they worked and moved back and forth with the sail. I sat next to Sue, Tim and Robby for a while until a loud bell ran out and broke the silence. I stood up and lined up on the deck next to Robby, Tim, and Sue. There was about two hundred of us lined up on that deck, waiting for whatever was going to happen to us.
Captain Jake appeared once again and paced back and forth in front of us, looking into the eyes of everyone he passed.
A young sailor followed behind him and Captain Jake pointed to someone down the line while the guy pulled the person forward. It was a teenage boy, he stumbled and landed on his knees.
The young man lifted him up and held him there. Captain Jake kept pacing and picked out a few more people that automatically stepped forward.
Captain Jake came to where I stood and stared me in the eyes. His breath smelled of alcohol and smoke. He breathed heavily and smiled at me. His yellow teeth sort of shined in the setting sun. He took a step back and continued walking down the line.
I let out a little breath of relief and stared out to the ocean. We were surrounded by water with no sign of land in sight.
Captain Jake stopped pacing and told the young sailor something that I couldn’t hear. “Slaves that stepped forward, come with me.” The young sailor said as Captain Jake walked back to his cabin.
The picked slaves walked behind the sailor and I wondered why they went without a fight. As they walked past me I saw that their hands were tied behind their backs with a vicious looking wire.
They walked down into the deck below and disappeared one by one. I never saw those people again.
We all fell out of place again and we made our way back to our corner of the boat. Tim, Robby, Sue, and I sat together again and tried our best to stay warm. Sue was still wrapped up in her blanket and still shivered with each gust of wind.
Night came and sleep didn’t come easy. I fought the cold while trying to sleep and after a while I just gave up trying. My eyes finally drifted shut after a couple hours and I slept for what felt like ten minutes.
A woman's scream woke me up early that morning, I looked around confused and realized that Sue, Tim, and Robby were gone. I sat alone in the corner with Sue’s blanket on top of me.
I stood up and held the blanket in my hands. Captain Jake walked out of his cabin and all of the slaves lined up once again. I stood on the side of someone I never knew and never got the chance to. Captain Jake walked past me and pointed to the man beside me, the young sailor pulled the man forward and continued to follow Captain Jake.
These sessions continued every sunrise and sunset, the people that left would never be seen again. All the while Captain Jake would always stop at me, smile, and continue on. It was as if he wanted me to think that I would be next.
Each night we would be fed some stale bread and a white mush that was usually cold. We didn’t get anything to eat with, so I had to eat with my hands. One night after the slave picking session as I sat eating my bread and mush, a familiar voice came from behind me.
“Lyle?” Sue said.
I turned and smiled with a mouth full of mush. Sue laughed and sat next to me with her own bread and bowl of mush.
“Robby? Tim?” I asked.
Sue shrugged and stuck her hand in the mush and piled it into her mouth. I gave a weak smile and continued eating my food.
After a while the sailors began making us do work. Some sailors showed me how to pull the mast in different directions with the rope. At first it was rather difficult because none of the slaves had ever done anything like it before. After a few turns I got the hang of it and led the men behind me.
As time went on I became stronger and quicker from moving the mast; I soon could move it by myself. The sailors were amazed at how far I had come and began giving me different tasks.
I was told to move crates and carry ropes up the mast and tie them to it so the men that pulled them could do it quicker.
A series of left’s and right’s could be heard most of the time. On occasion the sailor would say, “Straighten it out.” This meant for the men to pull the ropes to the center and hold it there.
Captain Jake didn’t spend much time out of his cabin, but when he was he would always watch me. Not in a creepy way, but as if he was sizing me up for something. I would just look away and continue as if he wasn’t there.
Tim and Robby never did return to Sue and me. It’s as if they had gone below. I didn’t want to know what went on below and thankfully I never
knew.
One sunset Captain Jake didn’t come out of his cabin, instead he came out during the night and picked people as they slept. I woke up the next morning to see Sue still sleeping beside me. I let out a breath of relief and went to the morning meal line to get some food.
I was handed a bowl full of mush and sent back to my place on the deck. I ate heartily and waited for orders to work. No orders came that day, for it was the last day I spent on that ship.
“Land Ahoy!” A sailor yelled from the front of the ship. The loud bell rang a few times and all of the slaves lined up once again. Captain Jake stepped out of his cabin and paced in front of us as we landed on the docks. Men put a plank out across the dock and the ship. As I began walking off, Captain Jake held me behind.
“How would you like to help me out with this old boat?” He asked me.
By this time I had learned more English and knew more than just two words.
“I would like that very much, Sir.” I answered.
“Good.” Captain Jake said.
Captain Jake became one of my best friends. He taught me all about boats and how to work them. I became sort of a professional on that boat. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world. I was bought by Captain Jake and he treated me well. He fed me, gave me clothes, and treated me as his son.
The sailors on that boat became accustomed to me and helped me out if I needed them, and I helped them in return. Oh that boat was everything to me. The Sea Baron, my life, my joy, my ocean.
