A Place Called Freedom Read online

  There seemed to be three lower decks. On the first, four sailors were eating their midday meal, sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by sacks and chests that presumably contained supplies for the voyage. On the third, all the way down at the foot of the ladder, two men were stacking barrels, hammering wedges between them so that they could not move during the voyage. At the level of the middle deck, which was obviously for the convicts, a sailor roughly pulled Mack and Barney off the ladder and shoved them through a doorway.

  There was an odor of tar and vinegar. Mack peered at his surroundings in the gloom. The ceiling was an inch or two above his head: a tall man would have to stoop. It was pierced by two gratings that admitted a little light and air, not from outside but from the enclosed deck above, which itself was lit by open hatches. Along both sides of the hold were wooden racks, six feet wide, one at waist height and one a few inches off the floor.

  With horror Mack realized the racks were for the convicts to lie on. They would be spending the voyage on these bare shelves.

  They shuffled along the narrow walkway between the rows. The first few berths were already occupied by convicts lying flat, still chained in pairs. They were quiet, stunned by what was happening to them. A sailor directed Peg and Cora to lie next to Mack and Barney, like knives in a drawer. They took their positions, and the sailor roughly shoved them closer together, so that they were touching. Peg was able to sit upright but the grown-ups were not, for there was not enough headroom. The best Mack could do was to prop himself on one elbow.

  At the end of the row Mack spotted a large earthenware jar, about two feet high, cone shaped with a broad flat base and a rim about nine inches across. There were three others around the hold. They were the only items of furniture visible, and he realized they were the toilets.

  "How long will it take to get to Virginia?" said Peg.

  "Seven weeks," he said. "If we're lucky."

  Lizzie watched as her trunk was carried into the large cabin at the rear of the Rosebud. She and Jay had the owner's quarters, a bedroom and a day room, and there was more space than she had expected. Everyone talked of the horrors of the transatlantic voyage, but she was determined to make the best of it and try to enjoy the novel experience.

  Making the best of things was now her philosophy of life. She could not forget Jay's betrayal--she still clenched her fists and bit her lip every time she thought of the hollow promise he had made on their wedding day--but she tried always to push it to the back of her mind.

  Only a few weeks ago she would have been thrilled by this trip. Going to America was her great ambition: it was one of the reasons she had married Jay. She had anticipated a new life in the colonies, a more free-and-easy, outdoor existence, without petticoats or calling cards, where a woman could get dirt under her fingernails and speak her mind like a man. But the dream had lost some of its glow when she learned of the deal Jay had made. They ought to call the plantation "Twenty Graves," she thought moodily.

  She tried to pretend that Jay was as dear to her as ever, but her body told the truth. When he touched her at night she did not respond as she once had. She would kiss and caress him, but his fingers did not scorch her skin, and his tongue no longer seemed to reach all the way inside to touch her soul. Once upon a time the mere sight of him had made her moist between the legs; now she surreptitiously oiled herself with cold cream before getting into bed, otherwise intercourse hurt her. He always ended up groaning and gasping with pleasure as he spilled his seed inside her, but there was no such culmination for her. Instead she was left with an unfulfilled feeling. Later, when she heard him snoring, she would console herself with her fingers, and then her head would fill with strange images, men wrestling and whores with exposed breasts.

  But her life was dominated by thoughts of the baby. Her pregnancy made her disappointments seem less important. She would love her baby without reservation. The child would become her life's work. And he, or she, would grow up a Virginian.

  As she was taking off her hat there was a tap at the cabin door. A wiry man in a blue coat and a three-cornered hat stepped inside and bowed. "Silas Bone, first mate, at your service, Mrs. Jamisson, Mr. Jamisson," he said.

  "Good day to you, Bone," Jay said stiffly, assuming the dignity of the owner's son.

  "Captain's compliments to you both," Bone said. They had already met Captain Parridge, a dour, aloof Kentishman from Rochester. "We'll get under way at the turn of the tide," Bone went on. He gave Lizzie a patronizing smile. "However, we'll be within the Thames estuary for the first day or two, so madam need not worry about bumpy weather just yet."

  Jay said: "Are my horses on board?"

  "Yes sir."

  "Let's have a look at their accommodation."

  "Certainly. Perhaps Mrs. J. will stay and unpack her little bits and pieces."

  Lizzie said: "I'll come with you. I'd like to take a look around."

  Bone said: "You'll find it best to stay in your cabin as much as possible on the voyage, Mrs. J. Sailors are rough folk and the weather is rougher."

  Lizzie bridled. "I have no intention of spending the next seven weeks cooped up in this little room," she snapped. "Lead the way, Mr. Bone."

  "Aye-aye, Mrs. J."

  They stepped out of the cabin and walked along the deck to an open hatch. The mate scampered down a ladder, agile as a monkey. Jay went after him and Lizzie followed. They went to the second of the lower decks. Daylight filtered down from the open hatch, and it was augmented a little by a single lamp on a hook.

  Jay's favorite horses, the two grays, and the birthday present, Blizzard, stood in narrow stalls. Each had a sling under its belly, attached to a beam overhead, so that if it lost its footing in heavy seas it could not fall. There was hay in a manger at the horses' heads, and the deck below them was sanded to protect their hooves. They were valuable beasts and would be hard to replace in America. They were nervous and Jay petted them for a while, speaking to them soothingly.

  Lizzie became impatient and wandered along the deck to where a heavy door stood open. Bone followed her. "I wouldn't wander around, if I were you, Mrs. J.," he said. "You might see things that would distress you."

  She ignored him and went forward. She was not squeamish.

  "That's the convict hold ahead," he said. "It's no place for a lady."

  He had said the magic words that guaranteed she would persist. She turned around and fixed him with a look. "Mr. Bone, this ship belongs to my father-in-law and I will go where I like. Is that clear?"

  "Aye-aye, Mrs. J."

  "And you can call me Mrs. Jamisson."

  "Aye-aye, Mrs. Jamisson."

  She was keen to see the convict hold because McAsh might be there: this was the first convict ship to leave London since his trial. She went forward a couple of paces, ducked her head under a beam, pushed open a door and found herself in the main hold.

  It was warm, and there was an oppressive stink of crowded humanity. She stared into the gloom. At first she could see nobody, although she heard the murmur of many voices. She was in a big space filled with what looked like storage racks for barrels. Something moved on the shelf beside her, with a clank like a chain, and she jumped. Then she saw to her horror that what had moved was a human foot in an iron clamp. Someone was lying on the shelf, she saw; no, two people, fettered together at their ankles. As her eyes adjusted she saw another couple lying shoulder to shoulder with the first, then another, and she realized there were dozens of them, packed together on these racks like herrings in a fishmonger's tray.

  Surely, she thought, this was just temporary accommodation, and they would be given proper bunks, at least, for the voyage? Then she realized what a foolish notion that was. Where could such bunks be? This was the main hold, occupying most of the space below deck. There was nowhere else for these wretched people to go. They would spend at least seven weeks lying here in the airless gloom.

  "Lizzie Jamisson!" said a voice.

  She gave a start. She
recognized the Scots accent: it was Mack. She peered into the dark, saying: "Mack--where are you?"

  "Here."

  She took a few paces along the narrow walkway between the racks. An arm was stretched out to her, ghostly gray in the twilight. She squeezed Mack's hard hand. "This is dreadful," she said. "What can I do?"

  "Nothing, now," he said.

  She saw Cora lying beside him and the child, Peg, next to her. At least they were all together. Something in Cora's expression made Lizzie let go of Mack's hand. "Perhaps I can make sure you get enough food and water," she said.

  "That would be kind."

  Lizzie could not think of anything else to say. She stood there in silence for a few moments. "I'll come back down here every day, if I can," she said at last.

  "Thank you."

  She turned and hurried out.

  She retraced her steps with an indignant protest on her lips, but when she caught the eye of Silas Bone she saw such a look of scorn on his face that she bit back her words. The convicts were on board and the ship was about to set sail, and nothing she could say would change matters now. A protest would only vindicate Bone's warning that women should not go below decks.

  "The horses are comfortably settled," Jay said with an air of satisfaction.

  Lizzie could not resist a retort. "They're better off than the human beings!"

  "Ah, that reminds me," said Jay. "Bone, there's a convict in the hold called Sidney Lennox. Have his irons struck and put him in a cabin, please."

  "Aye-aye, sir."

  "Why is Lennox with us?" Lizzie said, aghast.

  "He was convicted of receiving stolen goods. But the family has made use of him in the past and we can't abandon him. He might die in the hold."

  "Oh, Jay!" Lizzie cried in dismay. "He's such a bad man!"

  "On the contrary, he's quite useful."

  Lizzie turned away. She had rejoiced to be leaving Lennox behind in England. What bad luck that he too had been transported. Would Jay never escape from his malign influence?

  Bone said: "The tide's on the turn, Mr. Jamisson. Captain will be impatient to weigh anchor."

  "My compliments to the captain, and tell him to carry on."

  They all climbed the ladder.

  A few minutes later Lizzie and Jay stood in the bows as the ship began to move downriver on the tide. A fresh evening breeze buffeted Lizzie's cheeks. As the dome of St. Paul slipped below the skyline of warehouses she said: "I wonder if we'll ever see London again."

  III

  Virginia

  26

  MACK LAY IN THE HOLD OF THE ROSEBUD, shaking with fever. He felt like an animal: filthy, nearly naked, chained and helpless. He could hardly stand upright but his mind was clear enough. He vowed he would never again allow anyone to put iron fetters on him. He would fight, try to escape, and hope they killed him rather than suffer this degradation again.

  An excited cry from on deck penetrated the hold: "Soundings at thirty-five fathoms, Captain--sand and reeds!"

  A cheer went up from the crew. Peg said: "What's a fathom?"

  "Six feet of water," Mack said with weary relief. "It means we're approaching land."

  He had often felt he would not make it. Twenty-five of the prisoners had died at sea. They had not starved: it seemed that Lizzie, who had not reappeared below decks, had nevertheless kept her promise and ensured they had enough to eat and drink. But the drinking water had been foul and the diet of salt meat and bread unhealthily monotonous, and all the convicts had been violently ill with the type of sickness that was called sometimes hospital fever and sometimes jail fever. Mad Barney had been the first to die of it: the old went quickest.

  Disease was not the only cause of death. Five people had been killed in one dreadful storm, when the prisoners had been tossed around the hold, helplessly injuring themselves and others with their iron chains.

  Peg had always been thin but now she looked as if she were made of sticks. Cora had aged. Even in the half dark of the hold Mack could see that her hair was falling out, her face was drawn, and her once voluptuous body was scraggy and disfigured with sores. Mack was just glad they were still alive.

  Some time later he heard another sounding: "Eighteen fathoms and white sand." Next time it was thirteen fathoms and shells; and then, at last, the cry: "Land ho!"

  Despite his weakness Mack longed to go on deck. This is America, he thought. I've crossed the world to the far side, and I'm still alive; I wish I could see America.

  That night the Rosebud anchored in calm waters. The seaman who brought the prisoners' rations of salt pork and foul water was one of the more friendly crew members. His name was Ezekiel Bell. He was disfigured--he had lost one ear, he was completely bald and he had a huge goiter like a hen's egg on his neck--and he was ironically known as Beau Bell. He told them they were off Cape Henry, near the town of Hampton in Virginia.

  Next day the ship remained at anchor. Mack wondered angrily what was prolonging their voyage. Someone must have gone ashore for supplies, because that night there came from the galley a mouthwatering smell of fresh meat roasting. It tortured the prisoners and gave Mack stomach cramps.

  "Mack, what happens when we get to Virginia?" Peg asked.

  "We'll be sold, and have to work for whoever buys us," he replied.

  "Will we be sold together?"

  He knew there was little chance of it, but he did not say so. "We might be," he said. "Let's hope for the best."

  There was a silence while Peg took that in. When she spoke again her voice was frightened. "Who will buy us?"

  "Farmers, planters, housewives ... anyone who needs workers and wants them cheap."

  "Someone might want all three of us."

  Who would want a coal miner and two thieves? Mack said: "Or perhaps we might be bought by people who live close together."

  "What work will we do?"

  "Anything we're told to, I suppose: farm work, cleaning, building ..."

  "We'll be just like slaves."

  "But only for seven years."

  "Seven years," she said dismally. "I'll be grown-up!"

  "And I'll be almost thirty," Mack said. It seemed middle-aged.

  "Will they beat us?"

  Mack knew that the answer was yes, but he lied. "Not if we work hard and keep our mouths shut."

  "Who gets the money when we're bought?"

  "Sir George Jamisson." The fever had tired him, and he added impatiently: "I'm sure you've asked me half these damn questions before."

  Peg turned away, hurt. Cora said: "She's worried, Mack--that's why she keeps asking the same questions."

  I'm worried too, Mack thought wretchedly.

  "I don't want to reach Virginia," Peg said. "I want the voyage to go on forever."

  Cora laughed bitterly. "You enjoy living this way?"

  "It's like having a mother and father," Peg said.

  Cora put her arm around the child and hugged her.

  They weighed anchor the following morning, and Mack could feel the ship bowling along in front of a strong favorable wind. In the evening he learned they were almost at the mouth of the Rappahannock River. Then contrary winds kept them at anchor for two wasted days before they could head upriver.

  Mack's fever abated and he was strong enough to go up on deck for one of the intermittent exercise periods; and as the ship tacked upriver he got his first sight of America.

  Thick woods and cultivated fields lined both banks. At intervals there would be a jetty, a cleared stretch of bank, and a lawn rising up to a grand house. Here and there around the jetties he saw the huge barrels known as hogsheads, used for transporting tobacco: he had watched them being unloaded in the port of London, and it now struck him as remarkable that every one had survived the hazardous and violent transatlantic voyage to get there from here. Most of the people in the fields were black, he noticed. The horses and dogs looked the same as any others, but the birds perching on the ship's rail were unfamiliar. There were lots of other
vessels on the river, a few merchantmen like the Rosebud and many smaller craft.

  That brief survey was all he saw for the next four days, but he kept the picture in his mind like a treasured souvenir as he lay in the hold: the sunshine, the people walking around in the fresh air, the woods and the lawns and the houses. The longing he felt, to get off the Rosebud and walk around in the open air, was so strong it was like a pain.

  When at last they anchored he learned they were at Fredericksburg, their destination. The voyage had taken eight weeks.

  That night the convicts got cooked food: a broth of fresh pork with Indian corn and potatoes in it, a slab of new bread, and a quart of ale. The unaccustomed rich food and strong ale made Mack feel dizzy and sick all night.

  Next morning they were brought up on deck in groups of ten, and they saw Fredericksburg.

  They were anchored in a muddy river with midstream islands. There was a narrow sandy beach, a strip of wooded waterfront, then a short, sharp rise to the town itself, which was built around a bluff. It looked as though a couple of hundred people might live there: it was not much bigger than Heugh, the village where Mack had been born, but it seemed a cheerful, prosperous place, with houses of wood painted white and green. On the opposite bank, a little upstream, was another town, which Mack learned was called Falmouth.

  The river was crowded, with two more ships as big as the Rosebud, several smaller coasters, some flat-boats, and a ferry crossing between the two towns. Men worked busily all along the waterfront unloading ships, rolling barrels and carrying chests in and out of warehouses.

  The prisoners were given soap and made to wash, and a barber came on board to shave the men and cut their hair. Those whose clothes were so ragged as to be indecent were given replacement garments, but their gratitude was diminished when they recognized them as having been taken from those who had died on the voyage. Mack got Mad Barney's verminous coat: he draped it over a rail and beat it with a stick until no more lice fell out.