NARRATIVE
OF THE
LIFE AND ADVENTURES
OF
PAUL CUFFE,
A PEQUOT INDIAN:
DURING THIRTY YEARS SPENT AT SEA,
AND IN
TRAVELLING IN FOREIGN LANDS.
VERNON:
PRINTED BY HORACE N. BILL,
1839.
NARRATIVE
OF THE LIFE OF
PAUL CUFFE,
A descendant of an Indian family, which formerly resided in the eastern part of Connecticut and constituted a part of that fierce and warlike tribe of Indians called Pequots, of whose exploits in the early Wars of New-England, the reader may become acquainted by perusing "Trumbull's History of the Indian Wars."
The subject of this narrative was born in the town of Westport, in theState of Massachusetts. His father, Paul Cuffe, was a sea-faring man,and had the command of a number of merchant vessels. It was with himthat I made my first voyage, when a boy twelve years old. This was inthe year 1808. On the morning of a pleasant day in the month of May, ofthat year, we hoisted sail and stood out for sea. There were 16 handson board. This was new business to me, and with the novelty attending asea voyage I was highly pleased. Nothing uncommon attended this voyage,which was made to Passamaquaddy, for Plaster of Paris. We made thisvoyage down in about 10 days. After loading our vessel, which took twoweeks, we again set sail for Wilmington, in Delaware, at which port wesafely arrived in 16 days, discharged our freight, took in ballast and300 bushels of apples, and sailed for Savannah, in Georgia, where wearrived without any accident to mar the pleasure of the voyage, inabout twenty days, where we again discharged our freight and reloadedour vessel with Cotton, Rice and Logwood. Here we lay three months inmaking preparation for sea again. From this place we made out into thebroad Atlantic with all sails fluttering in the balmy breeze, and allhands full of hope and buoyant with expectation. This was a long,tedious voyage, as the reader will readily imagine when I inform himthat we sailed a great number of days in a northward direction, untilwe made the Grand Banks; then we steered away for the northern coast ofScotland, which we reached in about fifty days. Thence we continued ourcourse around the Orknies into the Northern Sea, and made the entranceto the Baltic through what is called the Sleeve; thence along the coastof Copenhagen northward to Gottenburgh, a flourishing town in WestGothland in Sweden. Here we lay six weeks, sold our lading, and took ina load of iron, steel and hemp. From thence we sailed for Elsinore, aseaport of Denmark, where we took in a number of passengers forPhiladelphia, at which place we arrived after a long passage, sometimein the month of September, 1809. During this voyage we had much roughweather; so much so, that we were compelled to throw overboard fiftytons of iron while on the Grand Banks. During this gale we lost ourfore-top-mast, jib-boom and long boat.
At this port we sold our load; after which my father put me to a highschool in Williams' Alley, where I remained two years. This was anexcellent school, taught by a Friend Quaker, a very worthy man, whom Ishall ever have cause to respect for his many acts of kindness towardsme.
After the close of my term at school, I returned home t