The Indian Ocean - Michael Pearson [176]
Food was a constant preoccupation on these long voyages. Mrs Fay's voyage from Mocha to Calicut was unpleasant; she liked none of her fellow passengers, and once the ship nearly had to put back to Mocha so that the captain and one of the passengers could fight a duel. Food soon became scarce, and she learnt to grab it as soon as it appeared. She kept busy by retiring to her cabin and making shirts for her husband. 'How often since, in this situation have I blessed God, that he has been pleased to endow me with a mind, capable of furnishing its own amusement, in despite of every means used to discompose it.'
It was a case of feast or famine. Mrs Fay in 1786 wrote that 'The table was at first profusely covered; being our Captain's favourite maxim "never to make two wants of one"; Every one foresaw what must be the consequence, but he would not listen to reason.' He announced that the ship was nearing St Helena, where provisions could be had, but then they discovered that they were still off the east coast of Africa:
On examining the state of our water and provisions, after the error was discovered, we were put on an allowance of a quart of water a day, for all purposes; and for nearly a month before we arrived here, we were forced to live on salt provisions; even the poor children and the sick, had no better fare.
There was another problem with food on this ship too, at least for the ladies. Her travelling companion, Mrs Tottingham,
at first took her meals in the Cuddy, but the gentlemen were in general too fond of the bottle to pay us the least attention; after tea, we were never asked to cut in at cards, though they played every evening. Captain Lewis swore so dreadfully, making use of such vulgar oaths and expressions; and became so very rude and boisterous, that Mrs Tottingham withdrew entirely from table, and never left her cabin for the last thirteen weeks; but the Colonel [her husband] took care to send her whatever was necessary; I had no one to perform the like kind office for me, and was therefore forced to venture up among them, or risk starvation below.
On her voyage out in 1815 Mrs Fay also was confined to her cabin, but on this occasion because she was escorting six young ladies to India. They 'were only five times on deck during the passage, which was owing to the previous arrangement between the Captain and me, to guard against imprudent attachments, which are more easily formed than broken – and I am happy to say the plan succeeded to our wish.'113
As more people travelled the quality of food for the common immigrant was far different from what the elite had and continued to have. Lancelot L. Earl was an assisted immigrant to Australia in 1882. When they were sixty-seven days out from London they ate a porpoise, 'perhaps what made it seem so nice to us was because it is going on for 3 months since we eat any other than salt or preserved meat or salt junk, as the sailor's term is, but salt leather would be a better name for it, and therefore anything of a fresh nature is a treat for us.' Three days later 'There is not even a potato left, so we have to be contented with what is called preserved potato, which looks something like sawdust, and don't taste much better, but there is plenty of sea biscuit left so there is no fear of starving.'114 Convicts and assisted immigrants to Australia lived for months on a diet essentially of bread and water, some salt beef,