The Madeline

            The Madeline

Suzanne Marsh

Tommy Higgins watched silently from the deck of the Madeline, as England receded into the gray sky. He wanted to someday become a ship’s captain: the only way for a poor lad to do that was to join the crew of a ship, thus he became a cabin boy. The Madeline, was a two masted square rigged Brig. She was built for speed, and in the slave trading business that was as Tommy learned, very important. The Madeline had three decks; the first deck below was used for cargo, the second deck was five feet high and held slaves bound for the United States, her port of call, Mobile, Alabama.

May 15, 1858

Tommy Higgins, stood in the crow’s nest of the Madeline, this being his first voyage, he was told to climb into the crow’s nest, report when he sighted land. He had no idea what adventures he would have on what the other members of the crew called “the dark continent”. He had stood there for hours watching for anything that resembled land, then on the horizon, he saw land. He yelled down:

“Land ahead!” The lieutenant commander trod slowly toward the captain’s quarters, knowing that the following morning they would begin the hunt for African’s to sell in Mobile, Alabama where they would sell the Africans for two thousand for the males giving the captain and crew roughly one hundred thousand dollars. The ship had to be refitted, food taken on board, the crew had to be paid. The Madeline dropped anchor in Lagos Lagoon; tomorrow they would bring the slaves on board. There they would be put in the hold below decks. Tommy came down from the crow’s nest carefully.

The Captain, and six crew took the long boat heading toward the town of Badagry where slaves were being sold at a cheap price. The captain knew he would receive a good price per head in the Mobile market. Tommy, had been selected to go, since the captain planned to give Tommy a share in the Madeline, he was a good cabin boy. They arrived in the market area just as the slaves, in shackles were being placed on the block. The captain explained to Tommy what he was looking for. The slave had to have broad shoulders, strong arms and legs. Tommy watched as the men were led up to the auction block, wondering where they were going, this could not be right, one man buying another then selling him for profit. As he and the captain stood watching a slave tried to bolt from the auction block. He was grabbed quickly by the chains around his ankles, he fell to the ground. A hug black whip appeared in the auctioneer's hand, he began to beat the man. The man staggered, then stood up, the captain took great interest in that particular slave. Tommy did not understand the interest, he simply stared at the proceedings. The captain made his selections carefully., the Africans were loaded into the long boat. Once loaded on the ship, the Madeline pulled up anchor, beginning her two month journey to the United States.

Tommy Higgins, dozed off that first night oblivious to the sounds down in below decks. There were sickening moans pleading for water. Two of the crew were on duty watching the Africans, beating the when the cried out. They were the bosses, the slaves had no choices other than to do what they were told and quickly. The first several weeks out at sea proved educational, then fear took over.

Two members of the crew were heard arguing, then the larger of the two lunged attempting to choke the smaller man. The result was that both men were to be keel hauled as punishment, the captain did not care what they argued about, he was going to bully the crew into behaving. Preparations for the keel hauling took only five minutes. Tommy watched, horror stricken, as both men were tied to two lines, then lowered to the side of the Madeline. The line Tommy learned was loop beneath the ship. The men were to be dragged under the ship. The process began and ended, the men were hauled back aboard. The large man laid on deck, his head split open like a keg of water. The smaller man somehow survived the ordeal, his back had huge lacerations, blood was covering the deck. The captain ordered the deck cleaned and the ship was once again underway.

The captain had been teaching Tommy to read and write, that night in his cabin, Tommy took a small crumpled piece of paper, quickly printing as message: “HELP ME I AM ON THE SLAVE SHIP MADELINE RESCUE ME PLEASE I BEG OF YOU” He knew he was being disloyal to the captain but he was terrified by what he had just witnessed. He quietly put the note in a bottle, tossed it overboard. He stood watching it bob in the water for a move, then a wave came along quickly sweeping the bottle away from the Madeline. Tommy felt hopeless, he missed England, he decided then that he would jump ship in Mobile, Alabama.

Tommy, began to wonder why the captain was so harsh to the crew. The lieutenant was becoming more and more concerned about the slaves below decks, the lack of food and water. The half rations for the crew. He spoke to the captain, then began to argue, Tommy sensed that was not the smartest thing the man could have done. The following morning, there was a drum roll summoning the crew to attention on deck. The lieutenant was tied to the mass, his sentence for speaking back to the captain was fifty lashes with the cat ‘o’ nine tails. The cat was something most sailors feared, it would cut a man’s back to shreds. Tommy, like all the other members of crew stood. The first lash from the cat, the lieutenant screamed in pain, Tommy averted his head. The captain noted this, he would give Tommy a small taste of the cat if he continued to avert his eyes. After twenty lashes the captain ordered the whipping stopped, the lieutenant was almost dead, that would not do he needed the man. The captain turned toward Tommy: “Young master Higgins, remove your shirt and come here.” Tommy found himself being tied to the mast. He screamed and passed out from the first stripe of the cat.” He would be get off that ship one way or the other.

July 9, 2023

Marc Temple walked along the beach with his metal detector, hoping to find something worth his while. Mobile Bay has many places to look for treasure but what Marc found that day became a national treasure. He looked down and saw an old glass bottle, there inside was a crumpled piece of paper. The glass bottle was sunk in the sand, with only a small piece showing. Marc began to dig it out of the sand, as waves washed over it. Once he got the open out of the sand, he pulled the cork out of the bottle, shook it until the crumpled piece of paper fell out. He picked up the paper, what he read was a message: it was dated May 15, 1858. The plea for help was from Tommy Higgins, a boy of twelve in 1858. Marc quickly scooped up the bottle, cork and note, he took it to his professor of history. When the professor saw it, read the note, he quickly did some research. He noted that Tommy Higgins, cabin boy aboard the Madeline, a slave ship that brought one hundred and fifteen enslaved people to Mobile, Alabama. The Professor turned in his chair:

“Marc, this is an incredible find, this should be in a museum.” Marc was surprised and pleased.

Although this is historical fiction, it is hard to comprehend man’s inhumanity to man.