Conrad and the Duke of Sutherland

old Duke of S ------ (she's dead, poor thing! . . .)The Mirror of the SeaCONRAD'S SERVICE in the Duke of Sutherland represents a turningpoint in his maritime career: it was his first long-distance voyage in a British ship and his first contact with the Antipodes. He had previously sailed to the Caribbean in French vessels; had served in an unknown capacity, possibly as an unofficial apprentice, in the steamer Mavis in Mediterranean waters;1 and then had a brief stint as ordinary seaman in the coasting schooner the Skimmer of the Sea out of Lowestoft to Newcastle.In British Merchant Service terms, however, the Duke of Sutherland was the real thing: a full-rigged wooden sailing ship of 1 047 tonnage,2 she was captained by a Scot and manned by an international crew of twentyfive more or less evenly divided between British nationals and foreigners, the latter category including colonials (from Canada and Barbados), Germans, Scandinavians, and an American. Conrad vividly describes his finding a berth in the ship in Poland Revisited (1915). He also recalls her docked in Sydney, remembering as well the perils of her homeward voyage round Cape Horn, the boatswain, whom he did not (The Mirror of the Sea, 78), and her first- and second-mates. This essay serves as an extended footnote to the research already undertaken in this area, in particular to that of Zdzislaw Najder in Joseph Conrad: A Life (2007), which, like all of us, draws upon the work of the late Hans van Marie.The Agreement and Account of CrewThe Agreement and Account of Crew for this voyage of the Duke of Sutherland (hereafter cited as Agreement) is held at the National Archives, Kew (BTl 00/21: Agreement No. 46802). While providing a factual record of the crew, it also affords an intriguing glimpse into the maritime world of the late -nineteenth century, and, as such, an insight, however fragmentary, of Conrad's life at sea. For example, among the prefatory statements is a Scale of Provisions identifying the daily dietary allowance aboard the Duke of Sutherland. This diet consisted of bread - most probably hard biscuit - daily; salted beef (IV2 lb.) and pork (VA lb.) on alternate days; flour (1A lb. per day) and peas on alternate days; 1 lb. rice per week; and daily allowances of tea (Ve oz.), coffee QA oz.), sugar (2 oz.), and water (3 quarts). With quantities weighed in imperial measure, the Board of Trade scale became known internationally as the pound and pint. Appended to this Scale of Provisions, under the heading Substitutes, are the statements: Equivalent at the Master's option. No spirits allowed.3 In addition to these provisions is daily issue of Lime and Lemon Juice and Sugar, or other antiscorbutics in any case required by Law. To counter scurvy, a disease resulting from vitamin C deficiency, lemon juice was made a compulsory issue in the Royal Navy in 1795 and, from 1844, lime juice was compulsorily supplied in all British and colonial merchant ships (Atkinson 2001: 34-35) .4According to the Agreement, all officers and crew signed on in on 12 October 1878. The skipper, John McKay, had previously commanded the Ann Duthie, a clipper that, in 1872, accomplished the London-to-Sydney voyage in 72 days.5 On the first page of the Agreement, McKay confirms the date of commencement of the Duke of Sutherland's voyage as 14 October 1878, and the date of termination as 19 October 1879, with the Delivery of Lists to Superintendent the following day.Of the total complement of 26, including the Master, for the outward voyage, 18 are listed as engaged as Sailors, clearly distinguishing them from the officers (captain and first and second mates), petty officers (boatswain, carpenter, and sailmaker), and special crew (cook and steward). The Sailors are thus the able bodied seamen (A. B.s) and ordinary seamen (O. S.s).The Agreement identifies the round-the-world voyage in highly general terms, from London to Sydney and/or any port or ports in the Austrulasian [sic] New Zealand and Cape Colonies, Indian and China Seas and Straits, Red Sea Persian Gulf and Japan, North and South Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, United States of America West Indies Mediterranean to and from for a period not to exceed three years, and back to final port of discharge in the United Kingdom or Continent of Europe between the Elbe and Brest. …

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