The voyage of Thekla Nübling, part 2
For members of the Mitchell family
Thekla’s descendants are extremely lucky; a whole set of letters that she wrote to her family in Germany survive to tell her story of coming to America. I have done my best to translate these letters, so here they are (slightly abridged and edited for clarity).
The first set of letters followed Thekla as she made her journey across Germany by land.
This second set of letters describes the first part of her voyage across the Atlantic.
May 6, 1828
Aboard the Constitution
Today is the seventh day that I have been on this ship. We got no good wind the first few days, but I found some entertainment in getting acquainted with the ship’s staff. There are five of us in the cabin, including the captain, who is a most agreeable man.
Other than Ottilie there is another girl in this cabin; she is a chambermaid from Hanover, who is joining her parents to New York. She is quite and so modest that I have not really been able to get to know her.
The fourth person is a Jew, with whom I have limited association. He is often teased by the other passengers. In steerage there is a musician who has taught the others “The Waltz of the Jews”; he blows on his clarinet and they all sing ‘Hep Hep’ with all their might, but the Jew does not seem to care.
This last Sunday we had a lot of entertainment. There is an executioner from Berlin on the ship, but no one is bothered by his job because he plays the guitar and sings along. We all went up to the deck in our ordinary clothes, but – behold! – our executioner had put on bloomers and stockings and a pleated nightdress, as well as a white felt hat. Everyone laughed at this costume because he is such an old fop. So it turns out there’s someone on the ship who actually knows how to be hilarious without offending, which is a lot of fun for us.
The musicians played the same evening, and the sailors danced rather nicely; it is a kind of contra dance they do, and they dance almost every evening, which pleasantly passes the time.
We already have several seasick people. In particular, the girl from Hanover and the Jew are suffering. Ottilie and I are free so far. I am now quite used to the rocking of the ship, and I always have a good appetite; we eat quite well. Sometimes mother would be afraid for my belly, if she could see how much bread and butter I enjoy at breakfast and at dinner, but it does me no harm.
May 10, 1828
Aboard the Constitution
We sailed between England and France without a single storm, and we have been floating on the Atlantic for half a day already — believe it or not. I am lucky!
We always have good conversation on the ship, so boredom has never infested me. We have also encountered quite a few other ships. The other day a fishing boat came up and we traded with him; he gave us fish, and we gave him liquor. Our cook understands how to make the fish palatable.
Last night we played a card game and at 10 o’clock went up to the deck again. The sky was full of stars. It was beautiful to see, indeed; you would not believe what a glorious sight it is to see the sun go down over the sea. I have never been able to watch it rising, because I am a sleepyhead.
The Lord means well for me and also my traveling companions, as is proved by the rare luck of getting from the North Sea through the Channel into the ocean without storms. Now the danger is not nearly so great.
But I am also quite pious and well-behaved, so every evening and morning I think God very much for it, and ask him for his further assistance and for the preservation of all my loved ones in my homeland.
I’ve been knitting diligently, but more elegant lace-making is hindered by the rocking of the ship.
I have seen quite a few interesting fish, sometimes even very big ones.
May 12, 1828
Aboard the Constitution
Yesterday was Sunday. The weather was good, but we had no wind. In the morning we drank to the health of my brother Max in America, because I remembered it was his birthday.
Then we in the women’s room sewed a white apron for the cook. The captain gave us the canvas for it. In the afternoon there was dancing, so Ottilie and I made a few turns. In the evening, after the dancing was finished, we played dominoes and then fell asleep.
Today we go forward. Just now the captain surprised us with meat patties for luncheon. Everything on our ship is much more comfortable than we were lead to imagine it would be. In my little room I have a bedstead with curtains. No one at all has to sleep in hammocks, but there are sections of sleeping bunks, set into the wall and covered by doors, in which two people can lie together at a time. Since our good captain has ceded his cabin to me, he now has to sleep with the Jew.
The captain provides coffee, but a glass of fresh water out of the spigot of our little rain-fountain is my preferred refreshment.
Yesterday we had a couple of new seasick people, though I’m still free of it myself. It is laughable and lamentable when one of these people goes this way, then that, then throws up overboard. Our Jew also suffers from gout, for which I pity him. Yesterday he came to the breakfast table with unkempt hair, and the captain told him if that happens again, he will have to eat alone. Now the Jew grumbles.
May 19, 1828
Aboard the Constitution
I have had several new experiences over the last 8 days. On the 12th, 13th, and 14th we had good weather. On the 15th, Ascension Day, we saw a mighty big fish. There was a terrible wind and rain during the night, but no storm. In the morning before breakfast, Ottilie and I had a slight attack of seasickness; we both felt a little bit like vomiting, but it got no worse than that. We stayed quiet and still during the day and in the evening we were healthy again.
On Saturday evening, at half past six, the captain came to the deck and said, “Well, my dear children! There is a little storm coming. Do you not want to go to bed?”
We went to the cabin right away and it was not long before a terrible noise arose above us. The ship creaked and the wind howled as the thunder rolled. We girls were very quiet, though it lasted all night.
On the following Sunday morning, the captain, who thought me seasick, put his head in the door and asked, “How are you?”
“Good,” I called and got out of bed, but the ship was moving so much that I could hardly get dressed.
I spent about 15 minutes with Ottilie, and we both at the same time felt like vomiting again, but we quickly got over it. The captain was also very concerned for us, because he does not like to let anything get out of hand, so he had some fruit prepared for us at once. We got wine soup in the afternoon, and in the evening we were able to eat meat again.
But it was a different story on the middle deck. When the storm broke out, one of the other passengers was still on the deck, but the others were rowdy and didn’t want to let him inside. They did not know that it promised to be so dangerous. He finally shouted them that they should see for themselves that all the sails had been tied up and that a heavy millstone was being tied to the big mast, so that at last they allowed him down — but at that moment a mighty wave struck and brought water into the middle deck.
The executioner, who might talk like a hero but in real danger has little courage, fancied the ship was going under the water, so he sprang from his bed and fell very hard. He might have been drunk.
Our cook, too, has feebly taken a fall, so he must stay in bed; now the helmsman and a sailor are cooking. Another seaman fell ill; in fact, almost everyone was seasick, but all of them were more violently attacked than we two girls.
May 28, 1828
Aboard the Constitution
We’ve had nice weather and good wind today. On Wednesday night we had another storm, but I slept most of the night and noticed only a little turmoil on the deck. When we got to the deck, we saw nothing but miserable faces and newly seasick people.
The next morning, Ottilie asked, “Didn’t you feel some fear?”
I asked back, “Was there really a storm?”
On Friday, during good weather, the captain gave us an old flag to mend. We mended it very well, and it blows handsomely in the wind; we are already in the process of making a new one.
We have now come about halfway. My longing for my brother Max, to whom I am already closer than you, increases daily. There are some unpleasant things at sea, though I thought it would be worse and I shall be content with how it has turned out.
On the 22nd there was great joy on the ship when we saw land; it was the Azores islands that we passed, and their high mountains were visible to us all day long.
Today I spent a long time with my family album. Such a little thing is a wonderful pleasure while at sea.
May 30, 1828
Aboard the Constitution
Yesterday a Dutch ship sailed close enough to us that the two captains could speak to each other through their megaphones.
It’s getting pretty hot now, and although I’m protecting myself from the sun, I’m getting pretty tanned; nevertheless, I am always in good spirits, and our journey so far has been happy. God grant that we may soon reach our goal!
Stay tuned for the next set of letters, wherein Thekla’s voyage across the sea comes to an end.