ex Sugarcane liquor (Spanish).
ey Anis liquor.
ez In a drunken state; sailors sometimes added, “...and the fourth shaking.”
fa Nathaniel Bowditch’s book The New American Practical Navigator was published in 1802.
fb Ori the alert (French).
fc Thompson.
fd Stimson.
fe Spanish nobleman of the lowest grade.
ff Jall (Spanish).
fg In Spanish, dueña means owner. Dana may have meant doña (woman), in this case a mother or chaperone.
fh In the original manuscript Dana wrote “at the request of my father.”
fi Loose rope ends or sail.
fj A sailor’s highest possible praise for his superior.
fk Heavy material, such as iron, lead, or stone, placed in the bottom of the hold to keep a vessel from upsetting.
fl Call for dismissing a watch.
fm British author Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel Paul Clifford (1830) begins with the famous line “It was a dark and stormy night.”
fn In the 1869 edition Dana added the footnote, “Sailors call men from any part of the coast of Massachusetts south of Boston ‘Cape Cod men.”’
fo The lower yard on the mizzen mast. In the 1869 edition Dana noted “cross-jack” is pronounced croj-ac.
fp Thompson’s.
fq Stimson.
fr That is, more hardship and poor treatment than a seaman could tolerate.
fs Sailing vessel designed for coastal fishing and equipped with a well to keep mackerel alive.
ft Scottish sailor William Falconer’s poem “The Shipwreck” was published in 1762.
fu Large rowboat, usually hoisted at the stern.
fv In this case, “berth” means where a vessel lies.
fw A league is 3 nautical miles; 1 nautical mile is roughly 6,080 feet.
fx Two island groups in the western Pacific Ocean: The Pelew, or Palau, Islands are about 550 miles east of the Philippines; the Ladrone, or Marianas, Islands are some 1,000 miles further east.
fy Coined currency.
fz Dana added this footnote to the 1869 edition: “This visiting between the crews of ships at sea is called, among whalemen, ‘gamming.’ ”
ga To fasten new sails to the yard.
gb Russian islands in the Arctic Ocean.
gc That is, get even with the agent. For “square the yards,” see “Dictionary of Sea Terms,” on p. 454.
gd Valley region along the Kennebec River in Maine.
ge Small boat used for running errands on shore.
gf Period at the turn of the tide when there is little tidal movement.
gg Mexican seaport.
gh important Mexican port on the Gulf of Mexico.
gi Points between (Spanish).
gj Stabbed with a dagger-like weapon.
gk More energy in store; in nautical usage, it means there is more chain available to let out.
gl From the French novel Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane (1715-1735), by Alain-Rene Lesage.
gm Attendants to the governor.
gn Santa Ana does not want religion (Spanish).
go Guerra de Noriega y Carillo.
gp Noriega.
gq Holy Spirit (Spanish).
gr Running free before the wind.
gs Greetings, friend! Many greetings (Hawaiian)!
gt A purgative.
gu Captain of the beach. Master of the house (Spanish).
gv Rancher (Spanish).
gw Take a walk (Spanish).
gx Thompson.
gy Gentleman (Spanish).
gz Sailor’s name for the ship’s carpenter.
ha Probably a reference to Alexander Pope’s Moral Essays, Epistle 2: “To a Lady on the Character of Women” (1735). When Sails makes “a sweeping assertion (about his wife), not much to the credit of the sex,” Dana is reminded of the assertion in Epistle 2, line 2: “Most women have no characters at all.”
hb Up with the anchor and off.
hc Thompson.
hd By the authority committed to me (Latin).
he Sailor’s private time, often used to organize his belongings.
hf Sir Walter Scott published his novel Woodstock in 1826.
hg Brush or loose wood laid beneath and throughout the cargo to keep the contents safe and intact.
hh Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) was a Presbyterian minister who preached temperance and a vegetarian diet, including whole grains; in 1829 he invented Graham (coarsely ground wheat) flour and, by extension, the Graham cracker.
hi In Greek mythology, the goddess of health.
hj Stimson.
hk From the popular song “Oh No, We Never Mention Him,” by Thomas Haynes Bayley ( 1797-1839).
hl Robinson.
hm Thompson.
hn Dana.
ho By force and arms (Latin).
hp Stimson.
hq Sailor’s expression for signing on to a vessel.
hr Stimson.
hs From canto 6 of Sir Walter Scott’s poem Marmion (1808).
ht Not to the point (French).
hu Dana explained in his 1869 edition footnote, “This is a common expletive among sailors, and suits any purpose.”
hv Stimson.
hw Sailor’s terms for going through an extremely dangerous situation.
hx Australia.
hy Nuttall.
hz There has been much confusion over this longitude; in Dana’s original manuscript he gives 106° 45’ west.
ia Steady drizzle during a period of flat calm.
ib Wild revelry.
ic Ursa Major (the Big Dipper).
id Atoll island located 290 nautical miles east of Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific Ocean.
ie Evil deep-ocean spirit; his locker is the bottom of the sea.
if Observing the moon’s distance to fixed stars to determine longitude at sea.
ig In other words, the vessel is fully equipped.
ih Sailor’s term for a captain of any age.
ii Seize the sail by hand.
ij Medicinal tincture that has opium as its main ingredient.
ik In 1869 edition, Dana changed the line to “Where away, Doctor?”; he added as a footnote: “The cook’s title in all vessels.”
il Seacoast town in northeastern Massachusetts.
im Moderate use of alcoholic beverages or total abstinence from liquor on board.
in Rounding.
io Stimson.
ip The direction of wind is measured not in degrees but in 32 points around the circumference of a compass. The interval between two points is about 22½ degrees.
iq Sailors superstitiously believe that whistling on board ship will call up the wind and add force to existing gales.
ir “The Castaway” is a poem by William Cowper (1731-1800).
is Hatch.
it Nuttall.
iu Sailor’s expression meaning the ship is proceeding steadily for home.
iv Movement deviating from the set course.
iw Thompson.
ix By the fact itself (Latin).
iy Deck opening used in addition to the companion.
iz Dana added this footnote on ship rules to the 1869 edition: “A man at the wheel is required to repeat every order given him. A simple, ‘Aye, aye, sir’ is not enough there.”
ja Region around 30° N. latitude characterized by high pressure, calms, and light, shifting winds; another such region, referred to by the same name, occurs at 30° S. latitude.
jb In Greek mythology, Erebus was either a synonym for Hades (the underworld) or the name of a dark passageway to it.
jc Slow discharge of electricity into the atmosphere that produces a faint light; appears at prominent points, such as the mast or yardarm of a ship. Also called Saint Elmo’s Fire.
jd Stimson.
je Disease caused by vitamin C deficiency; it manifested during long voyages when fresh fruit and vegetables ran out and sailors e
xisted on salted provisions.
jf From Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (act 2, scene 6).
jg Georges Bank is a huge shoal located about 150 miles east-southeast of Cape Cod.
jh Ocean depth, determined by use of a deep-sea lead and line; Dana elaborates on each sounding as the Alert nears Boston.
ji Stop that!
jj Navigational instrument.
jk A packet is a fast vessel making scheduled stops for passengers or deliveries; Hingham is a coastal town in Massachusetts.
jl Cape Cod town; Dana mentions the Massachusetts landmarks he passes as the Alert nears Boston.
jm Abrupt, sharp gusts.
jn Casfle Island is a Boston sea fort.
jo From Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II (act 1, scene 1).
jp Hooper.
jq Deep ocean water.
jr In fear; the Latin phrase was placed as a legal clause in documents as an assurance of compliance to the terms of a contract.
js The first Savings Bank for Seamen opened in Boston in 1833, sponsored by the Boston Seaman’s Friend Society and the Boston Port Society.
jt Pamphiets, often of a practical religious nature, suitable for public distribution.
ju Chapels for seamen.
jv The strait between San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean.
jw Alcatraz was then a military fortress.
jx A temperance society in San Francisco that ran a Home for the Inebriate.
jy Pronounced Leese. [Dana’s note]
jz Plain.
ka Incomplete line from Virgil’s Georgics (3.284) that means “meanwhile it flees, irretrievable time flees” (Latin).
kb From Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (canto 4, stanza 179), by George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824).
kc Outdoors; in the open air.
kd Mercury mines that began operation in 1845.
ke Canyons (Spanish).
kf Dana quotes from Virgil’s Aeneid (3.57); the phrase means “cursed hunger for gold” (Latin).
kg An officer of inferior rank.
kh Reference to the 1849 murder of Boston doctor George Parkman.
ki All terms in this Dictionary followed by an asterisk have been added to Dana’s original by the editors of this edition.
Two Years Before the Mast (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) Page 61