mstance occurred not long before our arrival at Demarara, which,
being somewhat remarkable in its character, furnished a fruitful theme
for conversation and comment. This was the arrival of a vessel from
Cadiz, with only one person on board.

It seems that a Captain Shackford, of Portsmouth, N.H., was the master
and owner of a sloop of some sixty or eighty tons. He proceeded to
Cadiz, and there took in a cargo for Guiana. When on the eve of sailing,
his crew, dissatisfied with some of his proceedings, left the vessel.

Captain Shackford, a resolute but eccentric man, resolved not to be
disappointed in his calculations, or delayed in his voyage by the
desertion of his crew, and boldly put to sea on the day appointed for
sailing, trusting in his own unaided efforts and energies to manage the
vessel on a passage across the ocean of thirty-five hundred miles. He
was seventy-four days on his passage; but brought his vessel into port
in tolerable order, having experienced no difficulty on his way, and
losing only one day of his reckoning.

The arrival of a vessel in Demarara, under such singular circumstances,
caused quite a sensation among the authorities, and gave rise to
suspicions by no means favorable to the character of the captain as an
honest man, and which his long, tangled locks and hirsute countenance
for he had not combed his hair or shaved his face during the passage
tended to confirm. It was thought by some that a mutiny might have
broken out among the crew of the sloop, which resulted in scenes of
violence and bloodshed, and that this wild-looking man was the only
survivor of a desperate struggle between the officers and crew. Indeed,
he looked not unlike a mutineer and murderer.

Captain Shackford was indignant at these suspicions, and would hardly
deign to give explanations. It was fortunate for him that some vessels
belonging to Portsmouth were in the harbor, the captains of which
recognized him as an old acquaintance, and vouched for his character
as an honest, well-meaning man, although at times indulging in strange
freaks, more akin to madness than method. He was released from arrest,
and subsequently disposed of his merchandise at remunerating prices, and
with a cargo of assorted articles, and a crew, sailed for a port in the
United States.

After the cargo of the Dolphin was discharged, preparations were made
for receiving a return cargo, to consist principally of molasses.
The process of taking in