Continuing the account of the Thomas Arbuthnot. Here Strutt describes the type of food, the type of untensils, and how food is allocated and cooked. PART 3 -EMIGRATION OF IRISH ORPHANS, continued The emigrants having arrived on board and taken possession of the respective berths, the next step is to appoint the messes. Each mess should contain eight persons; a car, with the number of the mess, shows the quantity or provisions to be issued on every day of the week. Each mess also receives a wooden mess-kit (or small tub, with an iron handle), a large tin oval dish, one round dish, one bread basket, two tin pots, containing three pints each, one keg, to contain three gallons of water, a potato net, pudding bag, and a towel. To these articles, which are provided by the ship, the commissioners add, for each emigrant, a new mattress, bolster, blankets, and counterpane, a large canvas bag for holding linen and clothes, a knife and fork, two spoons, a metal plate, and a drinking mug. Nothing more is necessary, and crockery or glass would be of very short duration. The important business of cooking is carried on in a separate galley, or cook-house, on deck. The whole of the breakfasts, dinners, and suppers are cooked at once by an additional cook, who has an assistant appointed to help him. By this arrangement all the quarrelling and dissensions are avoided to which the old system of each cooking in turn inevitably gave rise. During our stay in port, fresh provisions, vegetables, and bread are furnished, instead of the usual sea fare; but as the great majority of the emigrants, on the present occasion, were catholics, a difficulty arose as to the question of eating meat on Fridays and other fast days. As I foresaw that much inconvenience might ensue on this point, during so long a voyage, I obviated it by calling on the catholic clergymen in Plymouth, who was so obliging as to write a letter on the subject, explaining that in case of necessity, such as the present voyage, keeping fast days might be dispensed with. This arrangement proved quite sufficient, and no difficulty arose during the remainder of our voyage.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 11:57:41 +0000
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