You Are There… Graphic History Series.
Ever wonder how the early American colonists got here?
Eòin “Ian” MacRae is 16 years old. He hails from Isle of Skye, Scotland. He speaks Gaelic with serviceable English. He is a boy/ordinary seaman-in-training on the British merchant ship Mercy of Leith, outward bound to Philadelphia with mixed cargo and passengers. He is working his passage - with six years of indentured labor beginning on his arrival.
04:10 — Forecastle, North Atlantic (approx. 48°N), pre-dawn
Dim lantern glow under low deck beams. Hammocks sway; damp wool and human breath. Ian wakes to the boatswain’s mate’s call and the scrape of shoes on gritty planks. Condensation beads on oak overhead. The air is sour: sweat, wet rope, stale tobacco. His mouth tastes of yesterday’s salt beef and old beer. He swings out of the hammock, bare feet finding cold boards, pulling on stockings that are stiff at the ankles from dried seawater.
04:25 — Main deck, starboard side, first light
