Today in History – 19 September 1811
by Elizabeth CampbellMiles Macdonell and the 1811 Work Crew are still at sea – in Hudson’s Bay now and heading south. In his journal, he records:
Very fine weather & favorable moderate winds & smooth water which has been the Case since entering the Bay.
Hart was cobbed by his associates for stealing Provisions.
Stealing provisions was a serious offence, as provisions were rationed in order to last the entire passage or until the next stop at a port where fresh provisions could be taken on board. If someone took more than his ration, everyone would go short later as provisions ran low. If the journey lasted longer than anticipated, and this could easily happen, then rations would be cut, and the theft would be felt even more.
What made it even worse was the fact that the crime was not committed agains just one individual, but against the entire crew and, perhaps, the passengers as well. This is probably why Hart suffered his punishment at the hands of his peers on the ship. To cob someone on a ship (and this is a nautical term) is to hit him across the buttocks with a piece of wood or a leather strap. Depending upon how angry his ‘associates’ were, poor Hart might have had some difficulty sitting down to eat for a while!
(reference: pages 16610 of the Selkirk Papers, M186, Manitoba Archives)
Tags: 1811 Work Party, Atlantic crossings, discipline, food supply, Hart, Miles Macdonell, Miles Macdonell's Journal, rations
