Meeting Uncle Nathan cont.

Captain Jared's recollection of the encounter was like this: "I headed my vessel offshore so to meet him heading in for the island. We soon saw a ship to windward of us. I set my collers (colors) for him, he did not seem to take any notice of it, so I made as though I was a whaling. Then he steered his ship towards us. Well, he came on board of us and made a pleasant visit."

Nathan and Jared spent 24 hours nearby each other, visiting, and having a " gam." They certainly had plenty of catching up to do. Laura and Prescott had never met their uncle, so this must have been an exciting twenty-four hours for everyone. A highlight was receiving fresh fruit from Nathan's ship.

The Roman and the Splendid traded goods before continuing on their journeys. The Roman departed with fresh limes, coconuts, sweet potatoes and a few pumpkins, heading northwest towards Juan Fernandez Island. The Splendid headed west southwest later that afternoon under "double reef topsails" with 50 barrels of salt provisions and 20 new sets of oars.

A brief entry written in the Splendid's log on January 18, 1869, summed up the rendezvous at sea.

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image of ship_colors

Martha's Vineyard Museum