But here had Roswell Gardiner his complement full, and nearly everything ready to sea.  He had only to go up to the Harbour and obtain his clearance, have a short interview with his owner, a longer with Mary, and be off for the antarctic circle, if indeed the ice would allow him to get as far south.  There were now sixteen souls on board the Sea Lion, a very sufficient number for the voyage on which she was about to sail.  The disposition or rating of the crew was as follows, viz.

   1.  Roswell Gardiner, master.
   2.  Philip Hazard, chief mate.
   3.  Timothy Green, second do.
   4.  David Weeks, carpenter.
   5.  Nathan Thompson, seaman.
   6.  Sylvester Havens, do.
   7.  Marcus Todd, do.
   8.  Hiram Flint, do.
   9.  Joshua Short, seaman.
  10.  Stephen Stimson, do.
  11.  Bartlett Davidson, do.
  12.  Peter Mount, landsman.
  13.  Arcularius Mott, do.
  14.  Robert Smith, do.
  15.  Cato Livingston, cook.
  16.  Primus Floyd, boy.

This was considered a good crew, on the whole.  Every man was a native American, and most of them belonged to old Suffolk.  Thompson, and Flint, and Short, and Stimson, four capital fellows in their way, came from the main; the last, it was said, from as far east as Kennebunk.  No matter; they were all reasonably young, hale, active fellows, with a promise of excellent service about every man of them.  Livingston and Floyd were coloured persons, who bore the names of the two respectable families in which they or their progenitors had formerly been slaves.  Weeks was accustomed to the sea, and might have been rated indifferently as a carpenter or as a mariner.  Mount and Mott, though shipped as landsmen, were a good deal accustomed to the water also, having passed each two seasons in coasters, though neither had ever yet been really outside, or seen blue water.

It would not have been easy to give to the Sea Lion a more efficient crew; yet there was scarce a real seaman belonging to her—­a man who could have been made a captain of the forecastle on board a frigate or a ship of the line.  Even Gardiner, the best man in his little craft in nearly every respect, was deficient in many attainments that mark the thorough sea-dog.  He would have been remarkable anywhere for personal activity, for courage, readiness, hardihood, and all those qualities which render a man useful in the business to which he properly belonged; but he could hardly be termed a skilful leadsman, knew little of the finesse of his calling, and was wanting in that in-and-in breeding which converts habit into an instinct, and causes the thorough seaman to do the right thing, blow high or blow low, in the right way, and at the right moment.  In all these respects, however, he was much the best man on board; and he was so superior to the rest as fully to command all their respect.  Stimson was probably the next best seaman, after the master.