That a physician, a teacher, or a minister should be led by study and experience to discover and to advocate some principles of health reform is not a matter of surprise. That many, through the lectures and writings of such reformers, should be influenced to accept their findings and to change their own manner of living, as a result, is to be expected. It is, however, a matter worthy of note when a youthful sailor makes a series of radical reforms, as a spontaneous reaction to his own personal observations, and then stands courageously for his convictions in an unfavorable environment.
Because Joseph Bates had such a unique experience, and because he was to become one of the pioneers in the Seventh-day Adventist movement, it is fitting to set forth somewhat in detail such portions of the story of his life as are related to the acceptance of the reforms that were then being agitated.
Joseph Bates's Early Life
A brief review of his earlier life reveals that God in His providence was preparing Joseph Bates for an important work. The reforms he was led to make in his physical habits were no less marked than were the steps by which he was converted from "the ruinous habits of a common sailor"--to use his own words--to Christianity and to an effective ministry. These steps in reform were taken entirely as the deliberate action of his own judgment and reason, and when he was surrounded by unfavorable influences. Of this his biographer states:
"It was during his seafaring life, while separated from the saving influences of the parental, Christian home, and exposed to the temptations of sailor life, [that Joseph Bates] became thoroughly impressed with moral and religious principles, and gathered strength to trample intemperance and all other forms of vice beneath his feet, and rise in the strength of right and of God to the position of a thorough reformer, a devoted Christian, and an efficient minister of the gospel."--James White, The Early Life and Later Experience and Labors of Elder Joseph Bates, 16. Battle Creek, Michigan: 1878.
Joseph Bates was born near New Bedford, Massachusetts, on July 7, 1792. His father was a merchant in that city. At this shipping center the lure of the sea proved irresistible to the lad and aroused in him an ardent desire to become a sailor. Hoping that Joseph might find the reality less pleasing than the dream, his parents gave their permission for him to accompany an uncle on a short trip by water to Boston. But the desired cure did not work, and at the age of fifteen he was permitted to ship as a cabin boy. Thus he entered upon his maritime career.
On the return voyage from England he experienced the first of several hairbreadth escapes. Falling from a mast into the ocean, he barely succeeded in catching the end of a rope thrown to him from the fast-receding vessel. On the next trip to Europe the ship crashed an iceberg, and for a time all hope of escape was abandoned. With great difficulty, however, the vessel was brought to a port and was repaired sufficiently so that they could proceed to their destination.
Captured by Danish Privateers
Captured by Danish privateers and taken to Copenhagen, Denmark, where ship and cargo were condemned under the decrees of Napoleon; stripped of everything but clothing and left friendless among a strange people; enduring a tedious and perilous passage to Prussia, with the vessel leaking so badly that it was barely kept from sinking till they reached the wharf; making a voyage to Ireland that was "replete with trials and sufferings" under a hard, cruel captain--such were a few of the experiences through which he passed as a youth.
At Liverpool, England, he was captured by a "press gang," and for two years and a half was compelled to work in the British navy. When war broke out between England and the United States in 1812, he and other Americans demanded that they should be treated as prisoners of war. They were sent to Dartmoor Prison, where they remained till the close of the hostilities.
While in Dartmoor Prison, Mr. Bates formed an intimate acquaintance with a Mr. Davis. They spent many hours together, talking over their desperate situation. Observing the ruinous habits of their fellow prisoners, they mutually agreed that, if liberated, they would avoid the dreadful habits of intemperance and seek for a standing among sober, reflecting men.
After six and a half years of untold suffering and hardship, the young man returned to his home, with a few old, worn clothes as his only reward for his services. Of the meeting with his father, he says:
"My father had been told by those who thought they knew, that if ever I did return home, I would be like other drunken man-o'-war sailors. He was away from home on business when I arrived, but returned in a few days. Our meeting overcame him. At length he recovered and asked me if I had injured my constitution. 'No, father,' I replied, 'I became disgusted with the intemperate habits of the people I was associated with. I have no particular desire for strong drink,' or words to this effect, which very much relieved his mind at the time."--Ibid., 99, 100.
At Sea Again
After a brief stay at home Joseph Bates was offered a berth as second mate on another ship bound for Europe. With brief intervals at home between voyages, he continued his seafaring life, most of the time as master of his own ship, until 1828, making a total of twenty-one years that he spent on the ocean.
For some time he kept his resolution to be temperate and abstained entirely from the use of ardent spirits, but later he returned to the moderate use of liquor. He thought that if he drank not more than one glass a day, he would be secure from walking the drunkard's path. Upon discovery that the desire for that one glass, which he took at the dinner hour, was stronger than his appetite for food, he became alarmed and decided that he had committed an egregious error when he lapsed from his rule of strict abstinence. In the autumn of 1821, therefore, he solemnly resolved never to drink another glass of ardent spirits as long as he should live.
Soon after this he decided also to discontinue entirely the use of wine. "In this work of reform," he said, "I found myself entirely alone, and exposed to the jeering remarks of those with whom I afterward became associated, especially when I declined drinking with them. Yet after all their comments, that it was not improper or dangerous to drink moderately, etc., they were constrained to admit that my course was perfectly safe!"--Ibid., 155.
About two years later he took another advanced step in reform. Leaving a Peruvian port, Captain Bates was conversing with the master of another ship regarding the use of tobacco. A sudden resolution caused the other captain to take the tobacco from his mouth and cast it overboard, saying, "Here goes my tobacco, Bates!" "And here goes mine, too!" was the ready response. The tobacco that he then removed from his mouth was the last that ever stained his lips. Of his victory at that time, he said in later years:
"I was now free from all distilled spirits, wine, and tobacco. Step by step I had gained this victory. ... How much more like a human being I felt when I had gained the mastery in these things and overcome them all. I was also making great efforts to conquer another crying sin, which I had learned of wicked sailors. That was the habit of using profane language."--Ibid., 178.
"A Solemn Covenant" Signed
The Spirit of God was striving with this earnest, conscientious young man and was bringing to him a conviction of sin and an earnest desire to be a Christian. The severe illness of a member of his crew brought to him serious thoughts of the hereafter, and finding a place of retirement, he offered his first prayer to God. He determined to persevere in his petitions till he should find pardon and peace for his troubled mind. When his shipmate died, it was his duty, as captain, to take charge of the burial. Four days afterward he signed "a solemn covenant with God" copied from Philip Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, a portion of which reads:
"This day do I with the utmost solemnity surrender myself to Thee. I renounce all former lords that have had dominion over me, and I consecrate to Thee all that I am, and all that I have."
In his thorough and methodical way he prefaced his signature with these words: "Done on board the brig 'Empress' of New Bedford, at sea, Oct. 4, 1824, in latitude 90° 50' North, and longitude 34° 50' West, bound to Brazil."--Ibid., 190.
On his return home he erected the family altar, and soon after this, in the spring of 1827, he was baptized in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and united with the Christian Church.
Having become thoroughly convinced of the evils of strong drink, he was impressed, "forcibly impressed," as he relates, "with the importance of uniting my energies with others, to check, if possible, the increasing ravages of intemperance."
The Fairhaven Temperance Society
While changing their clothes after the baptism, Joseph Bates suggested to the officiating minister that they work together in organizing a temperance society. Though he failed to secure this desired co-operation, he was not thereby discouraged. Writing out a pledge ready for signature, he went from house to house among friends and acquaintances, and soon had twelve or thirteen names subscribed, including those of the minister and two deacons of the Congregational church and several sea captains. Thus he organized a temperance society.
Captain Bates, as we have seen, had discarded not only ardent spirits, but also wine. The members of his temperance society, however, would not consent to include wine, beer, and cider among the beverages that were to be banned by them. These "were so freely used as a beverage that the majority" were unwilling to include them in the list. They did agree, however, to use no ardent spirits, specified as "rum, gin, brandy, and whisky." Ibid., 212.
It is evident that Joseph Bates and his associates thought that they were the first to organize a temperance society of this kind in the United States. "If any temperance societies had ever been organized previous to the one at Fairhaven, we were unacquainted with the fact," wrote Captain Bates in his memoirs. The records, however, show that the organization of the American Temperance Society in Boston, Massachusetts, had been effected one year earlier.
Credit is due the Fairhaven society, however, for priority in one advanced step. They seem to have been pioneers in putting the ban on fermented as well as distilled liquors several years before the national organization, the American Temperance Society, took this advanced step. Soon after the Fairhaven organization was effected, one of the members was reported to be intoxicated, and he was charged with having violated his oath. He maintained that he drank nothing but cider, which was permissible according to the agreement they had made, and he refused to discontinue its use. His wife bore witness that he was worse when under the influence of cider than when intoxicated with brandy. This incident led to an amendment of the constitution of the society, banning "all intoxicating drinks" as well as "ardent spirits." Ibid., 212, 213.
In the midst of his temperance activities Joseph Bates was called to make another voyage with the brig "Empress." Soon after leaving New Bedford, Massachusetts, he called all hands together and announced to them the rules that were to govern their lives while en route. Strange, indeed, did some of them seem to the hardy sailors. They were to address one another by their first names and in a respectful manner. No swearing was to be permitted. Sunday was to be rigidly observed and with no shore leaves on that day when in port. Captain Bates had brought but a small quantity of liquor on board for emergency use in case of sickness, and the crew were informed of this, with a strict injunction that they were not to bring any on board. They were also asked to assemble regularly for morning and evening prayers.
Tea and Coffee Given Up
In 1828 Captain Bates, at the age of thirty-five, retired from the sea and settled in New Bedford. Again, after this, he took another forward step in health reform, and did it entirely on his own initiative because of experience and personal conviction. Up to this time his attention had not been called to the harmful effects of tea and coffee, and he had continued their use. While he was with his wife on a social visit, tea somewhat stronger than that to which they were accustomed was served to them. Finding himself unable to sleep until after midnight, he associated the effect with the cause. "I then became fully satisfied," he declared, "and have never seen cause to change my belief since, that it was the tea I drank which so affected me. From thence I became convicted of its intoxicating qualities, and discarded the use of it. Soon after this, on the same principle, I discarded the use of coffee."--Ibid., 241, 242.
In 1839 Captain Bates heard the advent message, and after carefully weighing and accepting the evidence, he threw all his energies and resources into its proclamation. Some of his friends protested, because he seemed to take less interest in the temperance cause, and they urged that a belief in the second coming of Christ ought to make him more ardent in suppressing the growing evils of intemperance.
"My reply was," he relates, "that in embracing the doctrine of the second coming of the Saviour, I found enough to engage my whole time in getting ready for such an event, and aiding others to do the same, and that all who embraced this doctrine would and must necessarily be advocates of temperance, ... and those who opposed the doctrine of the second advent could not be very effective laborers in moral reform. And further, I could not see duty in leaving such a great work to labor singlehanded as we had done, when so much more could be accomplished in working at the fountainhead, making us every way right as we should be for the coming of the Lord."--Ibid., 271.
Further Reforms in Diet
In his heart-searching preparation for the expected return of Christ, Captain Bates was impressed to make still further reforms in his diet. "In February, 1843," he relates, "I resolved to eat no more meat. In a few months after, I ceased using butter, grease, cheese, pies, and rich cakes."--Joseph Bates, in The Health Reformer, July, 1871.
Just what circumstances finally led Captain Bates to become a vegetarian we cannot find related in his memoirs. He does, however, in relating events early in his career at sea, mention certain observations he had made at Liverpool, England, where two Irishmen were shoveling salt from a scow into his vessel. Seven or eight men were unable to shovel it into the hold of the vessel as fast as these two Irishmen were scooping it to them through the "ballast port." In commenting on the situation, he learned that while the crew of the ship were living in good boarding-houses in Liverpool, the Irishmen had eaten no flesh for some time, and were living on vegetables. By this incident he was forcibly impressed with the fact that flesh food does not impart "superior strength to the laboring class." (James White, The Early Life and Later Experience and Labors of Elder Joseph Bates, 143.)
Early in 1845, when he faced the evidence that the seventh day of the week still remains the Sabbath of the Lord, with characteristic decision he began not only its observance but also its promulgation. In the following year we find him united with James and Ellen White in proclaiming this and other fundamental doctrines now held by Seventh-day Adventists. He was uncompromising in urging the Christian duty of temperance, including abstinence from stimulants and narcotics. Of his attitude on this point we have a statement made by him in an early letter:
"I find some places to hold a meeting with a few hungry ones. The pipes and tobacco are traveling out of sight fast, I tell you. 'Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.' Nothing must be too dear or precious to let go in aid of the cause now."--Joseph Bates, in a letter to Brother and Sister Hastings, September 25, 1849.
Regarding the minor points of reform, he exerted a silent influence, but did not urge his practices upon others. Sometimes his friends would ask him why he did not partake of flesh meat, or grease, or highly spiced foods; and he would quietly reply, "I have eaten my share of them." He did not make prominent in public or in private his views of proper diet unless asked about them. Naturally he was gratified when many of his fellow laborers at a later date adopted and began to teach the principles of health reform. He then heartily joined them in speaking freely upon the subject.