Lord Byron dogs into the water, each with an arm in the ship Captain’s new scarlet waistcoat, to the annoyance of the Captain and the amusement of the crew. Byron had a great love of animals, most notably for a Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. When the animal contracted rabies, Byron nursed him, albeit unsuccessfully, without any thought or fear of becoming bitten and infected. Although deep in debt at the time, Byron commissioned an impressive marble funerary monument for Boatswain at Newstead Abbey, larger than his own, and the only building work which he ever carried out on his estate. In his
Boatswain Bird Island Boatswain Bird Island Boatswain Bird Island, also spelt Boatswainbird Island, is a small island some 270 m off the east coast of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean with an area of approximately . It is administered from Georgetown on Ascension, which is part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Boatswain Bird Island should not be confused with the nearby, much smaller, Boatswain Bird Rock, only about 10 by 5 m in size, located 570 m south-east of the island and 360 m north-east of the coast of Ascension. The