The Trinity journal., 1856-03-01

i am a little over seventeen years
Have you had protection"
i had, and have it now
Under what name did you shpY
George Stewart
What is your height and your weightv
My height, sir, in my bare feet, is full
five feet nine and quarter inches; and my
weight, one hundred and eighty pounds on
shore-at sea it is rather more
Did you ship on board the ship james
Rea"
/ did
Iu what capacity"
a an ordinary seaman
Did you sign articles?
4 did
Under what name, and at what wagesY
George Stewart, and at eighteen dollars
month
Did you get your advance"
i did not
Did you go in the ship and do your duty
as an ordinary seamanT
Certainly, and | came back to this port
when the ship put back.
Are you sailor, and can you go aloft
and do all you ought to dor
AS an ordinary seaman, think | have
no superior; as a cook and steward, every
captain said ] was A No l.
What is the duty of an ordinary seaman
1T is to do all he can, obey orders, and
work cheerfully; that | have always done
is the James Rea q staunch ship"
she is a crank ship
What do you mean by crank shipY
L mean that her rigging is too heavy for
her hull and she is not ballastcd right
Why didn't they pay YOU uadyance money!
That can't tell know l deserved it,
DO you like the sea?
That do; rough as it is, there is some
thing pleasant about it--a landsm0n's life is
but Que thing over and over again. a sail
or at sea is kept too busy to be troubled
with blues
Where do you intend to go next"
Down East, to see my friends and folks
at home
How did you conceal your sex"
That sir, ! can't tell you now; perhaps
when we are better acquainted and are alone
| may tell you; women can keep secrets as
well as men,
Didn't you lick Yankee captain onceT
That | did; it was round the Horn; !
mind it well; he was big fellow, as big as
| am, but over six feet. He picked quar-
rel with me, and struck me with his fist !
Knocked him down with Il left hand-he fell
Oh the quarter deck and halloed like a calf,
and gave the saucy fellow just what he
deserved
Were YOU not afraid to trust yourself
with saiorSH
God knows | was not They are easily
managed, and, generally speaking, they are
the warmest beings in the world | drank
and smoked with them at all times. George
Stewart hasn't an enemy among them
Is there any one of your messmates hereE
Why, yes, there's my old friend George,
his last name / don't remember, (here the
witness pointed out an old salt in the corner,
chewing a monstrous quid and looking all
astonishment,) many and many a night we
Have slept together
Didn't he know You were a woman
Indeed, he did not the thought never
entered his mind
Are you really womanY
j suppose that | am
That is not direct fnswer; are you a
woman or nOtH
'On my oath, l am woman and not a
man.
At this answer some Of the sailors pres
ent cried:
George, you know you lie,' but they were
promptly called to order 10y the Alderman,
and the examination proceeded for short
time and then closed, exhibiting on the part
of the witness great readiness in answering
all questions touching the duties of sailor,
the perlsof the sea- and the attributes of a
good ship. She then left the Office, was
handed into carriage by Jim Tarpaulin,'
friend of hers, and was driven off amid the
cheers of the throng Of the men and boys
who stood on the pavement. The discovery
of her sex by the mate OF the James Rea
occurred from her having unlntentionally re-
sponded to an order given while aloft furl- I.
inc sails. in "A feminine tone, instead of the
rough voice previously used He at once
charged her with being female, and she
acknowledged it--Ph1la. Ledger.