Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-11-22

paper. Sign, whispered the rnnner.
Sign, or 1 will kill you, said the land
lord, suiting the action to the word,
and striking him heavily under the jaw.
The boy wrote his name and was hur-
ried out and down to the wharf with
drunken man, whom he had noticed in
the shipping Office. On the way he
ventured to ask when he was to get the
$50 advance which had been promised
him the day before.
"You will get that on board" was
the gruff reply.
At the wharf boatman was hailed,
the drunken man was bundled down,
and, under the threat of being knocked
down if he did not move quickly, he
was hurried into the boat, which pulled
off to the Baltic.
"Take your dunnage into the star
board forecastle," said man whom he
afterward found was the mate.
The boy started off toward the
cabin.
Where are you going?" shouted a
man, somewhat. in liquor, who confront
ed him, and who proved to be the boat
swain.
81 was just going back there, sir.
Are you the captain ?"
"Going back there, you fool |" half
laughed, half roared the boatswain,
hauling off and knocking him down
with blow of his fist. "You're a
pretty specimen to come aboard ship.
Go forward there, or I'll kick you for
ward"
There was no help for it; the boy
found the forecastle, and found there a
number of men just like himself, who
had never been to sea before, but who
had all been shanghed in pretty much
the same way. He finally approached
the mate, who seemed a kindly man,
but who told him he could do nothing
for him. Men were scarce, and the ship
must go to sea, and $50 had been paid
for him. Late at night the watchman
found him crying on the topgallant
forecastle, heard his story and agreed
to take letter from him to be mailed
to his mother, telling where he had
gone. The last hope failed when the
captain and pilot came on board, and
the tugboats came up and pnlled the
ship through the Narrows and out to
sea, and the Baltic's white wings were
spread for an $4,000 mile voyage.
1t is needless to say that Staples did
not get his advance, and, when he spoke
of it, the sailors only laughed at him,
and advised him to make a cow-hitch
in the extremities of his swallow-tail
though they soon relieved him of these
by cutting off first one and then the
other to make blackball caps. But
they treated him we'll. The crew of
the Baltic was largely made up in the
same way, and there was among them o
barber, tailor, shoemaker, a soldier,
a fireman, and carpenter, who hardly
knew one end of the ship fiom the
other, and who had no more idea of ship
ping as seamen to go round Cape Horn
than they had Of going on journey to
the moon.
The officers treated him well. The
first mate took him into his own watch,
and he was not even sent aloft until he
had got over his sea-sickness. The
treatment of the crew was excellent.
There was very little bullying and no
beating, and Captain Taylor did not
add to his sin of kidnapping men the
sin of torturing and killing them,
though the steward charged exorbitant
prices for the few articles which the
slop-ches contained. Arriving here,
he was taken to Sanders boarding
house, the third mate having given him
the abundant clothes in which he made
his appearance to Mr.. Morrow.
We have given, in connected shape,
the substance of the boys story, with
out color or establishment of any kind.
There is nothing improbable in it to
any one who knows anything about
the manner in which ships are
manned in American ports /; and the
boy exhibits every mark of truth
fulness and sincerity. He appears
to be just what he says he is--a good,
hard-working boy. He is member of
the Episcopal church, having been con-
firmed in Rome, and while in Brooklyn
attended the church of the Rev. DR..
Bancroft. He fears that his mother
never got the letter sent ashore by the
watchman, as he asked her to write to
San Francisco, but found no letter
waiting him here.