River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-03-14
A ROMANCE OF THE SEA.
The story Of a Female Sailor.

SrR:-The new steamer Victoria oil
the Anchor Line, which arrived at New
York to-day from Glasgow, brought
back to her native shore Maggie alias
Billy Armstrong. She has served be.
fore the mast on several British ships.
Her sex having been at last discovered,
she found herself at Glasgow, and in
petticoats again about the time the
Victoria was TO sail As an old sailor
she went to the shipping-master of the
port, and he brought her case before
the managers of the Anchor Line,
who gave her a free passage home.
During the passage l have had many
conversations with our romantic fellow.
traveller, and | subjoin an account OF
her story as nearly az possible in her
own words. She is nineteen years old,
of medium size, with play of humor
about her eyes that partially redeems
the plainness of her determined, some.
what masculine face. So high has she
held female virtue through all her vicis-
STUDIES that when a steerage passenger
of the Victoria insulted a woman in
her presence, two or three days ago,
she very calmly struck out from the
shoulder and knocked him down.
Ny name" she says, els Maggie
Armstrong, though 1 call myself Billy
when | put on pantaloons. | was born
in the state OF New Jersey, America.
My father is farmer, five miles from
Trenton, and he has told me hundreds
of times that | could do more work
than any man. i was always of a wild,
passionate nature. | used to hate men
when | was NJ home. [ thought they
ought not to get more wages than
women, and ] often wished [ was Il
man. My mother died eight years ago,
and left another little sister and me.
Father kept housekeeper until |
was able to do his work, which
did till the first of last April,
/ when he took a notion to get
married. This new wife he got in New
York. She came to our house and
I thought to rule me and everything
/ but | soon taught her her mistake. |
left the house and went and hired out
at neighboring farmers. Ny father
came after me and took me home, and
stayed eight days leading a cat-and-
dog life with my stepmother. I
thought could not endure that long.
so | took a strange notion into nv
head. | was up stairs one day along
with one of my schoolmates. [ was
engaged cleaning and folding nv faith
er's clothes, and | said to her that if |
was to dress myself in his clothes he
would have a job to find me. She
laughed and said he would. There wasa
silence between us for few minutes.
and without saying anything more
about II to her | secretly determined to
try it. At o'clock that night, or the
next morning | mean, | went up stairs
and dressed myself in my fathers
clothes. l took the scissors and cut
my hair as short as / could. and then
went down stairs again and took sos
out OF one OF the bureau drawers, for |
knew 1t was no use going away without
money. Then / went 10 the station
and took the 4:20 train to New York.
l wandered about the city a good
deal, stopping at small hotel on
Warren street, / think [ hadn't
begun to make up my mind what to
do, for had never been in New York
before, when one of those runners
hailed me and wanted me to ship on
freight steamer, which he said was
going to London and back to New
York In month. That seemed 20 suit
me, as L was curious to see London.
he shipped me as engineers steward.
/ was not sea-sick once-in fact, Inever
was SO well in my life as have been at
sea. always used to have Jersey
headaches at home. No more fever
lshness now. All the engineers were
very well pleased with my work. But
they informed me the ship was not
going back to New York, but to China,
when she left London. So | was
discharged at my own request
in London, the head engineer present
ing me with ten shillings for beng
good, clean lad. With this and my
wages, fifteen shilllngs, and what was
lett of $50, was enabled to live in
London three weeks. / went all over
the great city, and saw no end of
things. As soon as | learned that the
steamer was going to China, / made up
my mind that had got to get back to
America as a sailor, if / ever got back
at all. SO l used, during my spare
hours on the steamer, TO practice going
aIoft, or if they were slowing sails on
anything of the kind, was sure to be
on hand. used to go into the wheel
house, too, and learn to steer, and be-
fore we got to the banks of Newfound-
land knew all the compass.
"When, therefore, | shipped on
hoard the bark Princess, bound for
AIiddlesboro, it was not as an appren-
tlce, but as an ordinary seaman, for
two pounds five shlllings n month. |
had bought sailors chest and recruit
ted my sailor wardrobe with a set OF
oil-skins. These / had taken from
the Sailors Home boarding house to
the forecastle of the Princess, and my
life as a common tar began. There
,V.lx. oh e e. A.