Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-05-15
AN OLD sAILoR'sYARN,
Three Weeks on an Iceberg in
the North Atlantic Ocean.

81 don't think I can do better, sir,
this afternoon than just go on right
where left off the other day, when
had to go home to the old woman, and
tell you all that me and Scotty and Ned
Jones, the other chap what was with
Scotty in the boat when they picked me
up, went through with, onto that ice
berg"
l Iassured my friend that it was mat
ter of Indifference to me, what the sub
ject matter of the yarn might be since
l knew it would be a good one if he
spun it, and he then proceeded:
"You see, sir, when I'm spinning a
yarn, I'm just like I am when I'm do
ing job of work. don't like to leave
it half done, as 1 was obliged to the
other day; you see my old woman,
though she's as good a woman as ever
draw'd a mug of ale, has her ways. So
long as get home to tea at five O'Clock,
why find my tea all ready, and every
thing bright and clear all round the ho-
rizon as well as overhead, with pros
poets of continuance. 1 eat my sup
per, and finds my pipe all filled for a
smoke afterward; and at six O'Clock l
find my lantern all ready, and my pail
with snack in it for IL o'clock, and 1
just kiss Polly and away go down to
my dock regular; but if 1 don't get
home in time, or if have taken little
more'n is good for me, then the weather
is very cloudy round our house, and l
have to look out for squalls. Polly's as
sweet tempered woman as ever stood
in a tap when everything's all right;
but atween you and me, l found a many
a year ago that it amt best to put her
out. As a sailor for many years; of
course l believes in discipline: always
obey my officers, no matter whatsum-
ever your officers are, and get out of
that ship as soon as convenient if things
aint agreeable, that's my motto. be-
lieve in everybody being captain of
their own craft, and so Polly naturally
commands at home, and of course has
to presarve discipline among me and
the children, and don't mind tellin'
you she does it.
/ suppose, sir, one of the lonesomest
feelings that man can have is to find
himself in the water away out on the
ocean and see his ship sailin' away
from him. Leastwise 1 know l never
felt so deserted before as / did on that
afternoon when / tumbled off the old
Albecore's fOrecastle and see her a sail
en- off from me. OF course the main
yard was aback, but that amt no way
to stop ship, not if You want to stop
her dead, which was particularly desir-
able to me about that time; but as l
told you afOre, it was all along of the
confusion which always perwails, and
always did perwail, and always will
perwail on board ship. whenever a
man tumbles overheard or fire breaks
ont sudden, or when she fetches up sud-
den on rock or iceberg. It's the sud-
denness of the thing that does it, you
see, and not the danger. I've been on
the Jersey coast In a steamer with the
machinery broke down and hard gale
blowing from the eastward and she a
driftin' in shore at the rate of couple
of knots, and all hands ready to let go
both anchors and cut away the masts.
Well if the anchors didn't hold, that
ship would go ashore, and though all
hands would be likely to lose the num-
Der of their mess, the discipline of that
ship would be preserved to the last, and
all orders would be obeyed, cause there
would be time to get ready for the event
and it would be expected; but if that
same steamer, through an error in the
chrOnOmeter, or from overrunning her
reckoning, was to have run onto that
same shore sudden, why every man
would be for himself and the Lord for
the whole of 'em, and there would be
all sorts of confusion. If all hands had
a knowd was agin' overheard that ar
ternoon, why when the helm was put
down, she would shot up in stays well
to wind'ard of me, the afteryards would
4 been braced about, the headyards
would been left aback, the ship would
stopped dead in the water and would
driIted down atop of me, and might
been picked up as little Billy Tooley
was of the Cape of Good Hope without
ever lowerin' a boat. But you see it
weren't to be so, and arter the MAIN
yard rim in course she wouldn't go
round, and when she fell off she got
way on her, and away she went couple
of knots an hour. suppose If it hadn't
a been for them single whips was tell