The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1873-04-18
Il THICK SKULL.
AN OLD SAILORS YA8N OF THE TRADE WINDS.


tell me, about his being man and a
brother and created by the same Al
mighty power and all that but it
stands to reason that if he did make
'em both, he made the nigger's skull
heap site harder'n the white man's
leastwise Ill tell You what ] seen once
with my own eyes, if you like to take
me down"
We were sitting-my friend, the old
sailor, and lin a comfortable parlor
of a public house, a table before us,
on which were two mugs of ale, two
pipeS-nOt the short abOrtiOns, of briar-
wood, but veritablc yards Of clay"-
and, having lit our pipes. | produced
my notebook and pencil, and proceed
ed to take" the old mariner down"
as follows:
at amt much of yarn. bless YOU,
but it's true, and that's more'n can be
said of all what goes in your paper,
and it shows what was talking of
about ni@gcrs' heads.
Il was afore the mast in the-well
it's curious | can't remember the name
of that ship-but the captain he was
an internal rascal, likewise 50 was the
mate. We was bound from IIavre to
New Orleans. in the month of Decem-
her. 1880. There wasn't no cargo to
speak Of into her, on-y Il few burr
stones, Just enough to keep her onto
her feet, and nc'cr 4 passenger either
in the cabin or 'twiXt decks. | wish
| could recOllcct the name Of that ship.
but it's gone from me. | know she
was a low-waistcd ship, with 4 high
poop coming Just forred Of the mizZon
mast and t'gallan' forCcas,la, and
from the forcmast aft to the main
hatch she had housc-cOycring over
the forc-hatch first then there was a
buikhead. then the passenger gallery.
then another bullhead, and then the
ships galley, and abaft this agin, a
couple of rooms for the third mate
and carpenter, and ut3alt this agin, q
space for about n couple dozen Of pas
scngcrs. | can't Just remember that
ships name but / tell YOU all this to
show YOU that what am telling YOU
IS truth
We was bound, as | say, from
Havra to New Orleans, and we hal q
crew Of twenty men and hooen, and
half Of them was black: all the port
watch was black, and all the star
board watch was white; she didn t
carry TO third mate. didn't that ship,
and so Of course the bosen was in
the port watch. and he WAS black. too.
lie was a big lump of u niggcr, was
! the bosen, weighing 22O pounds If an
/ ounce, and he was gooji sailor man,
too, and could get &Ioft and out to
. weather caring as spry as the best
! of rs.
| We'll, twas on the 7th day Of De
cember lo5C-you see this is the
! truth I'm telling you-that we left
/ I!avrc. and we had the devils own
time Of it getting down channel can
tell yOu-nothing but Gales OF wind
from the westward all tie time, and
she 50 Hght, with nothing in her but
them beast!y burr-stones, that shG
wouldn't hold on worth 4 tinker, an(
: and we never could stay Eer, even
when twas moderate, for just as sool
as she'd get ahead II the wind shc'o
stop and get stern way and tail OF
ulsaiIl, and we'd have t, Lot her >,css
round on her keel So | reckon it was
fully twelve days afore We got TO | eh
ant Then aI'tcr we got out clear O
the French coast, we got reglIlaI
shorter from about west sou'wcsC, anC
ii brung us down to 4 couple of close
recicd topsails and Tecitd forcsail
and under this short sail she druv away
into the Bay OF Bis>y, and / really
thought shed roll the maats out OF her
, with nothing in her but them bar
: stOues.'
What's burr stones :"
"Why. they're them stones what the,
; cement together and make milestone
. Of and are as hard IS the heart of Pha
70. Well. as good luck would have it
, everything held on, and we weathere,
out that gale and good many NOR
aforc we GOT down to the trades; an'
We really thought we never should sc
them. lad to 90 chuci down to TWEEN
", and we ought to have got them il
twenty-five or twenty-siX, YOU know
Bat we did get them ut last, and gOo'
! and fresh they were, and we sIuaret
away to the westward with cVeENtEm!
, on 70 her, stuu-saiIs allow and at1tt
, and the wind about two points on tE'
star-board quarter. Well, rs soon a
we not the tine weather, the old man
Gin orders to take of the matches, bot!
The upper and the 'twiXt-deck matches
SO as to air the ship; leastwise tha
was one reason, and another was &
give his chickens a run. You see h
had laid in a lot Of chickens, and the,
had got pretty poor, penned UP in tin
coops III all the hard weather we had
and so we put the hold ladder up anC
down the main hatch and let the chick
ems out Of the coops, and give then
. the free run of the ship; and thev'C
90 down into the hold and peck away
, among the burr stones and imagin,
they were ashore. It's mighty har,
=.