The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1873-02-27
A,RoMANoE OF THE SEA.
THE STORY OF A FEMALE SAILOR.

H. THE STORY OF A FEMALE SAILOR.
The new steamer Victoria of the Anchor
lline, which arrived at New York from Glas.
gov, brought back to her native shores Mag.
gle alias Billy Armstrong She has served
before the mast in 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 had gone to the
chipping master of the port and brought her
case before the managers Of the Anchor line
who gave her a free passage home.
+ Dursing the passage l have had many
conversations with our romantic fellow ira
yeler, and I subjoin an account Of her story
rs nearly as possible in her own words. She
tis nineteen years old, modium size, with a
play Of humor about her eyes that partially
redeems the plainnessof her determined mas
culine face. So'high has she held female
virtue through all her vicissitudcs that when
a storage passenger of the Victoria insulted
woman in her presence, two or three days
ago, she vdry calmly struck out from the
shoulder and knocked him down.
"My name," she says, isis Maggie Arm
strong, though call myself Billy when /
put on pantaloons / was born in the State
of New Jersey, America. My father is a
farmer, five miles from Trenton, and he has
told me hundreds of times that l could do
more work than any man. l was alwayssOf
q wild, passionate nature. l used to hate
men when I was at home. / thought they
ought not to get more wages than women,
and often wished that was man My
mother died eight years ago, and left anoth-
er little sister and me. Father kept house
keeper until I was able to do his work,
which I did till the first Of last April, when
he took notion to get married.
"This new wife he got in New York
She came to our house and thought to rule
me and everything, but soon taught her
her mistake left the house and went and
hired out at neighboring farmers My
father came after me and took me home,
and stayed eight days, leading a cat and
dog life with my stepmother. thought 1
could not endure that long, so took a strange
notion into my head. was up stairs one
day along with one of my schoolmates. 1
was engaged in cleaning and folding my
fathers clothes, and l said to her that if l
was to dress myself in his clothes he would
have job to find me. ai
She laughed, and said he would. There
was silence between. US for few minutes,
and without saying anything more about it
to her. secretly determined to try it. At 2
vs-lvyk virav uiS .a--------i- --.l.-.,;-ey
mean, I went up stairs and dressed myself
in my fathers clothes. / took the scissors
and cut my hair as short as could. ard
then went down stairs again and took S25
out of one of the bureau drawers, for knew
it was no use going away without money
Then I went to the station and took the
2:4O train for New York wandered about
the city good deal, stopping at small ho-
tel in Warren street, 1 think.
l 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 a freight steamer,
which he said was going to London and back
to New York in month. That seemed to
suit me, as I was curious to see London
he shipped me as engineers steward. L
never was sea sick once-in fact never was
so we'll before in my life as have been at
sea. L always used to have headaches in
the summer time at homo. No more fever
ishness now. All the engineers were very
well pleased with my work.
But they informed me that the ship was
not going back to Now York, but to China,
when she left London So | was discharged
at my own request in London, the head en-
gineer presenting me with ten shillings Tor
being good, clean lad. With this and my
wages, fifteen shillings, and what was left
of my S25, was enabled to live in London
three weeks. went all over the great city
and saw no end of things. As soon as learn
ed that the steamer was going to China, l
made up my mind that had got to get back
to America - sailor, if | ever got back at
all. ae.
So I used, during my spare hours on the
steamer, to practice going aloft; or If they
we're slowing sails or doing anything OF the
kind, / was sure to be on hand. | used to
90 into the wheel-housc, too, and learn to
steer; and before we got to the banks of New
foundland knew all the compass. When,
there, l shipped on board the bark Princess,
bound for Middlesboro' it was not as an ap-
prentice, but as an ordinary seaman, for two
pounds FIVE shillings month. | had bought
a sailors chest and recruited my sailor ward
robe with set of oil-skins.
These had taken from the Sailors Home
boarding house tc the forecastle ofthe Prln-
cess, and my life as a common tar began.
There were only eight of us in the forecas-
tle, and, as was always first to reef to topsalls
and furl the small sails in gale ofwind, we
got along very well. l was discharged, final
ly, with the rest at Middlesboro, after a
three weeks run. Then thought | should
like to see Shields which is only six miles
distant. | went there and tried to ship
again; but there arose a great difficulty.
Unfortunately, ! had lost my discharge: