The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-01-22
s.StowawaYs. q
Six rnknosvn Vgretehes who Went
Down i'm the VILE de Havre.

Six UnknOsvn Egretehes VINO Went
Down in the VILE de Havre.
In the melancholy catalogue of un-
fortuuates engulfed in the Vile de
Havre we read that there were six ssstow-
aways." This term is sufficiently curi-
Gus to call for an explanation. A ssstow-
away" is an Individual who, at the last
moment, Just before the vessel leaves
the dock, sinks on board, creeps below,
and conceaIs himself In remote hooks
and corners of the lower deck or fore
peak. Sometimes he gets into the hold;
but there, if the matches are battened
down, he runs the imminent risk of be-
ing smOthered. At all events, he crawls
into his hiding place, and crouches
there like a rat behind the wainscot,
quaking for fear of discovery. And de-
lection must sooner or later bethe doom
of the stowaway. So well is the prac-
tice of smuggling human baggage known
20 sea-gOing folks, that prior to large
emigrant ship sailing, there is generally
organized picket of sailors headed by
one of the mates, and furnished. with
lanterns and rattans, who make tour
of exploration among the packing cases
and provision casks. Hunting for
stOwaways" is a most exciting sport the
wretched defaulters are Started from
their holes, roundly abused, hustled on
deck, '<slanged' by. the captain, and are
then contumaciously kicked over the
side. Some stowaways, however, gen.
orally contrive to pass unnoticed In the
search and six-the number found on
the Vile de Havre-may be considered
fair average among hundred and fifty
passengers. The ship, IN any case, can
not be many days at sea before they are
discovered. Every fresh hogshead of
beef or biscuit that is unheaded dimin-
ishes their chance of immunity; still
there have been known instances of the
unfortunate creatures being inadvertent-
Iy jammed up between and behind heavy
piles of merchandise, and so suffering q
living entombment rivaIling that of Con
stance de Beverly in horror. Stowaways
dragged from their hiding places when
the ship is in the blue water have to
take their chances and very calami-
tous chance It is. IF the culprit be a
woman she has not much TO fear. Jack
is proverbial1y gallant, and an active
woman may make herself very useful
in the cabin and cook-house. But when
the offender happens to be a man, he
emphatically has a bad time of it. He
may consider himself fortunate if he is
SS4AONCQ " CdE4 TIC hOA0A va AA4o DCG
and board by performing the most
menial drudgery, and at the end of the
voyage from this port the captain can,
if he chooses, take the stowaway before
a magistrate a nd have him punished for
fraud. 1t usually happens, however,
that the skipper, when the run is over,
is as glad to get rid of his passenger as
that passenger is to be we'll out of the
shin The former saws nothing aboub
the pecuniary loss his owners have suf-
fered, and the latter is quite content to
be silent with regard to the numerous at
tentions conveyed through the instru-
mentality of marlinspikes and ropes
ends with which he has been favored
by the boatswain. What the French
authorities would have said to these
waits and strays on their arrival at
Havre is uncertain but the poor fell
lows need fear no frOwns of human
justice now. They are drowned.