The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-16
THE MATES STORY
BY E. W. B. CANNING.

BY E. W. B. CANNING.
We were seated on deck, one quiet
starlight evening, while the vessel wa,
bowling along the middle ATTITUDES un
der the steady influence of "5he trades.
It was the hour when, at home, before
lamp-lighting, I had been accustomed
to sit with my family upon the veranda
in converse upon the passing occur.
rences of the time as revealed in oul
domestic experiences, or in the journals
of the day. My companion, Gibson by
name, was every inch a sailor rom his
bOyhoOd, whose acquaintance with all
parts of the world L ade him valuable
thesaurus of varied knowledge, and gave
him modest Eelf-confidence which rem
dered him a model specimen of his pro-
fession.
Our conversation, that evening, turned
upon the superstitious proclivities oil
ailors, tn ir causes and manifestations.
On this topic my correspondent was
thoroughly posted, and / discovered q
tinge of the tendency in him, though
ballasted and chastened by strong, ma
tive sense. But he was evidently of the
opinion that the vicissitudes and perils
Incident to sea faring life introduced
such idiosyncrasy more than our com
non, every day duty on terra frma.
Call it superstition or what you will,
suld he, have myself had some per.
sOnal experiences which, though lands
man might term them remarkable coin
cidenees, must be considered as very
remarkable. I will instance one OF
them.
My vessel-tbe good bark lookout
vas lying at Liverpool in 1868, waiting
for her lading for voyage to Rio ia
ueirO. One of the finest fellows among
our crew was the carpenter, whose resi-.
Ienee was in the city, and possessed
such attractions as often drew me to
spend my evenings there. The house
was a fair specimen of a snug and com
Portable, though humble, English home,
we'll supplied with all the necessaries
and many of the Injuries of the better
classes. The occupants were father,
mother and daughter, except when, at
long intervals, the arrival of our vessel
in port enabled the only son and brother
our carpenter-to make with them O
Quartet of uncertain duration.
At length our lading was on board
and slowed, and, the next day, we were
to set sail for Rio. The evening before,
the carpenter went to bid his relatives
a final adieu, and I accompanied him
Some friend had given the family 9
fine Newfoundland puppy, to which we
both took a great fancy, and my COM
panion inportuned his sister to permit
him to take it with him to sea. She
preferred his waiting till his next voy.
age; but in the obscurity of the hall
where we made our parting, the dog
vas smuggled beneath o pea-iacket and
carried on board. He became a great
pet with all the crew, and his intelli.
gence and quick ess of apprehension
promised unbOunded diversion from the
dull routine of nautical duty. It was al
length discovered that he was troubled
with feas, and, to rid him of the pests,
he vas thoroughly rubbed with a de-
cOction of tobacco. IN our zeal, how
ever, to make the remedy effectual, We
Overdid the thing the lotion prove d toe
strong, and the animal, to our immense
sorrow, died in commissions. We paid
his remains all due respect; the car
penter built him a cLffin, and, from the
midst Of a group of sincere mOurners,
dropped him over the vessels side into
the ocean.
The captain was not present at the
burial, and when he learned of the
dogs death and disposal, quickly in.
quired if the carcass had been slid from
the gang-way plank, according to the
usage in human obsequies at sea. Be
ing answered in the negative, he asked
who had thrown the body overheard.
" James Hogg, the carpenter" "Then,
Jim, theirs bad luck coming to you.
How could you do it? Trouble will
board us, boys, before we finish ouI
cruise. Mind, tell you"
Though he spoke earnestly and with
the apparent sincerity of belief, the
prophecy troubled us little; and yet we
did not entirely forget it, for it came
from an old and experienced seaman,
who was supposed to know whereof he
affirmed. But as the days wore on pros
perOusly and no other i'll omen occurred
to back it up, its remembrance mellow
d with our grief for our lost pet, and
everything seemed to warrant the belief
that, for once, sailors augury would
prove failure.
We arrived all safe at Rio, discharged
our cargo, reloaded the vessel and again
made sail for England. A notably fair
wind swelled the sails of our good bark,
night and day, and she reeled off the
azure knots over the stormless sea at a
spanking pace. At length, during one
afternoon of my watch on deck, the
carpenter came up from below, pale and
tottering, complaining of nausea and
weakness. and asked my advice concern
ing a remedy. Thinking it to be only
a transient ailment from over-eating or
something equally inconsequentiaI, l
advised him to go forward, seat himself
and take the fresh air Il while. He did
so, taking q position upsn the cat heads,
where he got the full sweep of the
breeze. A few moments later, however,
saw him fall with heavy splash into
the water, and gave the al: rm, ordered
the ship put about, the boats lowered,
and ropes thrown for his grasp AS the
vessel passed him, distinctly saw him
lying outstretched upon the water. face
downward and apparently lifeless. One
of the ropes thrown fell directly over
and upon his head and shoulders, and q
conscious man could have availed him
self of it with the utmost ease. But he
manifested not the slightest token of
intelligence, drifting along like a log
upon the surface. Some little time was
lost in lacking ship and getting the
beats manned and afoat then a long
and thorough search followed, far and
near. accompanied with shouting and
calling his name. He had passed into
the wake of the vessel, and twice IN our
search we crossed that wake without
discovering him. Stranger still, large
cork buoy, some three feet square,
which l had thrown overheard within
reach of his arm, suddenly became in
visible also, nor could we find it again
All our efforts to save the unfortunate
man were futile, and, after lying off and
on for two hours, vainlv attempting his
recovery, we sorrowfully recalled the
boats and turned the vessels head once
more in her destined direction.
The captain retired below to work out
his log. Shortly after, his head APP
peaced above the companion-way and
with q singular expression of counter
ance he beckoned me to follow him to
the cabin. 1 did so, and, pointing TO
the reckoning he had just finished, and
then turning backward to the record
made on the day of the burial of the
dog, he asked me to compare them. I
was utterly dumfounded to see that we
were almost directly over the spot of
that transaction, and recalled his oGin-