The Weston Democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1875-current, 1875-10-11
An OLD SAILORS YARN.

An OLD SAILORS Y4RN.
1 had shipped into The ship Robert
Bovine, in New York, bound for San
Francisco, and she pnt in to Rio for
fresh stores, havin' passengers aboard
She were logged Ms putin in for water,
but that were only on account OF the
insurance, cause, yOu sce, water bein' q
necessity, you can go in for that without
making deviation Of the wage, That's
what they calls it, you know, and your
insurance is MI right but the real fact
were she went in for stores, and princi-
pally grog. Whether the skipper and
his passengers got it or not I don't know,
but I'm very sure did, and when l
woke out Of the spree I found that the
ship had been three days Mt sea and had
carried all my dunnage with her.
Well, sir, OF course, without money
and without clothes I had to como on
the consul's hands, and it were the first
time I had ever done SO, except in case
OF wreck. Every scrapo I ever got into,
sir, and almost every scrape everybody
else ever I know'd got into, come Of
drinkin' rum.
Well, the American consuls in foreign
ports has fund provided for sich cases
rs mine, for you see when captain pays
man off in n foreign port he has for to
give him three months extra pay, one
month ofwhich tho consul keeps, and this
creates fund for to pay the board and
passage homo of shipwrccked sailors;
and were pretty well wrecked and no
mistake. Then every captain has for to
takc these men when the consul sends
thOm on board, lcastwise certain num-
Der accordin' to tho size OF tho ship,
and ho is allowed for to make EN- work,
jist rs il they'd been shipped regularly.
There was three OF us consuls men on
board of this here Sarah Lucinda, me
aud chap named jack Wilson, md
another chap named Billy Corr. We
wore NIL pretty well "mops and brooms'
when we came aboard, but Billy Corr
was tho worst, and ho went right down
sick the day arter wo left Rio. I'd heerd
of him ashore, aud folks in Rio didn't
seem to make him out rightly. I'd
l,eerd tell TINT he como there passenger
like, aboard of brig from somewhere
OH tho south side Of Cuba, and that he
had lots OF cash, and all in gold pieces,
mud that he'd swayed away on all taut
ropes, never drawin' q sober breath till
his money wore all gone, and then bust.
in it ont on tick as long rs possible, and
finally fetchin' up rs 1 had onto the
consul's hands. Well, sir, you can easy
$50 he'd been on months drunk, and
irrthat time it amt probable he'd ever
ate a'squRre meal ; so You see, ho mid
: right over mo aud Jack, rs hadn't more
than week OF it for w,lnt OF means.
It has almost always happened, sir,
that If anybody were sick aboard Of n
ship where I wore it would be me TINT
would have the Job Of takin' care on 'em.
and this time me md jack bein' kind Of
supcrnumerarics, aud comm aboard
onto the same lay with this Billy Corr,
Of course. when he went down right bad,
luc aud Jack was put for to look out for
him. Well, he were bad, there's no de-
nYin' it. 1t were like Paddy, when he
fell from nlott he said it weren't the
full that hurt him, it were stoppin' so
sullen, aud this poor Gimp, rs long Us
he wcro ashore. he'd get some grOg every
,lhy. Just enough to carry him along safe,
but ~ soon rs he got to sea, where he
conlin't git any, tho sudden stoppage
brought on the "trianglcs," and he had
EN- about Ms bad rs any one ever seen.
Lord love yon. sir, how that chap did
yell. For ono whole night he KEEP shout
in "Murler ut the very top Of his
voice. Jack and | got rome canvas gus
knts, anil va strapped him down to the
bunk s,lil, 10 he couldn't do no hurt to
hisselt nor to nobody else, and then We
took turn uud turn about IL -watchin him.
Did you ever have them things, sir
No; well, you needn't want to, for
they're list awful. How it is that any
body as has had EN- once and got ever
it, shoull ever go on n,driukin' and have
EN- agiu, is NOR" than can tell, md
yet they does, M' everybody knows.
'Tain't otter, though, that anybody Inns
'cm rs had as this Gimp. I'd seen n
plenty of it aforc, and maybe Ind had n
touch or two myself, but nothiu' like
this hal I ever seen. Tho mates name
were Charley Richmond. and he were n
good man. I've hcorn tell he used some.
times to bowse up his own iib pretty
taut-and he done NIL thnt could be done
for this poor clap, though he wasn't
nothin' but consups man. He wllaled
tho cook within MI inch of his life, cause
lie said he'd be hanged II he'd make
Cruel for n drunken brute like that
meanin' this here Billy Corr.
Well, sir, We got the southeast trades
good and strong and they carried us
away up to about six degrees north, and
then wo laid two days into the dollrums
afore We got tho northeast trades but
when wo did get EN- they wils so strong
that we hal to carry our to'gallan sails
and single.reeicd topsails, and she goin
FREQ. zoo.
We lost tho northeast trades somo'
where's about the latitude Of twenty.iour
degrees north, and was hoxhaulin
about into tho horse ATTITUDES for over q
week, aud then We got breeze from
southwest, which come on light, with
cloudy weather in the forenoon, and
breezed on arter dinner with rain. II
were duff day, and n week day, so II
must have been Of Thursday, and oui
side Ind the watch from eight to twelve
Of the night. The main to'gallan' sail and
foretopmast stullin' sail wero set wher
we come on deck, and wo were headin
her about nor.norwcst and jumpin' hel
along about eleven knotS-a rainin' like
blazes and ns thick III tar. We'd never
aahl tia old mnn carry sail nfnre, nnd