The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1875-09-25
MISSING A FORTUNE.
An old Sailors Yarn.

An Via SaiioE I"fh'
| had been out of the city for n few
weeks, and so had failed to keep my
usual appointment with my friend the
old sailor. On calling at the usual
trysting-place the other day | found
q him there, and he at once accosted me
with, Well, my flower, so you're
come back agin, have youP I've been
here u great many times to see you, but
they told me you was out of town not
but what I've done well enough in the
matter of grog, for the landlord here
has put me on free rations along of Il
new wrinkle I've put him up to in the
way of tipple. Go fetch him one"
This last was to the red-headed boy,
who speedily brought me n small glass
of r~uby-colored liquid.
Put that under your shirt said the
old sailor, and when | had complied
and expressed my appreciation | asked
him what it was.
"It's Jamaica punch,n he replied,
"made very strong, very sweet and
sehreechin' hot, and then bottled and
the bottles smothered in ice. -Four OF
them will make any man talk of his
rich relations, and | wouldn't advise
any one tofinish the half dozen if he eX-
poets to get home the same day. If l
were rich, sir, the first thing I'd buy
would be a cask of Jamaica rum. /
were very neal, being rich once, sir. If
they'd awaited fifteen minutes longer
afore they'd a-shortened sail aboard of
the Sarah Lucinda, a bark as | come
home from Rio into, I'd a-been worth
nigh On to 100000 in gold. just think
of that once.n
J, of course, expressed a desire to
hearthe yarn, and asked the old man
what | should orderfor him.
"No punch for me-" he said; "that's
all well enough for a chap as hasn't
any thin to do, but III take ale there's
more drink for the same price and east
er to carry" and, having emptied n
mug and handed it to be refilled, he lit
ms pipe and spun me this yarn, which
he assured me was strictly true:
81 didn't go out into that bark, but |
had shipped into the ship Robert Bovine,
In New York, bound for San Francisco,
havln' passengers aboard. She were
logged as putin in for water, but that
We're only on account of the insurance,
cause, you see, water bein' q necessity,
You can 90 in for that without making a.
deviation of the v'yage. That's what
they call it, you know, and your insur-
anee Is all right; but the real fact were
she went in for stores, and principally
grog. Whether the skipper and his
passengers got it or not | don't know.
put I'm very sure | did, and when ]
woke out of a good big drunk | found
that the ship had been three days at sea
ahu had carried all my dunnage with
Wei, sir, of course, without money
anu without clothes | had to come on
the Consul's hands, and it were the first
TINE ever done so, except in case of
wreck. Every scrape / ever got into,
sTi and almost every scrape every body
eise ever | know'd got into, come Of
ulnAln' rum, and yet You see, sir, ]
SUCKS to It with great faithfulness; but
aFler al, it wern't so much drinkin', as
Il We're drinking so much.
We'll, the American consuls in for
eign ports has a fund provided for sich
cases as mine, for YOU see when a cap
TIN pays a man off in a foreign port he
nas Tor to give him three months extra
pay, n month OF which the Consul
,aTeeps' and this creates a fund for opay
ae BOARD and passage home OF ship
~IeeSed sailors; and 1 were pretty well
wicked and no mistake. Then every
,sLsp.aln has for TO take these men when
'"e consul sends. them on board, least