The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-10-04

From the San Francisco Mail, Sept, 141
The Captain ofan English ship lust ar
rived in port relates a singular story
which is worth adding to the already ex-
tensive budget of marvellous tales of the
ocean. The names of Captain and ship
are not given, rs sailors are proverbially
sensitive about their veracity, and there
is a strong flavor of romance in the skip.
pers anecdote.
The official log contains this entry:
august 10Th, latitude, longitude,
James Cotton. stowaway, fell from the
fo"etopgallant yard to the deck, and was
instantly killed
August 10th, latitude =, longitude,
William Bean, an ordinary seaman, while
the funeral service was being read over
the body ofColton, jumped from the top
gallant rail and sank Immediately. Ship
hove to at the time. A boat was lowered,
but no trace of the man was discerned."
That" said the Captain, lis an entry
that gives the key to the yarn I'll spin
you" as Mail reporter sat in his cabin
yesterday afternoon, after the MONDAY
meal.
81 shipped Bean in Liverpool. He was
tall, good-looking young fellow, and did
not appear to be much of a seafaring man
by his appearance; but he had couple of
good discharges, and l took him. After
he went forward among the men did not
notice him again until the second day
out. The mate came aft Juggling along
little bit of fellow with short curly hair
and a round face, whom he had found
slowed away under the fore hatch. A lot
ofthe men got around to hear what was
going to say about it.
"What the blazes made you hide away
in my shipP" said. He didn't answer
word, and seemed scared to death. Then
Bean stepped out and said:
II know that young man, Captain; he
is an old chum of mine. He wanted to
get passage to California, and had no mon
ey."
II swore some at both and then sent
Cotton off in charge of the third mate,
who soon got him to work on broom.
He handled the broom pretty well, and
took sort otto polishing up the brass work
and seemed so inclined to be industrious
that l took him out of the mates watch
and gave him odd jobs about the cabin,
lending the steward a hand and so on.
He had all nightin and better grub than
they got in the foreCastle, but he used to
always ship some of it forward to Bean.
Those two we're good deal together on
Beans watch, and Cotton would some
times stay up all night with him. Then
he egot to like going aloft, and used to ham
die the royals as well as any ordinary
seaman on board. One day the mate said
to me, l heard those two men, Bean and
Cotton talking together last night, rand
there was something queer about it. Bean
was telling him that his mother and
brothers would never forgive him, and
The best thing to do when he got to San
Francisco would be to write to some
friends at home, but not let his people
know where he was. Cotton was crying
and seemed to feel very bad. Then they
saw me and shut up. / think Bean has
made that boy Cotton run away from |
school or something of the sort
II told the mate to make work as light |
Is he could for him, and once, when he
brought me up cup of tea on the poop,
asked him if his friends knew that he
lad started for California.
"0h, mo- he said; but could not get
long well at home, and / thought it best
o 60 away
"You knew Bean well at home, didn't
Iou2" l asked.
"Yes, sir, said he, and looked red and
onfused.
"Did he induce you to run awsy~
mo, no, sir" said he; "but he told me
10 was coming in this ship" That was
Il said about it then. A week or so
fterward, when he was cleaning up my
abin, he got hold of the photograph of
ny wife, which an artist in Liverpool had
ndertaken to color and had made botch
fit.
"Did you ever do any painting2" ask
d. He said he could paint little, and
got box water-color paints from the
lird mate and some brushes and gave
i'm a.few photographs to color. You zee
ow well he did it. He surprised me-"
Then the Captain opened his album
ld showed the reporter some photo.
raphs which were very skillfully and
retouched. II