The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-10-10

=
Husband Commits Suicide by
Jumping into the Sea
From the San Francisco Mail, Sept IA
The Captain of an English ship Just
arrived 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, as sailors are pro
verbally sensitive about their veracjty,
| and there is a strong flavor of romance
in the shippers anecdote.
The official log contains this entry =
august 10, latitude, longitude,
james Cotton, a stowaway, fell from the
foretop gallant yard to the deck, and
was instantly killed."
August Is, latitude, longitude,
William Bean, an ordinary seaman,
while the funeral service was being read |
over the body of Cotton, jumped from
| the topgallant rail and sank Immediately. |
| Ship hove to at the time. A boat was
! lowered but no traces of the man was |
| discerned.'
THAT" said the Captain ''is 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 sea
faring man by his appearance, but he
had a couple of good discharges and |
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 of
the men got around to see what | was
gong to say about it.
s'W'hat the blazes made you hide away
in my ship" | said. He didn't answer
a word, and seemed scared to death.
Then Bean stepped out and said:
81 know that young man, Captain
he is an old chum of mine. He wanted
to get a passage to California and had
no money.
81 swore some at them both and then
sent Cotton off in charge of the third
mate, who took got him to work on a
broom. Hehandled the broom pret-
: ty we'll, and took sort of to pol
ishing up the brass work
r. and seemed so inclined to be industri-
- Gus that | took him out of the mates
watch and gave him odds jobs about the
cabin, lending the steward hand and
50 on. He had all night in and better
= grub than they got in the forecastle, but
he used to always slip some of it forward
: to Bean. Those two were good deal
: together on Beans watch, and Cotton
: would sometimes stay up all night with
: him. Then he got to like going aloft,
! and used to handle the royals as well as
any ordinary seaman on board. One
{, day the mate said to me, 4 heard those
" two men, Bean and Cotton, talking to-
., cether last night, sir, and there was some
: hing queer about it. Bean was telling
- ing him that his mother and brothers
= would never forgive him, and the best
u thing to do when he got to San Francis
u co would be to write to some friend a
u home, but not to let his people know
e where he ways. Cotton was crying anC
l. 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 sort
Il told the mate to make work al
= light as he could for him, and once
y, he brought me up cup of tea on thu
II poop, | asked him if his friends knew
- that he had started for California.
y oh, no. he said, but could not ge
~ along we'll at home, and though it bes
~ to go away
le You knew Bean well at home, didn'
y you?' l asked.
10 Yes, SIR said he, and looked red an
~ confused
r Did he induce you to run away"
}, No; no, sir said he; but he told M
~ he was coming in this ship That was a
=. | said about it then. A week or SO after
=; ;e ward. when he was cleaning up my cal
lio in, he got hold of photograph of IN
n11 wife. which an artist in Liverpool ha
9 undertaken to color and had made botC
oh of it.
c n " Did you ever do any painting?
eo asked. He said he could paint littl
s9g and [ got a box of water color pain
nu from the third mate and some brush,
y, and gave him a photograph to colo
la' You see how we'll he did it. He su
in prisad me-"
~ Then the Captain opened his albu
- and showed the reporter some pilot
III graphs which were very skillfully al
artistically retouched.
Il saw him once" continued t
BUS Captain. painting the photograph of
ich fine looking old lady. He told me it W
are Beans mother. Well, to come to the d
zoe the accident occurred. l was on deck
t. the time, and Bean and Cotton were s
me ting forward. | was just going to c
ers the Young chap aft to help the sailm
in ker who was working on the poop, VIII
de- a souall came along The mate sang o.
lie, the royal halyards were let go and G
but ton jumped into the fore rigging to
on alofs and stow the foreroyal, for it v
,ers darkening up to windward. Bean a
less got into the rigging and seemed to W.
and to get up but Cotton got ahead of hi
an He laid out on the yard, got hold
of the canvas, and the next thing we KIN
ire. something came whirling down on d.
nat with thud that made me shudder !
the first one at the poor fellows side '
,ou- Bean. He turned him over, for the f
ietv was toward the deck, and then he
at down in fit, and the boatswain attic
ed to him. The watch carried ColtC