Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1877-02-10
AN OLD SAILORS YARN.
The Most Valuable Fish ON RECORD
The Consequence of a Collision as

Il
market to-day" said my iriehu' the oiu
sailor. iii reminded me Of a yarn that /
thouoht YOU might like; leastwise it
a;n,t much of a warn, cause it's all true as
gosneI rs Ed be able to prove. if it's
Necessary. by Is many az Is now liyil' In
This very town. ii so be they'd like TO
speak aud tell.
II don't suppose. sir, that there's an
other place in all the wide world as has
sich q fish market as New York, not but
what many has better market, so
tar as the buildin' is consumed, hut what
! means is as TO the fishes aud the varie-
ties of 'em / seen fish to-pay for nigh
onto dollar pound, and then agn
some as wasn't worth more than SIX OF
eight cents, and that minded me OF q iish
/ seen once. What would you think
now, sir. of fish worth more than
million of dollars.
No: there you're all out; it weren't
a whale. nor nothin't like a whale; not
as means for to say as sellin' of him by
the pound he'd fetch that, but lynn there
ON deck as [ seed him and several others,
one of 'em being Jimmy Duncan, as is.
now alive and all the rest of the watch,
that this fish were worth more than ST.
OOOOOO: not that them men all knOwd
his value, that bein' confined to Jimmy
Duncan and me, jimmy now bein' gOin'
m sea afore the mast. which ought, If he
hadn't made fool of himself. to be livin'
like gentleman onto his own money;
sailors always bein' fools, which he were
the same.
ATS hot rum, young fellow, this time,
and don't think by disguisin' it In sugar
TO make up for short cOmin's in rum.
"Now. here's the way it were, sir, and
really it's hearty To be sittin' alongside
of you once more, which the rheumatics
has so long purvented: l were in the
ship MignOn, of Bath, Me-, the old man
bein' Tucker. and good ship she were.
brand-new, and the treatment good.
though too much beans for to suit my
taste, the mates name bein' Wheeler,
and bound from Liverpool to New York
with general cargo and passengers-165
i'm the steerage and / in the cabin.
This here chap in the cabin were an
old man of the name of Beekman. which
choosed our ship because he could have
the cabin all TO hisself, he havin' plenty
of money, and payin' well for it. You
see, this were a long while afore there
were any steamers. and the regular pack
ct ships always had many passengers.
though at this time OF year-it were in
December-there weren't so many as in
the summer. But anyhow our ship
were a good ship, and he come aboard OF
her, bag and baggage, OH the Sth day of
December, 1S43, or thereabouts, and we
went out of dock and lowed down the
river. iettin' GO at the nOr'west lightship
and maxim sail. with the wind west-nor-
west, and BLOWN IA stiff breeze.
Wed double-reefed The topsails in
dock, when we bent EN-. and we didn't
fur TO turn EN- ont, and from the light
ship down To the Skerries. we got as
good a shakin' up rs | ever seed in my
life, bein' three days j bangin' at it. never
able to show rag more than double
reefed tOpsaiis and courses, jib and
spanker, and carryin' hard ut that. she
bein' new and everythin' strong aboard
of her.
well, arter we passed Hollyhead we
got a slant, the wild cantin more to the
no'th'art. and we set to'gallan' sails over
single reefs, and weilt flynn down chan
mel as if the devil had kicked us on eend.
AFTER passin' Tuskar our good luck left
,ls. and from that time for 40 days we
had constant succession OF westerly
gales. with sea tremendous. and we
mostly under clOSe-reefed topsails. If it
had continued TO blow gale all the
time il wouldn't have been SD bad. cause
then we could have took it easy, but it
would die out as soon as it got into nor
west. and then it was make sail. and we'd
no sooner get the reefs outand to'gallan'
sails SET than it would back into the
s'uth.ard agin. and it would be all hands
shorten sail and the life were well nigh
dragged out of us.
-Hows'ever, she were a good ship for
usage, and the grub tirst-rate, except too
many bear DAYS, and I've made a many
worse passages. We sailor men didn't
mind il, but il told OH this old chap IN
the cabin awful, and one day the steward
said he didn't believe rs he'd ever reach
New York alive. You see, he weren't
well when he come aboard, and the
shakin' up ne got We're TOO much tor
him. Ships didn't carry no doctors them
DAYS. and so there weren't nobody to
Dbvsic him, and he kept findin' hisself
a-crowin' worse, till one LAY he come to
it that he be to make his Will. lie
eouldn't write. and the old man weren't
much of fist, but the steward were
dabster at the pen, and he writ what the
old chap tesled him; and SO the steward,
from havin' TO tend OIL him, got to know
all about him.
..The night he made his will Tere
,,olv one. 1t had been fine i'll the arter-
noon. but breezed on from the s'uth'ard
orter dark. and at O'clock we close
resfed her down aud furleIl the mainsall,
crocbiek and lib and spanker. THANK
God, saws Jimmy Duncan. as me and
him went aft under the shelter of the
poop to find a soft place to 'caulk,' thank
God, saws Jimmy, that she's snug once
more. and now, if it will only keep a
blowin'. we can take Il little comfort
YOU'RE right, my lad says L; and Jist
at that minute comes the steward out or
the cabin, and says he, who's here -
SAYS he, and Jimmy says. Its me ana
TOm.' and says the stewart, Can either OF
Won write p and says Jimmy, Il can make
somethin' of a fist at pen, but I'm oet-
ter at a marlin spike,' and the steward
saws. you'll do and took him into the
cabin. and when Jimmy came out agln
ne tolL me he'd been a-witnessln' the
will of this old chap along of the captain
and the second mate, the mate bein' on
deck.
ssThen the steward he brung me and
JIMMY seaulker' apiece, which we was
glad Of helm wet and cold, and then told
ne the warn about the old chap in the
cabin, which ne got to know from tend
ing on him. Ii, h.ro ond
don't mind if do take another' put 70
really know the comfort OF groS you
must have it come unexpected ike, "ne1
you're on deck i'm gale OF wino' anu
wet and cold, as Inc and Jimmy weIe
when the stewart brought on Inat
.caulker' that night. He had about Iour