The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-07-17
AN OLD SAILORS YARNS.
How n Love LOrn Mariner Came TO His
Death From Pursuing the
Phantom of Love.

lone of the most s1n'lerist things as 1
knows on, sir, as touchin' seafarin' life"
remarked the old sailor the other day, "are
the curious effect the sea air has onto man
with respects to wimmin; leastwise, If it
aint the salt air as does it there be no man
hvin' as can tell what else, bein' well known
10 every sailorman as had experience OF
passengers that wimmin, which when they
came ABOARD in the Liverpool docks was
looked upon as mere scullions, gifts to lOokin
arter tine influence of a fortnight of sea air
onto a man dreadful beautiful and awful en-
ticin' and men as fust rate Sailormen and
as mas stood like flint afore the destinations
OF the sleweTs in a Liverpool boardin' house,
nor yet has yielded to more enticIn' allure
ments has, arter bein' subjected to the in
t1uence OF the sea air, become spoony and
soft burgoo. While generally it amt
lastin, oein' recovered from in most cases
arter one nights drift ashore, it are yet won
.derful aggravatin' while lastin', and in one
case as i minds had fatal result bein' the
death of Jimmy Edwards, as good sailor
man as ever put two ends of rope together,
he bein' took wi h it much worse than or
din ~. A it's dreadful ", T II, sir, ii you d
tell him To bring it in pewter, 'twouid be
more soothin' like, and I'll reel it off to you,
as we'll as the swelterin weather will permit.
zone of the dresdfullest v y'ges for smitin',
sir, as | knows of are that from Liverpool to
New Orleans particularly If you leaves, as
you most ways does, In the winter months,
and. aIter encouDterin' the raw, cold and
uncomfortable storms of the channel, you
gets a nor wester arter passin' TGskan, and
away you goes down south till you strikes
the belt OF calms 'twixt 30 and 35 and from
them strikes the trades and away you goes
to the west'ard with the whole breadth of
the Atlantic ocean afore you to be crossed In
continual tine weather, and wind so steady
that you never has to touch rope 'cept to
tauten the lee braces from one days end 10
another. If so be then as you has wimmia
aboard, the man as don't git spooney and
make a fool of hisself accoIdin' amt human
and are destitute of the finer feeiin's of hu-
man nature, as a Holy Joe would say. I've
seed it tried onto a many, sir, and never yet
did l find one as wasn't took by 1t in greater
or less degree which shows as it's the inhu
ence OF the salt air.
"Now in a v'yage from Liverpool to New
York there are always gales OF wind-many
as distracts a mans attention from softer
recreations, and, though took he will be,
there are palliatin' circumstances as gives
him chance to recover, which amt found
when runnin' the trades down, as is well
know'd
Il leaves Liverpool one time in the month
OF December, in the ship 0cmulgee, Captain
Baker, she being in ballast trim, with about
400 tons of coal and a little general cargo
or so in the cabin. TOWN down to the nor
west light ship, we discharged pilot and
steamer, and made sail onto her. the wind
hein' moderate from west-DOr west. We
reached to the north'a ard on the port tack
for couple of hours, and then tackled her
and stood in shore, the weather lookin' as if
it was a goin' 10 back in to the southland OF
west which it did do when we got well IN,
enablin' us 10 make good leg of it when We
went about. or course, with the wind back
in, it breezsd on, and we soon had TO take
the fore and miZzsn to'gallant sails and fly
in jib off OF h-r, and in less than an hour
arier that we began to clew up the main to-
gallant sail, put couple OF reefs into the
topsal!s and stow the crochick. In shorten
in sail, among the first at everythin' were
Jimmy Edwards, and 1 were right glad when
be were chooSed into the same watch with
me. as it are good thing to have for a watch
mate chap as is willin' and active and
capable, / not dreamin' then of what were
TO happen to him afore the wage were end
ed.
Long afore we got down to the Skerries
the wind had blowed onto regular gale,
with rain and snow, and we'd had to take in
the jib and reef the courses carryn' on to
our double-reefed topsalls like blue blazes
for TO hold her off shore; and for ten days
did this continue, till we were beat out en-
tirely. Throughout the whole of it the
cheerfulest man aboard was Jimmy Edwards
Hard a pine knot, the bad weather didn't
faze him a moTsel, and he were worth any
two men in the watch. At last come a
change, the wind shiftin' to the north'ar
and off we went hukin with single reefed
topsails, whole courses and jib. Arter "a
hours of this we was able to give her the
main-to' galan'-sail, and in another day the
weather were so much better that we put
full sail onto her. II were a change from
winter to summer IN 4S hours. From fam
nels and monkey jackets we come at once to
6ungaree trousers and shirts; sea- boots were
about the decks with bare feet
''Of course through sill the bad weather
the passengers had mostly KEEP below and
we hadn't seen much of 'em, but with the
fine weather they began to come out. and the
moon bein' into the fust quarter it wern't
long afore the influence of the salt air begin
to promote courtin', sich bein' my case with
little gal as | had helped along durin her
seasickness in the bad weather jist out of
the Kindness of my heart, and without a
thought OF what 1t were leadin to.
'Poor Jimmy Edwards however, were
took awful, and with a lass as was in the
cabin. Jimmy bein' at the wheel one
mornin' from 10 8, this here heifer comes
up as lively as a cricket, havin' got all over
her sea sickness and as pert a peach.
Whatever do she do, all unmindful of the
mischief she were causin, but came along 70