River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-07-03
AN OLD SAILORS YARN.
A Spree at Lake Ponchartraiu-How the An
eient Mariner Missed Wife and Fortune

eient Mariner Missed Wife and a Fortune.
From the New York World
Il came mighty near once, said e
old sailor, mot only of bein' a man OF
independent forth, but ofIhavin' besides
as nice wife as usually falls to the lot
of a man; and vet here | are, a Waterman
along the dock, with a lantern and dog,
| glad TO come up here once In while and
give you few stories as has happened IN
my seafarin' experience, whereas, II
hadn't a-slipped up in several OF my I'M
dertakin's presumes as | should at this
time of written have been bloated
bond holder, or leastways at the head OF
an elevated railway, with heavy balance
in the bank and everything looking favor
able for a tremendous increase day by
day. 20
"Now with regards to this partic lar
case in pint, which as / has always
| looked on as showin' as thing are reck-
oned up for people from the start, and it
amt no use trying to buck agin en-
Here where a chance which don't happen
| to a man more than once in lifetime and
| missed it not through any fault of mine,
but simply because it weren't reckoned
Iup for me and were reckoned up for
somebody else.
"Now here's the way 1T were. Il came
into New Orleans in the ship KATE Dyer,
her as were afterwards run down off Fire
island by the steamship Scotland. Times
was good in New Orleans, yellow fever
bein' plenty and sailors scarce, and ships
was a givin' 800 advance to Liverpool
and $40 blood money in addition 10 the
landlord and I'll say this for Bob Darlin
he being of course enc of the most sweet
scented villains as as ever IN the bust
ness, as likewise were Wash, which sere
the shipplng-master- always used me
sell, as like Use did both of EN-, and
weren't adrift three days before was able
to ship into the ship FAIRY Queen, Bob get
tin the 500 and honestly givin' me $50
of it in solid cash, he havin' great conf
dence in me, my dunnage benz at his
house and he KNOWN as l wouldn't go
back onto him.
"Whatever it took me to it can't say,
but sartin it are | gets onto the outside
of horse and away goes to Lake Pom
chartrain, and however it happened |
can't say, but it were probably in conse-
quence of histin' too much, l sort of last
my reckonin', and when two days AFTER
wards | fetched up | found -,yself into
the calaboose, and before l got clear of
the various legal complications thereunto
belongin', the Fairy Queen had gone
down the river and | weren't into her,
chap of the name of Billy Edwards
havin' been shipped in my place,
..Of course, | done the square thing by
Bob Darlin', as had shipped me, and took
chance on board the Westmoreland, as
was shlppin' VIII n come out, the same
advance bein' Civ, and not havin any
money of course KEEP sober and straight
and went on board of her and down the
river, the captains name bein' Ocean.
We went out over the bar, and the wind
bein' light from southeast we anchored.
"Well, sir, there we laid for week,
there bein' no show for us to make any
thing by gettin' under way, and we had
chance to git all to rights and work the
rum ont of all of us chaps for'ard, so that
when we did at last git breeze from the
north ard we was in good condition tor to
begin our vyage. Along down to the
Tortugas we kept our fair wind and made
good run, but off that pint we took the
regular trade wind from about east-no'th-
east and 1T were so fresh that we had to
put reef In the topsails, carrying the
mainti 'gallan' sail over that. Nothin' of
any particular account happened after
that. We worked her along to the east
ard, maxim the Double Headed Shots all
right, and in twenty-fot hours more was
off Maternilla reef. Here we catched a
stiffener FROM the north ard and the old
man let her GO to the BASTARD at once,
and did not try to follow the quit
around
"The wind hung on to the north ard,
perhaps little eastin' into it, and there
weren't anythin' for it but to keep her a
.joggin' along onto the port tack and let
her fetch up where she would. The wind
continued fresh, and cotton-loaded as we
was we could carry double reefs to it.
sit were l suppose about week arter
we had left the gulf when chap of the
name of Frank Patten, as was aloft a
mendin the parcellin' on the foreto' gall
Ian riggin' i'll the wake of the to'gallan'
sheets, sings out, Sail on the lee bow
"'What do you make of her2' says the
mate.
Frank did not answer for spell and
the mate hailed ag'n. 'Foretopmast head
therer
"'Hallo, says Frank.
Whatever do you make Of herP
says the mate.
az can't make her out, sir says
Frank; seems to be a ship under close
reefs. with course hauled up and a-takin'
of it easy
"Well the mate jumps aloft onto the
fore topsail yard with a lookin' glass and
takes good severe look at her. The old
man in the mean time had come up and
sings out to the mate, WHAT do you
make of her sir?'
1.-THE mate he takes another look afore
answerin' and then says. Il think there's
somethin' wrong with her, sir; she's a
ship, but the only blessed rag she's got
set is her three topsails closed reef
"'Where away is she2' says the old
man.
"'About three points ON the bow, SIR
says the mate.
I" Let her go off, says the cid man to
the chap what was at the the wheel, and
then to the mate he says, Let me know
when we head for her.
"'Aye, aye, sir, says the mate; so,
Stcduy just DIS you So'
'Steaoy says the old man; keep her
jist as she's a-headin'
Well, it weren't long afore we riz her
from the deck, and in the course of a
couple of hours we was nigh hand unto
her. She We're evidently big ship, with
three to- gallan' yards across and the sails
onto 'em snugly furled, as was the flynn
jib, jib and spanker. The courses was
hauled up snug and the three topsails
close-reefed.
"Runnin' clear under her lee quarter
the old man hailed, Ship, ahoyp
I" Halo, says the chap aboard of her,
and he, so far as we could see, seemed to
be the only person on board.
is anythin' the matter with your
says the old man.
SIN all alone here,n says the man,
sand I'd like to have some help for to
work the ship"
"We'd ranged along out of hall by this
time, but the old man hauled up the
mainsail, backed the maiDtopsail and
told the second mate for to go aboard
and see = hat the trouble was, and it so
happened as | were one of the boats crew.
We pulled right up under her lee, and
the chap aboard hove us line and all but
one OF us scrambled aboard. and whoever
should the chap be that met us but Billy
Edwards, him as had been Slipped in my
A