The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-01-04
The Spirit Of Jack Virgins.
New York Worlds .old sailor yrns y

New York Worlds .Old sailor Yrns.')
If hadn't knowd il happened, sir" saio
c,e old sailor, me bein' into the same ship, III
a said that that case of Jack Virgins were {;
yarn Fact is, I've tclled IT TO men as know d
me well and ~ ought to have knOw'd me bet
Ter than to have doubled my word, and they ",
up and sad to my very face, 'rom, if that's a
lie we're finely fooled or some other express
ion equally sarcastic and aggrivokin.
at may be, sir, ~ you'll find it, hard to hysl,
which would advise you to recollect, as truth
are stranger than fiction the world over, and il
this here weren't true | couldn't never have
seen it, ana if | hadn't seen it Of course could
mt have knowd 1t, ami if | hadn't know'd it
couldn't tell it to you, could nowy If y0c'll
Iet him bring two runs, same NJ the last, III
jist fill my pipc and reel it right of to you out
Of hand.
"Jack Virgins, sir, when fust know'd him.
were as fine young chap as ever stepped onto
ships deck; tall and strai ght as IA arrow and
spry rs a cat. There wer'nt NO man us could
git on a t0psailyard ahead Of him or steer u
better trick, and he'd put two ends of u rope
together III way rs you'd think it crowd 50,
He were civil man aboard of IA ship too and
good shipmale, bcin' a ftvorile fore and ait,
and ~ for the slewers in the boardn' houses
on both sides of the water it didn't matter who
the fancy man were when Jack arrived he had
for ~ top his boom and sail large havin no
chance alongside OF Jack
at were in the Yorkshire, Black Ball packet
--jiA let him till EN- up agin plc;tse-whcn
Captain Bailey were into ucr, she bein one Of
the fastest shi ps in The trade and great favor.
ito both with shippers and passengers, bein'
lucky in making passcges and we left New
York on the 10Th of August, 1914, there bcin
twcnty four of us aforc the mast, with bo'sen
three mates and Il carpenter, and never started
the royal sheets from the time we set en- out
Side of the Hook TIL We was to the cast ard of
Cape Clear, bein only thirteen days from land
" land
ut were on the twelfth day out, or rather
she night when, the wind hauln' dead aft We
LAID the yards square and then goes torard
and haulS the head sails down. ',Jump Out
there, half dozen OF YOU says the third mate
which his name WAS Dearborn, and stop the
jihs On To the bOoms,' and, as usual Jack Wig.
gins was the ttIst to make u break runnln' Out
Is nimblo ~ Il kitten. As he passed out over
the bees Of tho bowsprii, hows'evcr, whatever
DO the chaps onto the forccastlc do but haul in
on the weathcr-sheet. The blight of the lib.
pcnnant had caught on the upper part Of the
battcn on the foretopmaSt stay, and with tn
haulin' OF the sheet II come clear and come rat
"''H ''"h' Sti 'h'h od'h III nut anu kEbtk
in him overheard.
=" Man cvcrboardr says the third mate as he
jumped aft, and the cry was took up and pass
81 aIons, and the mate cut the life buoys adrl|
anu ordered the helm hard a.starhOard for tel
BRING her to with her head 10 the north ard
iatin' ~ the port, IN lin and siarboard GRO
Cuic tra,eS, Wa Ca also come down onto tht
poop, which went check fOr'ard of the main.
mast AS she came Ia the port tnpmaSt stun
sailbooin snapped of at the ilon, hut by lrttin
ny the lacks we saved the to'gallan smnsail.
Som. and also by srlllin' down the royal.
yards eased the to'gallan masts
"lhc Yorkshire carried her boats on the
quarters, two ON each side hung todavit. with
iron cranes under 'em to take their weight,
when secured. and it took some little time 1,
cut the lashn's Of the gripes and the rackIn',
OF the falls and set taut onto 'en SO 40 To swim
the cranes clear for lowcrn' and probabl,
Jack had been overheard five minutes atore ",
got boat lowtel aud into the water, and
hen, rs IKE rs not, we pulled for hlm M lin,
wrong direction. Anyway. arGcr huntin' fnl
hall or lhreC-quarers Of IN hour without find
IN him The attempt was Civ up, and the boat
come hack 10 the ship and Was hystcd IN apil
and secured, and We KEEP her of onto oui
course agin, and three days afterwards dockcd
her in the Waterloo Dock.
i"e sup III inc line ahead OF III we're tn
Columbus, and she bein' slow ship hadn I
got in, and we he To take her turn. so gam.
WAS set 10 work night and day, and IN fy,
days we was off agin, havin' fine run dow,
Channel, and gitlin' clear of the land in tv,
days On the third day we was a-rcachin
along 10 the wes'ard upon a wind on the Dor
tack, when chap Of the name of Abrahams
as was onto the fore yard a-seizin on son,
beckcis on the jack-s,ay. reports s0mathin
dDatin' about two pints onto the lee bow. W,
KEEP off and headed tor it, passin' close to n
and ~ nigh as cou'd lie male out il were :
mans head or leistwise his hat. a-iloatin.' W.
run up 10 zee what il were; and if yon II b.
Iieve me. sir. whatever should il be but JAG,
HIM ~ we'd lost OVERHEARD eleyei
4 ys afore, aaoatin' into a life-p.eServcr