Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1879-01-09

A Most Remarkable Instance
of Life After Death,
tFrom the N. Y. Worldly

into the same ship, I'd said that
that case of Jack Wiggins were
yarn. Fact is I've teIled it to mel
as know'd me well and as ought t,
have know'd me better than to hav,
doubted my word, and they've VI
and s: id to my very face, Tom,
that's lie we're finely fooled o
some other expression equally sarcas
tic and aggrivatin."
ut may be, sir, as you'll find it
hard to hyst, which | would advise
you TO recollect, as truth are stranger
than Fiction the world over, and i
this here weren't true couldn't never
have seen it, and if | hadn't seen il
of course couldn't have know'd it
and if | hadn't know'd it / couldn'r
tell it 10 you, could l now? If you'll
let him bring two hot runs, same as
the last, I'll jist fill my pipe and re
it right off to you out of hand.
Jack Wiggins, sir, when | fusI
know'd him, were as fine young
chap as ever stepped onto ships
deck; tall and straight as a arrow,
and spry as cat, There weren't ne
man as could git on tOpsail yard
ahead of him, or steer a better trick.
and he'd put two ends of a rope to-
gether i'll way as you'd think il
crowd so. He were n civil man
aboard Of ship, toe, and a good
shipmate, hein' Il favorite fore and
aft, and as for the slewers in the
boardin houses on both sides of the
water, 1t didn't matter who the fancy
man were when Jack arrived, he had
tor to top his boom anu sail large,
havin' no chance alongside of Jack.
1T were in the Yorkshire, Black
Ball packet-jist let him fill 'em up
agin please-when Capt. Bailey
were into her, she bein' one of the
fastest ships in the trade and a great
favorite, both with shippers and
passengers, hein' lucky in maxim
passages, and we left New York on
the 10Th Of August, 1874, there Dein'
twenty -four of is afore the mast.
with bO' sen, three mates and a
carpenter, and never started the royal
sheets from the time We set 'em out
side of the Hook till we was to the
east ard of Cape Clear, brin' only
thirteen days from land to land.
1T was on the twelfth day out, or
rather the night, when, the wind
haulin' dead aft, we laid the yards
square and then goes for'ald and
hauls the head-sails down. jump
ont there, halI-dozen of you,' says
the third mate, whi'h his name was
Dearborn, 'and stop the jibs on to
the boOms, and, as usual, Jack Wig
gins was the fust to make q break.
runnin' out as nimble rs a kitten. AS
he passed out over the bees Of the
howsprit, hows'ever. whatever do the
chaps onto the forecastIe do but haul
in on the weather-sheet. The blight
of the iibpennant had caught on the
fOle-topmast stay, and with the haul
in of the sheet it come clear and
come ratlin' down, strikin' Jack in
the nut and knockin' him over
| board.
Man overheard! = says the third
mate as he jumped aft, and the cry
was took up and PASSED along, and
the mate cut the llte-buoys adrift and
ordered the helm hard a-starboard
for to bring her to with her head TO
the north ard, lettin fly the port
main and starhoard crochick braces.
! urh;rh .,ly,, ..n,on Il ,u,n 70 tb,, ,,,,.,
which went chock for'rOd of the main
mast. As she came To the port top
mast stunsall boom snapped off at
The iron, but my lettin' fly the tacks
sc saved the to'gallan' stuusai-
bOoms, and also by settlin' down the
royal yards eased the gaIlan' masts.
1.-The Yorkshire carried her boats
on the quarters, two on each side
hung TO davits, with iron cranes nm
der 'em to take tEeir weights wien
secured, and it took some little time
to cut the lashin's of the gripes and
the rackn of the falls, and set taut
onto 'em so as to swing the cranes
clear Tor lowerin' ard probably Jack
had been overheard five minutes
atOre we got boat into the water.
and then, as like as not, we pulled
for him in the wrong direction. Any
way, after huntin' for half or three
quarters of an hour without fndin'
him the attempt was given up, and
the boat come back to the ship and
was hysted up agin and secured, and
we KEEP her off onto our course agin,
and three days afterwards docked
her in the Waterloo dock.
1.-The ship in the line ahead of us
were the Columbus, and she bein' a
slow ship hadn't got in, and we he to
take her turn, SO gangs was set to
work night and day, and in five days
we was off agin, havin' fine run
down channel, and gittin' clear of the
land i two days. On the third day
we was a-reachin' along to the west
ard upon wind on the port tack,
the breeze bein' light aud water
smooth, when a chap of the name
OF Abrahams, as was onto the fore
yard a-seizen' on some beckets on
the Jlck-Stay, reports Somethin' float
in about two pints onto the lee bow.
We KEEP off and headed for it., pas
sim close to it, and as nigh as could
be made out it were a mans head.
or least wise his hat a-foatin'. W.
run up to the clews of the mainsail,
backed the main toI Ill, lowerey
away a boat and went for to see wlyat
1t were and if you'll believe me, gsir
| whatever should it be but Jack. Mig
gins, hina IS we Ell Tost overboar,
= ltTeven days afore, a-ffoatin' into .
life preserver
.'Of course, thiHkin' he must bs
dead, If it had a-been almost any
body else but Jack, we shouldn''
have took the trouble for to hav,
hysted the body into the boat, bu
seem a. he were sich favorite tn,
second ate, as had charge of til,
boat, said, Let's pull him into boat
boys. and take him aboard and give
him Christian burial, and accordin
;. we done il. he bein' dreadful heay,
| with his wet clothes on. and laid hin
down comfortable into the star,
sheets.