Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1880-02-21
Weeklg gntelligenter,
OFFICIAL COUNTY PAPER.
AN OLD SAILORS ARM
from the New York World.

From the New York World.1
'One of the impudentest things as
I knows on said the old sailor, ARE
the way people as Amt never been to
sea, and of course very ignorant. has
of criticism when a ship meets with
a accident. They say if the captain
had only done SO and SO, or so and
SO, or SO and SO, why, il stands to
reason it wouldn't have happened.
Much they knows about it. Here's 8
ship goes onto the Jersey beach.
tAh = they says, if he'd only used
bis lead he wouldn't have been there !;
and then they'll: git out a chart of the
approaches to New York harbor, and
putin their ignorant fingers along a
line due east from Squan, pint out
how gradually the water shoals and
how distinctly the soundin's is mark
ed, and git it off again, IF he'd only
used his Lead They DON'T know,
these ignoramuses, as there's such
things as currents, and that these
currents amt constant but vary i'll
force from ome to three miles an hour,
and that a skipper bound in, even if
he gets a latitude within two or
three days of bein' in with the land,
which many times he don't do; but
allowing as he does. he still has to
steer SO as to avoid Long Island,
which are as bad to hit as Jarsey,
and SO %steerin' as to safely 60 along
the Long Island shore he nay en-
counter a three-kuot current to the
s'utb'ard, aud the first thing he
knows he are hard and fast on to the
Jarsey beach ; or allowin' for the cur
rent. he may steer to the north'ard
of his course, and OWN to a long
continuance of s'utherly winds jist
previous there mayn't be no s'uther-
~ current jist then, and aforo he
knows where he are he may be plum
onto the Jarsey or the Long Island
shore. And in both instances he may
use the lead and take all precautions.
Fifteen or sixteen fathoms, white
sand, off Fire Island means a clean
birth eff shore, and right in the fair
way track to the lightship. Fifteen
or sixteen fathoms white sand of
Squan, or Long Branch, means close
in shore, and pilIn' OF the beach in a
few minutes if so be as her head amt
got to the BASTARD. y.
Not as I'd be agim heavin' the lead,
which are, as all sailormen- kne VS.. the
surest guide when in with the land !;
but what 1 argies are, that if a ship
are reckoned up for to go onto the
beach, onto the beach she'll go if she
had tel hundred thousand dozen
deep sea leads and a sailor to every
one of EN- constantly heavin' of 'em.
Now here's what happened to me
soon artersthat most i%nfarnel villain
Of a shippin'-master in Liverpool be-
gin for to take sailors out of Ameri-
a ships as soon as they arrived,
and then charge from 10 shilIings to
FL for to ship 'em ag'in. 1 havin'
gone out in the Garrick were, with
all the rest, .deluded into leavin' her
in the river, and after one or two
nights drifts on shore, were hard up
for a ship and glad to make my mark
any articles as was put afore me,
as likewise aud accordin' were Harry
as was a chum of mine in
the last ship, both of US shippin'
without any acre notion of what
it were than the babe unborn.
All we know'd we're that she were
bound to New York, at 92-5s. a mouth
So advance, of which the ship
KEEP FL and Civ US notes
t2 apiece, chargin' IS. in the
pound for cashin' of EN-, aud hand
IN us 81 los. The slack of the pound
walked away with by the board
and with los. apiece Harry
aud me sailed large on a last nights
trift, beiu' down 10 the pier-head at
the next mornin', as we'd agreed
Tor to be.
'As we was a-goin' off In the boat
suddenly says, Are that our
ship = aud when the boatman said 1t
we're, Harry says to me, Count ten ;
here's q hawk on her f%oretruck.'
i know'd what he meant, of course,
L counted for my dear life, but
,ad got no furder than eight when
larry says, 'It's too late, he's gone,
md sure enough so he had. OF course
know'd that this meant bad luck,
tut what could we do? Here we
vas, regularly shipped and cur ad-
rance spent. Moreover, here we was
all aboard of the ship in the Liver
river, our dunnage all aboard,
ND unless We liked to forfeit thai
here wer'n't no way of leavln', and
if we did the chances was agin
10.
Harry was the fust for to come
% q realizin' sense of the situation, |
md says he to me, "We be 10 90 Into
Ter, Tom p
we be- says 1.
Maybe says he. as it I'll only be
loss of spars OF a long PASSAGE says
1T may be so,' says L. and so,
lavin' settled it, we went to our
luty.
Now, sir, as provin' what l said in
he fust place; theirs them livln'
'shore as is that ignorant as they'll
Jay a seein' a hawk onto a fore-truck
ND not bein' able for to count ten
he flies away, don't mean bad
uck to that ship, aud them same
people will tell you as seein' the new
nosn over your starboard shoulder
ion't mean good luck, or that .fsh.l
lint pisoned by haugin' In the moon
lght, or many other things as is we'll |
inown to Intelligent sailormen.
Wen, Sir, she were the Mercator, |
captain Williams, with $50 passen-
'ers, and we towed down the next
lay and discharged our pilot at the
lightship and made sail
INTO her, benz in the month of De-
'ember. 1848, Or whereabouts.
we got a fine slant along the line |
o the Skerries jist pinckin' her along
ull and by with wind to the north.
then we checked in the wards
nd went by Hollyhead and down
hannel, passin' Tuskar in twenty
ours arter leavin' the lightship.
'Nothin' very bad about this,'
avs Harry Edwards, as | relieved
I'm at the wheel, cause we'd been
'ut into different watches.
:! believe you, my boy says L.
HE fewed, though says Harry,
you got further than eight
He sartihIy did, says l.
We be to catch it yet, says he.
Maybe saysI.
He looked at me in q pityin, sort
# way. Keep her west by no'th.,
avs he, 'and nothin' to the west'ard',
nd goes for'ard without sayin' an
word.
We'll, Fir, we did have one of the
most elegant wages across the ocean
most ever seen - fine, moderate
weather. and able to lay our course
or the most of the time. Consider
n the season, it were wonderful.
ms twentieth dow out -. st,