The Republican journal., 1881-01-06
Our George on His Travel.
LETTER NUMBER TWO.


It was blowing light breeze when, just as 1
stepped out of the eompanionway, saw on the
starboard side low reef Of rocks about quarter
of a mile off the water breaking over them in
foam, and we drifting as fast as we could go.
say that was frightened does not express even
the trim ming around the edge of my feelings My
hair shot right up through my Scotch cap, till my
head looked like one of these round bsushes that
you wash windows with. | had not made any ar
rangements about going ashore and was not pre-
pared and l felt that it was impossible for me to
go, and still | knew that in few minutes ashore
| Id be, vessel and all At first | thought I'd take
an oar and scul her off. and then l remembered
| that | was not captain and | did not know what
| to do. Faster and faster drifted toward the
rocks and was trying to think over some suitable
last words when along came tine captain, as cool as
il lie had Just been taken off the ce and in voice
| that trembled like dish of calves foot Jelly,
asked what island that was, and he gazed into my
! hazel eye with pityng, compassionate look and
mildly said "Isand that's no island that's rip
fishing rip Ii had been IN the habit Of using
profane language feel positive that | should have
"et her rip" then, whether or no, and even now,
days afterwards can't help saying "blast that
RIP And when | got back into the cabin my
head was white as dish Of blanc mango And
| here let tell my green friends that rip is
where two tides come together from opposite di.
rectons, and they will get up little the best iml
| tation of reef Of rocks that one ever saw Why.
| those rocks looked so natural that i could almost
see the Holsters sitting around on them, and hear
them siI ging their evening songs
/ The llat night aboard | didn't sleep much Of
any. ! had considerable curiosity to know all
there was going On. Something was dropping all
the ume, Over would 90 a chair and skip across
the cabin: then plate would rattle, and then the
stove wouid shift cargo and. when it otherwise
would have been suL some one you'd stick mis-
| head down the cOmpamonway and sing out ''eight
bells or four bells and the other wouIi
| yell out Aye aye, SIR and then he would get
up and somebody else would 20 10 bed. l didn't
say anything but / could not help thinking that
! if was rpra.4- this boarding hopao, have the
boariers keep better hours, and would not let
many Of them nave III Int keys either | never
saw man take So much interest in the weather
as the captain does. Why that man insists 5D
being called every few hours in the night and viii
wake up Out Of sound sleep Just for the sake of
knowing which way the wind 8 and how fast We
are going And he is not content with that either.
If they shorten sail or cut up any of the didos that
they are always cutting up at sea why you can t
hold him in bed. He'll lust bounce into his clothes
and i he i 60 on deck and stay there till it's all
done. should think by i've time he goes to sea
twenty years more that he would begin to lose
little interest in this sort of thing but he don't act
now as if he ever would. Yesterday he went up
during a snow squa!l and took the wheel for
couple Of hours, and when he came back he looked
| like one Of these snow men that / used to make
| when was boy And he kept all the rest of
them busy too even yauked away at a rope till
| thought Ia break it if ! pulled any harder, and
| so let 20 and came down into the cabin to ponder
over the fact that there was about SIX inches Of
wood between ME aud eternity and could not
| swim either. | think that man who goes to sea
on this northern coast in the winter OF 1ht to get
dollar minute, gold for all the time he is gone
| and he would not get oveypad then Perhaps you
will think that | am not enjoying myself, but l
| am The captain says shat he is bound to show
me all there is to this thing and give me a variety,
and he is keeping his word nobly too have seen
most everything now but pleasant weather, and ii
[ could get little OF that | should feel content
We have had four or five kinds Of storms ;
/ wind rain, hail and SNOW, and squalls Of all kind
| never was out in a bad squall bat once and that
vas on an occasion when tended a pair of twins
for couple Of hours. thought at one time those
twins would blow away, and [ was rather disap-
/ pointed that ,hoy ala not
must not let this letter 20 without mentioning
something about sea legs, and whenever | allude
to that subject always think Of the ballet girls in
the Black Crook | am not writing these letters
to old sailors, who know all about these things,
but TO people who like myself never were at sea
and who have no idea how different it is from going
stragberrying. had read all about the ocean
when it was angry and Ilshed into foam but
my conception of it was. 10 say the least little
crude | will not say now that | have seen it
when Il was real angry. hut if it was not q little
provoked about something all da. YESTERDAY then
| don't know anything of woman's temper
suTmise that the term rough pertains more to the
way the green hand is treated than to the sea it
| self 1t will watch the passenger and if he gets
| little off his guard it will throw him about in the
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