National Republican., 1882-09-04
OLD SALTS" ASHORE.
TEMpEsT-TosssD MEN IN HARBoR.
An Interesting Sketch or the Sailors Snug
Home on Staten Island-Incidcnts or Ad-
miral Farrasut, cold Dave Porter"
and Other Naval Heroes.


mlral Farragut, cold Dave Porter"
and Other Naval Heroes.
A group of weather.bcnt old sailors sat In the
shade of generous elm on the nlrth shore of
Staten Island, and placidly smoked their pipes in
the heat of the d-day sun. They were battered
and MANNED and aged, and showed the effects of
tempestuous lives In wrinklcd faces and knCtted
hands, but they smoked in the calm contentment
OF men who had 10 further cares, and were pleas
antly drifting onward without anxiety. Before
them was the Kill Won Kull, alive with craft of
every kind, from the monstrous excursion steam
ers, throbbing and humping heavily toward
Ceney Island to the slender racing shells that shot
spasmodically about. Occasionally a cleanly-
built yacht would lowl up the channel, with the
wnter kissing over her bows and bubbling wildly
astern, or stNnch freight schooner or brig would
sail majestcally by the little group of aged sea-
men lounging under the shady elm. Then ashort
and stumpy old man, with
TANNED FACE, WOODEN LEO,
and single eye, would struggle to his feet, whip
a rckety spy glass from his copious coat pocket,
and bring 1t TO bear gravely on the craft, though
II might bc less Than fifty feet away. His COM
panions always ceased taking when he did this,
aud looked up AT him with grave and porentous
interest When he had finished sighting the craft
the one-eyed old sailor would jam his glass to-
cether with resoundnG smack, drop 1t into his
pocket, and resume his seat with puised lips and
pnckered brow, HIS companions then looked
a! each other AMI slowly sh ok their heads, i'm
pyim,g iorfioiy tnat tie one. eyed sailor had his
scatter them broadcast to the. world. Within a
few feet back OF the tree was the shore road rum
ming around the island. Heavy men went whiZzing
ALONG BEHIND FAST TRoTTERs;
languid women rolled 10y in luxurious Victorias
syish youths, pcrcncd IN grotesqne dog-carts,
drove with their hands very high, and made earn
est efforts TO keep single glass fin the right eye;
brightly dressed glls nmbled gently IN piaetOns
and equestrinns bobhed jerkily along. and gared
fercely ut the slim boys who flashed silently but
daAinglyto 10 and fro on their spidrry bicycles.
But the old sailors sat with their eyes on the
wafer, AMI noticed nothing ashore On the inner
heavy pillars Of stone. Through It could be seen
more than twenty buldin s, large and small, ris.
Jug from closely.clpped lawns, and shaded by
beautiful old eims aud oaks. Carefully kept
hower-pots nnd level rows of box hedges broke
the monotony of the lawns, and cool paths wound
about under the trees. Scattered over the grounds
GROUPS OF ANCIENT sEA.FARING MEN
quietly chatting together, and invariably smoking
age, and several shadowcd hundred, but they
looked cheerful and happy, and spun yarns In.
t!erImiaably: ter One long row of marble steps that
hundred old tars smoking in the shade. Over the
marble portico that sheltered the steps were the
In the basement back Of The steps were % more ] old
sailors working indust'iously at making baskets,
weaving mats, or fashioning diminutive ships.
were fishing off the shore. Their were five old
men in the group under the shady elm. The old
est, a man of perhaps eighty years, had been a
captain In his younger days, but his tight leg
broIen by falling spar in gale Of wind aud he
was obliged to give up the sea.
az WENT HIGH AN / WENT Low,'
the old man said, "lookin' fur helpin' hand but
no one would give me lit. My leg was shat.
tered above the knee, an had to use two crutches
50 OF course was no god at sea. was left iii
| went over on the charity Of an oil shipmate 10
England, where / hoped to get relief from the
firm VIII which owned the Percy B. the ship sailed
pounds s.eriin'. an toll me not 10 come back. Then
Wandered about the docks lookin' fur my obi
fr.ends. didn't find EN-. No, 1t was no usc-lhcy
couldn't be found. hung around Liverpool fur
two year, an actually had to beg from door to
door-me us once commanded a ship! Then l
cum over to this side of the water, where first
started out to sea when boy. tell You 1t Went
hard with me fur q long time. had no relations
take care OF middle aged, crippled old seamun
PEDDLED MATCHES,
an hung around Water and South streets fur
years, giltin' lower all time. Sometimes I'd meet
some OF the old men that sailed before the mast
when was capn of the Percy b., an they'd give
me lit fur time. Well, got the rheumatism
in my joints, an il did appear to me as If there
sailors boardn'- house in Cherry street, who
knew me, sez one day. Try the Snug Arbor,' seq
In, an was only ffty- two; but went down, an
they took me IN because was crippled, an
washed me an shaved me, a n give me n room as
clean as the cagns cabin Of a man o-war,, an
pvt me inside Of a new suit Of clothes, stuck
pipe In my mouth, an see, There, you're safe an
sound forever, an God bless your soulr"
THE OLD MAN SHOOK HIS HEAD
slowly. and the others puffed sympathetically at
their pipes Theu the one.legged old mariner
struggled up and whipping, out his spyglass with
length distant and mutlered, in a husky bass,
(which no shattered hulk kin find better haven
m Ter sag Up am TSt in than Sailor snug A.
SLAMMED his glass together again and growled: ~
was ridded with shot an shell runnin' the lower
9loekade, an what did my country do fur mel
Len me ter soak in swamp, an when cum out
starved till struck the 'Arbor, since which /
amt no call fur ter make remarks when there's
q superior ohcer present, myself bein' sea-
This delicate reference to the former captain of
the Percy b. was accompanied by a graceful
wave OF the hand, and the oue.eyed and wooden
legged old sailor dropped back III his seat with the
air ofa man conscious of having acted in way
that was calculated to show off all his best quail
ties at once.
There are great many old sailors here" the
There's 7ss old seamen sheltered here who
would otherwise be staryin' in the Streets" an.
swered the old captain. "Ten are more than 80
There's no distinction Ia race or color there bein;
thirty-two nations represented, an forty odd
niger seamun taken care OF equal to any white
hnoh
AN Jaxon," interrupted the one-eyed old tar.
Yes, an a full. blooded Indian sailor, which
his name Is Jaxon," added the old man. "There
to call the Arbor ONE an there's no end ofunder
9hieers, down e, 70 Niger cook Besides thee
an y 9iaa as in the
"No more we do, sir"
"Who built the harbor?"
The old man carefully filled his pipe afresh and
settled himself com mortably.
place from main truck to ieeson" he said slowly
1T was found ed In 1901, by Capn Robert Richard
Randall ss home fur aged an 'infrm seamun. To
York city, which In those days was SO far out Of
town that many people couldn't locate it, 1t con-
sistered Of twenty acres, sir, which they are
bounded TO- day by Fourth street NJ Ninth street
an Broadway an University Place. with few
acres east of broadway. on which Stewards store
stands. Old Cupn Randall bought this property
for 81 800 an alterward sold Il 10 the first Jacob
BrevooIt for $1,000; but the old can
eeled the bargain, and the properly was showed
now values that property higher than s22 900, ,00Ol
The income, incourse, Is consequently enormous.
an cant be used up; no matter how much
buildin 10 done here. IL goes TO prove, accordin'
TO my calculation, that
THE ALMIGHTY FAVORED THIS HOUSE
for weary seamun, fur the home was needed, an'
nothin' but good luck attended 1t from the flrst.
That u.s. mean, after tAe first struggle; for YOU
must know, there was storm at the start Cap'n
Randall had nevyies an rieces, au' he wasn't cold
will But that will was drawn up by two lawyers
who knew what they was about. they died be-
heard the names Of the Hon Alexander Hamilton
aud Daniel d. Tomkins The nevyies an nieces
OF the good old Cap'n contested that there will
II was sound as oak The 'Arbor was then put put
under way with board oftrustees accordn' to the
WIS wishes OF Cnp,n Randall This board consisted Of
York, an the president of the Chamber Of Com
meEes to look after the mercantile interests; the