The Republican journal., 1882-05-11
The Judas Iscariot.

|
That was an extraordinary name,
said l.
"'Strornary craft, "replied the captain
as he absorbed another inch and a half OF
| niggerhead. "Im neither profane man
or an irreverend; but sink my jig if
don't believe the sperrit of Judas posses
sed thet schooner. Hey, Amm 2"
The young man addressed as Ammi
was seated upon mackerel barrel. He
deliberately removed from his Ii ps black
| brierwood and shook his head with great
| gravity,
The Cap'n' said Ammi, lis neither a
protane or an irreverend. What be says
he mostly knows; but when he sinks his
Jig he's alters to be depended on"
Fortified with this neighborly estimate
of character, Captain Cram proceeded
'N on larf at the idee of schooner's soul
Perhaps you hey sailed 'em forty odd
year up and down this here coast, an
'Quainted yourself with their dispositions
an habits of mind Hey Amm ?"
The Cap'n," explained the gentleman
on the mackerel keg chez tshed for forty
six year. He's numbered and he's iced.
When the Cap'n sees fit for to talk about
schooners he understands the subjeck."
My friend" said the captain, "a
schooner has a soul like a human being,
but considerably broader of beam, W Wheth-
el for good or for evil. | aint a-goin' to
Deny thet prayed for the Judas in Tues
day'n Thursday evenin' meetin week
arter week an month arter month.
;iint a-goin' to deny thet interested Dea-
no 10 4np bor
demption. 1t was no use, my friend
even the Deacon's powerful p'titions were
clear waste
| ventured to inquire in what manner
this vessel had manifested its depravity.
The narrative which | heard was the
story of demon of treacheTy with three
masts and a iibboom.
The Flying Sprite was the first three
master ever built at Newaggen, and the
last. People shook their heads over the
experiment. "NO good can come of such
h clitter," they said. "It's contrary to
natur. Two masts is masts enough
The Flying Sprite began its career OF
base improbity at the very moment Of its
birth. Instead of launching decently
into the element for which it was design
fd the three masted schooner slumped
through the ways into the mud and stuck
there for three weeks, causing great eX-
pense to the owners, of whom Captain
! Trumbull Cram was one to the extent OF
an undivided third. The Oraces of New
aggen were confirmed in their forebod-
ings. Two masts is masts enough to
sail the sea, they said; ''the third is the
devils hitchin' post"
On the first voyage of the Flying Sprite
Capt. Cram started her for Philadelphia,
loaded with ice belonging to himself
and Lawyer SWanton; cargo uninsured.
Ice Was worth SIX dollars a ton in Phila
delphia: this particular ice cost Captain
Cram and Lawyer SWantOn eighty five
cents a ton shipped, including sawdust.
They were happy over the prospect. The
FLYING Sprite cleared the port in beauti-
ful shape, and then suddenly and silently
went to the bottom in Fiddler's Reach in
eleven feet Of salt water. 1t required
only six days to float her and pump her
put, but owing to certain Incompatible
ity between ice and salt water, the sal
wage consisted exclusively Of sawdust.
On her next trip the schooner carried
a deckload Of lumber from the St. CroiX
river. 1t was in some sense a consecrat-
ed cargo, for the lumber was intended for
a new Baptist meeting house in southern
New Jersey. If the prayertul hopes OF
the navigators, combined with the prayer
tul expectations Of the consignees had
aValed, this voyage at least would have
been successfully made. But about sixty
miles southeast of Nantucket the Flying
Sprite encountered a mild September
gale. She ought to have weathered it
with perfect ease, but she behaved SO
abominably that the church timber was
scattered over the surface of the Atlantic
ocean from about latitude 40 deg u
minutes to about latitude - deg. 80 min
utes. A month or two later she cOntriv-
cd to go on her beam ends under gentle
land breeze, dumping a lot Of expensive
ly carved granite from the Fox island
quarries into a deep hole in Long Island
sound. On the very next trip she turned
deliberately out Of her course in order to
smash into the starboard bow of a Nor
Wegian brig, and was consequently libeled
for heavy damages.
1t was after a few experiences of this
sort that Captain Cram erased the old
name from the schocner's stern and from
her quarter, and substituted that of Ju-
das Iscariot. He could discover no des-
ignation that expressed so we'll his con
temptuOus opinion of her moral qualities
She seemed animate with the spirit OF
| purpOseesS malice, Of malignant pertdy
! She was floating tub Of cussedness.
! y board of nautical experts sat upon
the Judas iscariot, but could find nothing
the matter with her physically. The
lines of her hull were all right, she was
| properly planked and cellared and calked
her spars were Of good Oregon pine, she
was rugged taut and trustworthy, and hel
canvas had been cut and stitched by g
| God fearing sailmaker. According to al
theory, she ought to have been perfectly
! responsible as to her keel. In practice
She was frightfully cranky. Sailing the
Judas lscariot was like driving a horse
with more vices than hair in his tail
She always did the unexpected thing, eX-
tept when bad behavior was expected o1
her on general principles. If the idea
was to lutf, she would invariably fall off
| if to jibe, she would come round dead il
| the wind and hang there like Moham-
med's coffin. Sending man to haul the
iib sheet to the windward was sending 6
man on torlorn hope; the .jib habitually
picked up the venturesOme navigator
and, after shaking him viciously in the
air for second or two, tossed him over
| board. A boom never crossed the decl
without breaking somebody's head. Star
on whatever course she might, the schoon
er was certain to run before long into ont
ofthree things, namely, some other vessel
/ a fog bank, or the bottom. From the day
on which she was launched her scent fol
q good, sticky mud bottom was unerring
In the clearest weather fog followed an(
enveloped her as misfortune follows wick
edness. Her presence on the Banks was
enough to drive every Goldfish to the coas
Of Ireland. The mackerel and porgie!
were always where the Judas Iscario
! was lot. 1t was impossible to circum
vent the schooner's fixed purpose to ruiz
| everybody who chartered her. If char
tered to carry deck load, she spilled it
| If loaded between decks, she dived an(
| spoiled the cargo. She was like one O