Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1882-08-19

! put me inside of a new suit of clothes,
stuck pipe in my mouth, an sez.
There, you're safe an sound forever,
an God bless your soul !!
The old man shook his head slowly,
and the others puffed sympathetically
at their pipes. Then the one-legged
old mariner struggled up, and whip
| ping out his spy-glass with resound-
ing clatter, sighted a row-boat cable
lengths distant, and muttered, in a
| husky bass, (Which no shattered hulk
kin find better haven fur ter haul up
an rot in than Sailors Snug 'Arbor,
late Cap'n Randall in command !" Then
he slammed his glass together and
growled 81 was riddled with shot
and shell runnin' the lower blockade,
an what did my country do for me-?
Left me ter soak in a swamp, an when
| cum out l starved till / struck the
'Arbor, since which amt 10 call fur
to make remarks when there's supe-
rior OFFICER present, myself being q
seamun."
This delicate reference to the former
captain of the Percy b. was accom-
panied by graceful wave of the hand,
and the one-eyed and wooden-legged
old sailor dropped back in his seat with
the air of a man conscious of having
acted in a way that was calculated to
show Of all his best qualities at once.
"There are a great many old sailors
here" the writer said.
"There are 7SS old seamen sheltered
here who would otherwise be starvin'
in the streets" answered the old cap
tain. Ten are more than ninety
years old, and nearly all are over sixty
years. There's no distinction in race
or color, there bein' thirty-two ma
tions represented, an forty-odd nigger
seamun taken care of equal to any white
men"
"An' Jaxon," interrupted the one
eyed old tar.
eyes, an full CODED Indian sail
or, which his name is Jaxon," added
the old man. There are also all
grades. Twenty-six cap'ns are proud
to call the 'Arbor 'ome, and there's no
end of under officers, down to nigger
cook. Besides these, there's nearly
fifty blind seamun, as many in the hos
pital, an twenty gone insane"
You don't lack variety"
" No more we do, sir. )"
"Who built the Harbor %
The old man carefully filled his pipe
afresh, and settled himself comfortable.
"Ive been here many years, an l
know the place from maln-truck to
keelson," he said, slowly. ct was
founded in 1901, by Cap'n Richard Ran
dali, as home fur aged an infirm sea
nun. To support the instertooshun he
lett farm in New York City, which in
those days was so far out of town that
many people couldn't locate it. 1t con-
sistered of twenty-one acres, sir, which
they are bounded to-day by Fourth
street an' Ninth street an Broadway an
University place, with n few acres east
of Broadway, on which Stewa arts store
stands. Old Cap'n Randall bought this
property for 81, 500, an afterward sold
it to the first Jacob Brevoort for S., 900;
but the old Knickerbocker cancelled the
the bargain, an the property was showed
back on Cap'n Randalps hands. The
City Record now values that property
higher than 800, 100000 The income,
in course, is consequently enormous,
an can't be used up, no matter how
much buildin' is done here. It goes
to prove, accordin' to my calcula-
ton, that the Almighty favored this
home for weary seamun, fur the home
was needed, an nothing but good luck
attended it from the first. That is, |
mean, after the first struggle; for, you
must know, there was storm at the
start. Cap'n Randall had nevvies an
nieces, an he wasn't cold under ground
before they began to test the will. But
that will was drawn up by two lawyers
who knew what they was about. They
died before your day, sir, but l make
no doubt you've heard the names of the
Hon. Alexander Hamilton and Daniel
d. Tompkins. The nevvies an nieces
of the good Cap'n contested that there
will until 1881, when the Supreme Court
declared that it was sound as oak. The
'Arbor was then put under way with
Board CT Trustees accordin' to the wishes
of Cap'n Randall. The Board consisted
of the Chancellor of the State, the
Mayor of New York, an the President
of the Chamber of Commerce, to look
after the mercantile interests the Pres
ident an Vice President of the Marine
Society, fur to keep weather eve open
to the welfare of the seamun and the
rector of Trinity an the pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church, fur to repre-
sent the religious element. That is the
way OF Cap'n Randall wanted the Board
to stand in 1901, an that's how she
stands in 1882, with the exception of
the Chancellor of the State, which office
has been abolished accofdin' TO law. If
any man thinks that Cap'n Randall
didn't have level head when he ont
lined that there Board, let him speak. +"
''No man." gurgled the one-eyed
sailor, huskily, "doubts the word of the
cap'n of the Percy b."
'That Board laid the corner stone of
the main building on October 81, 1881.
and Jim Hemen, the first inmate, was
admitted on the 10th of the follering
month, accordin' to the record of the
same, which I've read fur twenty year.
Since that time there has been exactly
eighteen hundred aged an infirm sea
mum admitted. The eighteen -hundredth
one came to-day, an eat so much din
ner that he made some joyful Jokes, an
went to sleep in an easy chair by the
south side window of the dining hall.
never saw so contented man as he was,
He sez he Travelled from Charleston
afoot to get here, an now he's satisfied.
Well, as was sayin', good luck follered
the Cap'n's lines from the start. The
trustees, when they bought this place
! in 81, paid for 166 acres just S16, 500.
Now the same DrOOertv yyould hrino,