Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-02
SAILORS WHO CANNOT SWIM.
Arythssg F1onttnD Enough for Most or
1hesss, Except When Knocked off q Shin or
StnNned-Streagth and Science Useless in


Them, Except When Knocked off a Ship or
Stunned and Science Useless in
a Sea.
New York SUM-
Back of the wholesale fish market in
South street float great many fish cars
big crates, the upper surfaces of which are
flush with the water. Beyond and among
the crates are trim little fishing smacks.
Outside the smacks, against the long piers.
are big vessels with bowsprits high in the air
over the smacks and the cars and the ami
mated lot of boys diving from the crates.
There is space enough for the boys to dive.
swim and splash to their hearts content.
Seventy boys were in the water one after
noon last week, all at once, in a state of
entire nudity and wild hilarity. The space
between the wagons on the northern pier
were filed with spectators. Among them
was grim, old sailor maN, who eyed the
boys with manifest disfavor, and growled
something about ''wharf-rats.''
Gan You swimy" a reporter asked.
"A little" he replied, grufiy.
Then you must understand how the
boys enjoy it, He only grunted.
And in addition to the pleasure of it.
think OF how useful the knowledge of
swimming may be some day to them.
Some of them may grow up to be sailor
men,
"Swimmin' amt no good to sailor
man:' he retorted in a tone of contempt.
mot three sailor men out of ten knows
how to swim. A sailor man wants to be
able to catch hold of a ropes end with his
eyelids if need be for to stay aboard his
vessel. His businass amt in the water.
And Ii he gets overheard in the middle of
the broad Atlantic what good is his swim
min goin' to do him? He might as we'll
go down at once and be done with it,
"But if he could keep himself up while
he might be saved''
/ well, they'd most likely chuck him
something to float if it was any use."
Capt. Charles Hutchinson of the ship G.
81. Marshall, late from Liverpool, said Il
hardly think the old sailors estimate of
the proportion of men of his calling who
cannot swim Is quite correct. But am
convinced that more than half of them
cannot. Often they will pretend to be able
to swim when in reality they cannot. not
at least to amount to anything. I have
lost good many men at sea. and never
saw but one saved yet by his swimming
rough weather. It was in 80 or go
was bound out eastward in the Isaac w
The wind backed around contrary, the
was heavy, We were under low canvas.
the ship was plunging great d
The ma e MT man out on
bowspritt End to secure the tack flashing
the foreGopmast staysail, and while he
ia there the ship made plunge and the
man was washed overheard. We could
not get life buoy to him. but he vas q
kanaka and he knew how to swim, as all
those hanakas do, like a fish. I rounded
the ship to, lowered boat and picked him
up. He had been half an hour in the
water before he was rescued, but brought
him into the cabin, gave him drink and
got him warm, and in three hours be was
as we'll as if nothing of the sort had ever
happened. That was the only case I re-
member now where was enabled to save
the life of a man overheard. and certain
ly could not have saved him if he had not
known how to swim.
! Coming back from California two OF
three voyages ago I had singular expe-
rience. I had aboard darky from some
of those Pacific isles that 1 had shipped in
San Francisco. He had big straw hat,
and coming up through the tropics one day
just as he was near me ae lost it overheard.
l said to him iokingly, J wouldn't lose a
good hat like that. Why don't you jump
after it, l hadn't the faintest idea of
meaning such a thing; but no sooner said
than done-overboard the darky went
like fash. He caught his hat; we hove
to, threw him a bovine. and hoisted him
aboard grinning. But the sea was very
calm, and We were hardly moving. 1t was
nothing like the other case / spoke of.
Eight or nine years ago. one voyage, lost
three men overheard in one gale of wind,
and in the old times. when we used to
carry the single topsails. we lost
man on nearly every voyage. Those
sails were so very heavy and big that they
were hard to handle, particularly when the
wind baliooned them out. If man got up
on the yard to reef aud the sail hit him a
slap, overheard he would go, stunned and
helpless. 1t doesn't make any odds how
good a swimmer a man is if he goes into
water stunned in q gale of wind. he is
pretty certain to be drowned. Since the
double topsail yards were substituted for
that old rig have lost no more men in
that way, and, in fact, have not lost man
for several years until about year ago,
when had the misfortune to lose my mate
The jib sheet knocked him overheard, and
probably stunned him. We rounded to and
lowered a boat as quickly as possible.
] We could see his soa'wester in the water,
and supposed his head was under it, but it
wasn't when the boat got there, and.
| though we saved the sou'wester, we never
saw the man again.
Sailors never seem TO think Of the fact
that they cannot swim when ordered on
the most dangerous duty. They never OBJ
iect to going aloft when they can get
there. Sometimes they cannot go. On
my last voyage from New York 10 Liver
pool. Off the Banks. we were caught in
such gale that the men were fattened out
like spread eagles on the rigging, and lit
orally could not climb aloft. Swimming
would not have been much use to man
overheard in that sea. Still, believe that
not only every sailor, but every man should
be able to swim, as the knowledge might
enable him to save his life when otherwise
it would inevitably be LOST
Capt j. G. Morrison. Of 50 South street,
ships annually great many men for the
most hazardous OF sea service on board
whaling vessels and for exploring expedi-
tons. 1t was he who furnished the picked
crevs for tho Jaanuaffa and for tho Schuo Of