Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1883-11-29
A SAILORS YARN.

1t was the heighth of the summer
season at Newport; the bay was
crowded with yachts of all sizes and
descriptions, and the docks were filed
with ancient "sea-dogs" that spat to-
bacco juice and lied in the most pic
turesque manner necessarily. 1t was
marvellous to observe how those an
cient mariners slid around the truth
without touching it. They seemed
to have distaste for plain narrative,
and embellished their yarns with
many imaginative freights that i'm
proved the story, but ruined it as an
undeniable fact. One old barnacle
shook the ashes out of his pipe,
turned to his mates, and sald,-
Ibid you ever hear of the loss of
the Lotus?"
NO." responded one.
81 did hear something about it,"
spoke up a decrepit fossil, when 1
was boy"
"Well," said the first mentioned
barnacle, 81 was the sole survivor Of
that wreck; an awful time l had.
The Lotus was fruit schooner, that
made trips between Newport and the
Mediterranean ports. You boys (the
youngest appeared about forty)
don't remember when Newport used
to be a shipping headquarters, and
thirty OF forty vessels in the harbor
were a common sight. Well, this
ere Lotus was reg'lar Baltimore
clipper-looked for all the world like
slaver-lsw in the water, painted
black, and the size of her spars
looked enormous from the outside
raking way aft, just like the Portugee
fellows that used to sail from Sierra
Leone on the Guinea coast. On deck
she was neat as a pin, and carried a
long Tom forward, with four carron-
ades, to repel any little advances the
Barbary pirates might want to make !;
and they were terror.
"There were twenty-three in the
schooner, all told; we had to carry a
big crew for emergencies, and Lord !!
how fruit trips paid in those days! 1t
was poor captain or mighty hard
luck if the owners couldn't get the
cost of the vessel out of couple of
trips.
eve sailed from here one Friday
morning" A unanimous groan tes-
tilted to the feeling Of the listeners.
"None of US wanted to sail, but the
captain had everything aboard, the
wind was blowing fresh to south ard
and 90 he would. We all prophecied
bad luck, but little thought at that
time l would be the only man te
come home alive out Of that whole
ships company. We soon cleared
land, and everything went smilingly
for five or six hours, and then oul
troubles commenced; there was &
crash aloft, and down came the gaf
of the foresail, strikin' Jenny Boyce
one of the crew, in its descent, ant
killin' him dead'n a mackerel. No
body knew why it came down; th'
throat halliards had parted half way
up the mast-a clean break-no slgr
of the rope being stranded or weak
and the throat had come down with
run, fetching the gaff blocks kerchunl
against the mast, lowering them 81
the whole thing broke away.
1--WE repaired damages and burie'
poor Jenny at sea, and he leavin'
wife and little darter only a fev
hours afore wishin' him a safe return
There were many a wet eye in tn
crew as Jenny slid over the gratin'
He were the kindest-hearted man ant
the best fiddler as ever sailed OUT
Newport harbor.
1.-THE third day out Frank Brigg
tumbled off'n the yard, for th
schooner were brigantine rugged, an
carried yards; he were hurt very bad
and died two days later. Right al
terward we caught squall, and tw
men and the first mate were washe
overheard; only one cry We heard
E and they was gone forever. fhe
4 some Of the old fellows commence
e to weaken, and were for going to th
captain to put back, but the younk
: ers don't have all the experience an
I superstitions, as they call 'em of U
old folks, and they were for keepir