The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1884-06-12
BEANs AND BIG FISHES.
Yarns Worth Telling Reeled or by a
Sailor Man,

''Look alive, now!' shouted a red
faced sailor to waiter in Water
street restaurant. M
''Aye, aye, sir, replied the waiter,
taking the captains measure and mark
ing him mentally for plate of corned
beef and cabbage. ''Wot shall bring
alongside?"
''Bring me dish of Marblehead tur-
key, and look alive" repeated the
customer, who moment later was
deep in the mysteries of baked beans.
That's new name for beans, isn't
it?'' inquired person at the same
table.
my father called 'em So" replied
the skipper. ''I'm Beverly man my
self, and we consider that aour beans
lie a trifle closer to the wind when close
hauled than Oh the east coast. Beans
is the mainstay of New England folks.
They talk about fish maxim brains; |
tell We it's beans. Why, Lord bless We!
Look around here in New York. Look
III your prosperous Americans. They re
most of EN- bean-eatin' Yankees. De-
prve Down Easter of his beans, and
| tell We you hit him where the cop
pcr's off. Ever hear the story of Capt.
elder and skipper both-a mighty pious
maitland once he took a trip as far as
New York; big thing for him. Wall,
they got struck with contrary winds,
and blowed off shore about fifty miles.
Along comes one of these Cunarders,
and seein' the schooner flynn her col
ors union down in distress, they slows
up and sends off boat, and after
hard pull in q heavy sea-way they halls
the schooner, and the mate sings aout:
Schooner ahoy! Ye sinkin'? Not
quite SO bad,' sings aout the elder.
but we're aout o. beans. Kin We let
US have q pot?' Wall, they say that
that mate nearly bust his windpipe
swearin'. There WAS poetry writ on
that" added the skipper.
BY yourself?" asked his listener.
''Wall, tell ye," replied the cap
tain, "between you and me it was writ
by chap by the name of Jumper in
the Sailors Own Book, in Gloucester,
but ordinary, when | spins the yarp,
it's supposed I'm the one that writ it.
Some o. the lines wants lin and over
haulin', but it's wot they call blank
verse. 1t goes like this:
a ship once crossing over the sea-
Made a hundred miles or so from shore,
When craft WAS one day seen that bore
Her flag reversed, while galnst the mast
The torn sails tiuttered as the wind rushed
past.
"Out with he boat?" the captain cried,
Aud the seamen dartcd over the side;
Their oars fell in with u regular dip,
As they rapidly ncared the silent ship.
When they reached the deck a sight met their
Which made them start with fearful sur
prise.
All around on the deck the crew were lying,
And grooming aloud as tho'ihey were dying;
The captain alone on n hen-eoop sat,
With his face in his hands and Il weed on his
He gazed on them all with a blood-shot eye,
And the crew looked up with heartrending
sigh.
"Say, why do you raise the flag of distress,
And sit around deck in idlcness?
Are you out of food? Have you used up your
Have You eot, the plague? Or what is the
niaIter?'
1--WE came from Beverly, and that signal
That for fuil three days we've been out of
beams
'.That's poetry wot is poetry" said
the skipper, ''but food never bothered
me much. was always lookin' aout
for fish, and I've got the name of fin
gering the biggest fish agoin'. l
brought - halibut into Boston once that
weighed over 600 pounds. l reckon
| that beats the deck. I've seen seven
halibut that weighed together 1882
pounds taken by the schooner John
| Dove in 1871"
"What was the largest Goldfish you
ever caught?' asked the listener.
"Hundred and four pounds, was the
reply, land it was over five foot long.
But Capt. Martin, of Gloucester, caught
the biggest that / ever heard on. 1t
weighed Ill pounds. I've caught
lobster that weighed 20 pounds, and =
horse mackerel weighing 600 pounds.
1 once tackled onto the biggest fish in
the world" continued the skipper.
"a whaleP' asked the other.
"a whale amt q fish," retortcd the
man of the sea. ''This one, reckon,
was dcvil-iish-Onc o. these 'erc
broadside fellows thirty foot across, all
beam, and drawin' abaout six inches.
We was lynn in harbor. when l see
| big ripple movin' araound, and think
ing it a big horse mackercl jumps in
to the boat and gifts the lads TO pull
near it, and when alongside | tosses
the iron into it, and Lord bless We! l
though the hull reef was arisin' A fish
riz that looked like the vessel herself,
and in minute we was a-rushin'
! daown the channel in u way that was
caution to sinners. The channel
went araound an island, and as we
came around the second time the fish
went right for the brig. l see we was
;-goin' to hit and sings aout. "Cut the
roper but the man didn't have any
knife. Cast it Off says /. It's
spliced to the painter, says he, and un-
der water That minute we struck.
The fish dove under the brig, and we,
not bcin' able to dive, kind O. tele-
scoped. The dingy just smashed all
to pieces. We fell into the water, and
was hauled aboard by the hands, and
the pieces kept comm up all day.
1.-The fish? Wall, l reckon he's
a-goin' yet. Some of 'em are thirty
feet across, and have kind O. horns at
the head, and often git foul O. anchor
and chains, and hauls vessels along
just rs if they was boats. ."-Ne,0 York
Sun.
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