, 1884-09-13
ABOARD A STEAMSHIP.
An Old sailor's Unhappy Experiences
on a 'sTea Kettle"
He Got Tired or the s.xvind JAM
mers" and Tried n Steamer
- a Kind OF
Rest


SAY, you Teller, / amt no kicker" said an
old sailor 10 a reporter as they met on West
street, sbut I'm blowed II you ever catch me
aboard of one OF thess hare steamships again
What's The matteri Wen. there's matter
enough. I've been 70 sea man and boy for
the last twenty-five years, and I've sailed LIZ
every Kind OF craft that floats In the water
from a sugar drosher to China tea clipper,
and now I've tried these bloomin' tea-kettlea
l amt no hog. and know when I've got
enough How did l come to &c in ono Of
emf I'll tell you how, md III tell you how ]
Jared.
erm getting old now. and tired knocking
round the world Ia wind jammerk So |
thought I'D take IN one OF these steamers as a
kind O. rest. l made one viynge, and I've
got enough Of that kind Of
rest 70 last me the balance Of
my life, and don't you forget it I'll Just
give you an idea Of what you nave to do. In
the first place, they don't stand watch and
watch at all It's all day on and all night
off-at least that's what they tell you-bu
mostly it's all day and all night on. You
turn to at 4 o'clock La the morning and wash
down the decks. We carried about 400 steer
age passengers, and l tell you for the first
two or three days out it was sickening the
way them poor devils carried on Well,
we'd get washed down about 8 O'Clock, and
thsn we'd knock oil for coffee. Wed have a
panniktn Of coffee and two or three ship bis
cults. At half-past 5 we are turned
to again and three days in the
week holystone the decks. What Is
holystonin'i A holystone Is a heavy
stone with a handle TO II, that you drag up
and down the deck 10 make il while. There
are two kinds One with a regular wood
handle, or long ropes on both sides that two
-. L.AN I-aNl aaA 4 Tu.a
kind is called a bible, becauss you can stand
up TO Il The other kind Is q heavy stone
with a beckett on it that you kneel down and
work by yourself They call that a prayer
book.
After wa get through holystonin' we are
knocked of for breakfast There's no use
talkin'; they do feed you well aboard them
hookers. For breakfast we had fresh meat
and salt meat You could take your choica-
Then there was all the murphys that you
could eat Why, %murphys are white
potatoes We had soft tommy and hard
tack, and butter and coffee. oh, there was
no discount on the grub. But they have the
worst lot Of sailors | ever fell against.
Dutchmen, Italians, dagoos, and everything
else but Americans. We carried twelve men
and two boys before the mast, and Their
was only one American besides me, and ht
wa u AAhktAH AAaJ Az I'll tAI1N W 4
ever fell in with. After breakfast we were
turned TO and set to work at Scrubbing paint
work and polishing Lrass work. OF all the
unholy Jobs I ever struck that's the won't
Why, you get the soapy water IN your ey
and your hands get as soft aud white as
washerwounan's Why, just look at my
hands" and the old salt stuck out a fist about
the color OF ii ,vell-cured ham, and as bard
as a piece OF sole leather.
After receiving the condolance of tho 10
porter, he continued; well, that sort OF
business kept up TIL half past . In the after
noon, except when we were eating dinner.
At half past 8 we was knocked of for sup
per, and after that we had to lay aft and
taxi In the awnings on the quarterback.
You'd think that was enough work for one
day, wouldLt youl But It amt, for every
man Jack has to stand his hours lookout al
night We was bound for Aspinwan, and OF
all tho hot places / ever was In, the foksel
OF that hooker was tho hottest. 1t was on
the saloon deck, chocke blocks forraId, and
as dark as Egypt There was steam
pipes running through It to heai
it in cold weather, l guess Half the
time the bloomin' thing was out Of fix, and
we'd have a full head OF steam OF when the
thermometer was 100 degrees on deck. You
can guess what 1t felt like. We had 10 SLEEP
in the bloomin' place, because the spar deck
was full Of passengers. Then in most Of TIT
ports where we'd stop the men would have to
stow cargo. Did YOU evor handle green
hides when the thermometer was way above
a huEdredi No. Wen, you'd never want to
do it but once No, sir, as l said before, ]
amt ~ hog, and wind iamning Is plenty
good enough for me"
And the old sailor walked slowly down to
a Shipping office, breathing ont nautical
curse against steamships IN general, and the
Une on which he sailed in particular.