Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1886-11-19
I'm the Fire Room.

reporter OF an engineer of one OF the
swiftest ocean racers that ply between
this country and England.
Gas long as anybody" was the unex-
pected reply.
"How do they like their work.
'If they don't like their work they |
get out; there are eplenty willing TO take I
their places" was the answer. Butt is
hard to persuade the average landsman
that the stoker's life is not shortened by
constant exposure 10 extreme tempera'
ture. Transatlantic passengers who
have braved the intense heat of the FUR
naces and visited the fire room wonder
how men can endure such life even
for voyage. Tie stokers work for
hours at stretch, hemmed in between
two long lines of furnaces that keep the
temperature ordinarily ut l20 degrees
and sometimes sending IL rs high as l6O.
The space between the furnaces Is SO
narrow that when the men throw the
coal they must take care when they
swing back their shovels lest they
should burn their arms on the furnsc es
behind them. The only means OF ven
tilation is one long air-pipe That reaches
down into the centre of the stoker's
quarters, and on big steamer the men
have TO take the air in patches. On II
great ocean steamer like the Umbria the
men come on in gangs of eighteen stok-
ers and twelve coal-passers, aud the
watch lasts four hours. The Umbrla
has seventy-tYo furnaces which require
nearly three hundred and fifty tons oi
coal "A day, at cost OF nearly twenty
thousand dollars per voyage. One nun
dred and four men are employed TO man
the furnaces, and they have enough TO
do. They include the chief engineer,
his three assistants and ninety stokcrs
and coal passers.
The stoker comes on to " ork wearing
only thin undershrt, light trousers
and wooden shoes. On the Umbria
each stoker tends four furnaces. lie
irst rakes open the furnaces, losses In
the coal, and cleans the fire; that IL,
prizes the Goals apart with heavy iron
bar in order that the fire may burn
freely. lie rushes from one furnace TO
another perhaps spending two or three
| minutes at each Then he dashes To the
air pipe, takes his turn at cooling OF,
and waits for another call to his fire,
which comes speedily. When the
"watch" ia oyer the men shuttle of,
dripping with sweat from head to foot,
through long cold galleries TO the fore
castle, where they turn In for eight
hours. Four hours Of scorch,ng aud
eight hours sleep make up The
routine OF a stoker's life on II voyage.
The reporter ran across group oi
stokers in West street, and had chat
with one of them. 81 went TO sea rs
coal. passer when was fourteen years
old" he said-"Then got to be sto'
| ker, anu dlD uON twenty -S'b"''
speaker was about six in height and
weighed one hundred and eighty pounds
or more. His. face was ruddy with
health, aud his eyes beamed with good
nature. His robust appearance was III
strong contrast to that of some Of his
mates who had just landed from voy-
age. pale, streaked. out, listless looking
set of men.
Chow do we stand the work? Well
enough IL we get plenty TO eat. But the
work is terribly hard, all the same. IL
comes hardest, Of course, OH those who
don't follow it regularly. They are
fellows who get played out so badly.
heard once of \ young English doctor
who came over here on visit. He got
out of money and was that proud that
he wouldn't senG home for some. 30
he worked his way back as stoker and
got q sickness that he never got rid of'
But II we get plenty to eat and take care
of curse. yes we are all right. Here's a
mate of mine nearly seventy years old
who has been a stoker all lis life, and
can do as good work az can. Stoker'
never have the consumption and rarely
catch cold"
"why do you appear more healthy
than the other men here?" questioned
the eporter.
"well, have been OF land now about
two weeks, and these men just came OIL
the ship. Yon see when we finish our
watch at the furnaces, We are just COW
cred with sweat, dirt and oil, and We
have to wash the stuff OF with warm
water. Wishing so much with warm
water gives US that streaked-ont look
that makes people think we are being
killed with consumption. But after we
have been laid oh land three or four
days that look disappears and tie men
look natural again. We get more ven
tilation than the Old-tiners use TO get,
but we don't have any tGO moch. tell
you when usSS " =" NV" 49, 49,
tropics wanted to keep under the air
pipe all could. Now go to Europe
aud back, and have four furnaces to
tend. Four hours is just about as much
as we can stand before the fires. 1t
uses some Of the man up SO badly that
when the watch 10 over they can just
crawl to the forecastle aud throw them
selves on their hunks without washing
Bit. But others OF Us don't mind Il so
much. We heat our water, take l. wash
and then have pipe or two before turn
ing in.-N. y. Tribune.
"Pye been riding OH the limited cattle