Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-09-15
HIS MATCH.

the bark Vixen. She was q good
vessel and a safe One-built FOR SER
vice-and | made many trips in her.
1t was while [ was on board the
Vixen that an incident occurred which
never comes back to me without bring
ing me to an outright laugh. Iloaded
Liverpool. Among my crew was q
man named Ben. Bosworth, but more
commonly known as "Ben Buster"
He was one of the largest-framed men
ever saw, and one of the strongest.
He stood six feet and four inches in
his stockings, and was bulky in pro-
portion. And he was as willing as he
was strong. At loading CT unloading
he did the work of two ordinary men,
and he was ever ready to do the same
in sharp pull at sea. In disposition
he was of the kindest, and I don't
think he knew what it was to feel
malevolence or real revengefulness.
He was q Yankee of the decided type,
having come from somewhere on the
Penobscot, down in the state of
Maine.
And yet Ben. Bosworth was pos
sessed of two grave faults. He had an
inordinate pride of physical strength,
and he was passlonateiy fond of prac-
tical ioking-said Joking being general
" of the 70 bustous order. [ have seen
him seize a poor fellow by the legs and
swing him around his head as gym
mast would swing a club, at the immi-
nent risk of dashing out his brains
against g. mast or bulwarks, and then
roar with laughter at the victims ter
ror. The Selling of half the crew, one
after another, by the nape of the neck
and the waist band, and tossing them
over his head Was an every day occur
renee. Once the whole crew, sixteen in
number, banded together with a sworn
determination to throttle the Buster
and bind him and put him in the long
boat. They tackled him from behind
In the lee gangway, and the result was
that of the sixteen conspirators seven
boat and nine were dropped into the
hold.
Of course [ expostulated with Ben,
and ordered him not to repeat certain
acts of dangerous violence upon the
crew; but he could not hold in. The
love of fun and the disposition to ex-
hibit his strength were firmly rooted.
He did not realize how unpleasant he
made it for others. The crew tried
many ways to punish him, such as
drenching him with cold sea water
while he slept, tripping him in the
dark, and so on; but all to no pur-
pose. He LAUGHED at their attempts
and paid them off with interest.
On my return to Mobile I found
another load of cotton ready for me,
and | was requested to fill up and be
off as quickly as possible. My crew
helped me load, and then all save Ben.
Bosworth came in a body and de-
clared to me that they would not sail
IN the Vixen again unless Ben. Bos-
worth was discharged. I was UMPIRE
pared for this. These men had not
yet shipped for another voyage. I
could not afford to loose them nor did
I take kindly to the thought of losing
Ben. At heavy work he was a host
in himself. I asked the men to wait
until the next day. / did not blame
them, for knew that Ben. gave them
no peace of their lives.
AT first thought I would try and
get Ben. to swear to me that he would
hold in, but gave up the idea as of
no use. 1t was growing dark, and I
had about come to the conclusion
that | must give the Buster his walk
ing ticket, when an idea struck me in g.
new spot. Up the river, not more
than fifteen miles away, lived broth
er Of mine, owning one of the finest
plantations in the county. He had
just the man Iwanted-or he did have
such a man the last time saw him.
hired horse and rode to my broth
er's that evening, and the man who
came out with a lantern to care for
my horse was the very lad / sought.
He was called Cato. He was negro,
about 80 years of age and built after
the fashion of a Devon bull. He had
the reputation of being the strongest
man in Alabama. and I think he was.
He was not over five feet and ten
inches in height, and to look at him in
his slouchy apparel one would not
mistrust his immense physical pow
or. But, stripped, he was marvel to
behold. His muscles lay like so many