The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1886-02-17

We took a very early train from Mont
gomery for Mobile on Tuesday, January
Goth, and arrived at our destination
shortly after daylight.
MOBILE
Is a quaint old city on the Alabama
river, just above-almost at-the point
where it empties into Mobile Bay. 1t is
two miles from the uptown wharves to
the beach, and the bay is thirty miles
long, with an average width Of ten
miles. The city is situated on a very
level stretch of land-all the land around
there is level-and is a very strange sort
of place. I have never been in Cuba,
but Mobile looks to me just as I have
always imagined a Cuban city looks
The buildings are ever so old and an
cient looking particularly the resi-
dences-and most of the streets are mar
row and bordered with magnOlias and
live oaks. The residences are half-con-
cealed by southern trees, shrubs and
vines, are spider-webbed with iron bal
comics and piazzas, and surrounded by
by musty brick walls. In the center of
the city one square is made into a beau
tiful park, containing numerous iron
benches for the accommodation OF the
weary, and filled with a grove of mag
nifcent live oaks-gnarled old-timers
that must have been planted ever and
ever so long ago. The river channel is
deep enough to admit big ocean vessels,
and the wharves are always lined with
them; and lots of smaller water-craft of
all descriptions may also be seen. Oys-
ter vessels of various sizes are thicker
than hops, and schooners come from the
West Indies with loads and loads OF
oranges and other fruits. Fred Che was
another chum of mine) and I explored
the boats studied the rigging and watch
ed them load cotton and lumber. We
were two days in Mobile and we spent
nearly all the timo upon the shipping,
We went aboard the steamer IVandle, OF
Liverpool, and watched them stow away
cotton down in the hold. You'd hardly
believe how big a steamers hold looks
when you get down into it. I had al,
ways heard that sea.captains were chad
men" and so we hesitated for a long
time before striking up a conversation
with the curly and sandy-haired Anglo.
Saxon, who, dressed in blue and wearing
sailor cap, was experimenting the
lading.
CURIOSITY sATIsFIED.
But there's one thing I always won
dered at. Strange coincidence, but Fred
had always wondered at the same thing
and when the officer came aft to see i
the little water boat had filled the Wan
dies tank with drinkable water sufficient
to last the voyage we-with fear anC
trembling ng-interrogated him on tha
particular point. Quite to the reverse
of the traditional sea. captain he answer
ed our questions quite civilly-indeed
as though he liked to.
"Wen, said he, 'I'll tell you WY w
don't ave pilot-'ouses hover the w'eel
on hOcean vessels. Hon your rive
steamers you ave licensed pilots VIII,
get big salaries hand their reputation il
lost if they should go to sleep and wrecl
the boat. With us hits different. tn,
. common sailors ave to do the steering
5 and if we was to put EN- in nice warn
. 'ouses they'd be sound asleep in abou
! ten minutes, and the ship would be lef
{ to steer erself. You see they 'aven
j hany big saleries at stake, but they can
3 sleep very well standin' hup wen it
. BLOWN or rainin'."
I And so we learned something there
Ever since l first saw an ocean vessel
p had wondered at that same thing, an
d though it looks a little tough on tn
; poor sailors / reckon it must be neces
sary to leave them at the mercy Of tn
o. elements to insure watchfulness.
Once we went upon a schooner tina
. had just arrived with a cargo of oranges
i 1t would have made your mouth waite
j. to look into that hold. We THAT is
Fred) gave a sailor-who wore a re
shirt, had bad face on him and a smil
that badly matched it-a dime and h
loaded us down with oranges, and ho'
, We did paralyze oranges for a little while
After we had explored all the nook
and corners of the city and become we
acquainted with every jack-tar on th
+ piers we bade adieu to Mobile and ski
ped down to Scranton, across the Mi
sissippi line. Scranton is a typical gul
, coast town-a struggling, scattered vi
lage among evergreens. The groun
9 upon which it is built is as level as
board, nearly, and the Escatawha riv,
flows by it on the way to Pascagon
Bay, which is not more than two mil,
away After dinner Fred and L wake
u out to "the beach, mile and a ha
& from our hotel. The walk was ven
pleasant, over a little country roa