The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1886-03-03
THE WRECKERS.
A sAuoR's STORY.

in an adventure which occurred so re-
Gently that all the particulars are yet
fresh in my mind.
am a sailor man, and l am as honest
as the general run of them. was in
New Orleans, knocking around for a
berth, when one day on the levee, at the
foot of Canal street, man with a blink
to his left eye seems to take a great shine
to me. He invites me to drink with him
and to join him at dinner, and, when he
believes the time to be ripe, he says;
"You looks like an honest chap, and
don't deny that I've taken a liking to
you. How would you like to ship with
my captain2
"And who may your captain be-"
asked.
captain Mccall, of the schooner
Glance, and I'm saying to you that a
better man never gave orders from the
quarterback, and that better vessel
than the Glance was never put together. "
'And what may be the voyage
He looks hard at me a long time before
replying, and then draws down his left
eye and whispers: "Come aboard and
see the captain. He'll be glad to shake
hands and tell you all about it"
l must own to my confusion that
am a drinking man, as most sailors are.
and that this chap with blink to his eye
had me half-seas over before we left the
saloon. We had another drink or two
before reaching the schooner, and when
we went aboard | was in no condition to
judge of men or things. | remember of
meeting three or four men and of drink
ing again, and then all memory was gone.
When | came to my senses the schooner
was in the Gulf of Mexico, heading almost
north, and the hour was 4 o'clock in the
afternoon.
Stiff and sore, and thoroughly fright
ened to find myself at sea, l crawled out
of the close and ill-smelling forecastle
and made my way on deck. The crew
were all there, including the captain
There were five white men, two negroes,
and made the eighth man. There was a
light breeze from the southeast, and an
island was in sight off to the northwest.
A single look satisfied me that we were
headed for Chandeleur Bay, on the Mis-
sissippi coast
| was greeted in pleasant fashion by
the men, and the captain beckoncd me
into his cabin, poured out stiff glass of
grog, and said:
'You'l feel better after drinking it.
It's good grog that puts heart into a sailor
man"
'Will you tell me what schooner this
is, and how l came to be aboard of
herln | asked, never minding his soft
ways and the liquor he had placed under
my nose.
'Why, man, have you gone clean daft?'
he calls out. ''You came to me for a
berth on the Glance, and /, Captain Nc
Call, signed you for trip to Santa Rosa
island and return. You were sober
enough when you signed articles. Come,
down with the grog, and wish us a sue
cessful voyage
Captain Mccall, l never signed with
youw says, looking him straight in the
eye. "And if you are bound to the north
east, why are you holding to the north ~
'"Tut, tut, man | am not used to such
talk aboard this vessel Go on deck and
do your duty, and if you dare talk mutiny
I'll put a bullet through your head.n
With that l turned and left him, and
to say that was in a rage would hardly
describe my feelings. My sailors instinct
had shown me that | was on a wrecker,
and such wreckers are no better than
pirates. | had been duped aboard TO
make up the complement Of men, and
if they discovered that l was not hand
and heart with them they'd have little
hesitation in taking my life.
1 went forward to the bows, and pres
emily the mate joined me- He was the
man with the blink in his eye, and laid
all the trouble to him. He spoke very
softly, but | was so bold and bitter that
he soon flew mad and abused me in the
foulest manner, and finally ordered me on
watch under pain of being placed in irons.
1t would have been foolish to resist, and
took my place among the men and
turned to for duty.
The schooner held on, passing between
the East and West Chandelier islands
about dark, and holding to the north.
Soon after night the wind fell, and final
| BY there was a dead calm. Wewere then
opposite the Middle Chandeleur, and only
four or five miles away, and as there was
a current setting us to the east the an
chor was let go, an anchor watch set, and
the rest of the crew were privileged to
turn in. The captain and mate retired
to their staterooms, and as the night
was pleasant the rest Of us held the
deck. AS l slowed away myself forward
for smoke and a think, one of the white
men came over to me in a rather cautious
way, bunked down beside me, and whis-
pered:
"Come comrade, the better face you
put on the matter, the better it will be foI
you. There's no question but they made
you drunk to get you off this voyage, and
as for your signing articles, that's all
bosh. -
''What sort Of a voyage is it9"
"For what we can pick up
/ "And what made you shipg"