Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-12
week before vessel stopped to take us

and had told one another that the buZ-
yards would eat us and nobody ever find
1t out, sail vessels rose up away out to
sea- We took heart again and forgot the
past dlfhcultles. The ship looked awful
dingy and dirty when we went aboard,
ana that same old smell was thar. A
sailor said 1T was bilge water that stunk
SO bad, and it beat dozen polecats for
stnk-to stay with ye. The old brig
tnaPs the name she went by-was an
English ship with an English Captain
and crew. l never saw the Captain the
whole time. Somebody said he was on a
drunk. The vessel was full OF passen-
gers when they took us and all the bal
ance who were at Panama on board. They
told us we could make apallet on deck at
night, and get vittles at eating time, ana
we made the pallets and scutfled for all
we got to eat.
1.-The third day arter we started, saw
the sails begin to flap, like a sick
turkeys wings. 1t was blazing hot, and
no air a-stirrln'. We come to a complete
standstill. Thar was no ship in sight to
meet or talk with, and couldn't account
for the halt. | went around to find out
from the pilot.
"'Begorrah, it's in a calm we are. and,
the Lord love yer soul, you'll be glad to
start agin, ma honey
Another stroke it was of bad luck,
certain. We had struck calm, and nary
peg did we move Tor three weeks or
more. 1t was hot enough to cook eggs in
the sunshine all day, and the nights
wasn't mucn better. If you fetched a
nail or bolt, it burnt you like a hot poker.
Every place was crowded, aud as the
sailors had nuthin' to do they got drunk
also. 1t was sweet pickle to be in, you
bet. 10 cap the climax, water run short
Iney Civ you about a pint cup full the
hrst few days to quench your thirst; but
that was too much, they said, and they
cut US down to little less than a half
pint, and that was as warm as dish
water, and didn't look much cleaner. l
took mortal distaste to moonlight
nights on that trip. AS she would sail
overhead and LOOK down on us-we a
rollin' aud tossin' night after night on that
nasty old ships deck-she did look so
stern like that ole Mis- AllgOod's Scrip
tur and the prophesyIng she done over the
preacher son-in-law seemed 10 be a-cOmin'
true. She said no good luck would foller
such unhOly pursuit of filthy Iucre and
mammon, and it did look like we had es-
capped drowning and the Panama devils
only to die out at sea, and be pitched over
like hogs with the cholera disease.
"Ghere was heap of sickness among
the passengers. Some died every day.
They said 1t was Chagres fever. Several
of our boys got worse all the time. 1t
was enuf to Kill 'em, to see the folks dy-
ing, stretched about on pallets, and then
to hear the splash when the poor creeturs
went down to feed the sharks, wrapped in
their blankets, feet foremost. Lord, Lord,
it meAes me feel bad yet, TO remember our
condition at that time! So thirsty, and
no water; so hungry, and nothing fit to
eat; so hot, and no breath of air to cool the
poor sick men, who talked out OF their
heads about home, and cool water, and
shady groves all the time. Sally's
brother was along, and the poor fellow
died just before daylight one
morning, and l just couldn't keep from
crying like baby. Several of our boys
died, and 1t seemed as If the last one
would get sick before it was over.
zone night, betwixt midnight and day,
me and Bob was a-talking as to what he
must do, and must do. il either one got
sick fust. Sam Wilcox crawled off his
pallet close to US, and whispered:
"'We can git hold of something that
will cure these sick folks
"He went on to say that sailor had
given a sick Engllshman bottle of wine
10 drink, and the sick man said the vessel
was loaded with wine. That was her
out to hunt somebody-the Captain, if we
could git to him-and buy some for our
company. Bless your soul and body, the
was as crusty as my old dog BOze when
Niger comes in the yard! Nary drop
would they sell or give us! l never was
as mad in my life. We didn't see the
Captin-no doubt but he was drunk as a
beast, and L was mean enough TO wish he
might die. Don't look so savage at me.
You'd advanced to a-killed him.
but we didn't stop at that-nary bit
of it. But the next night we found out
that the sailors went down in the hold
every night and brought up something
wrapped up in cloths. Desperate men
don't take long to settle on plans. So
Bob tore up a blanket into strips that day
and tied the ends together, rolling it into
a tight ball like old wimmin fix carpet
rags. He plotted it all out while we was
preparin' the long rope. was to watch
for the sailors who went down that night,
and when they had got to the foot OF the
ladder he would follow in the dark, for the
moon did not rise then until late. The
end of the blanket rope must tie on his
wrist. When he went down was to pay
out the ball until he halted, aud to wind
up quick when he ierked 1t. We sat still
behind mast until everything got dead
quiet, watching. Shore enut, we seed
two sneaking creeturs lift the hatchway,
and after one of 'em got down few steps
the other handed him dark lantern, and
then went away like 'suck-aig dog
from hen house. Bobput the ball in my
hands and crawled along the deck and
went in also, although it was as dark in
the hole as ever you seed in your life.
helt my breth, tor | jest knowed in res-
son we wouldn't need wine nor nuth.n'
else II they kOtched us. Sumtimes the
rope would roll of all right, then 1t would
stop. | forgot to tell you that the rope
was to help Bob come out, and was to
keep it straight so that he could follow.
After SO long a time l seed mead raise
up in the dark, aud | wound up my ball
lust as fast as | could. In a few minutes
Bob was close to me and we crept away
to our pallets. Shore enough be had two
bottles under his arm pits. He said the
stupid sailor was so plaguey anxious to
get his own supply that he did not look
back a single time.
"From that night on our boys mended
fast. Several times we was in an inch OF
being caught, down in that old liquor dun
geon, but good luck was on our side. 1t
made us nifty sorry we couldn't help All
the sick, but il was too resky. No. must
come first in sech cases. We was pestered
to git rid of the empty bottles. We hid
'em in the daytime under the sick mems
bedclothes, and at night Que OF us would
creep around to the other side OF the deck
and heave 'em over, but it was sorter yex-
atious to see the things floating about and
around afterward. But they told no tales
on us.