Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-08-22
THE SHIP BLUEBIRD.

| payr young Fellow, until you We made
trip around the Horn or been ship
wrecked you mustn't blow so hard" and
with this remark, the old man glOwered
at the beardlesS sailor boy who had just
been relating the incidents of a trip he had
made In Il potato laden scOw. bound from
Bodega bay to this point. The scene was
a smoky little bar room Of sailors
clearinghouse, into which the water
front reporter had drifted in the course
of his cruise after stray items OF news
along the byways of the wharves The
author of the remarks with which the ar
ticle begins was a dingy, wTinkled, old
sea horse, dressed in corduroy, who sat
beside great stove in the bar room, and
pulled on a black "dudeen7 As he listened
10 the story Of the marine novice.
Il tell ye, you fellers don't know nothin'
about the sea, he continued, as he emit
ted cloud Of smoke that enyelOped his
head and shoulders 50 that all that could
be seen was a pair Of legs and trunk
prOpped up in a chair.
But | tell you the waves washed over
the forward rail- and we had TO chuck
three sacks of potatoes overheard to
Tighten the ship" said the voyager from
Bodega bay down to Frisco.
Bah" cried the ancient one. in disgust
What would We say il the waves were as
high as the maintop, Why, you old sea
gilly, y'ain't fit to swab the deck of a
liner, much less a taut AL What would
We say to bein' wrecked, as I've been,
When | was fust mate OF the ship Blue
bird in 1861 ! want only wrecked, but |
came near bein' cannibalized; yes, sir.
regularly chewed up by my shipmates.
Mebbe you fellers don't want to hear
about my trip in the Bluebird,"
The apprentice from BOdega bay sub
sided at once, and several other blowers
OF the sea who were temporarily rusticat-
ing on shore pressed the old man to relate
what he knew of the ship Bluebird
We'll, said the old tar, after he had re-
filled his pipe and cast whitening glance
at the Bodega bay man. Il shipped aboard
the Bluebird for a v'y'ge to China from
New York. She was an old tub, but we
all thought she was taut 'nough for the
trip. The crew all told was fourteen
hands, one bein' boy fresh and chiripin',
something like you" and the narrator
nodded toward the Sinbad from BOdega
bay. His name was Tommy Battles. |
think twas the last of February we set
sail from New York, hOpin' to make the
run out into warm water without gettin
our fingers nipped Three days out we
came across foul weather. One night the
captain had the topgallansls took off and
the yards sent down and afore mOrnin' his
wisdom was proved: just after midnight
We were in tussel with the toughest gale
that ever left a whole sail on any ship.
Our maintopgallant mast went over the
side the fust thing, and then we laid to
under the two staysails HOwdsumeyer
we had spare tOpgallant masts and yards
and sails, so we fixed up and went on.
reckon twas about fourteen days from
then when we reckoned we were in the
middle OF the Atlantic, we came across
the great grandfather of all the big
storms. 1t struck us at noon, and the old
chap gave us his first salute by swapping
of another maintopgallant mast. In
less'n an hour / reckon there was four foot
Of water in the hold. and everything inthe
way of canvas was blowed out OF the bolt
ropes. We didn't think so much of the
canvas as the water below; spite of all we
did the water rose in the well
The cap'n ordered the pumps rigged
and we all got to work, but it diln't have
no effect Then We got the ship afOre the
NAAh. SbOH olA lht HhlCucS, DtSih W
throw the cargo overheard All the time,
mind ye, the gale was a blowin' IKE mad
We was a-pumpin' for life and breakin'
cargo, all hands wOrkin' hard, when a
shout went p from the man at the wheel
We had just time to see a slew of water
as high as the top Of the mainmast.
loomin' up over the poop, and in a second
it tumbled over us. | was at the pump
and there 1 stuck l was knocked down
and swung around, but held on. When
finally did get on my pins and looked
about things looked rather squally.
"The wheelman was carried away and
the wheel itself had gone with him The
captain, second mate, and four of the men
were also gone, and all that we that
was left did was to stare at each other. II
looked very much AS if we were all bound
to go the same road / took command,
but yet helped the fellows at the pumps.
Night came on, and also two heavy seas
that carried away two more men. There
were only six hands left on board The
night was dark and dreary. The wind
howled, and the sea roared, and all that
we could do was TO hold on for life. In
the night we could not do anything tow
ards saving the ship When the morning
came the wind went down and the sun
never looked upon a fairer day. We could
see, though, that the ship was sinking
A very short consultation resulted in a
plan to build a raft, and at it we went
AS luck would have it spare spar hadn't
been washed away So all the forenoon
we worked, and by the time the raft was
done the water was nigh up to the ships
scuppers. And now for provisions; here
was a corker; nearly everything was un-
der water. One barrel Of soaked bread
and fifteen gallon breaker of fresh water
was all we could reach. The beef and
pork was beyond reach, as well as the rest
Of the bread But We hoped for help be
fore that was gone, and SO didn't lose our
spirits. We took a compass and sOIue
oars, sails, blankets, and what we had TO
hand At o'clock we showed off, and il
wasn't any too soon: we hadn't got more
than twenty yards from the ship afore she
went down and the waters closed over
the last of the gallant old Bluebird
Il neen't tell We what we did and said
during the first week, cause you can I'M
agine 'em, 'ceptin that old fresh from
Bodega that come in the scow You can
imagine that bread soaked in salt water
isn't very luxurious, but we managed TO
Eat it, and some OF us lived On the sixth
day Jim Maggie give out He said twas
the bread. 1t sot his in'rds afire and our
stock of water got 50 low at there wasn't
nuff to help him any. He showed off for
the other shore the next day and we let
the body float of. Jack Sander watched
it until it disappeared, and then he says
TO me:
~'Sam,' he says, we'd oughter have kept
that body
al looked into his face minute afore
his meaning struck me.
"'For Gods sake, Jack, don't talk that
way, says.