Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-07-19
CHAPTER XVIII

I STRIKE A BARGAIN WITH TIKI xSTgEK
The captain put his cup dps1n, Af tDSt
was empty; offered to brew anothax Sprsnp,
but he thanked me and said no, eddiag stg-
nifcantly that he would have no more ffere-A
| by which he meant that he would brew for
himself in his own ship anon. The drink mad
made him cheerful and good natured. He
recommended that we should go ON deck and
set about trans-shipping while the weather
held, for he was old hand in these seas,
and never trusted the skies longer than a
| quarter of an hour
''This here list, says he, wants remedy
ing, and that'n follow our easin' Of the hold.
| YES" said /, land l should be mighty
thankful if some of your men would 200 aAl
clear aloft for me, that we might start with
running rigging that'n travel eGpetaRs
that'n revolve, and sails that'l sprcod"
| "Oh, we'll manage that for YOU" skld he
"Tru-ly she's been bad froze--very bad 1rSza.
burned if ever see o worse Freeze
So saying, he called to Bill who eoerooa
the principal man Of the boats crew. and
gave him some directions, and Immediately
afterward all the men entered the beat and
rowed away to the ship.
| While they were absent carried the cap
tain into the hold and left him to overhaul
it. / told him that all the spirits provisions
and the like were in tho hold and lazarette.
which was true enough-wanting to keep
him out of the run-though, thanks to the
| precaution had TAKEN was in no fear even
If he should penetrate so deep aft Before
| he came out five-and-twenty stout fellows
! arrived in four boats from the ship. and
when we went on deck we found them going
the rounds Of the vessel, scraping the guns to
| get view of them, peering down the COM
paniou overhauling the forecastle well, as
call the hollow beyond the forecastle. and
staring aloft with their faces full of grinning
wonder The captain sang out to them,
and they all mustered aft
Snow, lads" said he, ''there big Job be.
fore you-a big job for Cape Horn, mean;
and you'll have to slip through it as if YOU
was grease. When done there'll be carouse,
and III warrant ye all such a sup that the
most romantic among yen never cast an
other pining thought in the direction o. your
mothers milk
Having delivered this preface, he divided
the men into two gangs-one under the
boatswain, TO attend to the rigging, clear the
canvas of the ice, get the pumps and the can
STAINS to work, and see all ready for getting
sail on the schooner; the other, under the
second mate, to get tackles aloft and break
out the cargo. taking care to trim ship while
so doing.
They fell to their several jobs with will.
| 'Iis the habit of our countrymen to sheer at
the Americans as sailors, affirming that II
ever they win battle at sea it is by the help
of British renegades. But this l protest:
after witnessing the srnartness Of those
Yankee whalemen, would sooner charge
the English than the Americans with lubber-
illness, came the nautical merits of the two
nations ever before me to decide upon. They
had the matches open, tackles aloft and men
at work below while the mariners Of other
countries would have been standing looking
on and "jawing" upon the course TO be
taken Some overran the fabric aloft,
clearing, cutting away, pounding, making
the ice fly in storms; others sweated the cap
STAINS till they clanked; others TEL b Rse
pumps, working with hammers ana Fett1esf