The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-12-21


ing the time. So we 'spun yarns" OF
at least Jed did. He had batch ready
hpr the occasion. He sat on a tub, put
an enormous chew of tobacco in his
mouth, hitched up his trousers and felt
every inch a sailor. noticed the second
nate, that incarnation of evil and bru-
.ality. lowering about us, dark as it was.
I saw his fiendish grin and the glare OF
his greenish eye. A precious lot OF
Young fools we must have seemed to
him. A little after our yarn spinning
was interrupted by shrieks and cries OF
distress proceeding from the forward
part of the ship. We had then our first
exhibition of the manner of enforcing
American merchant service discipline.
The second mate was beating Cum
mings. a simple being, who, having
sailed only in 'fore and aft" coasting
vessels, had made the mistake of ship
ping as an ordinary seaman on square
rugged craft, and was almost as much az
sea in his knowledge of the ropes as the
"boys." This officer had singled out
Cummings for his awkwardness as the
proper man to "haze." He was shower
ing upon him blows, thick and fast, with
the end of one of the forebraces. 1t was
the first time l had ever seen a man
beaten by one in authority. The cring-
ing attitude, the cries, sobs and suppl
cations of a full grown man, and the
oaths and terrible ferocity of his casti-
gator, were inexpressibly shocking to
me. The incident, which was often re-
peated during the voyage, broke up our
amateur EARNING and made us very
thoughtful.
Jedediah Coles was not at all nautical
" loquacious the next night. Then the
Gulf Stream gave us a touch OF its tan
trums. All during the afternoon the
sky grew more and more threatening.
BY dark it was blowing hard. The
lighter sails one by one were slowed.
Then it blew harder. The mate swore
the harder. The captain came on deck
and swore at everybody. One of the
''boys' asked him if he thought it would
be stormy. He considered himself priv
LEGGED to ask the captain that question.
He was a native of the same village
His father and the captain were friends
and his mother and the captains wife
visited each other. So he deemed il
advisable to establish himself on socia-
BILE footing with the captain at the com
mencement of the voyage. Poor boy
Never again during the trip did he con-
suit the captain meteorologically. He
learned speedily the great gulf which
yawns between the cabin and the fore
castle.
1t grew dark, the waves became big
ger and bigger, and the ship seemed
taxed to her utmost trying to Chamber
them one after another as they presented
themselves. The mates came out in
their oilskins.
When the order came to reef, and
saw the men clambering up the fore and
main rigging, l added myself to theil
number, though / felt should never
come down again-at least in one piece
Il was my debut aloft off soundings
Many time had / clambered about the
rigging of the old whalers as they lay al
the village wharf, but they were not
roaring, kicking and plunging like this
vessel. Heavy seamen's boots kicked
me in the face as followed their wear
ers up this awful ascent; other heavy
boots trod on my fingers; they shook the
ratlines, too, in most uncomfortable
manner. The mast strained and groaned
fearfully. Somehow, after climbing
over some awful chasms, got ON the
yard with the men. dared not go out
far The foot rope wobbled, jerked and
gave way under me at times with the
weight and motion of the men upon it.
The great sail seemed in no humor to be
furled. 1t hauled away from us, bellied
pulled and kept up gigantic series OF
laundering flaps. Laying over on the
yard the men would gather in as much
of the hard. wet, wirelike canvas as pos
sible and then together haul back on it.
This objected to. 1t was risky enough
to lay out ON an enormous stick sixty
| feet in the air, while the wind tore our
voices from us and seemed to hurl the
words far away ere they had well gois
out of our mouths, and the white topped
waves, dimly seen below, seemed leap
ing up and snatching at us. But at that
height, and amid all that motion, to bal