The Washington critic., 1889-01-15
THE CAPTAINS STORY.
[coNoLupKp FROM YEsrERpAy. ]

death before The voyage was ended.
One bit of bad luck follows another.
This rule, holding good, brought us in
contact with one Of those empty headed,
small officials at the first port where the
bark arrived with her new crew, and
where change of masters took place.
This official was no other than coDsul's
clerk, who managed to get word to the
crew that change of masters meant the
end of their contract and that they were
entitled to pay for the whole voyage apd
passage home on a steamer, the same as
though the vessel had been sold.
This incident shows what overwhem-
ing troubles may come to captains from
incompetent or knavish consuls. At this
same consulate ! had, some voyages be-
fore, whole crew dGmoralized, though
it was due, perhaps, more from ignorance
than rascality, though both were in 1t.
| was able to show to the Consul and his
clerk that sailors always are engaged for
the ship and not for the master, and that
such contract was in no way broken by
change of master However, paid
the crew off and left II to their own
choice to reship. All did but one, q
long-haired Andalusian, whom l would
not have at any price. New agreements
were made, the wages remained as here
tOfore, and all were cheerful and con-
tented.
We were now homeward bound. All
the runaway rum" that could be held
out by the most subtle "crimps" of Mon
tevideo could not induce these sober Bra
lillian sailors to leave. These crimps
are land-sharks, who get the sailors
drunk and then rob them of their ad-
vance money. The sailors are all paid
an advance. But alas, while awaiting
the consul's decision some of them had
slept in house infested with smallpox
of the worst type AS sailing day drew
near, half day for each watch was
asked by the men. who wanted to make
purchases for their friends and relatives
at Paranagua. Permission was readily
granted and l was rewarded by seeing
every one return at the time promised
the sailing day. Every man was at his
post and all sang ''cheerily, hop' except
one, who complained of slight chills and
fever. But he told me that he had
been subject to chills and that with a
dose of qilipinc he would he all right.
1t appeared small matter. Two days
later his chills turned to something
about which knew less. The next day
three more men went down, complaining
of terrible pains in the back and head
l knew then that we had serious work
on hand. Smallpox was aboard
We had not then cleared the River
Platte, and we changed our course to
seek port of refuge. We bore for NAL
danado This port is peopled by race
of Yahoos, scarcely more humanized
than when the great Lemuel Gulliver
visited the place. A slight change has
been made in spelling the name, hoping,
perhaps, to avoid the odious identity with
ancestral Yahoos.
When we reached port only the carr
penter, the cook, my son and myself
were able to stand on deck to work the
bark and attend to the sick, We had
grave fears, indeed, whether any one of
us would have strength enough left to
enable us to get into port. Desperation
again. we left Maldanado, where we
Flores. We arrived off Flores in ter
rife gale, We got our anchors down
and all the chain out and signalled for
help. Days passed, but no help came.
One poor fellow passed away and his
body was dropped to its long home.
Again we set sail and squared
away in search of Christian
port. People in civilized coun-
tries who read of men going through
fire or wading through Joe to save
life will hear with astonishment the
story of our wanderings from island to
island and from port to port in search of
medical aid, with nearly whole crew
sick and dying of terrible disease. The
only excuse that can give for this cow
ardice is that they are not of the human
family, but Yahoos distinctly, No mari,
ner should trust them for aid of any
kind. AT last ut one place after my sig
nal, Immediate medical aid wanted" ."
had been flying for two days boat came
off from shore manned by the worst
scared crew l ever saw. AS they came
alongside each took long pull from a
bottle of cachassa, the doctor among the
rest. He had had the start of the crew,
/ say by at least two strong pulls before
leaving shore.
This cachassa is made of corn, chewed
by old women, the saccharine and saliva
being expectorated into trough where
II readily ferments and becomes very
Intoxicating. 1t is said to be death to
microbes or worms. 1t will kill almost
anything but Yahoo. | am told that
the natives in Samoa make an intoxicant
in much the same way. II is called cava.
My poor fellows soon found that they
were not to be taken to the hospital on
the island Nature then broke down,
A panic followed. Despair came next,
They begged me to send for q priest,
They wanted to confess, / signalled,
1--WE want a priest" No notice was
taken; thought l discovered Il priest
walking up and down the shore, That
night another man died.
My faithful cook came to me in tea rs,
that Jose had died without confession,
/ tried to comfort him. A good stiff
horn of brandy and cigar gave him
strength to do the last offices for his
friend. He undertook to bury him alone,
Instead of lashing the ballast to the
corpse in the manner had directed, he
had tied il with some length of lanyard,
/ heard the solemn splash that told OF
the end of another career, and, almost at
the same moment, Q thump on the deck,
The lanyard had broken and the rock
which had been attached to the body
had fallen on the deck. heard the poor
old cook exclaim, as he picked the stone
mp and threw II after his shipmate's body,
Dear Josie, good bye, good shipmate
good bye,' as solemnly as If, in hurl-
ing the rock, he were sending message
to the department. Sad as ! was
couldn't help smiling.
Well, we got away from there finally
and in some way managed to reach
Montevideo, where, after two days
waiting, l was relieved of my sick men
Our misfortunes were the source of greaI
speculation to the harpies at Montevideo
during all the time we were there. The
e u. - e.