The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-12-28

was called as
usual, and after
the usual bungling and fishing in the
well for the broken valves, they "eV
put in order again. 1t was then nearly
a. m, Meanwhile all the able seamen
in our watch had at eight bells walked
below. The watch newly come on deck
refused to pump the ship clear, alleging
II was the business Of the others. The
watch below were hidden to come on deck
and perform their neglected duty. Ihey
refused This was mutiny. The four
mates got their pistols, entered the fore
castle and stormed, ordered and thread
ened 1t was of no avail. The fifteen
able seamen who refused constituted the
main strength and effectiveness OF thai
watch. They were threatened with be-
ing put in irons. They preferred irons
to pumping out Of their turn. They were
put in irons, fifteen stout men, by four
mates, who then returned and reported
proceedings to the captain. The men re-
NAMED shackled until the next MORN
ing. 1t was then discovered that 1t was
impossible to work the ship without their
aid. or course they couldn't handle the
! vessel in irons.
The Wizard rated over 5000 tons, and
many frigate Of her size would have
been deemed poorly of with less than
one hundred men for handling the ship
alone. We rarely secured the lower sails
properly in heavy weather, from the mere
lack of physical strength to handle them.
So Capt. S. pored sadly at his break
fast through his gold bowed spectacles,
and when the meal was over issued
orders for the release of the fifteen men
IN irons. In this little affair the boys and
ordinary seamen belonging to the mutt
nous watch took no part They were
strictly neutral and waited to see which
side would win. l felt rather unpleasant
and alarmed. Though not full tledged
mutiny and a conversion Of peaceful
merchantmen into pirate, it did look
at one time as II the initiatory steps to
such end we're being taken.
One of the great aims Of existence at
sea is that Of keeping the decks clean.
The scrubbing, swishing and smashing
is performed by each watch on alternate
mornings, and commences ut daylight
1t was the one ordeal which l regarded
with horror and contempt You are
called up at in the morning, when the
sleep of growing youth is soundest.
The maniacal wretch Of the other watch,
who does the calling, does 1t with the
glee and screech of tiend. lie will
not stop his "All h-a-a-nds!" until he
hears some responsive echo from the
sleepers He is noisy and joyous be-
cause it is 30 near the time he can turn
in. And these four hours of sleep at sea
are such luxuries as may rarely DO real
lied on shore But the mates watch is
calling us, screeching, bowling, thump-
ing on the forecastle door, and making
himself extremely pleasant.
We are called and on deck, and STUN
bling about, maybe with one boot half
on, and more asleep than awake and
mors dead than alive. We are in the
warm, enervating latitude of the tropics,
with every sinew relaxed from the steam
ing heat Perhaps there Is light wind
aft. We are carrying studding sails.
Studding sails are beautiful to look at
from u distance. But when once you
have sailed in ship carrying them from
the royals down and know something OK
the labor Of rigging them out all on one
side, fore, main and mizzen masts, and
then, il the breeze alters couple OF
points, taking the starboard sails all down
and rigging out the larboard, or perhaps
on both sides-and this on a Sunday az
ternoon, when there are no jobs and
you've been expecting plenty of leisure
70 eat your duff and molasses; or II
you have ever helped carry those
heavy yards about the deck when
the ship was rolling violently in heavy
ground swell, and every time she brough,
up, sails, blocks and everything nova
BILE was bringing up also with series OF
pistol like reports; or il you have eveI
laid out on a royal yard trying to pass q
heavy rope through the 'jewel block,
1T the extreme end thereof, while the
mast and yard were oscillating to and
fro with you through the air in rapid.
iy recurring series Of gigantic arcs caused
by the lazy swell, in the trough Of which
your ship is rolling--and at the end OF
each roll you find yourself holding OF
for dear life, lest at the termination Of
each oscillation you be shot like an ar
now into the sea from your insecur,
perch-why in all these cases the beauty
and picturesqueness Of ship under
studding sails will be tempered by some
sober realities.
Il is $50 or o'clock. The morning