The Dickinson press., 1889-09-28
THE TARRATINE'S CREW.

The time was September, 1S56, the scene
San Francisco harbor. The good ship Tara
| tine, with clearance papers for New York
and half a cargo of hides, had left her moor
ings and swun. at anchor in the bay waiting
fer the sailors to be brought Oil board. There
had been n new crew shipped, for tho crew of
the outward voyage had, as IL matter of
coursr, deserted the ship on her arrival i'll
Sun Francisco, and those of it vino had not
been ~"shunshacl' in the dcns of the city and
shipped OH to various parts of the world had
gone 10 the disSings.
liu, the Tarratine had Tic. difficulty in Sc
curilr: hands, such us they We're. The famous
| vigilance committee of 1856 was just then
holding the city with il grip of iron, and,
while Il corrupt municipal government and
judiciary stood aside and trcmbled, was
reaching out searching, resistless arms and
dragging malcfactors from their most secret
hiding places TO meet the swift Justice of its
terrible tribunal. Every criminal not under
arrest was seeking to leave the country, and,
as Il consequence, the shipping offices were
crowded with men who desired to embark.
The ships full complement was twenty
men, but rs several were entered as green
LANDS the crew was increased by four more
who desired TO work their passage.
The crew Were, us usual, rowcd to the ship
in little parties, each under charge of n sailor
boarding house unncr, and, in various stages
of drunkenness, were left with their kits OH
deck. With the turn of the tide the anchor
Was raised, the snils thrown loose, and with
fair wind from off the shore the Tarratine
moved siandly down the harbor and through
tho Golden Gate. Six miles beyond the pilot
left the ship, and the next morning found her
brcastins the long waves of the Pacific Il
hundred miles from land, making Il good
otling before turning her head to southeast by
south on her long path around Cape Horn.
1t was soon evident that the ship was moro
than full handed. When the watches were
tullel off on the first night there were found
To lie two moro men present than the ship
ping list called for, and later two s%towaways
appeared on deck, raising tho number of men
h"f"r" The mainmast to twenty-cight. Out
of all these there We're not over Il half dozen
competent scamcn, or twice that number
that had ever worked in any capacity on
board n vessel.
To keep such n number of green hands cm-
ploycd during the hours of the day watches
was next to impossible, and the evil effects of
likeness in Il ships crew unavoidably APP
pralctl. So few of the crew were competent
sailors that extra work was thrown on the
nhlc seamcn, and this created discomfort
among those who otherwise would havo been
amcnablo to the duties and restraints of their
position.
But a danger worse than idlcness or
grumbling arose from the character of most
Of the crew. Many of them were of the
criminal class, whose sole reason for shipping
had been to escape the penalty of their mis-.
deeds ashore, and it was evident from the
first that they had no intention of submitting
to any of tho discipline essential in the rcla-
tions between officers and crew.
For the first few days, while sea sickness
prevailed and tho men were comparatively
strangers to one another, they wero fairly
tractable though mainly useless; but as they
gained their sea legs they became insolcnt
and defiant, and tended more and more to
band together in common opposition to law
full government of the ship.
There was good and efficient set OF officers
on board who asserted their authority with
promptncss and energy, but their patience
and temper were tried to the utmost, and
they had to acknowledge to each other that
there wasa dangerous, mutinous spirit among
the mel that they could not quell by any
means that seemed available.
The situation was well illustrated by the
account given by tho first mate, Henry Her.
bert, to Capt. Conyers on the eighth day out
from San Francisco. The captain was a
clean s%havcn, white haired man, naturally
pacific of temper, and especially averse to
contention on this particular trip, as he i'll
tended to retire from the sea Mt the end of
the voyage. Mr.. Herbert was n short, dark,
f1,irl. Sat y-cI1rp To0n nf rraot ro,,~< o,l
activity, excitable of temperament and full
of pluck and energy. He was speaking of
the crew.
Its the worst lot of pirates" he said,
THAT ever came aboard n merchantmen OK.
ccpt to board her over the quarter rail with
c~u,lasses in their hands. There are burg.
lars, pickpockets, ticket of leave men, DIES.
pcradoes from the mines, and the DEVILS own
assortment generally. There are not six Of
them know tho mainmast from q marline
spike to begin with, and those that do
through bad example, are getting rs bad MS
the rest. There are moro knives and pistols
in the forccastlo than would stock an ar.
mory, and if there vas one among them
could navigate they would seize the shin
We have n nice outlook between here anl
the Horn. l don't know whatll save til,
ship if we get bad weather."
Mr.. Herbert grew warm with indignation
rs he talked.
They're Il set of rowdics, - he continued
clear them now. Another quarrel oven
cards"
The sound Of an alteration came aft from
near the foremost, followed by several pisto
shots and tho crowding Of men about tt'
scene Of the ARRAY. Several of the crew VIII,
ra,.n l;ctlasclpy >r,to,,j;n,, 70 ,,;1 o,,o n,,o
on the deck dropped them and ran forwar,
without hesitation, and one or two who wer
at work in the rigging also stopped labor al,
moved to positions whence they could viev
the proceedings.
The third mate was OF the main deck an,
e forward, not very willingly, to quel
the disturbance, without success, it seemed
for the alteration continued, aud minglc
with his tones of authority arose voices equa
ly loud, evidently giving in profusion tina
abomination i'll the mind of q ships Office
known as "back talk" Mr.. Herbert joine,
the third mate, but evcn with his assistanc
1t was a considerable time before matter
were at all quieted.
Tue two officers had to submit to muc
more insolcnt language than WAS agreeable
and there had been all ugly and menacin
display of weapons by the men. They cam
back aft pale and silent with anger over
situation so unpleasant, which they SCENE
powerless to control.
This was in the second week. Matters we,
worse at tie beginning of the third. IL
men now held the forward part of the ship
their independent domain. worked or not
suited their individual preferences, and col
stantly delied and insulted the officers. tt
weather, luckily for all on board, had bee
l fair with gentle northerly b~reezes, for in ca
; OF II storm there would nave been great da
ger, with such n crew on board, of going
the bottom. AS it was, the officers worri,
along, encouraging the willing, ignoring II
+, insolent, md, at times, even taking from n
= cessity a hand in the manual labor ther
y selves.
h If this condition of affairs were to nrcv,
0 when they should reach the stormy win
. and waves off Cape Horn, the fate of I
vessel seemed inevitable indeed and dep|c
able.
"We've endured this state of things abo
Il long enough" said Mr.. Herbert to the c,
tain as they stood together on the quart
= deck during the dog watch OH the evening
J the fifteenth day. by our reckoning, if i