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

light has come. The cry Of "1urn tor
is heard. That is, turn to" to wash
down decks, an operation which will tax
the already exhausted resources Of an
empty stomach until breakfast time at y
O'Clock. The mates have their fragrant
"cabin coffee" and biscuit served them
on the brass capstan aft; we can smell
its aroma, but nothing warm can get
into our stomachs for over two long
hours of work. The basic idea in this
regular washing down decks at sea seems
20 be that of keeping men busy for the
sake of keeping them busy. The top OF
every deck plank must be scrubbed with
a care and scrutiny BETTING the labors
of a diamond poisher on his gems, while
the under side may be dripping with
foulness, as It sometimes is. had the
post of honor in scrubbing the quarter
deck. That was the drawing OF water
I'm a canvas bucket from the mizzen
chains to wash over that deck. The
remaining five boys would push
YEARLY about with their brooms,
hand brushes, squads and squilgees, SD
perintended by our extraordinary fourth
mate always to me an object Of interest,
from the fact Of the secret carefully
boarded in my breast that l had pulled
him into the New York dock), who, with
a microscopic eye, inspected each crack
and seam after the boys labors, in search
of atomic particles of dirt, and called
them back with all the dignity OF com
mand, and a small amount of command
ing personality behind 1t, whenever he
deemed he had discovered any. When
this labor was finished was generally
30 exhausted as to have no appetite for
breakfast. But sailors stomach is not
presumed to be at all sensitive under
any conditions. And above all, boy
"a boy belonging to squad OF boys
who about once day were encouraged
and enthused to exertion and maritime
ambition by the assurance conveyed them
by one of the mates that they weren't
"worth their salt" - what business
had boys stomach to put on
airs at sea? Most landsmen, II
called up at o'clock on muggy morn
ing and worked like mules for couple
of hours on a digestive vacuum, would
probably at the breakfast hour feel more
the need of food than the appetite TO par
take of it.
Though followed the sea nearly two
wears, am no sailor. The net result OF
nv maritime experience is capacity for
tying bow line or a square knot and a
positive knowledge and conviction con-
,erning which end Of the ship goes first
also know enough not to throw hot
lBhes to windward.
But on a yard could never do much
else but hold on. The foolhardy men
about me would lie out fiat on their
stomachs amid the darkness and storm,
and expose themselves to the risk of
pitching headlong into the sea in the
most reckless manner while trying to
spill the wind" out Of tgallant sail.
But / never emulated them. | never
lived up to the maritime maxim of lone
hand for yourself and the other for the
owners" kept both hands for myself,
and that kept me from going overheard.
What would the owners have cared had
gone overboardI Nothing. Such an
occurrence twenty-five odd years ago
would, weeks afterward, have been re-
ported in the marine news this way:
Common sailor, very common sailor,
fell from t'gallant yard off Cape Horn
and lost"
The owner would have secretly re-
ioiced, as he bought his Christmas toys
for his children, that the tgallant yard
had not gone with the sailor. No; on a
yard in storm believed and lived up
TO the maxim: "Hold fast to that which
is good" The yard was good. Yet was
ambitious when boy before the mast
on the clipper which brought me to Cal
ifornia. was quick to get into the rig
ging when there was anything to dc
little utility.
The first time l went up at night to
loose one OF the royals, l thought
, should never stop climbing. The deck
soon vanished in the darkness Of very
, black tropical night, the mastheads
, were likewise lost in a Zimmerman OBJ
scurity-whateve that Is. At last
found the yard. l wasn't quite sure
whether it was the right one or not.
didn't know exactly what to do. knew
!, | had to unite something somewhere
But where? Meantime the savage Scotch
second mate was believing, as it ther
seemed, mile below me. l knew the
below was for me. | had to do some
thing, and l commenced doing. l did
know, or rather guessed, enough to cast
of the lee and weather gaskets, or lines
which bind the sail when furled to the
yard, and then l made them up into q
most slovenly knot. But the bunt gas
ket (the line binding the middle and
most bulky portion Of the saip bothered
me. couldn't unite 1t. Ipicked away
at it desperately, tore my nails and skin
! ming my knuckles.
The believing from below continued
as fercely as ever, which, though not
, Ineligible as to words, was certainl,
exhorting me, and me only, to vigilance
, Then the watch got tired waiting for me
Thinking the sail loosed, they began
hosting. They hoisted the yard to iti
proper place and me with it. chung or
and went up higher. That, by the way
always comes of holding fast to thai
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