Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1890-02-10
LIFE IN THE STEERAGE.
HOW A YOUNG ENGLlsHMkN WAGER
ED AND LOST A BET.

BunlSing in with n. Emigrants-Uninvit-
ing Surrounding some OF the Noises.
Smells and other Discomforts the steer
age Affords.
MY dear chap, you'll never do it, III
wager you iver you don't"
Such was the emphatic consolation vouch-
saved to me by my old college chum when
confided 70 him my intention Of crossing the
Atlantic like an ordinary emigrant in the
storage.
How very like friendl You pride your
self on being a stoic Does be credit mei
Not bel With brutal cynicism be laughs
your pretty conceit to scorn and denounces
you to your face as a rank e0icurean,
"Well,n / cried easily, though not little
mortified, 'I'll take you, If only TO punish you
for your skepticism by collaring your R5"
may here explain that / was crossing
from merry England to the Uni@s States on
pleasure bent, and the idea Of travelling in
the steerage pleased my fancy as being a
novel and / BATTERED myself a somewhat
plucky experiment. "Nothing lake seeing life
IN all its varied phases, y said to myself.
A week later saw me at Liverpool. There
was hurrying to and fro and trampling Of
heavy feet. Porters skurried hither and
thither, bearing huge bales and ''all sorts and
conditions of merchandise. Hoarse shouts
rent the air and there was much jostling and
more profanity, and little respect was paid
unto the corns of man. But as | cast my
eyes along tho approach which led to tho
stage they alighted on a procession which
flooded my soul with tho most dismal fore.
boding. A nondescript moving mass-whica
to call wagon were TO fiatter IL preposter-
ously-compared seemingly Of heterogene
GUS collection of bundles with here aud there
a projection which somewhat resembled a
box, was advancing cautiously IN our direc-
ton. By the side Of 1t marched number Of
persons who might have been moving adver-
tisements for a faded rag shop They were
indeed the sorriest crew had ever set eyes
on. Could this be the company | was to en-
Joy intimacy with for the next ten daysl
Alasl my apprehensions were but TO well
founded. For the first time felt pang for
my R5 note.
The city clocks now announced that 1t was
| 1890 and with that all Of us were speedily
shipped aboard the tender. We soon hove
alongside that gallant ship, the Crafty, which
was to be our home-or our coffin, for aught
we l1new-on the wide, wide sea.
At 2 O'Clock the medical officer came aboard
and all the emigrants We all filed by him
IN solemn procession. Now and then there
would come halt, while man or woman,
whose appearance suggested some turkish
disease, would be subjected to rigorous exam
nation.
BY and by things began to assume a more
settled aspect and TO indicate that the hour
Of our departure was nigh at hand. Pres
| emily the saloon passengers arrived alongside,
and with them an army Of friends, who nc
companied them to their cabins. No sooner
had they arrived there, however, than the
bell rang and they came forth again like a
rushing torrent and streamed into the tender.
A waving OF handkerchiefs, a crying Of
"good-by,n the yelling Of tears to tender
eyes, a little husliness Of the throat and their
adieus were said.
The bar was safely passed late at night,
and as we stood away from land we got clear
Of the fog aud the Crafty was enabled to
| forge ahead rapidly.
On the morrow We glided into Queenstown
harbor, which some mariners claim to be the
| finest natural harbor IN the world. Bumboat
women here boarded us and until we weighed
anchor often became a thing Of misery by
reason OF their persistent attention. Once at
sea ones lungs expanded more freely. Il
was at this period that FIRST began TO study
my fellow passengers. The respectable folk
Of the Storage numbered about twenty or
thirty, and these were English, American
and Scandinavian All belonged to the
poorer class but were cleanly aud neat in
appearance and Of orderly behavior
"A marked contrast was afforded by the
other emigrants. For the most part their
personal aspect suggested the idea that the
wells Of their country had run dry and that
soap was an offense TO their nostrils. Ami
malsm was stamped ON each mans face
and there was scare an intelligent creature
among them. A certain concession in my
favor was made by the steamship company.
Instead Of being berthed forward with the
single men, was allotted a cabin eft such
as is given to every emigrant married couple
This indeed was a liberal concession, for the
single wretches re--well, they we're not
revealing In luxury. In some cases they slept
six in large bunk with hunks to the right
Of them, hunks to the left Of them, bunk
below them, and hunks above them Tn,
sense Of compression was well nigh intoler
able. The single women endured like stat
OF things, The married couples were thu
well OF in comparison.
An went well for day or two. The meal
| 1ciNNu WtAe paul. buN Aut ipod was kpQu
and there was an abundance Of it.
But Scripture saith an ending
To all good things must be-
And SO on the morning Of the third day
Neptune began to get tride uneasy, and a
the hosirs wore ON his disquiotude increase,
so alarmingy that the Crafty was unable Il
maintain her equilibrium and began to stil
with a short, uneasy notion This set M
thinking that it was advisable to prepare fo
all contingencies, and so / betook me to m,
bunk, and there / remained a night and
day. The cabin opposite to mine was occu
pied by patriarch who might have sat 70
Moses. With him was his family. Nor
doubt not that they were an agreeable fam
lily, but they developed a habit Of moaning
ia unison which was not altogether pleasure
BILE TO my unmusical ears. Then my mex
door neighbors were a family and rejoiced i
twins Of stentorian lungs. One might hav
/ judged that it was the life long object Of thi
Z pair 10 sustain a continuous howl. Fac
seemed to vie with the other as to whic
could reach the highest note, and they wonl
sing it out most triumphantly. Doubtle,
the parents had much reason 70 lay thei
hand on their offspring and-bless them, bu
my own savage breast would not be charme
by their duet
Many other narrowing sounds, too, wer
borne IN on my ears, which made me regre
my acute hearing and served 10 undermiu
p my resolution 70 stick to the steerage. But
Il said IA my strength, II will remain where
D. am. Vain is the word 81 mani ha
hardly made this mental ejaculation ere Oh
last straw was laid on and the camel's bac
broke
There had already been curious odor I
r. oil floating about but now the ,,ifchiner an