Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-01-04

PRENTICE MULFoRD.
In 1855 ! shipped "before the mast" on
the A first class clipper Wizard bound
from New York to San Francisco.
When made up my mind to become
sailor, had tried several of this worlds
callings and seemed to find none suitable.
] had asked counsel of several elderly
gentlemen in my native village as to the
best way OF securing all things needful
during my sojourn in this world. They
said many wise and good things. They
looked wise and good. But really the
wordy help they. offered was unsatisfac-
tory. So cut the knot myself and said
would be sailor. explained to my
male and female friends that felt my.
self destined for a maritime career. /
needed more excitement than could be
got out Of shore humdrum life. The
sea was the place for enterprising youth.
full Americans. The American merchant
marine needed American officers and
sailors. All heard me and agreed. No
doubt it was the best thing. And l
talked on and they agreed with all nv
arguments. How people will agree with
you when it's all one to them what you
do! Twas eighteen and in most respects
o fool, including this-that l did not
know it.
The Wizard, on which shipped with
five other boys from my native town,
was first class clipper. She was fine
thing to look at from distance, either
as she lay at anchor, the tracery of her
spars and rigging in relief against the
sky, or speeding along under studding
sails rugged out on both Sides But once
on board and inside her symmetrical
lines, things were not SO beautiful. Those
white, cloud like sails tore mems fingers
as, hard and heavy with ice or snow,
the sailors tried to furl them. Those
graceful, tapering yards, supporting the
studding sails, strained and half crushed
mems backs when lowered and toted
about the deck. There were wooden be-
laying pins, iron marline spikes and 9TH
.er miscellaneous things to fling at mems
heads by those in authority. Those cob
web like ropes had hard, thick ends ly-
ing coiled on deck to lash mems bodies.
We, the six boys, were obliged to leave
Oui hotANC hChtho DCStiuSc tutIC WdSll
room for us on them to earn our bread
and clothes. We were not clearly aware
of this at the time, though an unspoken
sentiment prevailed there, as it does in
most of the older settled states, that the
young man must move away to "seek his
fortune"
The captain of tho Wizard was from
our native town. Therefore myself and
the five other boys had shipped under
him, expecting special favors. A mis-
take. Never sail under captain who
knows your folks at home. You have
no business to expect favoritism; he has
no business to grant it.
l was the last of the six young lubbers
to leave the town for New York. On
the morning of my departure the moth
ers, sisters and other female relatives of
the five who had gone before discovered
many other things which they deemed
necessary for tho urchins to carry on the
voyage. So they bore down on me with
them, and l babe most of these good
people an earthly farewell, loaded down,
In addition to my own traps, with an
assorted cargo Of cakes, sweetmeats, bed
quilts, Bibles, tracts and one copy of
"Young's Night Thoughts" for the boys.
! ate my last dinner as free man at a
Broadway restaurant, and then Invent
to the wharf where the ship lay. Al
ready the tug was alongside, preparatory
to hauling her out in the stream. / went
up the plank and over the side. A gen.
tleman in authority asked me, as l
stepped on deck, if l belonged to the
ship. said l did. take off those togs,
then, put on your working duds and
turn to, them" he remarked. The togs
went off. put on my canvas pants and
flannel shirt, the garb of sea servitude.
Henceforth was slave. The ship just
then was not a Sunday school nor So
ciety for ethical culture. 1t was a howl
ing pandemonium of oaths and orders.
Fully onethird of the able seamen had
not recovered from their closing out
shore spree, and had tumbled into their
berths or were sprawled on deck drunk.
Cargo in cases, bales, boxes and barrels
was still ratified over the bulwarks and
into the hold. Everybody seemed to be
swearing-first, each one on his own
private account, and secondly, all in one
general chorus for mutual purposes.
Many people seemed in command.
couldn't distinguish the officers Of the
ship from the stevedores. Still officers
continued to turn up everywhere, and
each officer ordered me to some particu-
lar and separate duty.
The world looked pretty black to me
then. ] wished there was some way out
Of it. On shore the period between the
foremast hand and the position of cap
tain was only the duration of a thought.
Here 1t was an eternity. Day dreams
are short, real experience is long. But
all this is often in youth difficult mat
ter to realize.
There came along a short, stout man
with deeper voice and more sonorous
oath than anybody else. This was the
fourth and last mate. 1t was a relief to
find at last the end OF the mates and to
know the exact number Of men legiti
mately entitled to swear at me. This
gentleman for season concentrated
himself entirely on me. He ordered me
with a broom and scraper into the ships
pig pen, which he argued needed clean
ing. This was my first well defined
maritime duty. 1t was lower round o.
the ladder than l had anticipated. i
seemed in its nature an occupation NOR
bucolic than nautical. l would hav'
preferred, also, that compliance with tn
order had not been exacted until the shil
had left the wharf, because there wer
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