The Press., 1890-02-20

SASS%saEE was called as
 usual, and after the usual bungling and fishing in the well for the broken valves, they were put in order again. was then nearly 1 8. 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 it was the business of the others. The watch below were bidden to come on deck and perform their neglected duty. They refused. This was mutiny. The four mates got their pistols, entered the fore castle and stormed, ordered and threat ened. It was of no avail. The fifteen able seamen who refused constituted the main strength and effectiveness of that Z 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- mained shackled until the next morn ing. It was then discovered that it was { impossible to work the ship without their aid. Of course they couldn't handle the vessel in irons.
 The Wizard rated over 5000 tons, and many a frigate of her size would have been. deemed poorly off with less than one hundred men for handling the ship z. 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 2 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 s side would win. I felt rather unpleasant and alarmed. Though not full fedged mutiny and a conversion of a peaceful merchantmen into pirate, it did look at one time as if the initiatory steps to such end were being taken.
 One of the great aims of existence at sea is that of keeping the decks clean. The scrubbing, swishing and swashing is performed by each watch on alternate mornings, and commences at Daylight. \ It was the one ordeal which I regarded with horror and contempt. You are called up at 4 in the morning, when the sleep of growing youth is soundest. K The maniacaI wretch of the other watch, who does the calling, does itswith the glee and screech of fiend. He will not stop his "AH h-a-a-nds!. until he hears sonne. responsive echo from the s1eepers. He is noisy ands joyous be- cause it is so near the time he can turn in. And these four hours of sleep at sea are such luxuries as may rarely, be- real .ized on shore. But the mates watch is calling us, screeching, bowling, thump- ing on the forecastle door, and making himself extremely pleasant { }'FS
 We are called and on deck, and stum- bling about, maybe with one boot half on, and more asleep than awake and more 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 a light wind aft We are carrying studding sails. E Studding sails are beautiful to look at from a distance. But when once you have sailed in 8 ship carrying them from the royals down and know something of | the labor of rigging them out ell on one side, fore, main and mizzen masts, and then, if the breeze alters a couple of points, taking the starboard sails all down and rigging out the larboard, or perhaps on both sides-and this on Sunday af- teriloon, when there are no jobs and you've been expecting plenty of leisure to eat your, duff and molasses; or if 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 brought up, sails, blocks and everything nova ble was bringing up also with a series of laid out on royal yard trying to pass a heavy rope through the s'jewel block, 7 lg atthe extreme. end thereof. while the mast and yard were Aoscillating to and fro with you through the air in a rapid ly recurring series of gigantic arcs caused by theiazy swell, in the trough of which your ship is roNing-and at the end of each roll you find yourself holding on l. for. dear life, lest at the termination sof each oscillation you be shot like an ar row into the sea. from your insecure perch-why in all these cases the beauty and picturesqueness of a ship under studding sails will be tempered by some l., sober realities. .~-.. ..---. ,,. -,. ,---- . I It is f5:G0or o'clock. The morning light has come. The cry of t'Turn tor [ Is heard. That is, fsturn to" to wash down decks, an operation which will tax tbe already exhausted resources of an
 empty stomach until breakfast time at 8
 o'clock. The mates have their fragrant "cabin coffee'' and biscuit served them
 On the brass capstan aft; we can smell
 it's 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 | to be that of keeping men busy for the sake of keeping them busy. The top of
 every deck plank must be scrubbed with
 care and scrutiny beftting the labors of diamond polisher 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