The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-07-13

are crowded by excited laughing children.
EVERYBODY smiles, even if here and there a
heart is breaking. One can barely hear his
and steward is in his brightest uniform.
The 'longshoremen with wild yells and ex-
cited cursings are slowing away driblets of
over-late freight. Supplementary U. S.
mails, without which your vessel cannot
sail, are flung wildly on board. Suddenly
ashorer' shouts the stewards. It is kneil
to merriment. Faces lengthen. A tremor
is in the voice. You can hardly see your
friends faces now. Then the embraces, the
hand-grasps, the lip-pressures leal and true
-ah, some of them the last precious earthly
message of heart and soul to soul and heart!
The captain on the bridge mods his head.
Away go the forward lines. Then his hand
pulls a stout cord. The fog-horn roars and
bellows, and the gang planks are cleared
from the ship. Another nod from the cap
tain and away the aft lines 60. The great
vessel slips back into the stream, her PROV
and stern seeming to reach half across the
Hudson. One cannot call back there to the
pier if he would. The throat is too full and
your heart hurts you SO. Your eyes can
make no ones face out clearly. Half
Thousand ashore have pressed forward to
the bulkheads. You can only see mass of
moving color, waving scarfs and handker-
chiefs, and some who are reaching far and
farther out. as if they must come to where
you are. In moment more you turn away
heartsick from it all. Shortly the pilot is
discharged at Sandy Hook lightship, and
before you get through revolving wild and
tlattening down upon the western horizon
and the great steamship is racing in her
| course across the sea.
After ones steamer is we'll out of sight of
land your eyes begin to open to the fact that
| you are shut i'll upon the sea with an ex-
/ trADr01nnFllV CpmnaCt nf hnmanity
Think of little city of two thousand souls
| within less than the cubic space comprised
in the dimensions of say 500 feet in length
SO feet in width and 40 feet in depth!
| And yet you are but one individual of the
great number thus strangely environed.
Indeed great ocean steamer is large lit
tie world full OF most interesting objects
and activities. To begin with, going either
way. during the season." there is likely
to be GOO cabin passengers. The "steer-
average 1000 each way, the steer
ages immensely ,preponderatins to-
| wards New York and the
Intermediates crowding the second cabins
to overlooking on the passage to Liverpool.
There are LOGO in these three classes. Be
men and women, than comprise a regular
army regiment and the legitimate attaches
| of post. There is the captain, or com.
mander, and his right-hand man. the chief
| officer. From six to eight deck officers
| ranking as first, second and third, officers
are provided to assist in the navigation OF
the ship. and three of these under officers
are on deck day and night. Those who may
be properly called seamen among the crew
are the boatswain. boatswain's mate and
from 36 to 40 sailors. From twelve to four
teen of these are called quartermasters who
are detailed to steer the ship. stand lookout
and, as masters alarms, act as a sort OF
shipboar police squad. These sailors also
include two ships carpenters, who are rig
dgers, plumbers and boiler makers as wei
and who must hold themselves in readiness
for labor at all hours of the day and night
In charge of the engines and machinery are
chief engineer and from % to 80 assistant
engineers, 5 or 6 electricians, or donkey.
men, 30 to 35 head fremen. and SO to &c
common tiremen. The latter shovel coal
J INTO the furnaces, and their work in hoi
weather Is something fearful. The head
hremen are called ''greasers." and they oil
and clean the machinery, while the donkey
men are foremen in charge of the boilers
In this class there are also from 60 to Il
! bunkers into the stoke-hole. In what Nigh
be termed the hotel department of the steam
ship there are from $50 to 200 people EN-
ployed. There will be a purser. or account
ant and paymaster, with one or two assist
!. ants; surgeon-a vealy medical-schoo
graduate whose employment is an insult t.
intelligent people of standing and a con
slant menace to the health of American
and British ports-and an assistant; a frs,
and second steward, and a chief stewardess
Under their supervision about III
to 200 people are distributed
according to the e1egencies Of