Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-01-11

Ianttc or Pacific ocean with hfteen or
twenty tons of pea green sea water foam
ing over the t'gallant forecastle, cascad-
ing thence on the spar deck and washing
everything movable slam bang up and
sometimes into the cabin. This took
place onco on washday. Sailors wash
day Is often regulated by the supply Of
water caught from tho clouds. On this
particular occasion the fore deck was
full OF old salts up to their barred elbows
In suds, vigorously discoursing washtub
and washboard. Then the flood came,
and In a moment the deck was filed
with great surge bearing on its crest
all these old salts struggling among their
tubs, their washboards, their soap and
partly washed garments. Tho cabin
bulkhead partly stopped somc, but the
door being open others were borne partly
inside, and their woolen shirts were af-
terward found stranded on the carpeted
cabin floor. One "duff day" we had
gathered about our extra repast In the
boys house. The duff and New Orleans
molasses had just commenced to disap-
pear.
Then shining, greenisb, translucent
cataract filed tho doorway from top to
bottom. It struck boys, beef, bread
duff and dishes. IL scattered them. II
tumbled them in various heaps. 1t was
n brief season Of terror, splitting and
sputtering salt water. and scramblipg
for life, as we thought. II washed under
hunks and In remote corners duff, bread,
beef, plates, knives, forks, cups, spoons
and molasses bottles. The dinner was
lost. Going on deck we found couple
Of feet Of water swashing from bulwark
TO bulwark with every roll, bearing with
it heavy blocks and everything movable
which had been looscned by the shock,
TO the great risk of legs and bodies. But
these were triles. At least we call them
triflcs when they arc over. have mo-
ticed, however, that man may swear
MS hard at jammed finger as broken
leg, and tho most efficacious means i'm
the world TO quickly develop furious
temper is to loose ones dinner when
hungry, get wet through, then abused
by Dutch mate for not stirring around
quicker, and finally work all the after
noon setting things to rights on an
empty stomach, robbed and disappoint-
cd of its duff. This Is no trifc.
Learning the ropes isn't all boy s first
lessons at sea. He must learn also to
wash and mend his own clothes. At
least he must try to learn and go through
the forms. never could wash q flannel
shirt, and how tho extraneous matter
called dirt, which the washing process is
tnfan1a1 tf,I I;snnro, ts ,;l % t,x,
soap and muscle at an equal average
over the entire surface of the garment Is
for me today one of carth's mysteries. I
could wash shirt in spots; when tried
TO convince myself that had finished it,
could still see where l had washed clean
and where had not. There is n certain
system In the proper manipulation of n
garment in washtub which to me is in
comprehensive. An old sailor is usually
Those on the Wizard would reprove the
boys for their slipshod work. "Such a
slovenly washed shirt as that" said Con-
ner, an old man-of wars man, chung in
the rigging is a disgrace to the ship"
He alluded to one of mine. The failure
was not from any lack of labor put on it.
The trouble lay in that l didn't know
where to put the labor on.
twas particularly disagreeable at mid
night as we assembled at the bell ropes
to give her the last "shake up" and,
more asleep than awake, pulled wearily,
with monotonous clank. Sometimes ut
that hour, when our labors were half
through, the valves would get out of
order. 1t was then necessary to call the
carpenter and have them repaired. This
would keep us on deck half an hour or
more, for by mutual compact each watch
was obliged to 'suck its own pumps. "
Such delays made the men very angry.
They stopped singing at their work al
ways a bad sign-and became silent, mo-
rose and sullen. For the first six weeks
all tho "shanti-songs" known on the sea
had been sung. Regularly at each pump
ing exercise we had "Santy Anna"
"Bully in the Alley" miranda Lee,''
"Storm Along, John" and other operate
maritime gems, some of which might
have a place in our modern operas of
"The Pinafore" school.
There's good deal of rough melody
when these airs are rolled out by twenty
or thirty strong lungs to the accompani.
ment of windlass' clank and the wild,
shrill sweep of the winds in the rigging
above. But tho men would no longer
sing. The fact was reported to the cap
tain. He put on his spcctacles. walked
out on the quarter deck and gazcd at
them moufnfully and Teprovingly. The
mates tried to incite them to renewed
melody. But the shipping articles did
not compel them to sing unless they felt
like it. The pumps clanked gloomily
without any cnlivcning chorus. The
captain went sadly back to his cabin and
renewed his novel.
PRENTICE MULFoRD.