The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1890-08-16
FUNNY, BUT EXPENSIVE.
Tho Queer freak OF Il Drunken Nsn-SaIae-
what Siartiin. Yarn ofa Sailor who did
not Get his Wages.
From the Nc,r i,orE TriLme.

From the Aese Iori TrjHae.
"The queer things that men will do
when they are drunk" said sailor last
week, care almost past belief sometimes.
| have seen SO many of them that it
takes something unusual, can tell you
to surprise me now. But the very last
piece Of devllment l took part in my
self was the most astonishing of all L
ever heard OF.
81 was walking along this Est riv-r
front here in New York last November,
out of job, when we'll dressed man
stopped me and asked me if wanted
to sign articles for a cruise.
"Where tor says |.
"'Down INTO the tropics, says he
nowhere in particular. I'm gong for
my health in MY own yacht. I'll be
captain, my wife will be cook, ami
you'll be mate and naa Of all work, il
you're an able seaman and know how
to do your duty.
"Well, | signed articles with him
and went aboard his elegan! yacht that
very night. He was a liberal fellow,
and the grub was good, | tell you, but
he turned out to be an awful drink2r,
and soon found that had my hands
full to sail the vessel. My newly found
captain was big, powerful fellow, aud
as passionate as mad bull when drunk,
so that I had to obey orders no matter
what they were. 1t took us a month
or so to work our way down the coast
as far as Florida. The captain sobered
up for a few days at St. Augustine, and
was quite friendly with me, treating me
so liberally to liquor that when We sail
ed from thai ancient town was drunk
and he was sober.
sHe and his wife between them sail
ed the yacht for two Or three days after
that down the desolatc looking coast of
Florida, and then the captain opened
more liquor, got me and himself both
wild again, and then informed me that
he intended to wreck the yacht and
claim the insurance on her. He Offer.
ed me $500 of the insurance to help
him, or the alternative OF being pitched
overheard then and there. Naturally l
preferred the $500.
"The captain informed me that the
barren sand-line | could dimly see to
the westward was one of the many un.
inhabited keys, CT islands, at hesouth-
ern extremity OF the peninsula OF Flor
ida. Here he would beach the vessel,
put a tent on shore with plenty of pro-
visions, camp in comfort, fly a signal
of distress, and trust to passing ship
to rescue US. We were TO swear that
we had been driven ashore IL 4 severe
storm, and had barely escaped with our
lives.
''In order 10 lend probability to our
story we Gu. the yachts mast halt in
two, and then broke il off by pulling on
a rope fastened TO The top. We also
cut hole with axes in the yachts bot
tom, after We had Jcachsd her. No one
but drunken men would nave supposed
for an instant that the marks OF the axe
would not at once arouse suspicion.
But we were very drunk.
CATER we had carried out the pro-
gramme fully and the pretty S25 1000
yacht av dlsmasted and stranded On
the beach, and ali h-r provisions, piano,
turnature and stores had been carefully
housed in the tent on shore, we started
TO erect our signal OF distress to passing
vessels. For this we tried to hoist the
Lio<en mast upright in the sand, but
iolnd 1t quite another thing from pull
lrg it down. The captain struck ne
for not hitting harder and we began to
fi-ht. Oar quarrel was interrupted by
a voice saying:
"llcl'o, strangers, what yer igniin'
about and what yer dcia' campin' o.
my homestead any way?'