Mexico weekly ledger., 1890-07-17
SOME SAILOR STORIES.
The "O1d Salts" Guying The
Editor Down East-They
Eat Whales Raw.
EDITORIAL Correspondence OF the Ledger.

summer girl are here in force. The
latter shows off to the best advan-
tage while dressed in her bathing
suit in the water, or rather just as
she goes in when she comes out
she at first looks like a wet stock
Ing stretched on a lath, but after
summing herself on the sand for a
while she shows up all right.
Her eyes are bright, her smile is
bland;
She walks in beauty's pride,
The girl who promenades the sand,
Until her hair is dried.
But she will ne'er be deemed a belle,
Nor will the youth admire
The maid who goes to the hotel
And dlies hers at the fire.
The above does not apply to a
red-headed girl we saw to-day. Her
hair never needs drying. The city
boarders who put on the most style
are not always the most wealthy or
the best people. This is true the
world over. A family from New
York came to a summer resort not
a thousand miles from here not q
thousand years ago and put on style
ten foot thick and a mile and a
half in breadth. Nothing was good
enough; there were not servants
enough; the ocean was not big
enough; there were not enough
grains of sand; the days were
either too short or too long, and
the nights too light or too dark, ct
cetera. 1t turned out in evidence
that this family, while at home in
a tenement house in New York
City, took in washing.
1t is a great pleasure to listen to
the yarns spun by the retired sea
captains who live hereabouts, many
of whom can knock "Uncle" Abe
Hit and Judge Edwards out in one
round. While yachting to-day an
old friend of my father told me
the following story among many
others, which he expected us to
believe land we trust, when he reads
this, no Sunday School children
will hear what he says:
The cold salt" did not crack a
smile while he related the nara
tive. He said he shipped upon a
big whaler as an able seaman,
bound for the coast of Finland. He
was asleep in his hammock one
day when the cry came from the
lookout: "There she blows" He
scrambled on deck. Aquarter of q
mile away were tour of the largest
whales he had ever seen.
The captain gave orders for the
boats to be lowered. He, along
with two of his shipmates and Pau
Jones, the harpooner, got in the
first boat, while the first and Sec
ond mates, each with four sailors,
got into the remaining boats.
After 40 hours hard rowing they
came up with one of the largest
whales.
Paul stood erect on the boat for a
moment and then plunged his har.
pooh deep into the whales back.
1t Immediately dived, while the
line played out like lightning, all
the while pulling the boat along at
a terrific pace.
Night was coming on; the other
boats and the ship were nowhere
to be seen.
All at once the boat was lifted
out of the water and knocked into
splinters. The cold salt" and the
first mate chung to an oar that was
floating past.
They looked around for their
shipmates, but owing to the dark
ness could not see them. While
searching for them he observed
that the whale was dead, and he
Immediately swan to it and got
onto its back, the first mate doing
the same.
Drawing a long breath, he contin-
ued, "No mortal can describe the
sufferings we endured that night.
We sustained ourselves for five
days on the carcass, until we were
picked up by an English vessel
boand for home"
We offered this ''jolly tar" a
job on the LEDGER, which he de-
clined with thanks, saying, "No,
Bob, l don't think I would suit
you ; I never stretch the truth and
would not, even to boom Missouri"
An able seaman can spin a rank
yarn and believe it himself. Some
people claim to think some editors
are able seamen to this extent.
1t is 81 in the sun as I write by
the stove. This is my idea of the
kind of weather farmers should
have during harvest, but some
farmers never have anything they
should. A good farmer will take
are of his weather, his stock and
his tools. This is harvest time with
us farmers, and as l was not in the
business at planting time l did a
noble days work yesterday in
reaping about 20 pounds of picker
ell in the forenoon and a couple OF
bushels of wortleberries in the af-
ternoon. At night I reaped the
rich reward enjoyed only by those