Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1890-01-23

question fred at them. They seem to
think that everybody ought to know by
intuition the odds and ends acquired in q
lifetime on the vastly deep, and that ask
ing questions is an idle pastime which
should be frowned upon. For this rea-
son, perhaps, the Cap'n remained silent,
and the lubber, seeing that he had made
bad break, considerably refrained from
repeating his question. After thought
fully contemplating his feet for several
minutes the Cap'n suddenly observed:
These here remarks about old people
makes me think of shipmate l once
had named William Henry McTumble.
WAS McTumble really his manner" the
tandsman asked.
mo; his right name was McFall, but he
thought that was too harsh and abrupt.
So he changed it to McTumble, which he
said was more musical and less liable to
lar on the sensitive ears of his shipmates.
He had whole bagful of books, some Of
'em two inches thick, but he could read
them Just the same. He said it was
against the law for man to change his
name without permission, but still he
couldn't be arrested for it if the change
meant the same as the original, even if it
was put in milder form. And reckon
he ought to know, for he read enough
books.
William Henry was Scotchman, who
had sailed the salt seas for thirty years
before met him, ten years ago. in the
guard-ship at the Mare Island (Cal.l
yard. He was then a grabbed, dried.
up old mariner of 70, and I reckon he's
sailing yet About three months before
l met him he had quit the sea forever,
Ind gone into the hills of California tc
work on farm. But he told me after.
ward that he hadn't the stuff in him thai
farmers were made of. He was one day
trying to raise calf by band, he said
Ind, in order to teach the animal to
drink, William Henry nailed a piece OF
leather in the bottom of the bucket and
poured some milk in on it. The strap
was about two inches long, and Williams
object was to get the calf to suck the
leather and drink the milk at the same
time. So William held the pail in his
left hand and let the calf suck o mouth
full of the fingers on his right, while he
gradually steered its nose into the pail.
The calf found the strap, but on the first
about gallon of milk up into it's head
through its hawse- pipes or nose holes.
Then it backed out of the pail and
snorted, blowing the milk into William
Henry McTumble's eyes, hair, and whis-
kers. He was SO mad he batted the calf's
brains out with the pail. He said he
didn't like the business, and wouldn't
ship on another farm again as long as he
lived. The farmer had to let William
go, but he held onto his three months
wages to Offset the calf. So William
Henry returned to his home on the roll
ing deep.
When he came aboard the guards he
was rgged up in a suit of brown Califor-
MIA oyeralls, heavy, hobnailed shoes, a
fur cap, and little wooden muffler twisted
around his neck. | reckon he had worn
that mufiier day and night, winter aud
summer, since he first left Scotland as a
boy. He never took it off during the
three years we sailed together, and when
first met William Henry his mufller was
full of curdled milk that the calf had
snorted into it."
Did William Henry know he was run
ming milk route?" asked the lubber.
Il spose he did, yet he never said any
thing about it, But you never saw
man 80 tickled over getting safely off of
dry land as William Henry was. He got
into suit of sailor togs as soon as he
could keeping nothing but his muffler
and hobnailed shoes, and went strolling
about the deck. He said it did his feet
good to tread the oakum seams, and that
it would be u chilly day when anybody
when he wasn't reading out of his
books he carried a full spread of canvas
on his jaw rigging and talked blue
streak. He was the talkiest A. b. ever
knew and was always going on with what
he knew about the marine service. He
knew more ahout it than did the printed
rules and regulations for the government
of the United States navy and wasn't
afraid to say so. Then, his voice was one
of those kind tn incite people to riot,
wheezy, choked-up. rasping, gasping |
voice that makes folks tired to listen 10 it |
And his endless flow of words rippled out
OF him like the low, monotonous gurgle |
of Il busted steampipe under water. You'll |
always find that n man with one of
these voices wants 10 do oil the talking
himself"
"That's what we do; n sometimes sea-
men with smooth-sailin' voices, remarked |
Watkins, gazing up into the sky with a
far-away look in his eyes.
The Cap'n looked hard at Watkins, but
his suspicious, if he had any, were dis
pelled by the sanity expression on that |
individuals face. So he went on with his
story.
"Of course, this everlasting talk and
reading got William Henry reputation
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