Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-12-29
HOW THE STEAMER SANK

We took ia l5- mail bags and 342
passengers at Queenstown. and there
wa "A good deal of confusion a. the
steamer headed away To the west. for
We had shipped $50 passengers ia all at
Liverpool and il was "a pretty tight hit
i'm the steerage. | >taid on deck un-
til after IL at night. Shes going il.
l said. by way of opening "a converse
ton. Yes, by the hockey, shes doing
siNteens now, and if the wind only
comes around she'll score eighteens like
winking. Its rather thick to drive
her. isn't it, Thick be blowed.
We amt got To mind that much. We
shall slow her down a bit if We blum
der into a regular fog, but she can't
spare a yard. Reckon we shall aver
az seventeens right across Our talk
went on till the curtain Of midnight
wa fairly folded around Us. and then |
went aft 10 lend a hand with the log.
Sure enough we were going ~siXteens,
and our progress was rather like that
Of a mackerel than a ship.
The enormous pulse of the engines
sent great tremor, from stem 10 stern,
and at every wheeling lash Of the pro-
peIler the boat thrust her way through
the bIJck mountain, that anne down
on hsr. tossing their savage white
cre~ts. la the morning the gale blew
harder aud the deck, were almost de
sc -.4-. I. Ella. H.ra -..-.r..I I.r.H-
vino came up "a smoke iu the ALLEYS
It was not tilI the fourth day we had "a
fine spell of sunshine. and from the
fore hatch To- the spare wheel the deck
was crauu-d with j]u-riinc lines o.
pale but cheerful people | did NOT
much ike the appearance of our Liver
pool lot. ] had au intermediate ticket.
but / wandered among the >teerage
company without much interruption
until / happened 10 stumble against
one of the English ruugh,. / begged
pardon. but rLe >uriy fellow said
What be- r-t mOochiu round here for
Say. Curly. see rhi, blank swine ma
jorin round, zf the place blongri
tom. I'M give you my toe. my joker.
fore You can say knife If you come
that agiu, ! said. I've asked your
pardon. my man. and / assure YOU it
was an accident A. for your toe. /
advise you not 10 Try ir ou. / have "a
full allowance of toes and boots. lie
was a fellow with that type of snake
head which denotes the fighting man
his iowl was vast; the point Of his jaw
vas covered by the strained skin which
showed how he was clenching his
teeth. and his evil little eyes looked
veuOmous under h!s rugged, bestiai
brows. He said. DO you know who
/ ann I'm jim Cormick, and I'm
going out to spar with the Boston boy. 3"
/ was not much alarmed, though l saw
his fist would mark me if he got home.
His friends came around, and / am
bound 70 say that they were as un-
pleasant "A lot as you can meet. There
was no sign Of discipline among the
$50 steerage passengers, though it is
fair to say hat the foreigners behaved
admirably. When a vessel hove up
there was a nasty rush TO the side
where she could be seen, and the
women had 70 get out Of the way a.
best they could. The officers uni
forms cowed the most offensive Of the
rOwdies, but / don think the terror
was very deep seated. The after cabin
passengers we're a nice lot, and | par
ticularly admired some of the ladies
who came out in sea rig and made
the deck gay. One Englishman of dis
tinction attracted me strangely. He
had his wife and family with him, and
a more beautiful group | saw.
The eldest girl was a dark beauty
about eighteen years Of age, and it was
a pretty sight 70 see her father beauing
her about. The time ven by pleas
antly enough with US all, but | did
wish that some sort Of discipline could
have been established among the more
blaekguardly males, for their games
were senseless and offensive.
ION the fifth night out the moon
shone beautifully, and we were sur.
rounded by a fretwork Of silver. ]
could not sleep for the very delight Of
living. and / walked up and down
Grooming over old rhymes under the
glad mystery of the night. a sudden
freak prompted me to hoist myself NJ
from the alley, and | had a look al
four of the boats. The t~hOlepins wer'
laid ready, water casks were made fast
forward, oars dashed handily, plug
out 1 counted the thwarts, and j
struck me that the other four boat.