The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-28
OLD SHIPPERS YARNS
Good Stories by Sailors Over
Pipes and Glasses.
A GOOD JOKE ON CAPT. ROGERS.
His Experience With a shanghaier-
Capt Bryant's Invasion of Mon
keys-saved by Cross-Eyes-

2
/ Captain Y. L. Rogers told Of himself al
/ such gathering a few days ago:
! Il was when lie was IN command Of q
/ sailing vessel running IN the cotton trade
i some time after the close Of the rebellion.
/ His vessel had taken on 4 cargo Of cotton
AZ New Orleans for England. Seamen
/ were scare, AMI he had considerable dill
| Guilty in securing q crew.
Finally be succeeded in picking them
/ up one by one until he only lacked one
/ man Of full crew. After waiting some
/ time, vainly trying 20 find 4 man 10 iii the
| vacancy. be was driven 20 the extremity Of
! offering s25 for man 70 2 fellow who
/ made a business OF shanchaing sailors for
/ vessels tina; c0Gid not get seamen by legiti-
/ mate means.
| shanghaing seamen means enticing them
/ aboard the vessel and then putting 70 sea
/ with them; Or. as is the more customary
| method, getting them drunk-whenever
| sailors can te found who are willing 70 &C.
| cept free ghisky--and then carrying them
/ aboard, 50 that when they regain their
| senses they find themselves smoothly gid
| ing along on the bosom Of the rolling deep.
II this case the captain gave orders that
| the latter method be employed, and that
| the victim be given so much liquor tha, he
would positively not come To for several
hours, as he wanted 10 make sure that he
got % sea before any trouble resulted. Il
was arranged that the man should be
! brought on board late at night, and AZ the
appointed hour everything was in readi-
ness 10 make sail.
Just as the captain began to grow IN
easy lest his man should fail him, ne heard
the splashing of oars and a moment later
saw the outline OF q small boat carrying
two men pulling on the oars with ali their
might AS the boat drew closer he could
distinguish third man lying stretched
! out at full length in the bottom. HIS
heart beat with Joy as the boat pulled up
alongside the vessel and The man he hired
20 do the job shouted in a suppressed voice:
Here's a regular old salt for you. Now
come down with the greenbacks and take
him aboard
No danger of his coming TO for some
time IS there?" queried the captain in
whisper, as he descended the ladder and
took look 1t the man in the boat.
Never" was the prompt reply.
Well, there's your money" said he.
and he handed the fellow So as agreed
upon.
1t took but short time to get the sailor
lying in the bottom of the boat up onto
the deck OF the vessel and into the fore
castle, where he was placed in a bunk TO
sleep OF the effects OF the liquor. There"
said the captain IN cheerful voice, ''he'll
be ali right in the morning" at tae same
time ordering the balance Of the crew on
deck to hoist anchor and make sail The
two men descended the ladder to their
boat and rowed away, and in short time
the vessel was moving out over the gulf
under full sail.
The sun was high in the morning when
the captain went TO the forecastle 70
awaken the drunken sailor before going
OF watch himself. and, after pulling az him
two or three times. he discovered that the
man was dead. 1t then dawned uuon him
for the first time that he had been made
the victim of a confidence game and was
out SIS for a corpse instead Of a drunken
sailor.
Captain Bryant is another old-tirne
| skipper who can tell some amusing stor-
! les. Captain Bryan1's stories, however,
! are weak in this particuar-the captain
making il the one object Of his life never
| TO deviate from the truth, not even TO lend
| finish to a good story, his yarns (as those
| who do not know him might call them)
| lack the polish, the touch which can come
| from the Imagination alone. Here is one
| OF them:
| a number Of years ago he made several
/ voyages 10 the eastern coast Of South
| America. and on one occasion went up the
/ Amazon river for a considerable
/ distance-far enough so the branches
/ OF the tress on the banks
/ on each side almost met above the masts
! Of the vessel, the trees there being much
| taller than here. the captain says. The
! monkeys used TO form chains across the
| river by swinging from the branches Of
| the trees and clinging 10 each other. ami
! IS the vessel passed beneath, the center
| ones would cling 10 the masts, those on
/ the ends Of the chain would loosen their
! holds on the trees. and a whole regiment
| of monkeys land aboard the vessel One
| morning the steward opened the skvlight
! of the aiter-Cabin just q he finished put
/ ting breakfast on the table and in less
! than minute aiterward, when he entered
the cabin. be found every particle
/ OF food on the table gone and
/ the last monkey making his exit
! through the skylight. lie ran out, and.
! looking up in the yards. there he saw
/ thousands Of monkeys, each with a piece
| Of bread, biscuit, q piece Of meat, a potato
! or something in its paws. and when he
/ called the captains attention TO them.
I they began petting him with the food.
| The steward y IS so angry that he ran for
/ gun 10 shoot some OF them, but the can
! tam was afraid the monkeys would over
/ power the crew and take possession of the
/ vessel in retaliation. and lie finally per
/ sua1ed the steward 10 let them alone.
/ These eyes were the means of making
+ me hero enc night when I undoubtedly
/ would otherwise have been the victim of \
/ shanghaier, said an old sailor, as ne sat
/ SHINING yarns with number Of
/ his fellows IN g saloon on the
/ front the other day. The PECULIARLY
/ IN his eyes to which he referred IS being
| responsible for his good fortune Oh the oc-
| cas.on was that ot being abie 70 see an OBJ
/ ]ett While looking in line 81 right angles
/ 10 It-in other words, he vas c-oss-eved.
/ 1t was in san Francisco in the early
I days continued he. An English vessel
/ named the Australia vas YIN. in port sew
| eral days after she finished loading f,r
| Liverpool. waiting 20 ship a crew, a. her
crew hal deserted her on account of had
| treatment. | was IN saloon when agpur
| comes IN and asks ne 70 have q drink.
, After We drank he asked me # did not
! want 70 ship or the vessel | told him
| l would never ship on any vessel ON
! ~AIch the sailors were 50 badly
! abused. he replied that he would not
| either; that tGe captain wanted him N
| ship. but he refused. but be thought I
| might want 20 20, as he knew from nv
| LOOKS thar / vas sailor began 70 be a
httle suspicious when he ordered another