Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-11-28
BIT CAPTAIN W. H. SHELTON.

amt complainin o. grub er prou
aboard this ere raft, but if the old man
had been so eminded as to take INV adj.
wise and leave the cook cat aboard std.
def heavin her over the rail soon's
We left port the brig nd a-been max.
in into Boston in another week stidder
heviu gone to Davy Jones', and him.
with the rest of the crew, clawin sea.
weed 'longside of her. wouldn't kur
ropes end fur this ere turn in the
tIdc," continued Bill, takin an ex.
trihalf hitch in his lashin's, IF hadn't
made date with shipmet o. mine.
Lijah Hawkins by name, hailin from
New Bedford. when he's afloat, but now
bgiu ashore i'll them ere parts. When
pass my word, Jack, it's same's if I
signed articles. and that's morn I've
done aboard this crib
The raft was made of spars and empty
pork barrels. with q cutdown lib rigced
an q jury mast forward, and our stores
and dunnaye in lead colored chest
dashed amidships alongside of the water
cask, and the whole drippin outfit roll
inc. on the seas. climbin up hill and
souSin into the trough and clawin off
sideways like fiddler crab.
Accordin to our reckonin, this was
the 18th of November (year '45), and
three days before the brig Nancy of
Portland, from Liverpool into Boston,
with cargo Of tin plate, had been
struck by an easter, and the captain had
driven her before the winds for as
hours under next to bare poles until her
fore and main sticks went overheard in
an extra gale, and her rotten old hull
Spr.Sng a-loak. When the old man gave
up the pumps, expectin her to go down
before mornin. we provisioned the two
quarter boats regular, and the captain,
hevin the compass, and Bill Marlin,
belu mate of the Nancy, hevin only
the ships barometer to sail by, the crew
was That crazy to go in the captain S boat
that they swarmed over the side and
swamped her before our eyes, leavin
Bill and me leanin on the rail and the
old man and all hands goin to the bot
tom. like lead afore we could heave 'em
30 much as a ropes end.
Me and Bill eased away the other
boat, and when she struck the water
cross sea stove her against the brig
and crushed her like an eggshell.
'Shipmet," says Bill, lit amt fittin
70 20 to sea jist yit, and what we've got
20 do is pump 'er," and pump her we
dId all that night, watch and watch,
the other one lashin the raft. By morn
IN the water had gained nine inches
On US, and the ship had settled that
much by the side Bills face was long,
but ne allowed it warn't no use to put
of ill the raft was shipshape and her
stores lashed proper, SO we worked and
pumped till near noon and swung the
whole outfit overheard by the mizzin-
mast boom and got onto it in our oil
skin pajamers and clear of the Nancy
III time to see her go down bow on.
When ! asked Bill what the nature
ot his engagement with Hawkins of
New Bedford might be, he said it was
social and religious and included wearin
alongside and heavin aboard Thanks
givin dinner. and he had the old mans
consent beforehand for the cruise ashore.
II was two year shipmet with Lige
abound Bedford whaler up north in
- and ., and then struck him agin in
- aboard West India lime juicer in
thccnastin trade, and comm into Boston
"n time we had shore leave together
un Thanksgivin day, and bein New Eng
land born of honest fisherfolks we kept
Inc day proper, accordin to our lights.
Tho next seen of o. Lige after We left
the lime juicer was when we saw break
m out the Nancy's cargo alongside the
Liverpool docks him a-celebratin his
last day ashore afore the schooner sailed
Tor New York and long with i'm Ka-