Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-11-27

l amt complainin o. grub er grog
aboard this ere raft, but if the old man
had been SO eminded as to take my ad-
wise and leave the cook cat aboard Std
der heavin her over the rail soon's
we left port the brig 'u'd a-been MAX
in into Boston in another week stidder
hevin gone to Davy Jones', and him,
with the rest Of the crew, clawin sea-
weed 'longside of her. I wouldn't kur
ropes end fur this ere turn in the
tide" continued Bill, takin an ex-
ira half hitch in his lashin's, eff hadn' t
made a date with a shipmet O. mine,
Lijah Hawkins by name, hailin from
New Bedford, when he's afioat, but now
bein ashore in them ere parts. When
l pass my word, Jack, it's same's if l
signed articles, and that's MORN I've
done aboard this crib"
The raft was made of spars and empty
pork barrels, with a cutdown jib rugged
on jury mast forward, and our stores
and dunnage in lead colorcd chest
lashed amidships alongside of the water
cask, and the whole drippin outfit roll
ing 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 48
hours under next to bare poles until her
fore and main sticks went overheard in
an extra gale, and her rotten old hull
sprang a-leak. 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,
bein mate Of the Nancy, hevin only
che 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
so much as ropes end.
Me and Bill eased away the other
boat, and when she struck the water
a cross sea stove her against the brig
and crushed her like an eggshell.
''Shipmet, says Bill, sit amt fittin
to go to sea jist yit, and what we've got
to do is pump err 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 he allowed it warn't no use to put
off till 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
in time to see her go down bow on.
When l asked Bill what the nature
of 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.
81 was two year shipmet with Lige
abound Bedford whaler up north in
8s and 9, and then I struck him agin in
AZ aboard West India lime juicer in
the coastin trade, and comm into Boston
ON time we had shore leave together
on Thanksgivin day, and bein New Eng
land born of honest fisherfolks we kept
the day proper, accordin to our lights.
The next seen of O. Lige after we left
the lime juicer was when we saw break
in out the NaNcy's cargo alongside the
Liverpool docks him a-celebratin his
last day ashore afore the schooner sailed
for New York and long with i'm Ka-