The Portland daily press., 1894-02-07
wine in THE Fo'CAS'LE.
Jack Tar Had a Great Time on the
Good Ship America.
THE WONDER is THAT HE DIDN'T
BLOW THE VESSEL UP.

the Voyage of Pe1xot0s war snip Was
One Long Spree, in Which Officers and
Men Alike Took Part-The Sailors
Champagne in the Forecastle.
New York. February 6.-Among the
men who returned from Brazil on the
steamship Wordsworth form Rio dc
Janeiro and Pernanibuco was John d.
Price, who shipped as gunner's mate on
the improvised war vessel America when
she left this port on November "a.
Mr.. Price is young man of more than
ordinary intelligence, and was for 6
short time engaged in daily newspaper
work in this city. The story he related
last nigh regarding the experiences OF
tie men on board the America from the
time she rea ched Pernambuco would
furnish material for a most sensational
novel.
The news comes from him, for the first
time, that the America barely escaped
being taken control of by the seamen,
and had it not been for the cooler heads
and the fact that the captain acceded to
their demands in every detail their is
not the slightest doubt that the vessel
would have put to sea under the control
of m utinous crew.
So near did this move come to being
carried out th at the magazines were
broken open. ammunition was taken
from fore and aft, and every gun aboard
the ship was loaded, preparatory to resist
ing any attempt on the part of The au-
I, Of bI1r In dQt0In her
Mr.. Price related a tale of thesseverest
treatment ON the part of the officers to-
ward the men, and said that, with few
exceptions, the officers aboard the vessel
became at times so hilarIously drunk
that they mingled with the crew, theil
orgies being kept up at short Intervals
throughout the voyage.
With such examples as these to follow,
the sailors. at the first opportunity, he
said broke open the WINE room, and con-
fiscated baskets of champagne, bottles OF
whiskey and rum, and every man on
board, from the deck boys to the boat
swain. was gloriously drunk and was
ready to fight any body and everything
that came in sight.
They would have sworn allegiance to
Mello, da CANA, Peixoto OF anybody
else.
Incidents of the voyage of the America,
was told by Mr.. Price, from the time she
left this city follow:
After leaving this port we made
straight for St. Thomas. We reached
there at O'Clock on the evening of De
cember /, and anchored off shore. The
Nictheroy was lying about one hundred
yards to leeward We signaled her with
lights and she responded.
ave lay off shore until 6 o'clock on the
morning of the third, when the order
came to weigh anchor, and we entered
the harbor. Just why we entered the
harbor none of us ever knew, for at one
O'Clock the same afternoon we weighed
anchor again and put to sea. The
Nictheroy was directly in advance of us
and we kept her company all the eve
ming That night she drew away fron
us and was lost to sight.
"It was on the afternoon of the follow
ing day, December 4, that Captain Cross
man fell from the bridge and broke his
leg. The accident was looked upon as
an ill omen by many of the seamen. At
any rate, from the very moment that
Capt. Crossman's leg was broken there
was long chain of experiences rougher
than care to ever go through again.
AT that time we had passed St. Pierre,
and were off the islands of Martinique.
Suddenly it was reported that the pumps
had broken down, and it was then that
not only the seamen and petty officers,
but the chief officers as well, began to
think that there were traitors on board
in the employ Of Mello, who were deter
mined at all hazards to disable the
America so that she could not proceed.
capt. Crossman ordered the disabled