Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1895-09-10
A MILD ORIENTAL.

and nobody cared whether he was right
nr wrong.
Three years ago, when the Elsass-
Lothringen steamer Saarbuok was coal
ing at Alden and the weather was very
hot indeed, Nurkeed, the big fat Zanzi-
bar stoker who fed the second right
furnace 30 feet down in the hold, got
leave to go ashore. He departed
'Seodee boy" as they call the stokers
he returned the full blooded Sultan of
Zanzibar--his royal highness Sayyid
Burgash-with bottle in each hand.
Then he sat on the fore hatch grating
eating salt fish and onions and singing
the songs of far country. The food be-
longed to Pambe, the serang, or head
man Of the laScar sailors. Ho had just
cooked it for himself, turned to borrow
some salt, and when he came back Nur.
keed's dirty fingers were spading into
the rice. A serang Is a person Of i'm.
portance, far above u stoker, though the
stolser draws better pay. He sets the
chorus of ''Hya, hullal Heeah, heh, "
when the captains gig is pulled up to
the davits. He heaves the lead, too, and
sometimes, when all the ship is lazy,
he puts on his whitest muslin and
big red sash and plays with the passen-
gers children on the quarter deck.
Then the passengers give him money,
and he saves it for an orgie at Bombay,
Calcutta or Pulu Penang
"Ho, you fat, black barrel, you're
eating my food" said Pambe in the
other lingua franca which begins where
the Lovant tongue stops and runs from
Port Said eastward till east is west and
the sealing briRs OF the Kurile islands
gossip with Hakodate junks
"Son OF Eblis, monkey face, dried
sharks liver, pig man, am the Sultan
Sayyid Burgash and the commander OF
all this ship Take away your garbage, "
and Nurkecd thrust the empty pewter
rico plate into Pambe's hand. Pambe
beat 1t into basin over Nurkeed's
woolly head. Nurkeed drew his sheath
knife and stabbed Pambe in the leg.
Painbe drew his sheath knife, but Nur-
keed dropped down into the darkness OF
tho hold and spat through the grating
at Pambe, who was staining the fore
deck with his blood.
Only the big white moon saw these
things, for the officers were looking
after the coaling and the passengers
were tossing in their close cabins. "All
right" said Pambe, and went forward
to tie up his leg, 1--WE will settle the
account later. He was Malay, born
in India, married once in Burma,
where his wife had cigar shop ON the
shwe Dagon road; once in Singapore to
a Chinese girl and once in Madras 10 a
Mohammedan woman who sold fowls,
| The English sailor cannot, owing 70
postal and telegraph facilities, marry
90 profusely as he used TO do, but ma
tive sailors can, being uninfiuenced by
the barbarous inventions OF the western
sayaaa Pambe was good husband
when he happened to remember the ex'
istence of a wife, but he was also very
good Malay, and ID is not wise to offend
a Malay, because he docs not forget any
thing. Moreover, in Pambe's case blood
had been drawn and food spoiled. Next
morning Nurkeed rose with y blank
mind. He was no longer sultan OF Zan'
zibar. but very hot stoker. So he went
on deck and opened his jacket TO the
morning breeze till sheath knife came
like a flying fish and stuck into the
woodwork of the cooks galley, half an
inch from his right armpit. He ran down
elbow before his time, trying TO remem
her what he could have said to the
owner of the weapon. AT noon' when
all the ships lascars were feeding, Nur
keed advanced into their midst ana DO
ING a placid man with a large regard
for his own skin he opened negotiations,
saving: "Men Of the ship last night
know that I behaved unseemly 10 som'
one or another of you. Who was tha
man. that may meet him face to iac'
and say that was drunk.
Pambe measured the distance U
Nurkeed's naked breast. II he spranl
at him, he might be tripped up, and
hind blow at the chest sometimes ONLY
means a cash on the breast bone. MD
are difficult TO thrust between unlas
4 the buDJeCb - phANNP - - -,
ing. nor did the other lascars Ihei
faces Immediately dropped all expires
sion. as is the custom OF the oriental
when there is killing on the carpet O
snv chance of trouble. Nurkeed looke'
| long at the white eyeballs lie wa
only an African and could not rea'
characters. A big sigh, almost a groan
broke from him. and he went back q
the furnaces. The lasoars took up tn
conversation where he had interrupte'
IL They talked of the best methods o
cooking rice
Nurkeed suffered considerably durinl
the run to Bombay from lack OF fresl
air He only came ON deck to breath
when ali the world was about, and evel
then a heavy block once dropped from
derrick within foot Of his head and al
apparently lashed grating on which D
set his foot began 20 turn with the ihten
don Of dropping him ON tho oased oarg
Ib feet below, and one insupportaoi
oioht tho sheathknife dropped nom ID
go'e's'le, and this time II drew blood
:, Nurkeed made complaint and Whei
| =, - ,.o..ohad RombaV l0d aul