Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-08
Our Correspondent Puts to Sea
 Again.
BOUND FOR MARTINIQUE
He Describes the Flying Fish, the Portuguese Kan-o-War and Other Wonders
 of the Deep

NCill dpOdIu llG SGitOOllti, ut lCotot Nelo helped aboard, for the boys had given me jolly send-off. will never forget their kindness to me while ashore
 I tumbled into my hammock about 10 o'clock Wednesday night and was soon sound asleep. I had grown accustomed to the hammock, so its swinging didn't nauseate me. As a matter of fact, I was compelled to get used to it, for my bunk was not only athwart ship, but was too short for me, Every time the schoon- CT would lean little one end of my bunk
 would be higher than the other, and it was always my luck to have the vessel go about soon after I had fallen asleep and put my feet higher than my head. The first night it hap pened the blood rushed to my head and put me in kind of stupor. It took me the longest time to get over the effect, so I don't sleep there any more, Did you ever sleep in bed too short for you? If you haven't don't try it. It is the most tiresome thing in the world. especially aboard ship, where you are being tossed about in your bunk. You want plenty of sea room, as 1t were.
 There is a man in Montgomery who is nearly ' feet tall. He went to Europe a few years ago and was given a bunk that was about a foot too short for him. He CetilS u He dIl6TWdluS ana Wlln tears III his eyes he told me how he suffered on that trip and how he yearned to stretch himself. He said it took him week to get the kinks out of his legs
 To get back to my story, the next morning bright and early I was awaken ed by hearing the mate yelling to the men to Hay aft" 1 was yearning for drink of water and a little fresh air, so I got up and went on deck. There was a light northeasterly breeze blowing, enough, however to get us out to sea. The main, fore and mizzen sail were already set and the men were busy hoist ing the yawl to the davits. The men were jealous and energetic, and seemed anxious as l was, to get to sea again They were next sent forward to the cap stain an soon the huge. coarse chain was coming in link by link When the cable was up and down the jibs were run up, the captain was at the wheel and her bow soon swung off towards the sea. and We were off for Martinique The anchor was tripped, the top sails set and sheeted home and away we went. the breeze freshening as we stretched seaward
 The morning was gloriously fine. I went forward and crawled out on the bowsprit, to be alone and reflect. The sea was as blue as indigo and as clear aa crystal, and the canvas. broad and white, lowered nobly to the sky. Her keen bow was shedding the water and permanent pillar of foam was banked up on her weather bow. The morning sun was just peeping over the mountains in the dis tance, and the banana and sugar cane Yields shone like silver under its rays. . There Is nothing more beautiful than n tropical sunrise. unless it be an Italian sunset. have never seen an Italian sun set myself, but have seen an Italian day go Oeigo) See?
 { The Persians and Mohammedans sa- HtTtA st-I. pets. It is a very pretty custom in the bry, but shouldn't like to make habit of getting up so early every morning
 Pompey said that more worship the rising than the setting sun, but he had in view the distribution of offices, no doubt But speaking of early rising, had the best Of the sailors that morning, for they didn't have the opportunity of awakenlpg me with their internal noise attending the usual morning deck scrubbing. It Is their barbarous custom to stamp around overhead about daylight, dashing water over the deck, scraping, scrubbing, sand ing the deck, greatly to the detriment of my much needed beauty. sleep. This deck cleaning custom is an everyday oc- currence. If 1t should rain all night lip comes Jack Tar in the morning sloshing around in his sea boots with no regard for the comfort of the sleepers below. asked the skipper one morning when they were scrubbing the deck, after hours of a flooding rain, why they were en- gagged in such an obvious work of supere- rogation. The skipper looked at me with dazed expression in his face and began to choke. l begged his pardon and then eimplifed my question. He said it was to wash off the fresh water You see the sailor has no respect for fresh water except in his grog.
 But speaking of big words, will tell you an amusing incident that happened to me few nights ago df you have heard it before don't give me a,way). While lying in my hammock in my state room, with the door leading to the cabin open, l was being kept awake by the cabin lamp shinging in my eyes. Presently one of the sailors entered my cabin and requested him to please extinguish the nocturnal illuminator. He stood staring at me in open-eyed wonderment, when the mate shouted in stentorian tones from the adjoining state room, "douse the glim.'' Tt is needless to say that the light went out.
 I believe was on the bowsprit in a po- etic frame of mind before I wandered off from my subject. I sat there watching the water slip by me to be churned into foam by the bow. Now and again string of seaweed or a big transparent jelly fish. and occasionally big crab, floating on the water would be swallowed up in the sea foam which was being kicked up forward.
 Every little while we would flush covey of flying fish. A shoal of fish is the correct expression. but they get up and fly so much like a covey of cartridges that I can't help but speak of them as coveys. They dart up singly and in groups, skinming the surface. but oc- casionally they rise 10 or 15 feet in the air and fly for 1C0 or 200 yards. At night many of them. attracted by the ships light, fly aboard and fall upon the deck. Every morning number of them can be seen lying on deck. quite dead and stiff. They rarely grow to be over inches long Like the bed bug. 1t has no wings at all. but it Fets there just the same. lis fins are abnormally developed, and as long as they are wet 1t can main- tain it's flight. but the moment the fins get dry down Hops the fsh into the wa fer. The flying fish is preyed upon by all other fish and being poor fighter God endowed 1t with the power of flight in order to evade its pursuer. But when this graceful little fish acquired the art of flight it's prosecutors had to hustle more lively for something to eat. The dolphin and bonito which are especially fond of the flying fish, went Into train Ing and soon developed wonderful speed. T,I,a dotpbfp fu nnxr tho cu,iftaet a,1 ,poxt