The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1895-03-11
LOST AT SEA.
The Tribulations of an Apprentice
on an English Ship.


shrouds are ropes supporting the
masts on either side, as the stays and
back stays support it fore and aft
These shrouds run from the dead
eyes to the tops, and from the tops
to the cross-trees; and have small
ropes called ratlines run across
them, these forming rope ladders by
which the sailors go sloft. This
business of going aloft will continue
to daunt the beginner until the day
when steam has entirely swept sail
ing ships off the face of our planet.
We will follow the progress OF such
a youngster. At the order to jump
aloft Oct as suppose it Is to take
reef in the mizzen topsaiD he swings
himself into the weather rigging (tor
on the lee side the lean of the vessel
would tilt him backwards over the
water) and climbs up the ratlines
comfortably enough till he reaches
the mizzen top. Now, the top ID a
fiat wooden platform, and very con-
venient to stand upon; but the ques-
ton Just at present is, how Is he to
Chamber over the edge and get on to
it?-for it overhangs him wide.
There are two ways: The first is the
"lubber's hole" an opening In the
top through which he may crawl, If
he doesn't mind the inference that
he is but poor seaman; the other
| method is to get into the "futtock-
shrouds," bars of iron stretching out
at a sharp angle from the mast to
the rim of the platform; climb oHt
on these with his back downwards,
| N
| swing himself up and over the edge.
One can hardly wonder that many
boy has been obliged to give up the
sea after his first voyage, simply be-
cause he could. not conquer the
giddiness that laid hold of him as he
mounted on the ratlines; and there
is no doubt that a brutal or thought
less officer may infict exquisite
torture by a rough attempt to cure
this purely physical inf1rmity. Mr..
Clark Russell has given US an in
stance which came under his own
! observation. The victim was a lad
of thirteen, who had shipped in an
Australian port. He was ordered on
to the fore royal yard with another
youngster.. 1t was his first journey
up the masts, and when he was half
way up the shrouds he came to a
dead stop. The boatswain sung out
to him to look alive and go on. The
poor little chap, with shaking hands
and a face like the fosm alongside,
footed it as high as the futtock-
shrouds, where he halted, looking up
at the overhanging platform at the
top. "Over you go! shouted the
boatswain from the forecastle. II
can't, sir; indeed, can't sir" cried
the little fellow, piteously. we'll
see about that" said the boatswain,
| and called an ordinary seaman to
help him up. This youth was a
brute, and when he reached the
clinging boy he began to pinch him
in the legs, and pulled out his
sheath knife and threatened to stab
him if he did not go over the top.
1t was big top, the angle of the
mast-the wind being abaft the
beam-was a small one, and the
futtock shrouds stretched away from
the boy like the ribs of an open
umbrella from the stick. The miser-
able little fellow, terrified by the
sight of the knife behind him, laid
hold of the long irons and made q
swing with his legs at the ratlines,
missed them, vibrated a moment or
two like a pendulum, and then
dropped past the outstretched hand
of the sailor below like fash, strik-
ing the shrouds, and rebounding as
ball might overheard. He was
drowned, of course.-ExchaDge.