The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1895-11-14

| liluO LIE DOWs u Tile SlDdCh, NUeIe tIt
forecastle was encumbered with al
amazing litter of warps, coils of rope
fish trunks, pieces ct net, and rattle OF
that kind. The motion of the little
craft was felt by me now in manner
had never before experienced at sea.
The long ocean swell was under her
and this. coupled with the toss of the
waves, made her movements quite ex-
travagant. 1t was like being rolled
down-hill in a cask, and the jerks were
so violent and unexpected that could
only save myself from being dashed
upon the deck by holding on to the
locker and iamming my feet against
the opposite bench.
There was an apprentice superin-
tending the cooking of the dinner at
the little stove He squatted before
the ruddy fire end stirred the contents
of a saucepan with spoon. The light
dyed his face crimson, and in his
sqnatting position, with the knees OF
his huge sea boots coming nearly in
to his mouth and his great breadth OF
shoulders cased in knitted overalls
and the flap of his big yellow sou ives
ter upon his back, he looked a singu-
lar object
''Do you ever turn in in those holes2''
said l, pointing to the hunks.
why, yes, sometimes, MASTER
said he.
"Do you lie down all standi ng?"
said I.
"Ay," he answered; ''smacksmen
never goes properly to bed at sea,
master"
''But do you keep your clothes on a
whole voyages"
Pretty nigh" said he. You see
these boots-well, if | takes 'em off
afore / gets back to Ramsgate, it'll net
be more nor once, just to change my
stockings, master"
and how long may you be away'?'
Six weeks, perhaps" said he; ''and
last year [ was away nine weeks, and
I kept my boots on all that time, mas
ter"
[ thought there was dull satisfac-
tion in his manner. an d that he look
ed as if be would like to make more
of his boots. The information, how
ever, gave me good idea of the hard
ship of the life, and when [ glanced
at the hunks and the damp floor, and
round upon the ugly, cell-like build
of the little cabin, and, then thought
of the long voyages, the bitter winter
winds, the numerous great perils, and
the poor pay, [ felt that if Jack Fish
erman's calling had any attractions it
would be useless to look for them
aboard this smack
All this while we were breas ting a
troubled sea, leaning before strong
wind thBt madeithe little hooker churn
up enough froth to furnish out the
wake of a paddle steamer: [ quilted
the cabin for the deck when | had
some warmth in me, and sat IN the
companion talking to the skipper,
who was at the helm. The smacks
astern had scattered, and one was
abeam of us to windward; there was
smoke OF a steamer in the north, and
on the weather bow the snow-ike
glimmer of the canvas of ship hull
down. Otherwise the sea was vacant
"a wild, foam faxed surface of hard
dark green, with solid wall of clou }
in the eastward and flying bodies of
yellowish vapor. like puffs of cannon
smoke, blowing athwart our hawse
across the blue.
We dined at one o'clock, and an APP
prentice steered while the rest of Us
went below. Our dinner consisted of
piece of corned beef. potatoes. and
cabbage, with "soft tack" or bread
and suet-pudding All these things,
pudding included, had been cooked, /
found, in the beef kettle, the pudding
in tin shape to preserve it from the
flavor of the cabbage. We sat upon
the lockers, and the skipper bade me
take the first cut. and never made a
heartier dinner in my life, though Ger
tainly the discomfort Of it was exceed
ingly great-at least to me. who not
only wanted the smacksman's knacB
of balancing his plate, but scarcely
knew how to save myself from fetch
ing bodily away, dinner and all. II
was hard to talk; for the noise in the
cabin. wh.t with the straining and
grinding of the little fabric, the his
sing of foam along the side, and the
tearing sound of the clinker-built
hull as it drove through the water
was distractiag. Yet we were jolly
little crew as we set together in that
well of a cabin; and l thought that il
the smacksman's life consisted oi
nothing but eating boiled beef near 6
warm stove, the inconvenient motion
and the want of space need not coun
very much.
The fishing ground we were making
for is called the Deep water, and /:
about thirty miles distant from th'
Suffolk coast It was eight O'Clock
} in the evening before we reached it
} and so far the night had been darl
enough, yet onward we had rushed
, with our red and green lights twink
ling in the side boards, and sharI
) eyes searching the gloom ahead fol
5 ships. But as the men were taking
) a reef in the mainsail the moon soar
| ed out of the bank of cloud ahead, anC
! set the water quivering under he
: with a trickle of greenish silver, Be
r fore she rose the sky was merely
black shadow. with a near horizon
7 Enthusiastically defined hy the throbbins
:. Of phosphorescent fires; but now he
: light threw ont stormy heaven, witt
r masses of cloud sweeping up from
S the nortq. and the flashing and fad
S ing of the breaking heads of tn
ebony surges was visible for mile
p around. The wind was so cold tha
:. it stung the flesh of the face lik
e nettles. When the mainsail was reef
ed. man stationed himself at tn
y side of the bulwarks, the helm wa
+ starboarded, and the little vessel she
into the wind, her canvass shakin
d furiously. ''Heave" and, with
hearty swing. the lead was hurled IL