The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-12-28

THE WIVES OF CAPE COD.
Many OF Them Sailed Around tho World
Several Times.

THE WIVES OF CAPE COD.
Eeveral Times.
Cape Cod is the home of the pioneer
yachtswomen of this country. The So
ciety woman who has made trip
around the world in her husba nd's
yacht is looked upon as very much
travelled parsonage, but there are cap
tains' wives who have made one or
more voyages to Japan and China. and
have been able to discuss the Chinese
and Japanese war with easy famfl1ari-
ty. Many of them are widows now
who lost their husbands by shipwrcck
on trip when the captain, with, it
would seem, almost q foreknowledge
of coming events. had refused the
wife's plea to sail again with him. In
the palmy days of Cape Cod shipping
every captain took his wife on at least
one voyage, most OF them on long
trips lasting year or more. The cap
| tain's wife often became the good angel
of the 1o'cas'le.
She dosed the crew when they were
ill, wrote letters home Tor them. looked
after their morals, and on Christmas
saw they all had some gift. Others
lived in an aristocratic way and never
| interested themselves in the affairs of
| the crew, never went into the gallery
| to arouse the ire of the cook. Such
| women had piano aboard. with a Ii
| brary and household pets, and devoted
| their time to fancy work.
When their sailing days were over
| the wives came ashore to their native
| villages and settled down to lead what
| to Gu tsiders seems a tame existence.
In almost every village from Province
| town to Fairhaven there is some old
ca ptain's wife who has no one of her
| own to look after. She mothers the
whole village. Everybody sends for
her first on all occasions of joy and
| woe, of life and death.
| When she is approached rightly, and
| the mood moves her, she delights the
younger generation with tales of ship
wreck and storm, OF adventures in
| China, Japan, India and many strange
countries barely known even now to
the civilized world. But, best of all,
are the stories that are illustrated by
| some old silk gown Or piece OF antique
| jewelry, a fan or handkerchief or
shawl from India, such as Queen Vic
tOria has made famous as bridal gifts.
At the summer home of Capt. and
| Mrs. George Lunt, ut Chatham, is an
illustration that never fails to satisfy.
It is Pop. In winter Pop lives with
his mistress and Capt. Lunt in East
Boston. In summer he comes to Chat
ham, where his dogsllip passes high
lacking nothing that SO dignified dog
can desire. Pop is a hero among the
rest of the dogs in Chatham. because
he has not only been great traveller,
but has had thrilling escapes from
danger by sea.
Capt. Lunt has been famous Cape
Cod captain. and Pops mistress sailed
for years, as many as twelve, with he1
husband wherever the ship went She
is very handsome, white-l,aireo
woman, very attractive and refined
She sailed around the world Ave times
| -. 10 1,,,c 1,ovo 1,Sr nd do
eral voya ges to China.
For the last five years of her sailing
Mrs. Lunt made her home on board the
ship United States. She has had al
the refinements of a home about her
and always had several pets aboard
1t was over ten years ago that the cap
| tain of the ship signed in Liverpool fol
a cargo of Lancashire coal, which wa:
to go around Cape Horn anG
across the Pacific ocean to China
One of the mysterious something
with which Cape Cod men and women
arc so familiar, yet never attempt tt
explain, impelled the captain not t.
didn't like it, but she always believed
her usband knew best how to run hi
; ship. So the United States sailed
away, carrying the captains wife
piano and all her dainty belongings il
its cabin. Then there were her pets
consisting of a favoritc cat, a canar.
bird and dog. But the captains wifi
sailed for New York by steamer, cam
to Cape Cod, and about the fftieth da.
went to Boston to engage a sleeping
car section for her trip across the con
. tinent t. San Francisco. where sh
was to meet the ship. In the stree
, she read bulletin board: ''Shi
United States burned at sea, and al
on board lost. "-Philadelphia Item.