The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-28
NO ROMANCE IN IL
NO MUSIC OR HORNPiPE IN THE LIFE
OF The MODERN SEAMAN.

! Bitter Disappointment Followed an Inves-
tigation-Sailors Who Work. Eat and
Sleep and Are Devoid OF All Ambition.
| A Hard and Hopeless Life.
| Ny earliest and strongest impressions
| If seafaring life were gained by watching
| The evolutions of her majosty's ship Pima
! fore while she lay in the dry dock in Phil
adelphia, AID although my ideals have
| been somewhat shaken by seeing the deck
| hands Of the transatlantic steamers l re-
| tanned the notion that the counterpart OF
my old friends would be found aboard
! sailing vessels. But that dream is over.
The first shock came soon after leaving
| port, when told the captain that he was
/ TO teach me how 10 dance the hornpipe.
] He said that he didn't know how, and,
moreover, had never seen any one who
| did. / replied that l was not from the
| country, but he solemnly assured me- that
| he was telling the truth and called upon
| the second mate 10 bear him witness. The
! latter, after much reflection, recollected
! that he had once known a sailor who could
dance q hornpipe, but couldn't remember
| whether it was on a voyage to the East
Indies or while he was lin steam" on the
Mississippi Further inquiry proved that
| no one else had ever witnessed such per-
Torrance.
This was not the most bitter disappoint-
! ment, however. an not great lover Of
music, but it seemed to me to be neces-
sary part Of a sailors existence that he
should scamper merrily about and pour
forth the gladness of his heart in song
To be sure, they do make a noise when
they pull on tho ropes and occasionally
burst into dirge while at pumps, but to
both of these performances the cry of the
penguin is cheerful by comparison.
Indeed have come to the melancholy
conclusion that the flavor of romance evap-
Grated with the first generation of sea-
men, There is none Of that picturesque
idleness which was led to believe was as
essential as the song and dance. Were one
of them to write his daily life it would be
expressive of more energy than Mark
Twain's famous diary, but would paTtake
of the same simplicity. 1t would read,
Worked ate and slept" Work begins
when they are driven aboard by their re-
spective keepers and ceases when the YES
sci arrives at her destination, so that the
time occupied in eating and sleeping is
weather there is also constant pulling ef
sails 1t is then that their abilities in that
monkeylike accomplishment of climbing
the riggings are tested. AS you stand on
deck in heavy gale and watch all hands
upon one of the yardarms furling sail
you begin to put some faith in Darwin s
theory concerning the origin of mankind.
In fine weather their duties are of differ
ent sort. They then turn painters, car
penters and jacks of all trades. Holy
stoning," scraping, painting and yarnish-
ing go on until the ship looks as If she
were just of the drydock.
Sometimes in an idle moment or in a
fit of temporary insanity sailor decides
to wash a shirt or q red bandanna. One day
during heavy rain this madness became
epidemic, and after closing the "scuppezs'
all hands got upon the deck and proceeded
to wash their clothes with a small piece vi
soap with large question mark
Were they as well treated on all vessels
as they were on the Standard they might
possibly learn to take care Of themselves
when ashore. It is indeed case OF out OF
the frying pan into the fire, for when they
escape from the rule of moro or less severe
shipmasters they have not the sense &c
keep out OF the way of boarding house run
ners and the like. II they would only keep
their wits about them and make up their
minds to defend themselves in an honest
way, they could not fail to better their
condition. They sometimes entertain
themselves by Sinking work at the latter
part of the passage and by damaging the
rigging just before saying farewell
They never lose the sheeplike appear
ance with which they come aboard, going
about in flock at the beck and call OF the
officers The watch may be forward pull
ing at some ropes when they hear, Come
aft, two O. yer.'' and Immediately replying,
Come aft. two o yer." they shuttle in a
body in that direction. IL nothing are
sailors more obiiging than in regard &c
their names. 1t matters not what they are
called-Tom, Dick, Harry-all are the
same to them as long as each has sepa-
rate one When two happen TO claim the
same name on their arrival, each tries TO
Guido the other in nobly sacrificing it 60
his companion. Truly they are believers
in the poetical theory concerning the rose
and can see nothing in a name.
Bringing up the rear in the ships COM
PAW came the animals. Besides pig we
left port with an army of chickens, cats
;; and rats, of which the latter were by far
the most numerous. The chickens went
all too soon, the cats departed save two,
but the rats remained faithful to us. The
surviving cats were natives OF Boston and
showed a great fondness for baked beans
and brown bread. 1t was just as well
that their comrades did not live, for they
were all possessed with hearty appetites
and doubtless would have proved very
severe tax upon our supply of provisions
When the bell sounded, these creatures ap-
peared from their various hooks and cor
ners to demand meal in as many differ
ent keys-Edward Porter in Phiiadel-
| phia Times