Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1896-04-23
A SHIPPERS SNAKE.
THE LUCY ANN WENT AS she PLEASED
WHILE THE STORY WAS TOLD.
The RATHER That was All Right Until He
Celebrated skipper Hepented His
Part In That Aes--A wife who Wasn't
Fooled By yarna of Prairie Ras'isrs.

Fooled by Yarpa of Prairie Rat'iers.
''petss VOL, guess notl" And tho
long and lanky skipper Of the Lucy Ann
took the brown Jug from his lips and set
Il on tho rail close at hand, casting bis eye
aloft to the bcllying canvas that was stand
Ing full and smooth before the wind. 10
was only little ship, the Lucy Ann, put
her skipper was her owner aud a salt VINO
had followed the sea for years, until ms
skin was 40 brown as the tillcr arm ana
bis muscles ns knottea and hard as the
pieces OF oak piled upon the deck as tho
little vessels ouly cargo.
"Thero sin't nuthIn aboard that crAwls
nor creepa now His eye ran over tho
dock load and to the hntoh, as II to make
sure that no was speaking ndvisedly. Ho
straddled tho tiller and swayed with tho
roll Of the ship, still with weather eye
toward tho hatch and tho creyices In tho
Lucy AIMS cargo.
II liked pets oncc--all kinds--even
Snakes" And look OF momentary terror
swept over his face as the shadows OF the
clouds oyorsprend the canvas nloft "Queer
pots--nin't theyf--but had one primo
RATHER an beauty. Come from Tonnes
see in box Trlcksf Why, that foller
would do anything for me. Many night
he'd come on an take my place here at the
tiller. lockin his head on tho arm here an
his tail In that ring bolt there, an a-holdln
hor TO hor course, while went fer nap.
Onct, when some riggin broke aloft, an
there wasn't a ropes yarn aboard tor FIX
It, up ho went, an, spiioin hlssolf to tho
busted rope, held on there fer nigh on 10
two days an nights till we Rots to port
I'd go up there In the moonlight an talk
to him an feed him, an he'd try to sing to
me with hla tail, but he couldn't, fer 10
was splicod up in the busted ropo.
"Whon wo got to port that trip, he was
larger than afors, but l loved him bettor'n
ever any ono loved prairie RATHER. TO
celebrate the job ho'd done for me aloft 1
piped him of to grog He wasn't much
on drinkin, that prairie RATHER, afore
that; nuther was /. But insisted on his
oelcbratin an ho never was the same snake
agin."
The old skipper was holding tho tillor
at arms longth now, and no swayed more
with the hoavins Of the ship he kept bis
eyes ON tho hatch, as before but now con-
stantly. Tho topsals wrinkled as II this
wind had shifted, but the old follows
practlced eye noted nothing Of the doings
up aloft'
"Yes, sir, that snake changed from tho
day wO celebrated an got as cussed as a
prairie RATHER kin. / argied with him
consider bio, but 10 didn't do no good.
He Just kept Rittln cusseder and ousseder.
I kinder thought 1t was on account Of his
bein In port, fer mover seen a snake
what hntod port On loved the water like
him afore tho celebration. So got on my
oargo an made fer the open sea- But 10
didn't do no good to his feelin's. He got
oussoder nm cusscder."
The tiller was swinging free and the
sails tapped aioit as the ship swung off
her course. But the captain didn't seem
to mind. He drank another draft from
tho Jug on tho rail, with always an eye for
tho hatch.
"Aiong bout the seoond night from
port the wind came on a gale, an up from
the vost there come cloud ns black as
any had ever soc. 1t sailed and sailed
right up aloft, and then II busted. Rain,
hail, thunder, iightnin--all the tormints
which clouds kin hoid--comc down nbous
US on the Lucy Ann. ssen her built, an
knows her maxim, every pin an plank
from keel to top, but she shook that night
like she had spell OF agy.
"Swlshl Bang Bumpi And canvas
went a-kitln Ropes was snappin and
spllnters 1yin. Mo an the snake was IN
on deck The neise seemed to ait him
wild, an when the lightnln come aein,
maxim II as bright as day, sean tho snake
a.standin ON his tail an Just tirinkin in the
ERE. He just got full OF it, as no did OF
rum tho day We was colcbratln back In
port. / soen IL blasin from his ayes. He
Just opened up his jaws, laughin like at
me, an heard his hiss In all the Dustin
noise an howl Of wind. Them eyes wss
lookin right at me.
''I knowed he was comm, but couldn't
move at first. l seen him hoppln an a.
skippin toward mo. felt his hot breath
on my face a.stronger'n i felt the wind
a-blowin 30 knots hour. Fust he slappod
me with his tail--a whack that sent mo to
tho deck like dead he danced on my
face as lay there on tho deok--poked his
tall In my eyes an ears mn Kissed at mo
things no californian hnd ever hoard aforo.
II howlod IN kicked an fought him.
He lot me git on nv feet mn knuake,l ,,,o
down agin. Ovcr we rolled agIn md ngin.
foro an aft, ain then down tho hatch to.
gethor into the black OF the hold. All
could 500 OF him there, when I came 10,
was his eyes a-blaEln an a-hllnkin in the
dark. But could hear him a-crnwlin TO