Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-11-06
Capt. Jack Stopped the Mutiny
In Very Original Fashion Indeed---
SO He Told the Boya.

The newspapers from town had been
full of the accounts of great strike in a
manufacturing district OF the great city,
and Tommie, after his father had finished
reading them, had asked to be allowed to
take the papers down to old Jack. Jack
had once said to the boys that he never
knew what was going on anywhere, because
he was too poor to buy the daily newspa-
pers, and had added
"Why," said he "a small boy down here
once brought me New York Tribune that
told all about the milishy being called out
to stop riot up in Buffalo, and 1t was a
mighty exciting story, can tell you. Next
day a Teller came down and hired my boat
to 60 out a-bluefshin' with, and after we'd
been out two or three hours l says to him,
slows the riot at Buffalo this morning?'
'The what?' says he. The riot says l.
Haven't you heard of the riot?' NO.
says he. IT'S all in the paper says l, and
1 went into my cabin and brought out the
paper. oh / seen says he. That was
two years ago. And l looked at the date
of that there Tribune, and shiver my tim
bers if the thing warn't dated two years be-
fore!'
This unhappy condition rather appealed
to Tommie, and the result was that he got
his father to promise that when he had
read his morning paper b could have 1t
to take down to the beach to old Jack, and
Jack was very appreciative.
"Its very kind of you, Tommie," he said.
1.-THE news | get nowadays is at least
young enough to be interesting, and hope
you'll never forgit that I'll never forgit
your kindness. Take them strikers up in
town, for instance. In the old way I'd
never have heard anything about 'em for a
month or two anyhow, but now | hear
about 'em right off, and | sort of feel as
if was still living in the world, instead
of being out of it, as | used to be-"
"What do you think of the strike Capt.
JACKIE" asked Bobbe.
What do l think of it?" echoed the
captain. "What could any sea captain
think ofit-any self-respectin' sea captain?
1t had ought to be stopped. That's what
That's just the trouble with being on land,
though; you can't do things like you would
on the water. F was running big fac
tory, I'd do it up ship-shape, and l wouldn't
stand any mutinies tell youwhat, now,
my factory'd be a model. In the first place,
I'd give the factory name, just as if she
was a ship, and the men who came there to
work would be my crew, and the very min
ute one of 'em didn't behave himself, and
tried to kick up rumpus with me as their
captain, I'd clap him into irons. believe
in ironing them, do; and it almost makes
me wish owned factory, and the sailors
in it would strike, SOS l could show the
world what I'd do under the circumstances.
"I'll never forget the last mutiny l had
to deal with. 1t was back in 'S3. l was
skipper of the clipper, Benjamin O., of
Nantucket. We were engaged in carrying
coal from Sandusky to Kennebunkport, and
one morning two O. the crew up an de-
clined to shovel another ton.
"Why not?" says l, calmly.
"Its too dirty We thought this was
hard coal, and it's soft. 1t takes us an
hour to get clean after the days work s
over, and that makes nine hours a day
work. We won't work more'n eight
"T guess you're reasonable says l.
knock off, an go in and take your bath.
I'll turn the water on for ye myself. I'll
let ye use my tub
$50 they went aboard, and / went in and
turned on the water in my tub, and put
- G6ds.~ two = ads o. starch in the water
They all TOOK turns and said they felt bet
ter.
"'Now,' says l, you fellers can do this
every day. Seven hours work, and one
hour for bathin,' and l don't want any
more kickin'.' The mutineers agreed and
thought l was easy. Every day for a week
they took starch baths-though they didn't
know anything about the starch. took
care O. that. Well, you know what starch
is. There they was a-soakin it into theil
systems for an hour day, and, by the fyin
Dutchman, when Sunday came around
every one of 'em was so stiff they couldn't
move. Monday they was like iron
couldn't move joint. And then says tC
'em, says 1, Kinder stiff, amt ye? Little
stiffer'n We thought we was goin' to be, eh:
Thought ye was goin' to take the starch
out of me, Ell? Did too-if ye only knew
it, Now ye can go about your business
and the next time ye take it into you
heads to mutiny, choose another captain Il
fool with had 'em carried ashore anC
laid on the dock and sailed away. What
ever became of 'em l don't know, but
heard that one of 'em made fortune a,
a ossfied man in Chicago museum"
With which astounding story of hi
method of dealing with strikers, Capt. Jacl
rose up and walked away, leaving Bob anC
Tommy wondering if it really could have
happened as the old tar had said.