The Meeker herald., 1896-12-26
STRANGE SHIP STORIES.
Odd Oocurrenoes Related by Old
Sailors.
Painful AmIctions and Deaths bFosghs
About Among SearfHring Aea
In Mysterious Man

ling on the stringpiece Of South
street pier, where tugs lie while await
.ng orders, the conversation turned OH
strange, true stories of sailors adven-
,ares, and the reporter asked the men
TO relate each the most remarkable
story that he knew to be true. The first
orc said:
when was working in Philade,.
nh:a, several years neo, the italian
rig Laonore came in at the capes, after
passage of 81 days from Lisbon. We
got the tow and the mate passed us hj
lapser. took a couple of turns Will
i ard sung out to him to make FAM
a, that Il couple of men started to ID
so, but they had only got one tua,i
around the windlass when one of them
dropped and grasped his arm as il h;i
WAS rniuu tn scratch himself. But TIE
ucmcrt he did this he gave 4 yell, and
then the other man began to scratch
his leg ard yell, while the mate reached
for the back of his own neck and how led
rs bad as both the others together.
Then the man at the wheel seemed to
catch the infection from forward, fo,
he dropped on the deck, leaving the
brig to steer herself; but what as
torishcd us still more was that the cap
tain, Portly, solemn-looking man, de
iibcrately put his glasses down on the
top of the cabin, clusped his hands
across his stomach, leaned over the rail
and Groancd as if he were dying.
1T looked as we'd q crew of crazy
Dagoes in tow ard no mistake, but
nj n hny .o%
nnd then we learned the trouble. They
had sailed out of Lisbon with provisions
for 40 days. When only Il few days out
seawashed the deck casls of water over
board, and they were necessarily put
on an allowance of water. Thereafter
they had hard luck in winds, and event
ually Ind to work on short rations. The
result of it all was that some kind cf
rash broke out on evcry soul of them,
and it was rash that itchcd beyond
endurance. and yet made them so sore
that when they tried to relieve the itcl J.
ing they hurt themselves 50 that they
could not help yelling. They had been
suffering that way for n couple Of
weeks when they passed us that line
you would think that u ship was
about the best place in the world for
pure air. wouldn't you?" asked another.
well, l WAS shipmate with two men
who were suffocated in their hunks fer
want Of pure mir. 1t was on the British
steamer Deerhound at anchor off Locust
Point, Baltimore. Chief Engineer VIII
liam Kirlley, Second Engineer John
ana Dick Weber, a boy. all turned iato
their bunhs in the engineers calm orn
frosty night fer an all-night-:n sleep.
Next morning when the steward came
to call the boy he found Mr.. Kirl,,cy
lying face down on the foor, with his
head near the door, and unconscious.
The rest were in their hunks. The boy
was dead and the rest were supposed to
be; but when they were carried gu, en-
deck Kirklcy and Quinton revived, while
Hull, whose heart was still beating,
died. They had been suffocated by gas
from leaking coal stove"
I'VE towed the Norwegian bark
Donna Zoyca into the Eric basin one
day. said q third, land when We got her
there we had to call on the 'lcngshore-
men TO help make her fas: because there
duty. The ambulances carried them
ten in ALTO the hospital, where one
coon died, but the rest got well. She'd
sailed with that crew to Cadiz, and there
che got \ cargo for Rio Jan;ero. On
the way the captain and ten men took
sick ard at Rio they were sent to the
hopital. where the captain got better
and returned on board. Then the yes
sci went to .hracaci, where the captain
had to he left in the hospital and the
mate, with the cool, and eight men, un-
der;ook bringing her to New York.
During the whole voyage no one had
known what allied the men, but the
health authorities over in Brooklyn
found they had all been poisoned by
white lead used in painting water
tank"
II was working in Milwaukee one
summer" said fourth. "whcn the cap
tain sent me around to the hospital to
inquire after friend of his who was
there. as l reached the door couple
Of grain trimmers that l knew were
just lifting u man out of Crocers
wagon. They carried him into the hos
pital and said he had been landed from
the fishing tug Belle ard she hal
steamed out of the harbor as soon as
he was clear Of her rail. The man
seemed to be dead at first. ard he was
almost. For two weeks he was tlclirious
with brain fever and spent most of his
time cursing somebody for leaving him
to drown.
"He had been sailor on n schooner
that left Milwaukee for Chicago two
nights before was sent 10 the hospital.
1t was rough night and wave washed
him overheard. He would have
drowned quickly, but mate had been
quick witted enough to hcnvc over a
pine fender as he saw the man go over
the rail. The fender was washed With
in the reach of the man, and he had
taken his belt and made himself fast
to the log SO that his head was sure to
be kept above water. He flonted about
all night and the next day. He saw a