The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-12-30
Children of the Sea.

That out of family of four children
three should be born at sea, and on one
ship, is a remarkable occurrence, says
the Portland Oregonian, which, taken
into consideration from the facts that the
only child of the family born ashore did
not live to be a week old makes it more
so.
The children are those of Capt. and
Mrs. Carson, and they first saw the light
of day in the cabin of the Manx ship
Manx King. Capt. Carson's family con
sists of two sons and one daughter-Tom,
Jack and Teresa.
Tom the eldest living child, was born
on the Pacific Ocean, about 300 miles off
the coast of Chill; but the exact latitude
and longitude was never determined other
than by approximation, as the sky had
been overcast for several days prior to his
birth. May 3, 1888, the arrival of the
young sailor was becomingly celebrated
by the officers and crew of the ship.
Teresa was born in the storm centre OF
the most dreaded coast in the world,
almost off the peak of Cape Horn, March
"a, 1891, when the Manx King was in
latitude "a degrees AZ minutes and IL sec
onds south, longitude 70 degrees 30
minutes and II seconds west. When the
ship was laboring heavily in a living gale
the little stranger made her appearance.
When she was about 10 days old the ship,
then in the South Atlantic, encountered
a hurricane and was thrown on it's beam
ends, and set so low that the seas came in
through the cabin skylights, completely
flooding the cabins The ship was soon
got on an even keel, and reached its des-
tination without any further mishap and
with both mother and child in excellent
health.
Jack was born December "a, 1892, in
the North Atlantic Ocean, in latitude
degrees 81 minutes north, longitude "a
degrees 81 minutes west. The weather
when Jack first came into the world was
all that could be desired, and the noble
ship, with its precious living freight, was
bowling along under all sail at about four
teen knots an hour.
All of the children enjoy remarkably
good health, and at sea, no matter how
hard the gales may blow, these children
of King Neptune never allow them to in
terfere with their play. No matter at
what angle the ship may ride, nor how
much it may pitch and toss, the children
of the Manx King play in the ships cabin.
The children have become so accustomed
to the motion of the ship that not one OF
them has suffered any bad mishap; for,
when they are thrown down by the VIC
lent pitching or rolling of the ship, they
seem in some way to settle on the deck,
much after the fashion of the storm birds
on the ocean waves, and though in their
short lives they have encountered more
storms than falls to the lot Of most NOR
tails who live on land, not one of them has
suffered even a sprained limb.
Toms knowledge of nautical matters is
naturally extensive, and it is safe to say
that if he follows the sea with his father
until he is IA or - years old he will be
able to navigate as well as most men who
have been at sea twenty or thirty years,
for with him ii is natural. As young as
he is, he knows the name and location of
every line and spar on the ship, and if it
came to pinch he could give all the neces-
sary orders for shortening sail or putting
the ship on its courses.