The Meeker herald., 1897-05-22
STRANGE SHIP STORIES.
Odd Occurrences Related by Old
Sailors
palnful Anlctions and Deaths Brought
About Among SearfarinE Men
In Mysterious MAN.
n0r,

While a reporter was talking with
some idle tugboat men who were sit
ting on the stringpiece of South
street pier, where tugs lie while await
ing orders, the conversation turned OH
strange, true stories of sailors adven-
tures, and the reporter asked the men
story that he knew to be true. The first
one said:
"When 1 wns working in Philadel-
phia, several years ago, the Italian
brig Leonore came in at the capes, after
passage of 81 days from Lisbon. We
got the tow and the mate passed us his
hawser. l took n couple of turns with
Il and sung out to him to make fast.
At TINT u couple OF men started to do
so, but they had only got one turn
around the windlnss when one of them
dropped and grasped his arm as II he
.-~--S~A-o oA------t~l>. i-s-.,.-l - 49,
-murncur- ne tiiu tnw ne gave yen, and
then the other man began to scratch
his leg md yell, while the mate reached
for the buck of his own neck and how led
as bad us both the others together.
Then the man at the wheel seemed to
catch the infection from forward, for
he dropped on the deck, leaving the
brig to steer herself; but what as
tonishcd us still more wns that the cap
tnin. portly. solemn-looking man, de.
i:berutely put his glasscs down on the
top of the cabin, clnsped his hands
across his stomach, leaned over the rail
and groaned as II he were dying.
"1t looked as we'd a crew of crazy
n.x~0 fy fo,1 nj o&~1,
after minute they all got quiet again.
and then we learned the tronble. They
hnd sailed out of Lisbon with provisions
for 40 days. When only few days out
a sen wnshed the deck cask of water over
board, and they were necessarily put
on nn allowance OF water. Thereafter
they had hard luck in winds, and event
uul1y Ind to work on short rations. The
result of it all WINS that some Kind of
rash broke out on every soul of them,
and it was q rash that itched beyond
endurance, and yet mnde them so sore
that when they tried to relieve the itch.
ing they hurt themselves so that they
could not help yelling. They had been
suffering that way for couple of
weeks when they passed lis that line"
"You would think that ship was
about the best place in the world for
pure air, wouldn't you?" asked another.
'Well, was shipmate with two men
who were suffocated in their hunks for
want OF pure air. II was on the British
steamer Dccrhound at anchor off Locust
Point, Baltimore. Chief Engineer Will
liam Kirkley, Second Engineer John
HulI, Third Engineer George Quinton
and Dick Weber, boy, all turned into
their hunks in the engineers cabin one
frosty night for an all-night-in sleep.
Next morning when the steward came
to call the boy he found Mr.. Kirkley
lying face down on the floor, 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 out on
deck Kirkley and Quinton revived, while
Hull, whose heart was still beating,
died. They had been suffocated by gas
from . leaking coal stove"
eve towed the Norwegian bark
Donna Zoyca into the Erie basin one
day." said . third, "and when we got her
there we had to call on the 'longshore-
men to help make her fast, because there
was not one man on board Of her fit for
duty. The ambulances carried them
ten In ALTO the hospital, where one
soon died. but the rest got well. Shed
sailed with that crew to Cadix, and there
she got q cargo for Rio Janiero. On
the wny the captain and ten mon took
sick and at Rio they were sent to the
hopital, where the captain got batter
and returned on board. Then the vss.
eel went TO Aracaci, where the captain
had TO be left in the hospital and the
mate, with the cook and eight men, un-
dertook bringing her to New York.
During the whole voyage no one had
known what allied the men, but the