The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-24

unobt2inabte owing 10 The supply Of nour
having been issued 10 the last barrel. The
hard bread was in an animated condition.
due to the presence of wesvils. and the
bacon was similarly infested. The men
knew, however, taat complaints would do
NO good under the circumstances. as there
was no possible means of remedyiug the
conditions without putting into port, and
every one was too anxious to reach New
York to desire any stops to be made short
of our destination.
While crossing the line" In the Pacific
sharks were plentiful The ship beng at ali
times surrounded by them, thcir position
benS easily located by the dorsal liu pro-
Jecting above the surface Of the water aud
when anything fell or was thrown over
board they rushed from all directions to-
ward the point where the splash occurred.
indicating what the fate of any one unfor-
tunate enough to fan overheard would be
The officers amused themselves by shoot
ing them with a rifle. while The men for
ward nshed for them with a hook and line
the hook having about fathom of chain
attached 10 prevent the shark from sew
ering the line with his saw-like teeth and
thus freeing himself while a piece of salt
pork weighing i've or SAX pounds was ahix-
ed for bait. As many as seven or eight
sharks were hauled on board daily for a
week, and were Immediately dissected to
ascertain the contents of their stomachs
as Jack has considerable curiosity as to
sharks diet. objects that had been
thrown overheard many days previously
were found and recognized. including such
indigestibe articles as tin cans and dish
rags Many souvenirs for friends at home
were obtained from the anatomy of the de-
ceased sharks, such as teeth, entire jaw
| bones. and canes, the latter being secured
by cleaning and drying the small bones
forming the backbone and alterN ard
striuging them on a steel rod.
In The vicinity Of Cape Horn many alba
trosses were seen, and the fishermen again
had employment, as 1t was found that they
could be caught with hook and line al
though there was considerable opposition
to the amusement among the more super
stltous Of the sailors, who considered it
unlucky to injure an albatross or even to
bring one on board, and dire misfortunes
were predicted. They are magnificent birds,
white as snow, with an immense eXpanse
of wing, capable of sustaining them in the
air for a long period, and when they tire,
rest themselves on the surface of the
water. They do not approach land except
during the breeding season. Although so
graceful in the air ana on the water, they
were found to be extremely awkward when
brought on board ana placed on the deck,
staggering and falling as though inioNi-
Gated, and evidently seasick. ON drawing
| away from the vicinity of Cape Horn the
aleatrosses suddenly disappeared.
The cape was rounded about the middle
of January, being midsummer in that latl-
tude; the month of January south of the
equator corresponding with July in north
ern laHtudes. The temperature was any
thing but summerlike, however, the Their
| mOmeter registering In the neighborhood
Of 40 degrees, which is an uncomfortably
cold temperature aboard ship, where every
nH.a.
fires except in the galley ana frequent
snow squalls alternating with dense fogs
were encountered. The hours of daylight
were extraordinarily long, as 1t was light
enough TO read small print as late at 10
O'Clock at night and as nearly as O'Clock
in the morning. We found the vicinity OF
Cape Horn very gloomy dreary and un-
comfortable place. and there yas general
rejoicing when the ships bow was points
ed north toward home, rapidly leaving the
stormy cope with its fogs and snow squalls
far astern.
our passage up the Atlantic coast Of
South America was slow aud veXatiOus,
owing to light winds head winds and
Gains, and after getting well across the
equator a strong and persistent northwes-
terly wind effectually barred our further
progress. rendering 1t absolutely necessary
to make port owing TO the state Of our
provisions ST. Thomas, a Danish posses
sion IN the West Indies, was selected and
the ship was accordingly headed I'm that
direction. Upon dropping anchor In the
harbor of ST. Thomas the ship was soon
surrounded by boats, and one eXcltabe
fellow rushed to the main hatch and shout
ed; Hello, below there; come on deck;
here's a woman alongside!" She was
washer woman looking for employment
and she was so exceedingly black that
there was no doubt as to the purity OF her
African descent, but it was the first petit
coat we had seen for nearly five months,
and she received such an enthusiastic re-
ception from more than four hundred men
that she no doubt supposed we were all
fit subjects for a lunatic asylum. 1T re-
quired a week for us to become accus-
toned to the voices Of women ana chill
dren. and for several days after our ar
rival at st. Thomas It was not an unusual
sight to see a dozen men rush frantlcally
W the berth deck ladder If a womans
voice was heard through the hatch. Upon
arriving I'm her vicinity they would stand
sheepishly around and gaze at her in an
admiring manner, but the novelty soon
wore off
After a few days stay in st. Thomas to
replenish our almost exhausted stock Of
provisions we sailed for New York, where
we arrived eighteen days later, more than
eight months after leaving the shores Of
Japan, two hundred days Of which were
spent at sea, ana having covered dis
lance of twenty-five thousand five hun
bred miles during that time.