Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1899-08-06
THE BUMBOAT INDUSTRY.
How Jacl& Tars Arc Supplied with
Little Luxurics When
in Port.

boat women and Il bunboat man came
TO blows In the course of an argument
over their respective rights to trade
with the returned Jack tars Although
not always fought for so valiantly, the
privilege of bumboating is always
greatly sought after, and the profits of
the business are generally SO large in
proportion to the outlay that it is an
occupation likely to flourish as long as
there are ships and sailors.
The ordinary landlubber does not
have occasion to know much about bum
boats or their proprictors, and i is ten
chances to one that his acquaintance
with them is limited to the one classic
bumboat woman of song, Little Butter
cup in "Pinafore." But to the sailor the
bumboat men and women are highly
important members of society, and il
they should cease to ply their trade he
should find himself deprived of many
luxury that he now enjoys The cap
tains of all vessels recognize the value
OF the bumboats as q means of kecnino
Jack contented when he is In sight Of
either honceor foreign port With
out their visits he would be far more
persistent IN his demands for shore
leave, since he would be able to repre-
sent, reasonably enough, that he was
enjoying no benefit from the ships
ncarness to land. But the bumloats
bring HIM all the tempting articles in
the way of food that he could possibly
find ashore. and, though these things
make up the greater part of their
stock, they frequently have besides
various little curios. pieces Of jewelry
and other articles characteristic of the
country to which they belong. Bum
boat women are often washer1yo1nen
as we'll. and they are only too glad to
rehcve the sailor-fora consideration
OF his laundry duties as long as the ship
remains in the ncighborhood.
Livery bumboat proprietor must have
q written permission from the captain
OF the vessel he desires to trade with,
and he must exhibit this as soon rs he
comes alongside. Then an officer of the
ship goes aboard the bumboat and
makes IN examination of the stock, to
see that no liquor is being smuggled
INTO the sailors possession. To be alb
solutely sure of this the officer must he
well up in the tricks Of the trade. All
sorts of ingenious expedients are de-
vlsed by the bunboat proprietors. in
.coliuslon with the ever ready seamen.
WHISKY and other spirits are brought
aboard in the most unexpected ways.
and the success of a scheme must de-
pend chiefly upon its novelty. The
large claws of Holsters carefully
scoopcd out and filled up with liouor
nave served to convey many drink
aboard, and they hold more than
would be generally supposed. limo.
Gent-nppearing strings Il of sausa ges
have also been discovered on invcstiga-
'1on 70 DC not sausages at all, but the
empty cases of them filled with whisky.
lIycn loaves Of bread have concealed in
their centcrs little pouches of the
greatly priced liquid, and there arc q
number OF other devices showing an ad-
lnlraDle gift OF invention on the part of
the bumboat people.
Many of the tricksare discovered only
after the s,i!ors have given repeated
and unmisfakablc proofs of having
been well supplied with liquor. Then
the officers cudgel their brains to find
out by what means the stuff could have
been obtained, and finally suspect some
article of the bumboat stock.
BESIDES examining the goods the Of
1icer who boards the bumboat also looks
over the schedule of prices and decides
whether or not they are exorbitant. This
is to protect the seamen, who are pro-
verbally no match for the traders. ut q
bargain, from being swindled by ex-
tortionate prices. Occasionally, of
course, the boats bring odd wares, for
which no prices can well be scheduled.
but the staple articles of their stock.
such as fresh fruits, vegetables and
sweetmeats, are all valued at certain
rates. The officers themselves very sell
dom make any purchases, unless in an
emergency they happen to be in need
OF some article for their own table.
There is probably not port a Which
ships ever touch where the business Of
bumboating does not exist. In China it
is especially active, as well as at the
various ports of Indo-China and Brit
ish India. The bumboatmen OF Alcxan-
dria, Egypt. are said to be the LATEST of
their profession. Too indolent to make
an effort to get alongside ship, they
sail aimlessly up and down among the
vessels in the harbor, crying monoto-
nously: "Ebryting! ebryting!" This
is intended to describe the extensive
ness of their wares, but it is deceptive,
Tor they usually have next to nothing to
sell. Sometimes they rouse themselves
just before a ship is about to depart,
and come alongside, offering pigeons
and other birds and animals, which the
sailors often buy for pets. In faraway
Madagascar the natives are enthusias-
tic bumboat traders, and frequently