Arizona republican., 1899-04-26
DANGERS OF A SAILORS LIFE.
Some of the Drawbacks That Are Not
 Generally Appreciated.

There are dangers to seamen about which landsmen never think" said the captain of one of the Baltimore fleet engaged in the Rio coffee trade to little company at the Riggs. "YoU. wouldn't consider the apparently sim pie process of weighing anchor risky one, yet there is a part of the job so disagreeable, not to say dan- gerous, that the men always draw lots to see who shall perform the: duty In the ships bow there is a compartment hardly big enough to nod two per- sons comfortably, and here the anchor chain is slowed. The seaman who is to do the slowing and the under officer who is to oversee the work reach the place down little ladder through all aperture scarcely large enough for a fellow to squeeze himself 1t is so dark there that you can't see your hand before your face, and a lantern has to be taken along. The odor at this time is bad enough, but when the chain begins to come in it becomes a1- most unbearable. Some of the harbor. in the tropics-indeed, most of them are filthy, and there are brought up from their bottoms all sorts of dis agreeable souvenirs of your visit
 
 has to be carefully placed in it's proper position as the chain comes slowly In, for otherwise when it came to drop- ping anchor again the whole side or the ship might be torn out. Some times, through the carelessness of the men on deck, the windless is allowed to slip, and the chain begins to run out at great rate. Then fellow has to be quick, or he will be dragged up through the chute and his life crushed out. He is warned of the danger by the metallic rattle and the smoke arising from the friction as the fast-moving chain comes in contact with the chute, and he presses as far back as he can from the iron mass, for he knows too well that terrible death awaits him if his clothing should become tangled in the chain ar such a moment. Only a few voyages since on my ship a man was caught in this way. The mate, who was by his side, managed to rescue him, but in doing so was himself carried along with the chain and mad his life squeezed out
 T had a pretty close call myself once. While slowing away the chain 1 accidentally kicked over the lantern cA-O I11G 41Sul WdS UT course, I could not stop in my work to let those above know what had happened, for the misplacing of sin gle link, as I have said, might result in disaster, and the mate, unfortu- nately was not then near at hand To be alone in the darkness and the horrible stench was far from pleasant, but of a sudden I heard a sound that filled me with terror-the rattle of the chain as it begun to swiftly pay out Some one had iblundered, and there I was in that black and loathsome hole, the victim of the blunder. I shrank back, pale and trembling, for it was only few months before that a poor devil had met the same fate that it seemed awaited me. Remember, was only a few inches removed from that rushing, rampant mass of iron and there was not little likelihood that in some vagary of motion it might en- snare me in it's tolls The awful noise, the stench, the odor of smoke, the sparks as the chain strained against the chute. all these had their effect upon me, and my mind became a blank. When the chain was stopped they came to look for me. I was un- conscious but not hurt. It was a long time, though, before I recovered from the shock.-Washingto tSar.