The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-28
sNOWER FLYING FISH.
[From the New York Times.I

From the New YORK Ilm6S.I
If during the next summer any land
lubber is hit in the eye by AIN able-bod-
led flying fish interfered with in its
fight or dushes a bevy of those crit
ters' of the south seas off Staten IS
land he can lay the blame on the crew
of the bark Samarkand, which made
this port yesterday from Java. The
Samarkand is a tramp freighter which
runs mostly to the Malay archipelago
for sugar and most anything else she
can pick up in the way of d cargo.
She picked up mostly flying fish on
this cruise, and she didn't get these
aboard from any pierhead or lighter,
either, but took them aboard uninten-
tional like while Tapping around in the
doldrums about eighteen degrees south
latitude. off the Guinea coast. The
crew of the Samarkand ate flying fish
until fish bones fairly stuck out of their
ears, and when they got to South
Brooklyn they dumped several barrel
fuls Of living ones into the bay claim
ing that they were ashamed to look
flying fish in the face.
Likewise, they brought along a fish
story that would make a fresh-Water
fisherman's diary look like a leaf from
the gospel. Every man of the crew of
the Samarkand vouches for the story,
likewise the only passenger, a yankee
chap named Cody, a tooth fiXer, who
has been furnishing up the grinders of
the beers from Pretoria to the Cape.
The story runs something like this:
The Samarkand which during the past
two years has kept her Scottish crew
many leagues from their native heath
er, back of Loeb Fyne, put out from
Java with half a cargo of brown sugar.
Everything pulled taut and monOtOnous
like for a month, until the cracker
haSh,'' salt horse and soup and bull
ly'' began to go down hard like, and
the galley got to be as lonesome as
ancient tomb
One day early in June the bark was
nosing about in the South sea dol
drums feeling for a working breeze,
with everything aflapping up alOft. 1t
was six bells and the tropical sun was
just marking a lane of phantom silver
leading over to the western horizon.
The crew were at supper and the boz
SWain'S mate was at the helm ahang-
ing onto the wheel lazylike, when sud
denly off the starboard quarter there
was a Whir in the water and then a
whir in the air as if a flock of albat-
rosses were making for the ship.
The bo'swain's mate took one look
in that quarter, then blew his whistle
and lodged behind the pinnacle after
getting two terrific welts on the side
of the head. The crew tuTnDled down
again. Old John Spence, the carpenter,
took in the situation at a glance.
FISH" said he. ''Tarnation, light
ers fun of EN-" and rushed below for
barrels
The school of fiers had been attacked
on one side by a school Of bonitos,
while a school of aIbicore had executed
the whole school of fiiers took to the
air
The flying fish formed a considerable
cloud about six cable lengths wide and
extending along the line of the sun as
far as the eye could reach, shutting
out the light. The bark lay right in
the way and fish struck her like a
shower of hail stone and fell senseless
to the deck.
The spars, shrouds, stays, weather
braces and hatch combings were soon
slippery and shone like silver with the
fish scales a sticking to them, while
the rigging was slushed and the deck !
fairly ran with f1oundering fish. The
crew just shoveled them into barrels
of salt water until everything on
board that would hold water was filled, /
then an extra batch was set to shovel
ing fish overheard and cleaning a patch
from the cabin hatch.
The fish storm lasted for a half hour
and the striking of the fish against the
sheets put the bark along three knots
on her course, or the crew of the Sa-
MARYLAND hope to be keel hauled. After
the fish storm died out the dead ones
were cleaned and sailed away and the
live ones covered with salt water and
bulwarks for future reference After /
this the crew had fish fried, broiled, /
cOiled baked and smOthered
On entering Delaware breakwater /
Captain Peters ordered what fish were
left to be thrown overheard, but sew i
eral barrelfuls were saved for emer- (
gency and some of these were tum bled +;
into the bay when the bark arrived at +
South Brooklyn. Cody, the passenger, |
ing aboard he ran aloft and called all |
hands to SCTaDR the keel