The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-06-24
CURED THE NATE OF RUM.
ONE RESULT or THE VOYAGE or
THE OFFICE BOY.
He Was Asleep ON the Main Hatch and the
Mate Was D~runk-Then Something Hap.
pened To sober Up the Mate and Save the
ship-The Mate Cured the Boy If Some
Things, Too, So Things We're Even.

"Wuz ] ever at sea? wy, certainly. What
as? Boy. Of course dyer tink | wuz cap'm?
Cabin boy? Nav Jest plain boy before de
mas. How can ! prove 1t? Nor. nor beast.
nor nor cas-. nor cas- be nor. nor cas-. nor
cas- b. cas-. cas- nor eas. cas- be nor. cas-
dat's enough ter show yer I can box de COM
pass. Now. den. mains1, lower main-tops'.
upper main-tops1. main-togansl, main royal
denis de sails on de mainm'st. Poop deck
BOBBY hatch. lee scuppers. mart 'ngale is
dat enough? -bowlin' on a blight. fore top,
Spanish windlass. Ready about! Hard a-leel
Main -tops1 haul!
lSings.l
DE doctor come down to de Liverpool dock.
Heave no an blow de man down.
4 guess dat shown yer I bin ter sea, don't it,"
The bookkeeper said he thought il did. Then
heasked the new ONCE boy some more questions,
Nav. | didn't run away. Me folks has
money, see3 l wuzg oin' to a military academy
an de principal told me ladder I was too tough
an he couldn't do nuthin' wild me. so dey sent
me Off ter sea. I wuz gone nine mont's. We
took kerersene oil ter Singapore. ballast TO
|, Iloilo and sugar home. Dere WIZ nothin'
In II, so | quit. II wuz good fur a experience.
but OATS all. ! cured de mate Of whiskey
an he cured me Of some things. so ] g,iess its
about a horse apiece between him an me.
I will say dis. dough: A mate lays way over
de principal Of a military school fer bringin'
a bad boy round. I'm all right now. talks
tough, dat's all, but datll wear OF like de
tar on me hands. l Jest got back last mont
an now I'm goin' in fer a legitimate business"
You will doubtless be successful, " remarked
the bookkeeper. Did the mate treat you
badly"
Il can't say he did II don't hurt none now,
anyhow. De mate wuz all right an We soon
come ter understan' one another. Me fadder
took me down ter de ship in a hack wild me
sea chest strapped on behind. II was a bark.
| hut calls il a ship. Den me fadder says, Good
by. an be a good boy. an drove Of. lea vin'
me wild de mate, De mate he looked me over
fer awhile an den he says:
Git dem FIFTH avenOO clothes often yer an
tote dat wood yer see on de main hatch in ter
de galley. An git a move on.
NJ chest WIZ full Of blue ieans-dungaree
jumpers We calls 'em. an flannel shirts an boots
an every ting wat ! wanted 'cept deere wasn't
NO hat-dey had forgot dat. So | had ter put
on me soldier cap wot | had wored when | come
aboard. When de mate seed me he said:
"'Wher d yer git dat lid2'
Oats me military cap I says.
THROW II overheard, We don't want no
soiers aboard dis ship, says de mate.
II can't, says, It's all I got
THROW il overheard, | says SAYS de mate,
pickin' up a piece Of wood an fannin' me aroun'
de deck. So ltrowsde cap overheard.
Now We don't fool ourselves says de mate,
an. be jeeS. we didn I from dat time on"
You mean the mate effected a cure, re-
marked the bookkeeper.
Oats wat he did. Dey's no way gittin'
way from a mate aboard a ship. Me fust run
In wild him showed me dat when he said fer me
ter do a thing il wuz best fer me ter do II. We
got ter be good fren's after We got fairly started
on our voyage. His name WIZ Kelly an he
come from Cape Cod. II he told me onst he
told me a hundred times dat he wasn't Irish.
Bn, he ,,m could in ~ tish h0 Ike q ~ IT',hman, ! 1 seno him .
sailor often de ~fo'castle fer givin' him some
back talk. Den he jumped down on de man an
deyn nG ,sr De c ssMpper an an! 0 when a dew eI Hst d,T r,es a.
mate WIZ on top. lammin' de life outen de man
till he hollered 'nough.
i made de gran mistake OF tallin' dc mate
dat me folks had money.
How. much will you git when your ladder
croak'', said de- mate ter me one night ourin'
ABOUT a hundred t'ousan'.' I says. which
wuz a lie. II ! git ten ~t'ousan' Tn lucky. But
fought ia put il mp ter der mate fer eiect
nIllN 'Utt says ut H1f 10Y IOnH uOSS
] have ter work AT SIS a mont ter make dats'
a hundred an sixty years l says aftsr
AN how long would il take you at % q
mont ter make ~ he says.
Eight hundred an thirty years, / says.
Oats better, he says, but 4 gifts ter BE-
en- I guess he would cause all he knows ia about
runnin' a ship. But de money ! wuE goin'
ter git made him dead sore an every time ] didn't
do everything right he booted me roun' de deck
an ypllpd' HOOray Ter dc snn of n N1ilipN-
aire,' DE mate wuz all o. X. dough, even
If he did used ter drink somp'm awful durin de
sYoI said YOU cured him; how liz that Com.
about" asked the bookkeeper.
Well. it don't seem like much. but ] cured
ward bound. One night we wuz close on to de
Madagascar coast-de place where day have
de typhoons. II wuz dc middle watch, along
FER sSoS fair i0nF IL ee coSld IN, X stsn 1s on h Tuf i. ,sn Ak: h sR
yer hang on de wedder main riggin' ter keep
from topplin' over on de deck. Every little
while he'd AXE q pull onten a bottle he carried
in his pocket, wu2 layin' on dc main hatch
lookin' up at de stars and bime-by l goes off
inter a snooze, l wuz walked w by hGST:n'
de de, mate q. say Boy! ,h but ! ~S MA sles e. ss an . d,dn'
he wanted me-. KNOWN he wun drunk. lie
called fer me again, but I didn't answer an
den seen hin crawl along de wedder. rail to
de place where de steps goes down to de main
deck an den he spies me layin' on de hatch.
"BoyN he yells again. I don't know wat
come over me, but i jest tought Id make be-
eyes nearly closed.
mate ps mn mlllsn to sisss ss'ee HRbid hay he sa wear, 10 one ne
Of de watch, draw me u bucket Of water He
come down de steps careful, 'caus he wuZ
awful drunk, an den he takes de bucket Of
water an ponrs it slowly over me from me
neck tor me feet. knowed what WIZ comm
an didn't move a hair. De mate dropped de-
bucket and, yelled: 'Hooray for de million
aire" Den his legs got tangled up an he dropped
all in a heap.
DE sailors jumped ter help him back on de
poop deck again an while dey wuz busy I
seen me chance ter fool de mate. bunked
wild de carpenter IN de after part Of de for 'ard
house right often de main hatch, DE nights
was warm In dem parts in dose days an s'elp
me, all ! wored was q pair Of dungaree jumpers
an a thin shirt. ! had plenty OF trousers an
shirts jest like EN- hangin' on me peg an IL
took me about ten seconds ter jump outer ms
tell yer I WIZ a-lsyin' on a ole piece er canvas
on de main batch. ! jest. hauled de old canvas
on an lay down again on d. dry spot dat Vnzent
touched by de water wat de mate trowed I
got dere Jest at de time de men got de mate
upon de poop deck aRin. He grabs holt on de
main hatch in Jest de same position. He puts
up one han 10 his mout' an yells:
Boy
Il kept on maxim blieve I WIZ asleep an de
mate says:
MY God. de boy mus be dead Shake him
UP dere. some o you men Dey shocked me
mp and | rubbed me eyes.
s. bring hin Up here says DE- mate; De
poop deck an den de mate says:
What tells de matter wild yer?'
~Nut'n. ] says. ] WI, asleep
Yer WIZ, hay, says der mate, an did yer
feel a little bit wet?'
Nav ! says, I didn't feel no wet
IAnna hare uAr AAn - an ..,tlltA,Atrn , aa,e