The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-11
ANCIENT MARINERS TALE
THE BOAT WAS so GREEN THAT THE
TIMBERs sPROUTEr.
A floating Arbor I'm the Sea, but the
Crew Came to Grief, ms the Vessel
Finally Refused tn Move.

| New York Times
"well, I'm blarsted!'' exclaimed Cap'n
Billy as the skipper ended his yarn. BLESS
| me, IL that amt good. 'un."
The storyteller was a long. raw-boned
fellow His clothes hung loosely after the
style of the sea- His face. tanned by wan
| derings in many Chimes was puckered into
countless wrinkles. From his mouth there
issued as he talked periodic fountains Of
tobacco juice. each of which hurled
through a crack in the floor with mathe-
| natical precision, an accomplishment TO
which the skipper was largely indebted for
! the great respect In which he was hello
| by the familiar spirits with whom he kept
company.
| There was once time when this prince
| of yarn spinners was known by civilized
name-a name with two. maybe three.
| parts TO IL, like those of ordinary people.
But when years ago he made his appear
1 ance in South street nobody knew who
| he was, ncr did he ever vouchsafe any in
| formation on the subject. After while
| he came to be known as 1.-The Skipper
| Everybody called him by that title, and his
| stories of the sea were repeated to the far
| corners of the East river pier line. Folks
wondered how old he was, for, although
| the wrinkles On his face would have done
| credit to a mummy, his coal black hair
was as thick as boys All in all, though
| his gaunt form, six feet and more In height
was as well known along South street as
| the piers themselves. the skipper was
most mysterious character.
"Bless me, II that amt a good 'un, said
Cap'n Billy again.
Sure thing it is" echoed Cap'n Jerry.
Great! interjected longshoreman
/ over I'm The far corner.
"Bullyr' remarked his companion. with
| emphasis
the office of a certain towboat company,
where they assembled each day to do honor
to the memory of the late Baron Muncnau-
sen. And after they had separated they
repeated the shippers story from one end
of South street to the other. until every
body, from the fat bartender in Cuyler's
alley TO the pier guards at Corlears HOOK,
had heard it,
This was the story:
Twas when L was I'm tn West Indy
craftsmanship like twenty, or thirty, or
forty years ago. My bosses held out in
| Portland, Me-, an they owned sev'ral
| schooners an a good-szed brig when
| went to work with 'em. was put aboard
o the brig. For voyage or two after
| took her she was all right but then she
| got wrecked. an the crew, bein' me an
twenty others. was picked up out o. tn
water by q steamboat.
1--WE got back to Portland an found we
! were all out o. work. TIL bosses didn't
| want to fire any o. tn men they had on tn
sbns f ms nave we no
stranded.
HAD A BOAT BUILT.
well. after I'd been there day or two,
| an idee hit me. 1 took my old mate aside
Sam Sullivan was his name-an' put him
| mex to tn whole scheme. He'd already
! told me as how he'd bit O. coin slowed
away in his jeans, an l knowed / had a
| little myself so we ranged things fast
| enough. Then we set out together for a
| certain pint on tn coast, fifty miles or SO
b'yond Portland. At that pint there was
some boatbuiders that I knowed about.
| people that built rowboats an small sail
| ing craft an sometimes little schooners.
| They were rough builders, for sure. but I'd
heard ley could put up boat that'd keep
| out tn water.
| said to Sullivan, AN then we'll do bus ness
/ in tn Indies on our own hook.
| He was agreeable, we started out to
| fix tn deal. TIL builders named price, an
we paid em part o. tn money. promisin'
/ tn rest by-an-by. Then We watched EN-
| put together tn schooner. For sev'rai
| months they worked, usin' green wood cut
| fresh from the forest-an 1t didn't cost EN-
| cent, for that a long time ago, an
| not many folks lived in tn country round
| about, so tn boatbuilders JUS snagged
4
cat last she was finished. Gee! She was
| rough lookin'! Green as grass all through
| an through. rugged with sails that looked
like bags, carryin trees,sne was, peach
| But tn tar they pitched her with was all
| o. K. an she. was built to last for good.
| She didn't leak little bit. an tn way she
| went through tn water was sight, seem
as she so clumsy-like that 1t didn't
seem possible she could be sailed at all.
But she was a good schooner as far as
JUS goin' was CONSERVED. Twas other
| things that was tn trouble with her, but
we found out too late what them things
| were.
ION we sailed. We had got together a
crew of ten likely chaps, me an my mate
| had, an twas our plan to go as fast as
| we could to Cuby, there gettin' cargo o.
| stuff to bring home an smuggle in. In
about week we'd got along far as tn
| Virginny Caroliny shores, when sud
denly tn trouble begun.
Early one mornin' Sullivan come ADJUST
in into my cabin. wavin' his hands an yell
| in like mad.
| whats up?' said /.
"'Come here he howled. Come here
quick!'
.T went When reached the deck Sulli.
van grabbed me an pinted his finger to.
| ward tn starboard bow. Jimminy Christ.
mas! What dye s'pose saw there? Twas
a tree. a Twin, CROWN. green tree. Twas
CROWN right square out o tn deck. an /,
had already gone up seven or eight foot
high. / ran UP an looked at it. No. there
wasn't no doubt of 1t. Our green schooner
/
II amt superintendent bit-but tina,
got me. An there was tn mate, yellin
like demon, an a-crossin' himself al
over. TIL men, too, was on deck by this
time. They were skeered right, can tel
you, an you wouldn't "a blamed 'em
either, for a tree CROWN out o. the deck OF
a schooner did really look kind o. spirit
like.
Get together boys said. when 1 saw
'em lookin so dunfumoxed. Get together
Taint no harm done. Well have a bit O
shade aboard If this thing keeps up
Il had a hard time s;tyin' that an pre-
tendin not TO be frightened. for / felt sor
| O. curious. But l put on brassy lip an
made if didn't care little bit whether
tn blasted tree was CROWN there or not
In fact. told tn men that I'd had tn,
schooner made for tree-grower on pur
| pose.
well. we got halfway used to tn thins
that day TIL tree growed two foot NOR,
before noon. Then another one shot I'D a
tn foot o tn mainmast. an, when we frs
saw it. 1t was only a little bush: but 4
growed fast. an before night we had tw,
good-sized shaders.
''Th' mex day a whole forest began I.
come out. There were trees on top o. tn
| fo'csle, an trees at the matches openin' s
an trees CROWN to sea from tn shin,
sides an even a few little shrublike bushes
| sproutin out o the masts. The bigges
ones on deck was gettin' way I'D i'm III
riggin', an we had to saw of q limb o.
two to keep 'em from tearin' tn sails. Ii