The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1900-01-18

Written for The Prison Mirror,
Luck.


We often hear people say there is no
such thing as luck, or that we make
our own luck. That may be true
enough, yet we sometimes see people
who have had strange happenings come
to pass in their lives that are unac-
countable. Sometimes a run of evil,
then again good
hremebber well the-case of Captain
Kip1ing::s1When yet young man he
obtained captains papers, and from
the age of twenty-five until he was
thirty-fve years of age, he was the
most sought after captain by vessel
owners in the country. Not only was
he a captain with great navigating
ability, but he somehow could get
charter for his boat, no matter how
dull times were, and good fat freight
rate. too. Well, people might say that
the reason for that was because he was
good seaman, but this was not so.
Captain Kipling in his early days
had few friends and no influence, but
he got there every time after a good
freight When he left his winter port
for his first trip in spring he had fair
wind to his destination. AS soon as
the last board was on, the wind
changed, and he had fair wind back.
Eight days after his vessel lay in
Detroit, and that whole season the
same thing was repeated; fair wind
up, and the wind changed to fair as soon
as he was ready for his down trip.
This is fact. The captain is living in
the State of Michigan today, and until
he started as owner and captain. he
had marvellous success.
This happened when he reache d
thirty-five years of age. He had al
ways been saving man, SO he built a
vessel and started out in her as cap
tain. She was as speedy vessel as
was on the great lakes, but after sail
ing her all summer and making moth
ing, he lost her off Isle Royale in the
fall, the first misfortune he had had
since he became master.
So it went on for ten years Either
he would be wrecked or something
would happen. The last fall of the ten
years he had terrible experience:
wrecked in December and frozen so
badly he had to have his foot ampu-
tated. The next spring he bought an
old schooner at a marshal's sale.
Three hundred dollars was what he
paid for her; that is by the help of
some friend. That old schooner was
the turn of the tide. He did not com
mand her himself, he was too sick: he
hired captain and now-well, ne
owns one of the largest lumber fleets
on the lakes, and the matron OF the
fleet is the old three hundred dollar
schooner.
On the st. Claire River is fair sized
shipyard for building wooden steam
boats and schooners. The firm got
rich and thought they would build a
boat for themselves. They did so. On
her maiden trip, while loaded with
copper, she went ashore and pounded
the beach of Lake Superior until she
broke her back, and was forever after
hogged. Then they built another
When she was coming out of small
river, that runs into the st. Clair River,
her stearing gear broke, and before she
could be stopped, had done couple of
thousand dollars worth of damage to
the dock she run into, besides damage
to herself. Thus began the first trip of
number two.
While l was languishing in Jail,
waiting to start on my maiden trip,
picked up a newspaper and in it was
an account of steamboat commencing
her maiden trip by running down a
schooner and drowning its crew. This
was the third steamboat owned by this
firm. I don't know whether they have
built their fourth one, but when they
do l suppose something will happen.
There was twenty three mile an hour
boat that commenced running on the