Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-12-24

Long. when he was at home. That he
had always been Il good boy and
hadn't got over ii YET. nor shouldn't
unless the influences Of Il life on board
Il ''b.ubber- hunter" were too much for
him
Nobody disputed him and settled
down to calling him "Jo'' for short.
dropping the Long altogether. 10 was
short in stature--cne leg was longer
than the other and both curved out
ward to such an extent that barrel
hoop would ut inside Of them without
spelling its hoOriness.
i 10 was also cross-eyed and had an
hnpediment in his speech of cOnsid-
e~able magnitude. Hence he suffered
ir( language. look and locomOtiOn.
Take it altogether, 10 was about the
ugliest specimen of humanity that ev-
.r wandered to- Now Bedford to be
gathered ir by that brotherhood
known as shipping agents. who were
eve, looking for material for manning
whaleshirs.
A Jo VAS Of tender ace-sOmewhere be-
tween 8 and 90-outward appearances
failing to show where to draw the line.
lie weighed from 90 to !09--99 when he
was \obiiged to depend on his own in
,iividuaI rations. the latter figure when
by hoSp or crook n shirnnate divided
with Aim and he was enabled to add
the dividend to the amount of his own
share.
This was by no means the extent of
JOS mathematical aspirations-that.is is.
after his internal arrangements had
aocommo dated themselves to the reg
ulation hard-tack. salt-iunk and lob
scouse" ft'r then he often run into
Long" division and his addition was
not of the simple" kind.
In other words 10 had an inSatia ble
appetite. to, the damage of the ship
mate whose grub" h" appropriated
and to his own damage from an over
hurdened stomach.
Jos preliminary introduction to the
service was rs cabin boy in which
capacity hc ran at the beck and call OF
the skipper ann his mates, day and
night ana ass lStcd the steward while
he was resting,
These numerous duties mad, 1t nee
,ssary to kees, an eve to starDoard
and pnr, at thel same time nature nav
ing e'ninently fitted him for tho posi-
ton he held.
In rugged weather JOS short leg
worked to a charm if it came on the
windward side. otherwise a retrogade
movement was necessary. wner the
possibility Of lc-pking behind him with
out turning his head made backward
locomotion easy and IN even keel was
maintained
Tn3pr all theS.- drawbacks 10 man.
aged to spill rather more than half the
coffee that was poured at the captains
cup as he waited nr the cabin table.
while he rested his full quintal OF
voirlupOis on the mates pet conn.,
bringing vocifernus protestations from
that irrate officer who forCavc him
when he tried TO puzzle out the pos
sible direction of JOS gaze never fully
deciding whether that peculiar individ-
nal was looking NJ the royal truck or
the kclson.
During jos SojourI in the ce bin he
m1intanaG his full 100 pounds without
many ounces variation and it was only
after his promotion to the ships fore
castle that there was any wavering in
his weight and then not often. for ne
appropriated the contents of the lock-
ers right and left.
From tn" popularity of his walk
none could tell whose supply of vic
tuals he was approa ching. TO NOR.
could they tell whether it was Man
uel's duff. slowed behind the knight
head bitt, or Joaquins soft tack.
tucked away over the foot Of the berth
that ne had mis- eye on.
When accused of the crime he Stut-
tered and ate with the same expendi-
ture OF muscular energy and the
grub confiscated disappeared before
the theft could be brought home to
| him.
| This condition of things existed aft
er the skipper had announced that il
was impossible to decide where 10
was al and the sliding scale had been
applied. which in JOS case was for
| ward.
| But Jo had some rede"ming qualities
| He was expert with his needle and
was always willing to take a stitch for
comrade and asked no remuneration
for the mendinS ne did for sleepy
shipmate.
I He could recut "A garment OF the
| slOp-chest variety and guarantee fit
while to put on button to stay was
but the work OF moment.
! Hence JOS sins were mostly for
given him. the more readily, perhaps
because Of the satisfactory manner n
| which he handled the stroke oar of
the second mates boat and the care III,
| took in coiling down the wet line as II
was gathered in from running
| whale
| This he always did with one eye on
the whale while the other was devoted
to The business in general and il bv
any means or mishap the beat was
mad" Gninhabitable through some un-
called for demonstration of the deep
| sea leviathan. Jo managed to cling
| fondly to some of the more substantial
portions of the demolished craft and
/ come ont on top, every time.
| His interest in his own safety wa;
not Necessary, perhaps, for if ther..
was one thing that JO could do better
! than another, il was swim The ar,
had been bern in him-so 10 said-k;s
father and mother being gay ducks
who We're in the swim Of fashion al