Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-03-07

DAILY kENNEREC
| ana not ended until all who had fol,
lssricVed had had their fill of sot;s-
'a'.ioh or until the ships officers in
..'ieleu' ours passed with no more
'"ah nara feelings here and there
~ me Gay after the hot pot-nos-
sipiS 'here is a parable on high living
ne mon seriously decided that the bnaf
lof dihner was just a bit too strong
ne quaity OF the beef sent down IN
the 'at'iemen Is not. perhaps. a mat
"r LOT Hihch worry up in the galley
uiiieSS by some strange incident IL
shouid De good. AS "A result. an arti
sc sometimes comes along to which
even the Well-trained stir takes az
eeptiohs. 1T was the old hands who
found fault in this case We novices
II seemed. lacked spirit or else we did
NOT KNOW our rights. Before heaven
S.iid one. go on up" So we formed in
single hie and marched up TO me
saiIey. with the offensive food in ire
original DISH at the head of the pro
''SSioh. 1he attention OF the cool;
"dS Indignantly called to it, The cook
"Wore the whole length of the line. b,i,
ne substituted less spicy mess. some
thln% that had been intended for tho
stokers.
Inc aftair seemingly was at an end
When we filed back to quarters. But
'he old hands knew better. NO cool,
cares to have the 'stitrs' give him =
can, as the men themselves nut il
ano II was long odds that ours wouli
make up for the indisnity. His chance
came. There were four DAYS left. ana
| salt junk was the mainstay AT dinner
Tor the rost of that trip. Salt Junk
proper salt junk. of the crvslaliycd
brand that is kept in hermetic casks
| Tor decades ana pried out like ump,; of
grained rubber, is not a thing ~ Ia
treated lightly. Partake Of il daily
and one soon prays for change Of
luck. But it is highly approved Of the
Admiralty Though possibly not with
an eye 10 inccSSant consumption. ana
You can bring no action against the
company on the ground that il is MOI
1T food. There is no philosophy in
kicking. say The cattlemen You only
Kick when YOU can't stand it no longer.
Md then YOU have to stand worse
on Sunday plum duff was served out.
grievances because OF this weekly plum
dun. This is the same stuff that sail
ormen everywhere are familiar with. 1t
is of brownish shade. made largely of
dough and molasses, Favored with
some perVasiVe spice. and decorated
here and there with raisine Ii is not
at all ill-tastinS: IN fact. it is pleasant
to take. but it rests heavy on the stom-
ach.
one of the yarns spun by the cattle
men in their leisure hours is to the
effect that there was once steamer
that used to give the 'stiffs" ham and
eggs for breakfast and prime cuts of
roast beef. with tapioca pudding. for
dinner every Sunday. That this is a
myth should go without saying, even
to innocent landsmen. In truth il is
4 most prepoStarouS legend and is only
told to green cattlemen on their first
voyage. But the retellng of it by old
hands to new ones is the cause of Il
large output of delicate humOr of the
steerage kind. Those who have re-
tailed this fable the ofteneSt are wont
to say that the inventor of ii is the
same dark party that brought the Fly
ing Dutchman ana the great sea
serpent to the knowledge Of novel
writer's. Plainly. to their view Of it
this one OF the sunday dinner romance
could earn a fine living by building air
lines to the famous castles in Spain.
The cattlemen on this trip We're an
average lot of their kind. The usual
dock loafers. city ruffians and restless
wanderers We're there. There We're also
the honest mechanic. in the stress Of a
hard streak. the eX-pugiliSt, looking
for something easy on the other side
the picturesque hobo. and the better
born who are ever found in Il miScel-
laneous lot of adventures.
The work of the cattleman is not
hard. 1t is coarse. but five hours OF it,
all told. cleans up the days grind. Be
tween tasks there is plenty of loafinS
time and after supper the men are free
to turn in if they wish After the first
night all hands slept among the hay
in the hold. You broke open bale,
spread it out. laid your blanket over
that and there you We're. fairly in the
way of the sweetest kind of sleep.
The men lay out among the hay for
hours before going to sleep. 1t was
luxurious. They out with their pipes
and cigarettes and smoked up. There
are underwriters laws and ship regu-
lations bearing on the matter OF
smoking in the hay below, but no
strenuous attempt was made on this
trip to stop it.
Here is where all cattlemens must
have put in some of their best hours.
lit was quie. down there. The crunch
ing of the sleepy cattle and the night
tread Of the watchmen was 50 dead
ened by the banked-up hay that the
story tellcrs never felt disturbed. Here
is where the novices soaked in fresh
ideas and imbibed unstrained wisdom.
Here the widely Travelled and expert
enced got together and snapped IN
credible tales.
During the last two days of the trip
our work was slightly increased. EN-
ira feed was given out so that IN"
cattle might fatten up still more ana
arrive in good plump condition for the
market The study of this process
brought out a rather quaint obserVa-
ton from feeder one day.
It's a great thing said this one,
the way they fatten up the old
bu,locks when we get near Liverpool,
but | don't see them try to fatten us
ND any. and we could stand for little