Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-04-24

Dill determines TO Return to his Delate
Home. Puget Sound-tiis "Tumtum" Turn.
Lovingly to the "Siyah llhe." Where tn,
"OIallies" Blossom in Spring and the Tabl.
is Set in All Seasons When the Tide is Oui
he Returns by the Way Of China ane
Japan.
PART VI.
Concluded
| knew | was up against the real
thing in the sailor life, and my trip
around the stormy Horn had prepared
me for it. 1t was on the 1lth day OF
February, 1881. that took my bag
gage on board the Revere, and few
days later, in tow of a tug, we pushed
our way down the bay, through field
OF floating ice. 1t was a bitter cold
day, and as 1 moved around the deck
coiling down rope at the command OF
the mates, l thought that my hands
would surely freeze.
My last thoughts of New York, as
we were going down the bay toward
Sandy Hook were sad indeed. I was
leaving great city where had come
as green country boy. l had tasted
the sweets of life in a great city.
had reviewed its wonders and basked
in its pleasures every day for long
months, and now rs a common sailor
my face was turned toward foreign
land, in the far off sea of China. MY
mind reverted to a song that an act
ress had sung in a theater visited the
night before, my last in New York
city. 1t ran, "You will never miss
me until I am gone from thee, then
thy heart will be overdowing with the
darkness of despair which time can
only still, as the pleasures of to-day
are but the sorrows of tomorrow"
The chip carried a crew of twenty
men, ten on each watch. l was the
only American before the mast. The
others were a fine collection from the
different sailor boarding houses on
YOrk's waterfront. There were Ger.
mans, Swedes, Cockneys, Greeks, Ital-
ians and other highly cultured
gentlemen, in the two forecastles.
The last reminder OF New York was
the great whistling buoy which I
heard long after the ting had cast off
her lines and bid US bon voyage. This
buoy made loud whoom-whoom,"
caused by the waves and a suction
hole, or in other words the waves we're
the operating power for the sound
the higher the waves ran, the louder
the sound-to warn the storm.tossed
marines that danger was near at hand.
l had forgotten to state that I, OF the
foremast hands, was the only one who
left New York sober. All of this
caused q great deal OF extra work for
me, as the mates depended on me to
help get the fish.tackle ready, (Which
swings the anchors on to the cat-heads)
coil the running.gea down on deck
in neat order, and loosen the small
sails, such as the skysails, staysails,
etc. Most OF the sailors on the ship
had visited nearly all the sea-ports OF
the world. To hear them tell OF their
good times in the different parts was
very disgusting. Their good time con-
sisted of going ashore and getting
drunk and concoursing with the vilest
of women until their money was all
gone, then to sea again-their only
recourse to make living. You will
often hear that if such and such bad
boy was to take sea-voyage, it would
reform him. Don't believe it for q
minute. He will hear nothing but
the vilest OF language and obscene talk
all the time he is in contact with these
sailors Chat is the reason yours truly
has never reiormed). Trouble be-
tween the mates and sailors began be-
fore we were a week out. One morn
ing, Smith, the second officer and two
Greeks, had an encounter. The mate
bested them both During this time
l had no cause for complaint. 1 did
my duty and did it we'll, but the food
was miserable-coffee (so-called) with
no milk or sugar. hard-tack (bread)
that had seen better days. if not years,
and salt-meat of obscure origin.
After q while we began to get into a
warmer climate, We were sailing along
one morning, when q sail was made
out dead head. In q few hours we
were close enough to see it was q Ger.
man bark in distress. She was bound
to Bremerhaven, from Java, loaded
with sugar. She had been partly dis.
mssted aud was leaking badly. She
lowered boat and received q supply
of food and water, the boat making
four or five trips before they got it all
on board. After several months We ar.
rived at the straits of Sunda in Java
Islands. On one side was Bataria and
on the other Samerang. We anchored
in the straits and the natives, black as
Goals, came out in their canoes and
traded US pineapples, bananas, ETC., fol
clothes. They would not take money
for these tropical fruits; nothing but
old clothes. One of the mates traded
an old plug hat for boat-load of ba'
nanas. The owner Of the plug-hat
padded off proud OF his bargain. He
was az naked as the day he came into