The San Francisco call., 1904-03-20

rule seldom works the olneh
wav. The wreclless daredevil vaga-
bond who butts about the world into all
sorts Of dangers and acquires a sort OF
contempt for the various forms OF
death he often faces begins after
while 10 believe that every one else
shares his attitude of mind toward
what he considers at the worst only a
slight Fastening of the inevitable. =
Such a man is the average sailor.
He has no family. and his more distant
kindred are only4vague personalities Of
whom he has only a vague knowledge
It is family ties that cause men tosfear
death.
II half his shipmates are washed
overheard in a storm. Jack is depressed
for the time being, but month later,
when he reaches. port, he is quite apt
TO give his account Of the incident in
a humorous vein.
..Ye'd "a larfed," he says, in the
course Of his tale, If ye'd "a seen the
way Tim Hogan was a-hangin' on TO
the end Of the tOpsail brace, Ike
blessed herrin' hooked on the end Of
q line Then. when he couldn't hold on
no longer, he just gives tremendous
Uriggle. like he'drswallowed theisoait
and ID was tastin' pretty good, anseon
he swirns like he was lookin for more
an that was the Isrst we sees OF Baa-
As a matter Of fact, Jack dld not
laugh at the time of the accident HIS
comparison of a drowning man cnng-
ing TO the end of a rope to hooked
FISH never entered his head UNITY ne
snun his warn. Time has given MIN
that attitude toward a form of death
80 common that it may be his any
day. When his turn comes, ne VIII
not 1augh. but IL his ghost survives
him il will probably give an account
TO the other ghosts Of its entrance into
the spirit world in an equally humor-
Gus vein -
American bark Southern Cross, about
eight years back. you would come
across an entry like this:
"Chief Mate Hardy disappeared IN
the middle watch Supposed to have
fallen overheard while examining the
log"
Such an entry is common in SHIPS
logs. and it might mot excite much in
feTESl
izen. but in the maritime world there
are some 10 whom this would recall
memories Of a strange personality
Happy Steve
How Happv Steve was connected
with the drowning Of the mate OF the
Southern Cross will develop later First
of all, let me say a few words OF the
mate.
will hide Dick Hardy's identity un-
der his real name; nobody but a few
ship owners know him by that. He has
an aged mother living somewhere up II
Maine and for her sake il is better stc
let his past rest Let IL suffice TO say
that under an alias something, but not
quite. like Black Jack, he was known
the world over as one of the blackes'
scoundrels that ever trod a deck You
could hear tales of his heroic brutal
ties from Frisco tos Cafcutta- In his
dav boarding masters had 10 drug sail
ors before they could ship them on tbs
Southern Cross-she was a hard packet
To-day, I believe, she is reckoned one
of the most comfortable in the Amer
fcan merchant marine. -
II was aboard the ship that I made
nv first trip to sea that I~fISt heard
of Hardy and while have listened t
innumerable tales Of, him csincezi an'
have related some Of his exploits my
self. that Introductory knowledge o
him will always remain with me as
distinct impression For was presefl
when the first authentic account of hi
death was given out by the one maj
who knew.
This was aboard the old Nicaragua
bark Don Adolfo. She had aboar'
a crew OF hardy, reckless West. Coas
adventures. most of whom were ol
the West Coast because it was no
particularly healthy for them TO b
anywhere else. Not that they wer
really bad lot, but as have alread
said, they were Of that class who ha
acquired an attitude toward humal
life not compatible with the laws o
more civilized parts.
One Of the men was a chap calle
Happy Steve. 1t was his optimisti
temperament that had given him hi
name.
Usually an optimist is not a favofit
in a ships forecastle, but Steve coul
give everything such a humorous tur
that his shipmates would laugh
spite Of themselves. During the sec
ond dog watch he kept the men in
continuous roar OF laughter with hi
tales of past Exploits. Happy Stew
told many stories. but there was on
that beat them all.
We had passed the doldrums an
were well down into the southeas
trades, where the steady breeze mad
II seldom necessary to pull rope
20 touch a sail In that respect it Wa
almost like steamboating. Our dc