Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-02-11
WITHOUT MUCH CEREMONY.
BuriaIs at Sea Are Not Marked by
Any Great Display of
Reverence.

:. had always conceived a burial at sea
to be a very solemn and a~we-inspiring
event, but l was quickly disillusioned,
by this burial at any rate, says a writer
in The Sea Wolf. One of the hunters, a
little dark-eyed man whom his mates
called Smoke" was telling stories,
literally intersprinkled with oath and
obscenities, and every minute or so the
group of hunters gave mouth to a laugh
ter that sounded to me like a chorus OF
wolves. The sailors trooped noisily aft,
ONE of the watch below rubbing the
sleep from their eyes, and talked in low
tones together. There was an ominous
and worried expression on their faces. 1t
was evident that they did not like the
outlook of a voyage under such a cap
tain and begun so inauspiciously. From
time to time they stole glances at Wolf
Larsen, and l could see that they were
apprehensive of the man.
He stepped up the hatch cover and all
caps came off. l ran my eyes over them
20 men all told, % including the mar
at the wheel and myself. I was par
donably curious in my survey, for it ap-
peared my fate to be pent up with them
on this miniature floating world for l
knew not how many weeks or months.
The sailors in the main were English
and Scandinavian and their faces seemed
of the heavy, stolid order. The hunters,
on the other hand, had stronger and
more diversified faces, with hard lines
and the marks of the free play of pas
sions. Strange to say, and l noted it
at once, Wolf Larsen's features showed
no such evil stamp. There seemed moth
ing vicious in them. True, there we're
lines, but they were the lines of decision
and firmness. 1t seemed rather a frank
and open countenance, which frankness
or openness was enhanced by the fact
that he was smooth shaver. | could
hardly believe, until the next incident
occurred, that 1t was the face of a man
who could behave as he had behaved to
the cabin boy.
At this moment, as he opened his
mouth to speak, puff after puff struck
the schooner and pressed her side under.
The wind shrieked a wild song through
the rigging. Some of the hunters
glanced %anxiously aloft. The whole
lee rail, where the dead man lay, was
buried in the sea, and as the schooner
lifted and righted the water swept across
the deck, wetting us above our shoetops.
A shower of rain drove down upon us,
each singing like a h%ailstone. AS II
passed Wolf Larsen began to speak, the
bareheaded men swaying in unison to
the heave and lunge of the deck.
"I only remember M part of the
service" he said, "and that is and the
body shall be cast into the sea- So cast
it in" He ceased speaking. The men
holding the hatch cover seemed per-
picked, puzzled, no doubt, by the brief
ness Of the ceremony. He burst upon
them in a fury.
Lift up that end there! What the
IS the matter with you?"
They elevated the end of the hatch
cover with pitiful haste, and, like a dog
flung oversize, the dead man slid feet
first into the sea. The coal at his feet
dragged him down. He was gone.
"%Johansen," Wolf Larsen said briskly
to the new mate, keep all hands on deck
now they're here. Get in the topsails
and outer jibs. We're in for a SOU
easter. Reef the jib and the mainsail.
too, while you're about It,"