The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-17
TIE SAILORS HARD CALLING.
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vss ~ rofo " i's highest ard"t onN S'th =
hrsfi ~ hrasa awi p ltreasi ~ ,rip't sterl
vh1 dstsi M fare me r,'uidncd tTfrnrs ~
thp urkno~u and mighty arrp
lHHe~i vheh gp. iha inhstiinre ~ Tho
frnnl's ~ shv aHn yrsrs ~ seRfarins
using thfro ~inllienHiums fof c'hvetieurN
saFe hui entirely ignorant ~ really how fat
lmrt ~ wss vhen man hru, dsrnl w faee the
lerfuru ~ the trackleas drrrl ihiht fof q
little ~ tho conditions ihvnlveh In that
remute DIV IN gping down Nv the aaa, ~
IN withhold from thure prituit Va
mA and la--cneers our reareciful
and unatnted admiration whether Syrian,
Egyptian or Mongotan. they vert driven
ssn ward. 10 iaor tNrrors 81 which we nov
oan only faintlv dream, by Tho great dynam io
f,rcas ~ the human mind curiosity, love
~ cla nge and thirst for gain.
10 satisfy These desires they overcame
natural shri nkings and rose 10 the sublime
height Of facing. however trem1lotAly.
those far moro terrible probabilities Of
coming into lnimioal contact with the gods
whose domain II was only reasonable 10
suppose was peculiarly the mysterious
businesses Of ocean ! hardly know whether
II IL possible for is 10 onter into those aensa-
tons Of the early seafarers unless IL hAs
ever happened 10 ia, all ignorant OF sea-
faring. 10 get adrift on the sea In n tiny
boat. Of the handling Of which we know
nothing Even that will hardly s%ufice,
since we could lOok around for help which
would almost certainly I've speedily forth
coming from experienced seafarers.
Fortunately. in this interesting study OF
early seafaring conditions we are ablee even
to-day to obtain object lessons IL we travel
far enough aneld. There are still parts Of
the world adjacent to the sea where these
primitive conditions Of seafaring are TO be
Witnessed, where savage man, entirely
ignorant Of what awaits him at sea and
profoundly IMMERSED in ma vigational lore,
still faces the wa w with innate bravery,
without any equipment for voyaging
beyond a frail support in the midst OF the
wa ter
Those early conditions Of seafaring took
long centuries in development, involving
u%nthinkable sufferings n uncountable
toll in human life. For although mans
courage enabled him thus to face the ocean,
his inventive powers did not keep pace
with it, and so for lack Of food and water
he suffered and died. To-day there are
seafarers traversing the Indian Arohi-
pelago carrying water in joints Of bamboo
and a scanty store Of food, mostly boiled
rice, in leaf packages, who in case Of adj
verse winds are doomed to all the horrors
Of starvation and thirst in the midst Of
the pitiless ocean.
The centuries rolled on and produced
at long intervals great geniuses who dis
| covered how to store provisions and water
how to develop from the tree trunk The
followed out canoe, and later the built
up vessel. Then came too, the observant
mar who noted the general direction of
the wind and set Of the tides, enabling
him by the aid of the lements alone to
! reach a desired haven and return.
Only the changefulness Of sea conditions
! prevented any certain dependence upon
| them, and consequently the risk was ire
mendously great. 1t remained so in spite
of skill and experience until the advent
Of that gigantic genius who discovered the
! principle of the mariners compass. At
one mighty stride the mariner reached
comparative certainty Of direction, indie
p~endently OF weather, from the utter de-
pendence upon the stars and sun liable at
any moment to disappear and remain
hidden for days, while the clumsy craft,
her crew and passengers alike drifted any
| whittier.
Yet in spite Of all these disabling diff
culties the sea road proved so easy, az COM
pared with the awful toll of land journeys,
hat certain races Of coast dwellers per-
severed generation after generation until
by dint Of inoessant cropping after knowl-
edge there gradually grew up a great bust
ness of trading between lands separated
by the sea, and, since in the early days
the merchant must needs accompany his
goods a passenger traffic also. What a
business ii was, and how sternly must every
man nave braced himself for the ordeal.
We know scarcely anything Of Far Eastern
seafarink except from what we zee Of it
to-day on the Chinese coasts and among
| the Fast Indian islands, where scarcely any
progress has been made by the natives for a
with many flashlights upon the growth Of
seafaring in the Mediterranean and among
the savage nations Of he North, the Vikings,
for instance, whose only idea Of sea TRAFFIC
was rapine and murder.
What a picture of going down to The sea ia
presented to our mental vision by those ter
rihle Mort hern warriors embarking on board
their long ships, just exaggerated boats wit b
many oars and one sail. The farewell
caroise and lea We taking from wives and
children, he strange food and drink slowed
away far less carefully than the keen weap-
ons wit h which to slay all who should hinder
a landing upon whatever shore they hap
J,ened to strike.
One Of he strongest passions Of humanity
is speculation, ever preferred to humdrum
certainty, and in all early maritime enter
prise the element Of uncert amt v, the ca
sence of speculation, was present in the
highest degree. No danger or hardship
was proof against its allurements.
II is high time that we skipped a few
centuries and came down to more modern
times. There is good reason for 20 doing,
because really right up to the time of the
commonwealth, alt hough mariners had
gradually ventured furthe and furt her
abroad and notifications Of ships had az
slowly taken place, the essential conditions
Of going down to the sea had changed but
little for n thousand years,
Still he mariner trader and his passenger
the enterprising. merchant must needs go
prepared not only to face the perils Of the
deep equipped IN Hcantiest fashion, they
must also bid farewell to all that he land
affords of comfort and be ever prepared to
guard their own ventures with their lives.
or risk them in he attempt to wrest from
OF hcr seafarers { he fruits OF their W toll If
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