The San Francisco call., 1906-10-07
OF HIS :
STRANGE
TRADE

lieve that he can better himself by 60
ing TO China. If there is an Australian
ship in want of sailors, ] make him
believe there is no place in the world
like Australia. No. 1 don't care when
] ship them. whether they will be we'll
treated. That is their own lookout.
Let them take their medicine took
mine when 1 shipped before the mast,
and there was no one asked me
whether liked it.or not.
When there is a scarcity of men, ]
often catch hayseeds who have never
been to sea and pass them off for
sailors. ! tell them how to walk, and
how to carry themselves and how to
answer, when the captain speaks to
them. I know just about what ques-
tions he is going to ask, so that is
easy. They tell him they are able sea
men and he does not know any better
before he gets out to sea, and finds
himself with a crew of farmers.
Landing Hard One.
said it is usually easy to get them
TO leave their ships. but we had a
case once that was the worst l ever
tried. 1t was about eight years ago.
when it was so hard to get men that
they offered $100 for every one, and
the sharks were securing the water
front gathering up everything in the
their hands on. Sharks, you under
stand. that is people like me. Sharks.
crimps and shanghaiers, that's the fine
names they give US. There were eight
or nine ships out IN the stream de-
serted by all their men, but there was
one ship a British vessel by the name
of Langdale that had just one man
left. He was d London eockney., and
he wanted to go home with the ship.
Every runner on the water front had
been after him. and lie drank their
beer and he drank their whisky, but
he would not bulge from the ship. At
last it got TO be kind of a point of
honor with us who should get him.
SO one evening I followed him into
a resort and sat down at a table near
him, but with my back turned to him.
The women Of the place came and
asked me TO drink with them, but l
said, NO, 1 am no ladies' man. Ask
that gentleman over there what he
will have" He said he would have
beer. After little while 1 told them
again TO ask the gentleman what he
would have, and again he had beer.
1 repeated this three or four times, and
] could see he was ready to burst With
curiosity but / was not going to speak
to him; wanted him to come to me-
So. after While, he came up to me,
and I could see the beer was beginning
u ldht t-AtNl- tEoet2s i11ilo ASAs --S ScIO
you are real koindEto me-"
I can speak cockpey as we'll as any
body, and I said: sThat amt nothing
I am man that don't like to drink
alone and ] don't want to drink with
them blatherskites."
He sat down at my table, and after
a while he asked: Say, mahster, might
I ask what kind of business you are
in?"
I was a fine dresser in those days,
you understand. and 1 had all my dia-
monds on. So 1 said: Ssh. I will tell
you. but I don't want the people here
TO hear me. Come outside with me-"
I took him outside and made a great
show Of whispering to him. and 1 said
very solemn: I am working for the
London Medical and Surgical Insti-
tute"
The London Medical and Surgical
Institute What the bloody
"Sh, I go out in the country grave
yards and dig up corpses and ship
them to London for the young students
to cut to pieces and see how we are
hssicslly constitooted."
Dig Up corpses," says he; 80 you
are a bloody body-slasher, are you?
Is there much money in it?'