The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
EDY AT SEA
By A T. BULLEN
o4utho' of '7hs Cruise of tn. Cac1alot"

As a general rule the life Of the mariner is
beset with far too much Of the grim tragedy
OF living for him to give full play to the
sense OF humor which he possesses in COM
mon with his fellow men ashore. On board
II q man-of-war, OF course, there Is far
more scope for comedy, but there the life
is so entirely different from that led by
merchant seamen in practically every
detail that it must be treated separately
and by men who have lived 1t, II it is to
AVE any fidelity to fact, and survive the
merciless criticism to which 1t would surely
and rightly be subjected.
Practically the first piece OF comedy
at sel that I ever witnessed was on board
my first ship in Demerara Harbor, The
men Of the port watch, four of them, had
received their liberty and such money as
the skipper thought they were entitled
to, and after the time honored debauch
ashore returned on board next morning
rather the worse for wear, but still fairly
quiet.
They brought with them, however, sundry
bottles Of new rum, of a strength TO make
any one but a sailor or an aboriginal shud-
der, and with typical generosity dispensed
it literally to the starboard watch, just
snOTeWdTu DOuIu LOT tltlT tWehty-lOuT
hours. This hospitality was unnecessary,
and eventually disastrous, but 1t had one
present effect which was good-the return
ing watch had less to drink, and were in
consequence quiet all day, that Is, they
slept, impervious to the appeals Of the
officers to them to come out and do some
work.
Very peaceful was that day and night.
almost S~abbathllke. The Norwegian mate
and cookney second mate sat and smoked,
for the -old man was ashore, while Foo
Shing, the steward, and I enjoyed long
spells of doing nothing and misunderstand-
ing each other.
With the morning came the pilot, for 1t
was our sailing day. and 1t was necessary
to get unmoored early, so that my lord
the skipper might find all things ready
for getting under way when he arrived.
The port watch, fairly sober, but desper-
ately unhappy, responded to the cry Of
Turn to- but, on finding that their ship
mates had not yet returned, retreated
to their dim cave again for another smoke,
nor proffered any reply to the mates fire.
uuent appeals to them, -Kom long, boys.
We geds retty for unmooring, ain'd it2
Ton'dt want no row ven de oldt man koms,
hey?"
Eight bells Is A. NJ the starboard watch
arrived alongside, all together, in a large
canoe, and the fun began. OF course,
they were drunk, but only In the first, good
htmored stage.
Their getting on board was a joy. The
indignation with which they refused as
sistanoe, the uproarious delight with which
49, ballad 1rn anNthnrso afHhap haaNnnt
into the muddy river we'll, ! forgot that
there was any danger, and screamed with
shrill delight until my small sides ached.
At last, all safe on board, and their sable
ferryman dismissed, they sought the fo'c'sle
and announced their intention OF hquidating
their debts. They also brought bottles,
which, being more carefully looked after
than their own lives, had safely survived,
with their distraoting contents.
An orgie set in among them all in the
fo'o's'le, amid which the entreating jargon
Of the mate was occasionally plaintvely
audible, as he besought them to turn to-
At last the cook, q %truculent, weather
Scared old seaman Of so, reared:
Boys, this squArehead Of r worrits
me. Let's go and tie him up
A sudden rush followed, and presently
behold the mate spreadeagled In the main
rigging, with spunyarn lashings at wrists
and ankles. Don't ask me how these
drunken men did 1t; these things among
sailors are past explanation.
Satisfied with their exploit, the jewellers
retreated to their den again, while the
pilo., deeming it time to interfere, hoisted
the police flag and released the mate.
The second mate, l may say, was really
the carpenter, and did not care about broils,
90 he had kept out Of the way.
Very promptly the police boat arrived,
manned by negro policemen, but Differed
by a white man. Frequent invitations
10 the crew to resume work, and all should
be forgotten and forgiven, only resulted
In opprobrious epithets being hurled at
the old hooker. the owner, the skipper
and all connected with her, to which was
s~uperadded the announcement that all
would rather do time" than 60 to sea in
her any moro.
Enough-th order was given; Arrest
those men,
AYE, aye, sah,' responded the black
policemen, and went into the fo'o'sle.
Peace reigned on deck for a space, but
fragments OF song occasionally foated
AIT. Alter an nOuI tuO INV . poNOiSO
was exhausted, and he went forward to
investigate the matter.
He found TO his dismay that now his W
men had succumbed to the temptations
of the rum bottle, and were In most happy
fraternal relations with the Grew whom
they had come to arrest. They scoffed
at bis authority, and in proof OF their In
dependence invited their new found friends
on board, where a sort OF wa dance or
oorroboree was In order, or disorder.
Let me conclude this recital, already too
long, by the brief announcement that in
due time another police boat arrived,
manned by white men and bringing the
skipper. All the jewellers were removed
in high glee to their months hard labor,
shouting their assurance that 1t would be
like Sunday school after that adversely
adjectived ship.
A piece OF comedy that arose froma very
simple matter Of salvage once came under
my notice, and is a proof Of how the true
s~eafarer is easily apused. Moreover, this
has no element OF the tragic in it all.
was once in a bark called the Dartmouth,
and on the passage out to China we picked
up a case during a calm. Upon its being