The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1906-02-09
Py Albert w. ToIman.

~ was alone with me IN MS
S90R( stuffy cabin. The crew had
gone uptown for the evening
Stretched out on the square dining
table under the swinging lamp lay a
chart Of the North Atlantic fishing
grounds.
It was an interesting sheet that
soled. creased map, thumbed, greasy,
. dotted with soundings, with thin.
v'atery lines marking the boundaries
OF the different shoals On Banquereau
faded red smudge attracted my at
tention.
Something particular happen there?"
hazarded
Rather" responded the captain,
briefly, strolilng his gray. bushy eye
brows. Owe sailed the North Allan
tic, man and boy, for over thirty years,
and l never was in a harder, tighter
place than when lying at anchor in
the forty fathoms under that ink spot
1T was the same voyage we shipped
Dutchy Hedmann. He was a big.
hulking young German, who had just
come over from the old country on a
Hamburg tramp steamer, and had left
his vessel in New York Heaven only
knows how he happened to drift down
to Gloucester But not half an hour
before we sailed he turned up on the
wharf, at the very minute when was
okng for another man to take the
atce Of one of my crew, who had gone
ONE sick. We didn't waste any time
king.
Want to take a trip TO the Banks?'
id l.
YAH he grinned, without having
least idea where the Banks were,
what he would have to do when he
I there.
- shipped him at once, not knowing
2ether I'd drawn prize or a blank.
hoping to get him tolerably broken
ply the time we were on 'Quereau.
49, st there, however, | made a big mis-
Se.
AS fisherman Dutchy was Of no
.. I've seen Joe Simms. who tished
i Angsde him, pull in four cod while
the German was hauling up one bait
Ing his hook and getting it down to
bottom again. He reminded me Of
big, lubberly schoolboy, with his round.
fat face, blue eyes and fuzzy little
yellow mustache From the day he
shipped until he left the schooner Mt
the end OF the trip he never went above
the rail; and when some joker put his
boots on the masthead one night. he
went round in his stocking feet half
the forenoon, till one of the men took
pity on him and brought them down.
AS soon rs we were fairly outside
began to drill him in seamanship. but
it wasn't long before I gave up the idea
OF teaching him anything. His mind
was slow and dull, and though he tried
hard enough, he couldn't seem to com
prehend. SO if any piece of work
needed brains ana Qulckuess. / took
good care not to call on him but when
ever strength and fathfulness were
wanted, | turned to him every time.
No matter how hard or dirty the Job.
he never complained or shirked.
But his appetite! l believe that af-
ter any meal he could have turned TO
and eaten another just MS bic. | guess
that was why Obed Spiler. the cook.
was down on him. If anybody had his
coffee weak Cr his beef poor or the heel
Of the loaf, It was always Dutchy. He
never said a word, but ate more than
ever just to show there was no hard
feeling.
Our first week on the grounds we
had good luck. The cod bit well. and
were big and fat. The second Wednes-
day dawned with a stlft gale from the
northeast. How it blew! All day we
didn't wet hook. Toward night it
grew worse, and a sleet storm set in.
The schooner pitched and rolled so that
you could hardly keep your feet; but
her cable was new, and l was sure she
would ride 1t out We turned in early
hoping the wind would so down before
morning.
but at II o'clock a cry from the man
on watch brought us all tumblng out
OF our hunks And there was reason
enough She shackle under the how
had parted, the jibstay Stacked up. and
the masts, freed from its tension. were
quivering ike willow rods. Unless
the damage was repaired at once the
swell would soon roll the sticks out Of
the schooner.
In less than three minutes I had
every man but the cook on deck. 1t
lock sogde time to secure the swinging
sud Of the stay, splice it, aud draw