Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-12-08
AMdrine Wandering Jew


IOriginaIl
eiuce steam has largely taken the
pace IF sail on the ocean | doubt il
re So ilOr's yarn is what 1T WAS fifty
years ago when tie .lack Ball line OF
CLIPPER ships spell between the occideiit
az tl.e u..e;I, ia niy younger days
I = is but lad sailed before the
ma in tie D"eI,i.!a,ish,. Among our
s'-a 3 was Seth iIawSiiS. an old salt
- eOrt-. W. cJl eel E.::l Aiethu-
s."-aIi, t:,.... t::,!a i:..;a with i ErJfusion
Of little re! els - was very reii-
3siOlS. Observing III IL commandments
scrupulous,y except the ninth. Thou
shalt not bear false witness" and in
this he s:nned onl;- il spinning yarns.
which he always vowed We're real hap
penings One starlight night on the
fOrecastle while we were lounging
about the caIsstan he give us the fol-
lowing:
you've all heard lot about Judas
Iscariot, who was cursed with havin'
10 live forever and wanderin' all over
the world. at one time bein' seen in
Egypt, another In France. and so on.
always leavin' a trail of misfortune in
his wake. But / don't believe any OF
You has ever hearn about his sailin' the
seas. There's no sense in this, for how
could he have got to America. where
he's turned up often, unless he crossed
an ocean? Leastaways I've seen him
myself, and on the water too.
u first shipped on the Mark Matthews
on voyage around the Horn to take in
hides on the west coast of South Amer
lea We was layin' in the doldrums
one evenin, just before four bells. A
thick fog was all about us, and we
couldn't see cables length. All of 4
student / heered 4 bell. 1t struck four
times. As soon as it stopped our bell
struck too. Then the fog thinned Il lit
tie. and just about half the ships
length from us was the oldest loOkin'
craft | ever clapped eyes on. She was
waist and had head on her bow like
that of a sea sarpent. She had two
maStS like a schooner. and the sails
was hung on 'em like they put 'em on
Chinese junks. OF course they hung
limp like Ourn.
"She was head-On, and the fog didn't
let us see abaft the fo'mast. On the
forecastle stood the figur' Of an old man.
1 couldn't tell you how old he looked,
but there was Somethin' about him
that reminded me of a people long
passed away. He was Jew and the
Jewiest loOl1in' Jew / ever see. He
was wrapped in a cloak that looked
like Q monks frOck. The melancholy
way he stared out o. them blinkers O.
his'n was enough to send cur yelpin'
to his kennel. They was like the eyes
of a sick man as hadn't slept durin' a
thousand year voyage. There wasn't
4 bit q color in his cheeks unless you
call the leathery look o the hides We've
got below color. and it seemed as IL 1
could see right through his CHASTITY lips
to the few teeth that was left in his
Jaws. He hadn't any hat on, and l
wasn't near enough to see just what
his hair was like, except that he had
mighty little But sOmethin' was
a-movin' on his skull that looked like
worms. Whether it was worms or
hair couldn't see, but it must "a been
OH n
breeze to move even the finest hairs.
He stood there lookin' at us without
any interest I'm them melancholy eyes
- his'n, and the only motion. he made
was with his skinny hands, pourin'
some silver coins from one hand TO
t'other Every Oncet I'm awhile he'd
make as IL to throw the silver away,
but ne couldn't, and every time he tried
and failed his face would take on an
expression of awful remorse.
While was Iookin' at him. the two
ships was so slowly driftin' apart that
nobody could see 'em move. The other
craft was gettin' IN our stern. The
Jews blinkerS was movln' about, never
restin' on anything for more'n hair
second till suddenly they struck our
stern. Then there was t,e worst fright
come into 'em I ever see on any mans
face not even mutineer l once saw
hung when he caught sight o the moose
danglin' from the yardarm.
what did be see? Didn't | tell you
our ship was the Mark Matthews? The
name. O. course, was on the stern
Some a. the letters was faded, and the
- in Matthews was pretty nigh gone.