Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-06-27

Dutchman, there are not SunlcleHt
bcrths of any sort whatever 10 supply
all aspirants, it is always Pcsslole 10
man any vcesscl which Il board or trace
official will pi.s' through a dock ga,es.
Just as no man is ever suceSsfui IN
anything without due course, so per
contra few sailormen are down on their
luck except through some pecuilar
trait of incapacity. so that on your
unpopular ship. be she tramp steamer
or exc weeping wind jammer. you 40
not get much pick of a crew. You
have to put up with h other people
have left, and 1t uoes not take you
long to find out that your beauties
have not been rejected for their eX.
~cellencieS.
Forward and aft. engine hold and pam
try. each man OF board of her had MS
private sea failing. Between them they
lack wakefulness. eyesight. declslon:
strength OF language. ~searnanshlp ana
common sobriety. Among the deck
hands there We're virulent sea lawyers:
in the stoke holds there We're ames
damnees wanted by several govern
ments. The engineers We're skillful in
gainkng the smallest possible knottage
per ton of coal; the mates were all
slipshod n~avigators. untrustworthy
even to correct a compass and useless
to drive q truculent crew.
Over all was owen Kettle. master
mariner. and whatever his failings
might be-and the index of them tailed
out-they did not show prominently at
the head OF such Il ships company.
ne had been bred in the toughest
school. but unlike his successful
brethren he had not graduated later on
to the smooth things of q well manned
passenger liner. For his sins he had
remained the pitiful knock about skip
100, =. 800, -:Ay -:c l. ->.l, II
ways ready on the lip of his teeth, q
leaden whistle in one jacket pocket and
a lethal Weapon in the other.
He was an excellent seaman and
navigator. a man capable OF going an
entire voyage without taking off his
clothes or enjoying Il watch of regu-
Jar sleep. Taking into account these
qualifications. 1t may be understood
that while in command at sea he
credited himself with tho powers of a
car and was entirely INSCRIPTIONS in
gaining ends which ~oxpedienoy or his
owners laid down for him. II though
not physically powerful he had the
pluck OF Il dog and ar unhcly reputa-
ton for craftsmanship. For the hand
ling OF such Il menager;e of all nation
accumulation and i%ncapacity as bunk
ed In the steamship Port lees no bet
ter ma than Owen Kettle breathed in
either hemisphere.
w view SiSIltu tl.tIE IIltlhS Ou lil0
articles at the shipping Office in the
Sailors home and went grumbling to
get rid of their advances. Later most
OF them turned up on the steamer, some
with their worldly goods done up in
Gunnage sacks, which look to the I'M
initiated IKE pillowslips. soine appar-
entity possessing nothing but the
squalid raiment they stood up in.
There was not one of them dressed Ike
a sailor. according to the conventional
idea. Yet most of them had made their
bread upon the seas since early boy
hood. which Shows what conventional
ideas arc sometimes worth. They We're
most of them oldish men and looked
even older than their years.
The engineers anne on board early,
for the most part in scrubby blue serge
and sour black temper. T.,ey grumhled
at h nessroom in bread G~laswegian,
p~rophesied evil Din aGvance) about the
and ships cook. dumped their BELONG
ings into their various rooms and
changed to apparel more suitable for
tail twisting in the unclean regions be-
low. Then they went on duty, quar-
relied with the donkeyman who was
ceeded to split up their crew Of fire.
men and trimmers into watches and
apportion them to furnace doors and
bunkers.
The three mates. the boatswain and
h carpenter were also on board be-
times, most of them large headed with
recent libations n feeling cantank-
erous accordingly. There was a small
general cargo being shipped for New
Orleans, and 1t gave these worthy Of
ficers ease to find occasional acid fault
with the stevedor's crew or the crane
men on the wharf. but for the most part
they shuffled about the decks in easy
~vo ot<Ar<1:~- <0 Tho ~ ILL.,
duties in massive sneering silence.
Patrick Cambel came II the chart
room on he bridge deck, closing the
door behind him. "a CHEEKY. amiable
crowd you've collected" he said.
aren't they?" replied Captain Ket-
tie from a sofa locker They're just q
terror Of a crew. You wait till we get
to sea. n they start on mischief. My
mates a cur. He wouldn't stand up to
a Chfnaman. And the rest of the after
guard is much Of a pattern, picked that
way on purpose Oh. I tell you, Mr..
Cambel, nat I stand alone. and I shall
have my hands full. But let EN- start,
the brutes! I'll haze them. 1t isn't
a new sort Of tea party this with me-"
You're going into 1t with your eyes
open, anyway"
"Oh. don't you make any error" said
Kettle. Il now nv job. And II I warn
you it's because you'll see things for
yourself and perhaps join in at them.
I don't go and tell everybody. Not
much. They think ashore I've go q
real soft thing on this time. Why, do
yo,, Lrnu, Mr. Co-kol ~ ho oIl~S -,sAl