The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-14

The faithful Strap then went forth and got himself a position as barber's assistant. while Roderick danced at- tendance on members of Parliament naval boards and functionaries for an appointment to a ship.
 Footmen, clerks, hangers-on and of. ficials bled him till continuance oi the operation became useless for lack of further supply. Then he was cast off. ana was in a very promising way to starve genteelly, when he was sci upon by press gang and dragged tc a cruiser. after having been carefully and elaborately knocked on the head
 His fellow victims in the grated hold robbed him, and the midshipmar in charge squirted mouthful of tobacco juice on him when he asked that his wounds be dressed.
 The pain of his hurts, the stench 0; the place and the absence of food and drink made him unconscious. He might have died there like dog. as many of Her Majesty's faithful sub jects did. in those days. had not a sailor succored him.
 This man told him that he was on board the ship Thunder. Captain Oakum. When Random, startled al the name. said that he was the nephew of Tom Bowling, the sailor swore that
 
 Lieutenant Bowling" said he There was a sailor for you and as brave a fellow as ever cracked bislet And it wasn't his fault, bless him. that old Oakum got better of his wound which was more than the old villain deserves"
 surgeons mate came to examine his injuries and Roderick Random was filled with joy to recognize in him ar acquaintance. Thomson. who had pass ed the examination with him at Sur geon's Hall. He told Thomson about the midshipman who had added to his previous heartlessness by striking his prisoner with a cane. The first lieu. tenant investigated and promptly put Mir. Midshipman Crampley into irons punishment that made him Random's determined enemy.
 The Thunder was short of surgeons mates. and Thomson succeeded in get. ting the berth of the third mate fo, Random. Thus he gained through 6 press gang what he had not been able to gain through the naval office.
 He was anything but delighted. how. ever. when he saw his quarters. whicl were reached by descending severa ladders into hole as dark as dun. geon, permeated with an overpowerine smell of rancid butter and old cheese that poured from the stewards cuddy near by.
 MT. Morgan. the first surgeons mate was adding to the fragrance by mix. ing a mess of peas. salt butter anG onions in a wooden tray. Having par. taken of this delicacy, he was intro. duced to his patients. He saw half 8 hundred miserable wretches suspend. ed in hammocks hung so close to. gether that only fourteen inches was allotted to each man. There was neither light nor air in the foul place Filth and vermin were everywhere To reach any patient in the back oi the hold the surgeons assistants had to crawl along the deck under the other hammocks.
 Roderick Random was much less sur prised that so many sailors should die on board ship than that any should emerge alive after having been un. fortunate enough to enter the hospital
 When Captain Oakum learned that the sick bay was full he swore that he would have no sick men aboard his vessel. His surgeon. pr. Mackshane who owed his appointment to him agreed with the ignorant autocrat ir all things and declared that most oi the men were shamming. Despite the furious arguments of Morgan, the patients were hauled on deck and set to work with such excellent results that within a week the sick list of Her Majesty's Thunder had been reduced to nearly one-half.
 It Is true that the reduction was brought about, not by the recovery Of the sick men, but by their death. This however, Was ascribed to the selfish ness and natural obstinacy of sailors and could not be suffered to cloud the glad fact that the hospital was near ly empty.
 Morgan and Roderick Random were punished for their contumacy by beine accused of fomenting mutIny and were chained to the deck. where they remained till the ship sighted Jamaica. when they were pardoned and released in time to avoid an inquiry
 From Jamaica the Thunder sailed tc join in the attack on Carthagena, that glorious attempt which might we'll be called one of the great jokes of his- tory if the jest had not cost the lives of great many thousand seamen and