The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-04-18
By William Allen johnson.


aid Co. All rights Reserved)
DO You dock in this port, matc''
A man looming up suddenly from
behind pile Of cordagc on an cast side
pier fixed bibulous eve upon me and
waited solemnly and hopefully for an
affirmative answer. When he got it be
grew suddenly confidential. He was a
sailor, he said, shining from Liver
/. pool, and arriving in New Gork-welI
he said vaguely, he ''thought' it was
last night.
AT any rate chatter hit of good
time" he had lost his ''bunkie. y his
money and his sense Of direction. At
present he was desirous Of reaching the
street and he suggested that loan
of tanner would greatly facilitate
his progress thereto.
All this by way of explaining who
the trigger is and why he is, for
IL it were not for the bibulous sailor,
speaking generally, the rigger would be
extinct
Briefly he's sort of land sailor.
When q sailing vessel enters the har~
the Battery-so goes out to meet her,
and scampering aloft he "hangs' away
up there, swinging over dizzy yardarms
and in and ont Of tapping sails till he
"rigs down. the tons is so that the
ship can pass under the bridges of
tho East river or is made trlm and
ready for docking.
So. too with an outgoing ship. He
boards her nj the pier. and. reversing
his former task. he makes her all ship
shape for her long. huffcting voyage,
It hazardous work and particular
work, and it takes tho best kind of
sailor to do it successfully. Il calls for
6 regular sailor at least. and the ques-
tion naturally arises. Whv doesn't the
regular sailor do it? Why don't the
Ships c-cw do tho ;igglngl
I Put this TO an old ship 5 master. and
he laughed heartily over it. LORD
bless you said he, "ihat's just it,
Why don't they?"
Sometimes they do he continued.
Bnt generally they don I. You see,
t:crc are two times when you can {
depend upon sailor. One is when the
ships .aIiin'. and other IS when SHE
entc:S port.
When she s sailin' YOU re glad to
kei Your crew on her i'll any condition
at all; and that condition ain t gener-
ally Il fit one 10 go llof5 m. In The
old days out of n crew of thirty-two
seamen--which was about the regular
Complement never looked for more
than six sober men, and they were
most likely poor sailors. S"IEt tunes
they were just wharf rats. who had
to be broke in. They'd take Il clSm
rather than 30 half way mp the Taln-
mast.
Trust in the Riggers.
;" No, you never expect any work ont i.t
Of your crew when YOU sail, especially
tops ! work You d he in lovely shape
if you did. So YOU just RELY .nron the
riggers and get 'cm busy = day or so
before Won ship away.
"Aud it S the same when you enter
port. The hoardiu house runners meet
you down the BAY. and +hey We got ev-
cry man jack on board by .he time y.ol
east anchor There 5 10 time Tor Tlg-
gin. No; it's
Height Jack. and ho: Jack,
An merry time tnere'n be.
"They re thinking of celebrating,
nothing else; and ] will say this OF a
good sailor-he's generally good cele'
brater."
SO, evidently, the rieger represents
the sober. more responsible side of the
Sailors trade. He also represents the
more hazardous side-that side alone.
sea aman, daring seaman. Why, then,
is he rigger and not a sailor?
The call of the sea is very potent
with yailor. Some never cease obey
ing it; there are many men before the
mast today who can count their three
score years. But sometimes there are
other calls, stronger than that old call
of the sea,
Take stroll along South street some
DAY and thence up the east side and
over around the tramp steamers in Erie
basin and YOU II learn Of these other
calls. You II find an odd assortment
Family ties. wages, hereditary influ"
ences. hatred OF discipline religion.
sf AS for family ties, well, it s like
this" began rigging master. "a
sailor does marry sometimes. though not
often. How lie lives after that depends
upon his wife. If she S a scold he stays
q sailor. If she's good cook and
nmiable he becomes n stayat-home, a
figger if he's good at climbing aloft or
q 'longshoreman if he prefers solid
ground under his feet.
And religion holds some. On West
street there s little brick church ard
reading-room. The latter is sort of
sailors posioffice, too. There g big
sign on the wall: N'You promised TO
write your motber:' and in racks are
displnyed many letters in many differ.
eut languages, The rack contains let
ters that have failed 20 reach the ad-
dressees and have been returned One