The Republican journal., 1910-10-27
GOV. Robe BACK.
Once Famous Portland Ship Returns from
Pacific. Is to Become Coal Barge.

a detail of pathetic interest to the water
front at the foot of West Seventy-ninth
street says the New York World. After
q years of roaming this pride of Maine
has come back from the Pacific, safe
from the perils of the hungry sea, to be
reduced to the humble but useful estate
of coal barge.
She may we'll be subject of jest to the
bluejackets of the Atlantic fleet whose
smart gray fighting ships swing at
anchor up and down the Hudson. No
coat of paint for many moons has dec
Grated the Gov. Robes shabby and
weatherbeaten planking. Her masts un-
scraped, her yards and rigging colorless
from long exposure, her general air that
of old age creeping on, undisguised by
any superfuous attention from her own
ers, she does look like speckled hen.
Her Waterman as communicative as a
Sc aled can of salmon, would even bar the
stewards wife from the ship. She, a
devoted mate, who had started to see
her husband, rheumatic patient in the
Marine hospital on Staten island, and had
lost her way, CHANGED to have in her
handbag a butchers bill against the VEN
cradle vessel. The bill was accepted by
the ships Waterman as a passport, and
the woman allowed to come back on
board.
On strange, rambling trip down the
Pacific on her journey to that bourne OF
the coal hulk, from which no clipper or
Maine merchantmen e'er returned, two
mysterious young fellows shipped before
the mast. 1t had been their wish to
change their luck, to exchange the pow
erty and hunger they found on the west
coast for the fancied plenty of New
York, but they did not arrive here, and
thereby hangs a tale of the Governor
Rotie's last voyage.
After the last stick of timber was
aboard, with her mighty deckload made
fast, at Seattle pair of youthful tramps
presented themselves aboard, begging
for a chance. Looking like prodigal
sons adrift, their clothing a collection of
openwork garments, they acknowledged
that almost any kind of change. provided
they could command three square meals
a day, would be agreeable to them.
Frank Morris and George Davis,
youths of 81, from the middle West Min
nesota and Iowa, they said.
The time-stained Governor ROBBIE
cleared from Seattle and sailed on March
9Th on what was to be her final journey.
But lightly provided was she with those
stores of gear and hardware which may
help out in an emergency. There were
Is hands, including the ''boy tramps. "
Rolling along under top-heavy bur-
den, the yielding seams of the patient
vessel uncaressed by too much paint,
gave ready entrance to water. The
pumps would have furnished ready
been fresh feathers for the boxes, but
loo 4bac Gttiprc no hold
gathered more and more water.
Capt. Halcrow figured that the ex-
pense of returning to the West coast
would eat big hole in the profits of the
trip, and shaped his course for the Soci-
ETY. islands, while the stock of salt wat ,r
kept increasing in the bilges and the
ship almost became waterlogged.
His course would take him only little
more than 20 degrees to the eastward of
Tahiti, the French paradise of the Pacific,
and the captain determined to bear away
for Papiete harbor.
While all hands were wrestling with
the sucking pumps and trimming sail on
a soggy vessel, almost raft, the con-
duct of the two young sailors could not
but draw attention to them.
They were cheerful shipmates, saying
but LITTLE, but writing much in small
blank books. They seemed to be good
judges of clothing, for they chose the
best that was in the slop chest, standing
not upon the expense, even to the limit
of their wages.
From their cultured tones, general ap-
pearancr, manners and grammatical ac-
curacy it was assumed by their ship
mates that they were students, possibly
of sociology, who had been learning the
condition Of the workingman as he is
found in the West. At night they were
more than once detected by their ship
mates apparently making maps of the
stars, as if keeping tabs on the ships
course. Their appetite for books was
extraordinary, and they had read through
the American Seamen's Friend Society's
| little library before the undertaken
ship had crossed the 10th parallel north.
AS the Governor ROBBIE numbered
along through increasing seas, which
it became necessary to jettison 60, 600
feet of her northwestern pine stuff.
On May 81, after couple of months
of anxious seamanship and sailorizing
the white steeple of the cathedral and
the new light yellow church, with its
red spire, off Papiete, showed above the
cocoanut trees For reason of the coral
reefs, the currents, the shallow water
on the bar and the liability of the sea
breeze to fail, although the land breeze
is more regular, the Gov. ROBBIE picked
up native pilot to run her through the
narrow pass in the barrier reef.
Divers soon found where the leaks
were and caulked them up, and on June
18th the lumber ship was ready for sea
again. But the two sociologists were |
missing. They had taken French leave
in French colony and with them went
the richest garb of the slop chest, from
boots to headgear.
AS about 40 steamers year touch at
Papiete, the deserters will find way to
escape from the island. which is about
half as large as Long island, with an
equable climate, luxuriant vegetation,
beautiful women, nights filled with per-
fume and mystical light, and myriads of
beautifully shelled fish swimming above
gardens of coral, blossoming like roses in
translucent waters. Perhaps they will
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