The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1910-02-17
A Famous
Boat Deal

It Was the Reverse Lever that
Stopped the Boat From Climb
ing the Mountains. i
1t was the weekly gathering OF
eoodly coterie of congenial souls at
Rlodgett's Bar, just off the water front,
in Port Townsend. They were all
Captains, every man jack ofthem. Some
of them had acquired their tit,es IN the
merchant marine, others on barges
and timber RATS il the Sound, but the
majority, like so many OF their tit'eo
brethren throughout this glorious land
of ours, had acquired their titles whiie
acting as Captains on the hurricane
decks of handcars, or maybe it was on
the hurricane decks of the off-Wheelers
in q six team, mule, jerkline outf1t, but
more likely the title was acquired
while acting as Captains Of quadriiles IN
some redlight dance hall. Anyway
they were all Captains, and that's all
we care about in this tale.
They had been discussing the speed
of various modern water craft and
everyone had given his version except
old Cap. Weatherwax and when ne was
at last appealed to, he surprised them
not little, by saying:
"Welll TO be frank with you boys,
my honest opinion is that the fastest
time ever made by any kind OF water
craft was made right here on Puget
Sound"
"rhat's dodgasted funny" said old
Cap. Tarball, IAN none OF US never
hearn of it."
Now. every man in the crowd knew
that old Car. Weatherwax had no more
knowledge of navigation than hog
has of his relations. Old Cap. poseo
as an ex-pilot, but the only steering he
ever did was to steer the "come-on'
towards the Standard, OF Green Light
down i'm Seattle, or in some similar oc
cupation. However, this didn't a1fec
his social standing on the water front
not a hit. aud he was listened to will
due Difference.
81 don't know as the time was reali
made. or not" continued Cap. Weather
wax. "I'm only speaking from obserVa
tion and outward appearance and wha
afterwards heard, and not from actus
bearings"
"Y'see, it was like this" said tn
CAPTAIN as he Strengthened out to te
the warn, 81 was engaged in the rel
estate business at Seattle during tn
Klonkike Boom along in 1896 an
and one day picked up couple
customers, or Argonauts who wante
to buy boat to take to Alaska VIII
them. BY the way, that was sort
fad with lot OF the Argonauts inthe
days, and you know how Almigh
easy it is to fix out man with afad,
lust took my two Argonauts doV
aud introduced them to couple
friends of mine and when l told n
friends what the Argonauts wante
they said they had just the kind OF
boat the Argonauts needed. NO
that's as far as my dealings go in II
boat business, except, of cours
I cot my bit, or commission, shot
have said, when the deal was clos'
But got the story all right enou
from a friend of mine called Sill
Charey. and there was part OF it
into the papers afterward, but the
side of the deal was not published.
"Y'see, it seems that these two Ar
nauts had quite little money
somebody had got them stuffed up W
the idea that they should take II
own boat to Alaska. They naturs
~ concluded that they wanted sv
4 boat. so in case of any stampedes
~ rushes they could be the first ON
ground. Wise heads, these Argona
and, generous to fault, i guess
.,a.5 Most of 'em wouldfrefze other MOI
.s,is, like a barnacle to 9 ships bottom
~. they were always. locking for the
80, of it, but" n"iand here the Captain WIN
his eye, "they very seldom at eyer,
81 it.aS -