The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1910-06-25

be paid out of the debtors "hide" or his wages
Boarding masters of this class were petty ras-
GALS They dealt in at retail The brothers
John and Peter Sherman. of Irvington on the Pa
ciic coast, were of another type. They dealt in
men Wholesale shipped entire crews. Their
boarding houses were licensed by the govern
ment Captains bargained with them openly.
The shipping commissioner of the port winked
at their devious ways. crowd of thugs,
ners and hangers-on served them and thrived by
their favor. They were men of substance and
owned or controlled part of their business
cry saloon dance hall and resort in the crooked
streets and dark alleys about the wharves. Upper
Irvtngton drew a deadline about the waterfront
and seldom ventured it outside of business
hours. Jack and Pete Sherman were kings of
Irvingtons sailortown.
Every autumn saw big fleet of wind JAM
mers'1ships of 1000 to 5000 tons register-lying
off Irvfngton. The wheat of the new northwest
was In their holds, consigned to ports in Europe
or India. by way of the sixmonths journey
round the Horn. The wheat fleet, Irvington
called it. and when the wheat fleet came, upper
lrvington stirred itself, sailortown reused to
vicious life and the sailortown kings reaped a
harvest of blood money
No captain shipped a crew from Irvington un-
til he had done business with the kings and paid
their price. Captain Brown, of the bark Carmar-
thaenshre learned that to his cost He put into
Irvington for cargo at time when ships we're
plenty and men hard to get He uncon-
cerncd, for his men had been shipped In England
and would not be discharged until the home port
was reached. Captains of deep-laden vessels ly-
ing In the stream eyed the Carmarthaenshire's
crew enviously. Jack Sherman quietly sent
man or two aboard the 'limejuicer" to visit and
smugge in forbidden whisky. By twos and
threes Captain Browns crew left him and
hidden about sailortown. The Irvington police
were asked to bring them back but however hard
they looked for deserters they didn't find any.
Then one dark night the rest of the crew
ished over the side, to the last man. after knock
ing the breath out of Captain Brown and tricing
the mate up to the main fiferail. And before the
astonished captain could recover breath enough
to roar for Flaw" Jack and Pete Sherman had his
men shipped in one of the waiting vessels and
away Next day the captain waited by
the kings, who blandly offered to find him new
crew--at $50 the man. He roared again-to the
British consul to his shipping agents, to the po-
lice who were sympathetic but helpless. Nobody
could be found to even hint that the kings had
any hand in the affair and the shipping commits
soner's records were clear. He had shipped no
deserters that he knew of.
But Captain Brown swore that if he couldn't
get back his men. get the dogs of justice to
even bark at the kings. he at least would pay
them no blood money for crew. So he
went to another port and brought crew to
Irvington by steamer. His bark hauled out
into the stream and her crew kept close in her
forecastle That night she boarded by
masked men, who swept her new the
bows into the stream. Gossip had 1t that some
of them were drowned Captain Brown gave up
and paid the Sherman boys SIS instead of $50
each for crew, and put to sea In hurry.
They're bleedin' swine. but they're kings Of