The new era., 1910-06-09
e = = J p

be paid out of the debtors hide" or his wages.
Boarding masters Of this class were petty ras-
Gals. They dealt In men at retail. The brothers
John and Peter Sherman. of Irvington. the Pa
cifc 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.
Ine shipping commissioner Of the port winked
at their devious ways. crowd of thugs. run.
ners and hangers-on served them and thrived by
their favor. They were men of substance and
owned or controlled as part Of their business ev-
cry saloon. dance hall and resort In the crooked
streets and dark alleys about the wharves. Upper
Irvington drew deadline about the waterfront
and seldom ventured over 1t outside of business
hours. Jack and Pete Sherman were kings Of
1rvington's sailortown. .1.,
Every autumn saw big fleet of wind jam
mers'-ships Of 1000 to 5000 tons registar-lying
on Irvington. The wheat OF the new northwest
was in their holds. consigned to ports in Europe
or India. by way of the six-months journey
round the Horn. The wheat fleet. Irvington
called 1t. and when the wheat fleet came, upper
Irvington stirred itself, sailortown reused to
vicious life and the sailortown kings reaped
harvest of blood money.
No captain shipped crew from Irvington un-
til he had done business with the kings and paid
their price. Captain Brown. of the bark Carmar-
thaenshire, learned that to his cost. He put into
Irvington for cargo at time when ships were
plenty and men hard to get. He was 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 Carmarthaenshires
crew enviously. Jack Sherman quietly sent a
man two aboard the "Iimejuicer" to visit and
smuggle in forbidden whisky. BY twos and
threes Captain Browns crew left him and were
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 the side, to the last man. after knock
ing the breath out of Captain Brown and tricing
the mate up to the main fferail. 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 was waited by
the kings who blandly offered to and him new
crsw-at $50 the man. He roared again-to the
British consul. TO his shipping agents. to the po-
lioe 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
sioners records were clear. He had shipped no
deserters that he knew Of
But Captain Brown swore that II he couldn't
get back his men, or get the dogs Of Justice to
even bark at the kings, he at least would pay
them no blood money for a new crew. So he
went to another port and brought new crew to
Irvington by steamer. His bark was hauled out
into the stream and her crew kept close in her
forecastie. That night she was boarded by
masked men, who swept her new crew over the
b0w1 into the stream Gossip had 1t that some
OF them were drowned. Captain Brown gave up
and paid the Sherman boys $75 instead Of $50
each for = crew. and put to sea in hurry.
sshsyrs blsslin' swine. but they're kinss OF