Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-06-03

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, 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.
The 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 controlled as part Of their business
cry saloon, dance hall and resort in the crooked
streets and dark alleys about the wharves. Upper
Irvington drew a deadline about the waterfront
and seldom ventured it outside of business
hours Jack and Pete Sherman were kings of
Irvington's saortown.
Every autumn big fleet of wind JAM
mers"-ships of 1000 to 5000 tons register-lying
off Irvington. The wheat of the new northwest
was in their holds, consigned to ports in Europe
India. by way of the six-months' journey
round the Horn The wheat fleet, Irvington
called it, 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 from Irvington
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 a time when ships were
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 Carmarthaenshires
crew envousy. Jack Sherman quietly sent
man or two aboard the "limejuicer' to visit and
smuggIe in forbidden whisky. BY twos and
threes Captain Browns left him and were
hidden about sailortown. The Irvngton police
were asked to bring them back, but however hard
they looked for deserters they didn't find any.
Then dark night the rest of the crew van
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 Claw" 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
couId be found to even hint that the kings had
any hand in the affair and the shipping commits
sioner's records were clear He had shipped no
deserters that he knew of
But Captain Brown swore that If he couldn't
gat hack his men, get the dogs of justice to
aven bark at the kings, he at least would pay
them no blood money for a new crew. So he
wont TO another port and brought new crew to
Irvington by steamer. His bark was hauled out
into the stream and her kept close in her
forecastle That night she boarded by
masked men, who swept her new crew over the
bows into the stream. Gossip had it that some
Of them were drowned. Captain Brown gave up
.nd Maid the Sherman boys SIS instead of $50
each for crew, and put 20 sea in hurry.
They're bleedin swine. but they're kings OF