The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1910-06-03

ADVANCE n0te ana Il pfep0StSfbHS
>s.ssx= slop chest charge had been deducted
from his wages, they handed him
= the balance, q ptiful little pile OF
49, small silver and told him to get out.
- 1t was against the law, Of course but
he didn't know that
He was set adrft, almost without
money, in land Of strangers. A
hostile land too for the gendarmes
in front Of the office eyed him with
distaVor. He was desperately lone
IL teil the grip OF circumstance keen upon him. AS
andered about the strange streets he discovered,
IN the lining of his coat, an envelope until then
Iced Its contents were four onehundred dollar bills
his note:
,r,os rJt 1rvngton. Oct. II.
ar Sir: Here's your dust We kept your gun It would
only make trouble for you We are not thieves only
boaramS masters. You would get drunk and needed
need it all for Back certain to turn you adrft dead
oloNe' quit BOOKING and be man
PETER SHERMAN.
The friendly faces of Uncle Sans greenbacks
gave him courage. He made plans and acted on
them then and there. Meeting that English mate
IN the street he gave him a most artistic beat
ing, paid fine, and took the next boat for Lon
don town. Incidentally he forgot all about his de-
sire to travel six thousand miles and kill
the salortoWn kings. What spasm of virtue caused
them to give him back his money he never knew
They were not noted for doing such things
mat the kings so continually escaped punish
ment was small wonder. The men injured never
had chance to tell their stories until they were
ashore IN some foreign land. Consuls In foreign
ports could not libel ships detan captains on
their unsupported word. The ships papers were
always straight, at any rate on the face of them.
The most that could be done was to report the
case and there it ended. The Sherman boys on
the other side of the earth never heard even an
echo OF it. The witnesses against them were scat
tered over the seven seas and prosecution could
not touch them
The United States district attorney and his staff
did their best to keep the Shermans within the let
ter, at least of the shipping laws, but thew had
hard shedding. In one case the kings were indicted
charlie Marsden, the star witness for the prosecu-
tlon was locked up IN jail for safekeeping Charlie
Marsden disappeared, The jailer told story Of
masked men, guns and general confusion, but could
identity no one as having taken part in the Jail
delivery. With the witness gone, prosecution halt
ed Long afterward Charlie Marsden came back
and told moving tale. He had been bound
gagged and carried aboard a ship Just as she
sailed When released at sea, he was told that
lie MAD been regularly shipped and was led sorry
life aboard. In foreign ports he appealed in vain
to consuls, who showed him his name-foreed Of
course-on the ships articles and laughed at him,
WHEN ne Hnally worked his way back to Iryineton
his story awakened interest and new prosecutions
were begun. The Sherman boys had wel].paid
lawyers who dragged out the cases with adjourn.
ments and legal tangles. Irvington was too busy
to be long excited over the wrongs of few sail
ors prosecution faltered and battered along TIA
usual dismal way, and what at last brought the
sallortoWn kings up with a round turn was tha
united public opinion of Irvington directed against
them.
lrVlngton suddenly walked up to find itself blot
on the map. Unexplained dead men are no eood
advertisement for any town; neither are mysteri.
GUS dlsappearances of strangers within it's gates to
be desired, If their friends make fuss about then,
captains who refused to be held I'D for extrava.
CANT blood money and to play villain at small
proht, avoided the port Business was falling off
Upper lrvington was hit where it lived and ths
sherman boys were notified to quit
The kings of sailortown have abdicated Steam
vessels make voyages so short that "adyance
notes are no longer prizes. Seamens unions
have given measure of protection even to deem.
water sailors, who seem to have fewer rights and
more hardships than most men. The bullying can
tain, the bucko mate and the boarding master have
all been singed by the feeble and tardy fire q,
United States maritime law The railroads had
their share in the revolution But what rea,lv
caused the Sherman boys to become private citi.
zens was the wrath of upper Irvington. When u
was hit In its pocket and its sefesteem-that I'm
set the kingdom of the sailortown tyrants