The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1912-05-31

L le crow OF the VESSELS " uiNliosf INTO
two watches, the port watch, which is
the mates watch, and the starboard
watch, the second mates watch. They
alternate in relieving each other, one
watch being on dock for four hours while
the other is below. This continues for
the entire time the ship is at sea.
The only time that the two watches
are together, and that is the recreation
time of the day, Is in the dog watch,
from four until eight bells g until 8
o'clock of tlIe evening watch.
That is the time when the crowd is all
together, sitting about the fo'c'sle. smok-
ing. and many are the yarns that are then
spun by the "old heads men who have
grown grey in the service.
Chief among these, and the one which
excited the most wonder among the youn
ger gang, and which l heard the most,
was the mysterious disappearance of the
entire crew of the Brig Marie Celeste.
South Atlantic sighted a brig under full
sail, but acting in a very erratic manner
Glasses trained upon her showed that
there was no one at her wheel nor was
there a sign of any one upon her deck.
A boat in command of the mate was
lowered from the Erne, and in a short
time fetched up, with the stranger. She
proved TO be the Celeste, and when the
men from the Erne boarded her they
were unable to discover hide or hair OF
the crew.
There was no sign of a struggle. the
cabin furniture was in perfect order.
The chests of the seamen In the fo,c'se
were undisturbcd and there were no sign
of the ship having had heavy weather.
In the cabin was a sewing machine.
| on which We're standing upright a small
bottle of oil, thimble and n piece of
work underline needle; mute evidence
that there had been no rough weather en-
countered.
The only thing which the searchers could
find was "a cutlass which lay upon the
deck and which was covered with dark
spots, thought at first to be blood. This
was subsequently proven incorrect. at an
examination made by a number of ply
sicians and chemists when the ships fl
nally reached port.
alcohol in casks, and in one of these
the bung had started and the contents
; leaked out. The balance were in first
class order. Although the Erne only car
ried small crew, part of them were
transferred to the Marie Celeste, and
the two ships headed for Gibraltar, maxi
ing port. the Erne May IS, 1873 and tn,
Marie Celeste the next day.
Although a searching investigation wa
made, nothing was ever heard of an,
Of the crew, and to this day no explana
ton has been given as to why the shiI
Marie Celeste, with her valuable cargo
and in excellent condition, was abandon
ed by her crew on the high seas.
This is an example of the yarns. tru'
and otherwise, which were spun by tn,
hundreds in the fo'csle's of different
ships. l have been on, in the dog watch
when everything snug and the weathe,
I, good, she was racing along with he,
burden of humanity and merchandise.
When port Is reached and the ship
pays off. then there is no homework
for Jack until his money is gone which
Is oftentimes in single day. Sailors
as rule are the most extravaganza off
all laboring men.
Working a whole month. and working
hard, only to spend the entire wages in
one night. Then it's back to harness
again. and no more excitement for the
sailor until the next trip has been
made.
And thus It goes. year in and year ont
gray-haired men, and young boys, bravin
the perils of the limitless deep, or a
mere pittance. until sometime an accident
such as the recent one, comes along and
the sea takes her toll of those who
have striven to overcome her.
She carries them down to the lowest
of her abyssual depth. her wild waves
singing their requiem, there to rest on
her broad bosom until the last port has
been reached. and sailors of all time
are called on the Bridge before the Great
Skipper, on the day when the sea gives
up its dead.