The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1914-12-03
81, the Siwash,
In q Wreck on Puget
Sound
By JOHN n. WALSH


my 5Ihnu Army coat iifS name fehll
amt 81; it's Tom. But ! call him
which Is short for slwash-a Siwas
being a Puget sound Indian.
81 is Siwash all right, and, thong
he's only four years old aud he's a hal
breed. he looks like old Chief Seattle
And he treats me as an equal-and h
gets away with IL, too-though In
sixty That shows character.
And Sis had experience.
Take just this collision experience
That won't come to anybody else TO
ten thousand years, and here NJ hai
had ii before he's four.
Why. | have had enough adventure:
myself, for I've been ship keeper OF
the L. S. s. Stalwart here at the Sierra
| navy yard for fifteen and three-quartel
years. But 81 has me sewed up fol
plenty on adventure, though ! could
tell yarns Of my own.
But first I'm setting 1t down about
81, his ma and the collision Of the
Humahuma and the Stalwart. I'll tel
about myself when I've got leisure
However. | do want to say In pass
ing, while | think Of 1t. that ship
keeping Is the most exacting work
there is. You have to know the name
Of your ship. and to remember what
day is pay day, and when to come of
watch, and when to go on, and / tell
you 1t takes brains to keep all those
things straight in your mind.
Then once In year they complicate
things by putting your ship in dry.
dock or by changing her anchorage a
little, and you have to change your
habits, which Is hard. And It's be.
cause 1t is such exacting work as I've
described that they always keep re-
sponsible men like us old soldiers on
such jobs,
OF course it's strain, and suppose
| could not have held the job so long
II didn't have iron nerves.
You see, / know myself that have
iron nerves, because General Thomas
told me so when he saw me eating
bareback in trench during the Chick
amauga skirmish. And I've needed
my iron nerves in ship keeping, but
lot of people don't understand why.
For example, there is gentleman
in Sheraton who digs clans with a
shovel and peddles them with wheel
barrow, and he said once he thought
he'd try ship keeping for rest.
laughed at him, and then | warned
him he couldn't stand 1t, which was
true too However. I'm writing about
81, and I'll write about digging clans
when | have time for 1t, for I'm as
good clam digger as there is on
Puget sound, which is saying lot,
FOR all the smartest men out here were
digging clans twenty years ago
Sis ma used to have an awfully hard |
line making living, and from time to
lime I've helped her little at 1t, for
I've had 1920 per day right along, and
I'm bachelor and don't need all that
money for myself.
SO yesterday, which was pay day, |
ave her S., and said, Take 81 to
Seattle and see the sights" And she
lid 1t.
At least she put on her pink waist
nd her green shawl. and she hauled 81
lown to the boat by one arm, his feet
Tagging all the way.
After that loafed around until even
ng, when went to the Stalwart and
elieved old man Keller.
After he'd left the ship | walked
round and inspected things, as | al
rays do. and decided, as I've decided
very day for ten years, that the Stall
'art Is still mighty fine ship.
Pretty soon moved around little,
nd when l got aft and was looking
yer the rail under the stern light
ould see young smelts In the still, oily
'ater. and they looked like shreds cut
ut with knife from silver bar
nd, oh. how solemn and still it was!
You could hear gasoline boat two
lies away humping, missing strokes,
.opping and then humping again, and
on could hear oarlocks squeaking
leir course across the bay.
AT first II was clear overhead, and |
'uld see the stars and the lights at
Ie navy yard, and could hear the I
ntries hail people In loud. important
,ices And then the lights faded and
linked out, one by one, and l knew
z was shutting In on US. And the
unds seemed sort Of muffIed by the
g
| went forward then to the ships
II under the bridge. and once a min !.
e by watch I'd ring rapidly. and
esently Bill Paterson on the Boston
Duld ring. and afterward we'd hear
xby on the Concord.
Well, | kept ON ringing the bell. At
st there weren't any steamer whis-
S sounding, but after time | COM
snced to hear a dull, thrilling ooo-h, !.
h. from far away down the Mar
VS.. ),
knew at once that this was the late !,
at from the city. the Humabuma.
d that she was navigating by /,
hoes. as they always do in fogs on 1
$ sound .
md then | got a feeling that 81 and
ma would be on the boat. so | RI
ig the bell faster and faster, for q