The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-07-05
By F. F. Bingham.

or, Richard A. Bingham.
I per- He said sure" provided would
| help him down to the table.
Well I got him down to the table,
eventually, and he ate a bigger supper
than did. Then he drank a big glass
of claret that he said was rotten"
and two bottles of beer which he said
| were better.
| in a great humor. His head and stom-
ach were all right Apparently it was
just his legs that We're drunk. His
| legs were dead drunk. He crawled
| slowly around the tossing deck and
patted sick Mexfcans on the back, tell
| ing them. with a voice filled with
| compassion-"spit it up, old boy Cor
girD." Then he sang a lot Of funny
songs, and went to sleep.
Instead Of laying at sunset, the wind
took a fresh grip. 1t was bad. I went
to my state room for my raincoat:
Senior Angel Peimberte, the "Ynge-
| Nero" was already there. Ugh. And
such a gentlemanly appearing fellow
| ashore.
I am pretty sure that we lost a deck
passenger just before dark: He was an
elderly Mexican, and wore a full beard,
which is unusual. I had noticed him
particularly. He was standing close
to the rail, holding to a stanchion, and
I was looking at him just as the ship
gave an especially heavy lurch: A
broken sea swept across the ship. I
wiped my eyes clear and looked again,
l looked astern. A man could not
have been seen. If seen, he could not
have been helped. So 1 said moth
ing.
The condition of the deck passen-
gers was truly pitiab1e All were
II "a. a. toll -
hang on to their babies. Men were
too sick to care for either wives or
babies. The ships officers and crew
were too hard pressed to care for the
passengers of either class. The deck
passengers laid on the deck and hung
to hang on, let go and slid into the
scuppers. I carried several of the
abandoned babies and slowed them in
to the already crowded deckhouse.
In the deckhouse there were a little
Spanish or Mexican lady with three
small children, a young German lady
daughter of the stubborn old Germany
with two children, and a large, elder
ly American lady, Mrs. Douglas, wife
of the man that runs the Frontera
ship yard. And several others. They
were all sick. and I did what I could
for them. The whole collection of
babies, about ten, ran races-crying
and screaming.
DurlnS the early night the cargo
booms and life boats worked loose and
l helped the captain and crew secure
them. We were cheered at our work
by Prince Jag waking up and yelling,
"Haw, Haw! The id ship is
sinking and little Johnny amt sick
yeti"
We were running quartering before
the gale, which was getting heavier
all the time. BY midnight the propell-
or was out of the water and the engine
racing, half the time, and the captain
concluded that he could no longer run
before it. He brought the ship around
into the wind and put the engine at
half speed. We pitched and rolled
worse than ever but more seas
broke aboard.
it commenced to rain, a regular gully
washer, and the wind lulled. and short
ly thereafter we were back on course
again, fairly comfortably. I went
down into the sinking cabin and
stretched out on the table and dozed
as I could stand it, and I went back
on deck.
At four o'clock we sighted Coat
azacoalcos light and hove-to until day
light at $50. About the time we
sighted the light the old German got
that it was not seasickness. An elder
" German is about the contraryist
sort of a mortal know anything about
1t looked as though Prince jag was
going to get away with it, but about
five o'clock he went under, and nearly
had commissions This was great sport
for all that had gotten sick early and
were now commencing to take notice
of their surroundings.
L had early coffee with the captain
the naughty Dom in the chart house
At six o'clock we We're headed in for
the harbor opening with a tremendous
ground swell runnin" and lifting us
along. We were under a slow bell
With my eye on the CAPTAIN I could
tell pretty we'll the location OF the bar
We touched it, not hard. Then we
touched again. considerably harder
And again; this time it was a good
solid tilt, and a slow drag before We
lifted clear. The captain put his hand
to the telegraph but did not signal
Says l. to myself. IF she hits again.
she'll stop" for we were going with
the wash of the sea and that was
about all. HIT. she did.-a regular
plate-buster! Quick as flash the
captain signalled. "Ful speed ahead"
her bow settled, her stern rose beau
tiful1y and We slid over into deep
water, as pretty as you please
1t was neat work, and | so Informed
the skipper: "Esta bueno. e. ca pitani"
Had he signalled for full speed any
sooner the screw would have pulled
her down: had he waited an instant
longer she would have swung broad
side to it, and in those rollers we would
have rolled over and over like a log.
Just inside the bar there is a new
steel barkentine. She is standing
stiffly upright and on an even keel,
spars and rigging intact, but with
fifteen feet of water washing over her
deck. Her bottom is gone. 1t is such
sights as that, that gives shipownins
such a black eye The beach is lit
tered with all kinds of wreckage.
Soon we We're in the river and our
bedra ggled passengers pulled themSel
yes together. l loked for the bearded
Mexican, but as l expected, 1 did not
find him. The Tenderfoot and the