The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1916-07-25
SOUNDS FISHY
How Olive Oil Was Handy
After WatGFSpOut
New York Herald

and we will warp into Petes, around
the corner" said Captain Crosby.
Now we have berthed and got some
good old Burton, I'll give you the plum
duff.
q am not saying what our cargo
was. You can guess that But we did
have good whaler's outfit slowed
away in shape of kittles and a lot of
casks that at one time had oil in
them, but it was so long ago that they
were sweet by the time we fitted out
the Dolly Warden, and we just filled
them with lot of small freight and
lsshed them on deck.
1--WE made pretty good run over
to the coast and unloaded and we're
looking for cargo, and while there
was a-plenty offered to go around the
Capes, we wanted to load for Yankee
land
"All we could pick up at Marseilles
was about half cargo of olive oil in
barrels and our charter read deliver
or use and pay for So we could run
to Rotterdam, if we chose, and pick up
full cargo and clear out the oil if
we chose for better freight or use at
a price that would pay invoice and a
profit.
1--WE slipped cables on Sunday and
put to sea. Monday morning the sky
was black, with big clouds, and the
mercury in the barometer going below
for rest. We had all the matches op-
en- to air out and do some slowing be-
low and some extra casks.
"Well, we had to jump, and the way
the men got sails furled and secure
was a sight to see. We got ali snug
and tight except our flying jib, and
guess that is still flying, when the del
uge came down. 1t was one of the
war spouts that dropped from the sky,
and was all sardines and mighty little
water The downpour did not last
more than Is minutes, and the old Dol
ly Warden shivered and shook just as
if the old girl had the ague. But she
settled down to loadline, but the decks
and very place was one squirming mass
of sardines, and one of the sailors
mighty near lost his life by stepping
over the edge of the main hatch.
"The sardines slid from the decks
into the hold through the open hatch
the hold was full and three feet of
| fish on deck. We were near drowned
and fish logged. There was no water,
and the weather turned cold.
We'll, we just turned in and soon
got a fire under one of the big oil
kettles, and the mate had an awful
barrels of oil, but in an hour we had
half dozen barrels on deck and emp
tied in the kettles.
"The Portuguese knew how to cook
them and how much, and soon as one
! kettle was done we just filled the emp
ty oil barrels, and later we filled all
the cacks on deck and then built a
bulkhead aft of the forward hatch and
forward of the aft hatch, and we just
filled that full. The old girl was so
tight and full of oil she did not have
any bilge water nor make any.
eve worked like pirates for five
days and got only two hours rest a
day. But we will never eat any more
sardines. They tasted good at first
but by the end of the week If any one
said sardine sandwich he was liable
to get rope end from one of his
mates.
eve must have lost several tons OF
fish overheard, but We had full car
go as it was, and with good winds we
arrived off Boston in record time. We
sold the cargo to a big cannery which
put up French sardines, and cleaned
up enough money from the voyage tc
pay for the craft, fitting out, wages
and oil and give each man a two hun
dred dollar bill bonus.
Say, that may sound fishy,. but
see by the papers the sardine fish
catch off the French coast is very
poor this season. guess we got then
all.
There is another thing that has
worried me all along, and that is how
were those sardines swimming wher
they was up in the clouds?
''Ho, Pete, let's have another glass
of old Burton. Here's to you, Baron!
&. See you on my next shore cruise!"
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