Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-12-27
Outside O.
Sandy Hook
Bound
South"

| h w d
We're outside o Sandy Hook, bound
south for the Horn, and she's blow
ing big guns" Then he left.
! stepped out of my glory hole
onto the deck. We We're dipping our
scuppers. and huge seas were break
| ing over the weather side. One min
ute the after deck would appear like
| steep hill in front of me. and a
horrible churning sound would come
from the racing propeller. Then the
deck would slant away from me and
a loud chug and a shiver through the
ship as the propeller sank again into
the water.
Benumbed and wet from the icy
spray, l managed to steer a course to
the companionway. and dra gged my
self to the upper deck. A sailor was
in the galley and had started a fire.
The ship was rolling. pitching and
lurching. In that galley it sounded
like bombardment. Pots and pans
were rafting in their racks; a few
of them had fallen out. and were
chasing each other around the deck.
Cold and miserable, I crouched in
the corner, keeping myself from fall
ing by holding on TO the rail in front
of the stove.
The sailor took compassion on me,
and made the toast and tea. How
he did it was a marvel to me. but
later on l became very expert my
self.
Following the ."iifelines" on the
upper deck, ! at last managed to
reach the bridge with my pot of tea
and two slices of toasted bread.
There were two men at the wheel
In the 6aTlSnagQ I 1in n than
and asked for the mate. They did
not answer. Just then 1 received
resounding smack on the back which
made my teeth rattle, and that dread
ed gruff voice of the mate reached my
ears through the wind Damn you,
you helTs spawn. keep away from
the men at the wheel or I'll throw
you over the side!'
l mumbled my apologies, and fol-
lowed the mate into the charthouse.
He greedily drank the tea, and in
about four bites disposed of the
pieces of toast. The toast was soaked
with salt water and 1 inwardly
wished that it would poison him; in
fact, I prayed that the ship would
sink with all on board. Such is sea-
sickness.
I managed somehow or other to
make my way back to the galley,
and 1 met my superior officer" for
the trip. the Cookie" He was about
five feet nothing in height; a shriv-
eled-up Welshman about forty-five
years old. He reminded me of a
mummy in the Museum of Natural
History in Central Park. If he had
ever smiled l am sure that his face
would have cracked. 1t seemed frozen
into one perpetual scowl. He gave
one look at me and let out a howl
"Blawst my headlights, an this ere
(pointing to me) is what I'm to work
with on this bloomin' passage. I'm
lucky, 1 am. not 'arf, 1 amt" He
looked like some gorilla. The rolling
of the ship affected him not in the
least. He seemed to sway and bend
with every movement of the ship.
The next two or three days were
a horrible nightmare to me. How
lived through them l do not know
/ had a deadly fear of the cook. AS
soon as he found out that 1 could not
even boil water without burning it,
he started in to make my life a mis-
cry. He had a habit of carrying a
huge butcher knife in his belt Be-
tween meals he would sit down on |
a bench and constantly feel the edge, |
at the same time telling me what an |
expert he was at carving. Later on
1 lHdl lHeTe was u reason lOf |
his carrying this knife. He and the |
crew were at dagger-points. he never |
daring to go forward except in case |
Of necessity. and then he was careful |
always to carry his butcher knife |
Down in my heart l realized that IL |
the OCCASION should arise he would |
not be backward in demonstrating |
his art of. carving on his opponent. |
That Welshman was no better cook !
than was, and the crew soon be-
came aware of this fact; hence their |
hostility.
The Cushko was a "lime juicer,"
sailing under the English flag. The |
skipper was Time juicer" the first |
mate a blue noser," the first engi- |
neer a Scotchman, while the crew |
was composed of Spaniards, Italians |
Squareheads, Firms. Swedes and Rus
sians. The bos'n was Irish, and a
firm believer in home rule. A worse |
gang of cutthroats could hardly be
nice, polite bunch they
were. Believe me, Bill and had our
troubles.
Bill and 1 were the only two Amer
cans on board. The engineers mess
man was Prussian. Karl Tatzner by
name. 1 nicknamed him Fritz, He
was only twenty years old, but was
clumsy. strong as an OK and about
six feet tall.
After weathering the gale, we at
last came into the Gulf Stream, and
off the coast. of Florida it was warm
and pleasant.
Colds Cause Headache and GrIp
LAXATIVE BROMO QUININE Tab
IME AtRg.s