The Ordway new era., 1917-06-08
Nlan Without
IA Country. g
~ Eduord Everett Hale

and the mosquito. All those people
can tell you whether they are Lepi-
doptera or SteptopOtera; but as for
telling how you can get rid of them,
or how they get away from you when
you strike them, why, LInnaeus knew
as little of that as John Foy, the idiot,
did. These nine hours made Nolans
regular daily Occupation" The rest
of the time he talked or walked. Till
he grew very old, he went aloft n great
deal. He always kept up his exercise
and l never heard that he was Ill. If
any other man was Ill, he was the kind
est nurse in the world; and he knew
more than half the surgeons do. Then
II anybody was sick or died. or If the
captain wanted him to on any other
occasion. he was always ready to read
prayers. l have remarked that he
read beautifully.
My own acquaintance with Philip
Nolan began six or eight years after
the war, on my first voyage after
was appointed mldshipman. 1t was
In the first days after our slave trade
treaty. while the reigning house,
l Il,
had still sort of sentimentalism
about the suppression of the horrors
Of the middle passage and something
was sometimes done that way. We
were in the South Atlantic on that
business. From the time Joined, I
believe 1 thought Nolan was a sort of
lay chaplain-a chaplain with blue
coat. I never asked about him. Ev-
erything in the ship was strange to
me. knew 1t was green to ask ques.
tions, and I suppose l thought there
was "Plain-Buttons" on every ship.
We had him to dine in our mess once
a week, and the caution was given that
on that day nothing was to be said
about home. But II they had told US
not to say anything about the planet
Mars or the book of Deuteronomy,
should not have asked why; there were
a great many things which seemed to
me to have as little reason. I first
came to understand anything about
"the man without a country" one day
when we overhauled a dirty little
schooner which had slaves on board.
An officer was sent to take charge Of
her and after few minutes he sent
back his boat to ask that someone
might be sent him who could speak
Portuguese. We were all looking over
the rail when the message came, and
we all wished we could interpret, when
the captain asked who spoke Por-
tuguese. But none of the officers did |;
and just as the captain was sending
forward to ask If any Of the people
| NnIo out hn
should be glad to interpret, II the cap
tain wished. as he understood the lam
guage. The captain thanked him, dt-
ted out another boat with him. and In
this boat 1t was my luck to go.
When we got there, it was such a
scene as you seldom see, and never
want to. Nastiness beyond account,
and chaos run loose In the midst Of the
nastiness. There were not q great
many of the negroes; but by way
of making what there were understand
that they were free, Vaughan had had
their handouts and anklecuffs knocked
off, and. for convenience sake, was
putting them upon the rascals of the
schooner's crew. The negroes were,
most of them, out Of the hold. and
swarming all round the dirty deck.
with central throng surrounding
Vaughan and addressing him In every
dialect and patols of dialect, from
the Zulu click up to the Partisan of
Beledeljereed.
| As we came on deck, Vaughan
looked down from hogshead. on
which he had mounted In desperation,
and said:
"For Gods love, is there anybody
who can make these wretches under
stand something? The men gave them
rum, and that did not quiet them. i
knocked that big fellow down twice,
and that did not soothe him. And then
1 talked Choctaw to all Of them to-
gether; and I'll be hanged If they un-
derstood that as well as they under
stood the English"
Nolan said he could speak Por-
! tuguese. and one or two ine-looking
Kroomen were dragged out, who, as 1t
had been found already, had worked
for the Portuguese on the coast at
| Fernando PO.
! "Tell them they are free" said
| Vaughan; "and tell them that these
| rascals are to be hanged as soon as
we can get rope enough"
Nolan explained 1t in such Portu-
guese as the Kroomen could under
stand, and they in turn to such Of the
negroes as could understand them.
Then there was such yell Of delight,
clinching of fists, leaping and dancing,
kissing Of Nolan's feet, and general
rush made to the hogshead by way Of
/ else save the operator.