Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1918-12-13


soul for one drink of clear, cold water.
Monday became tyrannical and I'M
bearable, and it was up to Bill and
me to devise some scheme to keep
him in check.
Through listening to Mondays
stories, l knew that he was very SUI
perstitious and believed in magic, or
''zobi," as he called it.
Bill told him that my father in
America was great medicine man
and that ! was gifted with magic.
While loading guano at Lobas, the
fourth engineer had gone on shoot
ing trip and killed several huge peli-
cans. He skinned these and gave me
one of the skins. Bill and worked
a scheme. That morning a little black
bird fell on the deck, and / picked it
up and took it to my glory hole. 1t
was in a dying condition. / told Bill
that that night, about ten o'clock, l
would go aft on the poop deck with
the pelican's skin down my back, and,
with my face Smeared with black,
would do mystic dance. He was to
take Monday and hide behind the ven
tilator, and while was doing my war
dance, he would explain to Monday
that | was in communication with my
father, the great American medicine
man. He did this and it made quite
hit The next morning Monday
came to me, and, bowling low, request
ed token, as he called it; message
from my father. I promised to give
him one, but we were sure up against
it. Then l thought of the little black
bird in my glory hole, and the solution
was at hand. I very solemnly inform
ed Monday that at eight o'clock that
night my father would send message
to me in the form of little land bird.
All day Monday kept away from me,
alteration and awe in his eyes. Bill
and / Immediately repaired to the
glory hole, and certainly took tender
care of that bird, praying that it
would live until eight o'clock. About
ten minutes to eight / put ON my
feathers and sneaked aft with the lit
tie bird, placed it on the steering gear,
and commenced my mystic dance. l
chanted a little song: "Oh, father,
greatest of medicine men, token is
desired for the esteemed friend of
your son. Oh, father, send me this
token" Then, with a few mystic
grunts, / beseeched Bill and Monday
to come and receive the token. Mon
day came trembling aft and 1 pointed
to the little black bird which was
weakly gasping it's last, but it saved
the day for us. How we honored and
respected that little bunch of black
feathers. Curious to see what Mon
day would do, we left him. He sat by
the bird for over an hour, chanting in
that weird, sing-song patois of the
British West Indies. From that time
on Monday was our slave.
Two days before reaching st. Lucia,
the captain sent for us, and said that
he knew that Bill and / had slowed
away Monday. We, like a couple of
fish, fell for this and admitted it,
whereupon the captain coolly in
formed us that we had forfeited all
pay and allowances due us for the en-
tire voyage. The joke of it was that
under the board of trade laws, the
Cushko had to go two hundred miles
out of her way to get to st. Lucia and
put Monday ashore.
We dressed him in a long pair of
white pants; the carpenter gave him
a red vest; Bill placed derby hat
on his head and he went ashore in a
small boat. When the boat returned
we lifted anchor, and as st. Lucia
again faded into the distance we could
see a solitary little figure on the dock
waving his white pants around his
head. He had removed them upon
reaching port. We felt pang of re-
greet as he faded out of sight.
After an uneventful trip we went
into quarantine in New York harbor.
At the sfirst sight of the statue Of
liberty a rush of independence and
patriotism surged through me, and
sat down on the hatchway and abso-
lutely refused to work. The captain
to put me in double irons.
l told him to go toshell, and do it;
that I was a free American in a free
American port, and claimed the pro-
lection of the Stars and Stripes, and
in accordance with my rights as sail
or, / demanded the consul's flag to be
hoisted at the foremost. The captain
gave me hard look but wilted.
The next afternoon at eight bells
landed in New York, free again.
was dressed in a pair of blue overalls
a Panama hat on my head,
black as a negro from sunburn, red
around my neck, and
a white negligee shirt. On
my left shoulder I had a small mon
key, and in my right hand wooden
cage with a parrot in it. In my pocket
was $S.40 in silver, but did not care.
was again on terra firma with the
Stars and Stripes floating above me.
/ received a wonderful welcome at
home, and was of the opinion that the
of my cruise were well
worth enduring, in view of the recep-
tiOn r was rQcaivipp