The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-12-13

Benumbed and wet from the icy
spray, l managed to steer q course
to the companionway, and dragged
myself 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 1t sound
ed like q 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 q marvel to me, but
later on l became very expert my
self.
Following the ''life lines" 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
darkness / went up TO them and asked
for the mate. They did not answer
Just then / received a resounding
smack on the back which made my
teeth rattle, and that dreaded, gruff
voice of the mate reached my ears
through the wind: Damn you, you
helrs spawn, keep away from the men
ut the wheel or I'll throw you over
the side"
/ mumbled my apologies, and fol-
lowed the mate into the chart house.
He greedily drank the tea, and in
about four bites disposed Of the pieces
of toast. The toast was soaked in
salt water and I inwardly wished that
it would poison him in fact l prayed
that the ship would sink with all on
board. Such is se~asickness.
I managed, somehow or other, to
make my way back to the galley, and
/ met my superior officer for the
trip, the Cookie" He was about FIVE
feet nothing in height; a shriveled-up
Welshman about forty-five years old.
He reminded me Of a mummy in the
Museum of Natural History in Cen
trail park. If he had ever smiled I
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, / am, not 'arf, I 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 q
horrible nightmare to me. How I
lived through them l do not know. !
had q deadly fear of the cook. As
soon as he found out that I could not
even boil water without burning it he
started in to make my life O misery.
He had a habit Of carrying a huge
butcher knife in his belt. Between
meals he would sit down on a bench
and constantly feel the edge, at the
same time telling me what an expert
he vas at carving. Later on I found that
there was a reason for his carrying this
knife. He and the crew were at dag
ger points, he never daring to go for
ward except In case Of necessity, and
then he was careful always to carry
his butcher knife. Down in my heart
l realized that If 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 I was, and the
crew soon became aware Of this fact;
hence their hostility.
The Cushko was a slime juicer,"
sailing under the English flag. The
skipper was a slime juicer," the first
mate a blue noser," the first engineer
q Scotsman, while the crew was com
posed OF Spaniards, Italians, Square
heads, Films, Swedes and Russians.
The bos'n "a Irish, and a firm be-
lever In Home Rule. A worse gang
Of cutthroats could hardly be con-
celved; a nice, polite bunch they were.
Believe me Bill and !, had our troubles.
Bill and I were the only two Ameri-
Calls Ou UOdIu. luc CnSiuCCI y hlCoS-
man was a Prussian, Karl Tatzner by
name. I 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 1t was warm and
pleasant.
I found that my duties were to peel
spuds, wash pots and pans and be a
regular "fetch and carry" for the cook.
My Office hours were from six bells in
the morning (three o'clock) until four
bells at night (ten o'clock). I was
greasy and filthy at all times, having
nothing but salt water to wash in, and
this would not cut the grease. Bill
had it much easier than /. I had muir
der in my heart and vowed to lump
ship" at the first port we put into.
After nine or ten days we came
alongside at Castries. st. Lucia. Brit
sch vuork vnlt1r - n~oy chs~ xhsc