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

spoke In Il JlDDeflnS patOlS Wnlcn
could not understand. Some Of then
could speak pretty good English. The
kids, averaging from seven to fifteer
years, were running around naked, OIL
diving off the dock for pennies which
we threw overheard.
About two hours before sailing from
st. Lucia, a little fellow about fifteen
years Of age came to the entrance OF
the galley and in fair English told
Bill and me u pathetic story Of in
human treatment which would have
melted hearts of stone. He wanted us
to stow him away on the ship. ] was
agreeable, but Bill warned me that
this was q very grave offense against
the English board Of trade laws, the
maximum penalty being fourteen
years Imprisonment. l did not wish
to incur this risk, therefore would
not listen to the %entreaties Of the
young negro, explaining to him the
penalty Of the board Of trade laws.
Upon hearing this, a cunning look,
which at the time did not appear sig
nifiCant to me, came into his eyes, and
he told me that if / would stow him
away, "see how easy 1t will be for
YOU" He would do all of my work,
and all | would have to do would be
to sit on the superstructure and let
my feet hang. ] thought this was
worth risking fourteen years for, so
fell in with the plan, Bill objecting.
The ventilators had been unShipped
while the cOaling was going on, and
were lying aft on the poop deck.
Watching u chance, we Sreaked aft
and hid the little fellow in one of the
ventilators, warning him, upon pain
Of death, not to make a sound until the
ship was well under way. To say that
l was nervous is putting it mildly.
We cleared st. Lucia and were soon
at sea. The islands Of Martinique, st.
Lucia and Barbados were tiny gray
dots on the horizon when an Italian
sailor, Louis Maranto, went aft to ship
the ventilators. In q few minutes he
came rushing forward with terror in
his eyes,. AS he passed the galley I
stopped him and asked what was the
matter. All he could gasp out was
MARY Of God, a devil ees on da ship"
"One-eyed Gibson" seeing his terror,
went aft with him and soon we could
see him coming forward, leading u
little stowaway by the ear. The little
negro was bowling blue murder, and
the curses Of the mate snapped like q
wireless message. Luckily for me the
mate stopped at the galley and said,
Keep your eye on this black skunk
until I can take him before the old
man." For five minutes l put all my
power of entreaty into my voice and
prayed the stowaway to stick by me;
to swear that he came aboard of his
own volition. He promised to do so.
Then the mate came after him and
took him before the captain. During
this fifteen minutes of interview /
lived in an agony Of torment and sus-
pense. The little fellow came back
with a smile on his face and I knew
things were all right. He told me that
the captain had shipped him at a shill-
ing a month for the passage. For two
days he was detailed to help me in
the galley, and / lived the life Of a
prince. We nicknamed him Monday"
the day that he came on board. His
real name was Charles Tasima Benn.
On the fourth day, Monday, after
peeling q bucket Of spuds, while I was
reading and smoking, threw down
his knife and, with a cunning leer, in
a commanding tone told me to get
busy and complete the task; that he
wished to rest. I started in to 'bull-
doze" him, but he simply held his
hand in my direction, fingers extended,
and In a majestic voice informed me:
From now on, work for the Ameri-
can / will not. I tell Meester Captain
American Monday slowed away. Mees-
ter American to preeson go fourteen
years British government" I nearly
tainted. From that time Bill and l
were Mondays abject slaves. We
even waited On him personally. Any
article in my possession that Monday
desired was his for the asking. The
steward wormed the secret cut of
Monday, and I was also his slave. Bill
and / spent a life Of hell on board.
After getting into the tropics lime
Juice was issued daily to the crew to
keep away scurvy. The food was her