Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1922-01-13


uraly sweet. The yearning to COM
mand steamboat gradually had de-
veloped into an obsession. Result
the fast and commodious S. S. Mag
gle" as the United States marshal
had had the audacity to advertise her.
In the beginning, Captain Scraggs
mad planned to do bay and river tow
ing with the Maggie. Alas! The
first time the unfortunate Scraggs at
tempted to tow heavily laden barge
up river, a light fog had come down,
necessitating the frequent blowing of
the whistle. Following the sixth long
blast, Mr.. McGuffey had whistled
Scraggs on the engine-room bowler;
swearing horribly. he had demanded
to be informed why Ii this and that
the skipper didn't leave that dOd-gast-
ed whistle alone. 1t was using up his
steam faster than he could manufac-
ture 1t. Thereafter. Scraggs had used
a patent foghorn, and when the hon
est McGuffey had once more succeed
ed In conserving sufficient steam to
crawl up river, the tide had turned
and the Maggie could not buck the
ebb. McGuffey declared a few new
| tubes in the boiler would do the trick,
but on the other hand. Mr.. Gibney
pointed out that the old craft was
practically punk aft and a stiff tow
would jerk the tall off the old girl. In
despair, therefore Captain Scraggs
had abandoned bay and river towing
and was prepared to jump overheard
and end all. when an opportunity Of
fered for the freighting of garden
truck and dairy produce from Half
moon bay to San Francisco.
But now difficulty arose The new
run was an "outside" one-salt water
all the way. Under the ruling Of the
inspectors, the Maggie would be run
ming coastwise the instant she en-
| gagged In the green-pea and string-bean
trade, and Captain Scraggs' license
| provided for no such contingency His
! ticket entitled him to act as master
/ on the waters of San Francisco bay
and the waters tributary thereto, and
although Scraggs argued that the Pa
! cific ocean constituted waters "tribu-
tarT thereto" If he understood the
English language, the inspectors were
! obdurate What If the distance was
less than twenty-five miles7 they
pointed out. The voyage was unde-
niably coastwise and carried with It
all the risk of wind and wave And
in order to impress upon Captain
| Scraggs the weight Of their authority,
the inspectors suspended for six
months Captain Scraggs' bay and
river license for having dared to ne
| gotiate two coastwise voyages without
! consulting them. Furthermore, they
warned him that the next time he did
it they would condemn the fast and
commodious Maggie.
In this extremity, Fate had sent to
Captain Scraggs large, imposing,
capable, but socially Indifferent per
Son who responded to the name of
Adelbert P. Gibney. Mr.. Gibney had
| spent part of an adventurous life in
the United States navy, where he had
applied himself and acquired a fair
smattering Of navigation. Prior to en-
tering the navy he had been a fore
mast hand in clipper ships and had
held a second mates berth. Follow
ing his discharge from the navy he
had sailed coastwise on steam schoon-
ers, and after attending a navigation
school for two months, had procured
a license as chief mate OF steam, any
ocean and any tonnage.
Unfortunately for Mr. Gibney, he
TAD falling Most Of US have. The
most genial fellow In the world, he
was cursed with too much brains and
imagination and a thirst which re-
quired quenching around pay day.
Also, he had that beastly habit of
command which is iuseparable from a
born leader; when he held a first
mates berth, he was wont 10 try to
"gun the ship" and, on occasions,
ladle out suggestions TO his skipper.
Thus, in time, he acquired a reputa-
ton for being unreliable and a wind
bag. with the result that shippers
were chary Of engaging him. Not to
be tOV ptOltAs at tlit liLtt tsAifLdui
Scraggs made the disheartenlng dis
covery that he had to have a skipper
for the Maggie, Mr.. Chimney found
himself reduced to the alternative Of
longshore work or a fo'castle berth IN
a windjammer bound for blue water.
With alacrity, therefore. Mr.. Gil
ney had accepted Scraggs' offer If
seventy-fve dollars a month-"and
found"-to skipper the Maggie on her
coastwise IN As a first mate Of
steam he had no difficulty inducing
the inspectors to grant him a license
to skipper such an abandoned craft
as the Maggie, and accordingly he
hing up his ticket in her pilot house
and was registered as her master, al
belt. under a gentleman's agreement
with Scraggs he was not to claim the
title Of captain and was known to
the world as the Maggie's first mete,
second mate. third mate, quartermas-
ter, piirser and freight clerk. One
Neils IIalvorsen, a solemn Swede with
- r1oo41 horvfra 1forrcIffor, -ocv.t4