The Adair County news., 1922-11-21

clothes was out of the question. We
couldn't think of having a bath-not
that /, was greatly troubled by the
sailors there. AS for the rest, we had
plenty. There was always a fish to
be caught on the road, a bird to be
shot or pOrpoise to be harpoOned.
Food was the least of our worries"
Captain Ward smiled and admitted
that after all he was glad it was over.
His Chinese wife at the tiller con-
CURED. Little Bob, nine years old,
born in China, with the voice and
language of a WeSterner but the fea-
lures of the Oriental, lent his part to
the interview.
Il didn't like it very much, too much
seasick," he admitted. Then, licking
first cone in one hand and then an
other in the other, he added: Victoria
more better than Shanghai. Ice cream
more cheap here"
IF it wasn't for her we would never
have made it," the skipper proudly
chimed in again of his Chinese wife.
"SlF can handle the ship better than 1
can, and the crew hops when she gives
orders. No, she isn't the mate, she's
the master"
Is Thoroughbred of Sea.
Big and brawny, Ward is
thoroughbred of the sea, brOnzed and
wrinkled by the suns and winds of
many waters. Mild-mannered and
affable, he seems to have something
of the imperturbability of the ocean
itself, gained through a lifetime Of
voyaging on its stormy bosom. A HOl-
lander by birth, he came to Canada as
lad, and first went to sea with the
sealing fleet from Victoria at the age
of eleven. He got his daily ration of
beatings for doing wrong or because
the mate believed he would certainly
do so before nightfall, If he had not
done so at the time of beating. Years
later he went TO China and now he has
returned.
The Annoy, as his junk is known, is
the captains own creation, built at
Annoy at the cost of four months
labor and several thousand dollars. 1t
is 90 feet long-has an 1S-foot beam
and a 5-foot draft. The only motive
power is In its sails, six in all, so
arranged that one man can manipulate
them all. The vessel is built on the
lines of the Chinese fishing junk, even
to the eyes.
To the Chinaman the ships eyes
are more important than her lifeboats.
They not only have to be there, but
must be placed there on certain days
joss days. Behind them is a bit of
money and a scrap of paper with some
scribbling on it, all very significant TO
the Chinese seaman. Without eyes
how could the ship see in the dark,
the Chinaman reasons.
The tale of tlSe trip Is a stirring one.
Scarcely had Shanghai been left be-
hind when typhOOns, seemingly in
waiting, swept down upon it. The
200 miles to Hokodate, in the north
of Japan, was one continual struggle.
Six days later, with the weather more
moderate, Hakodate was left behind.
But the lull proved very temporary.
The storm king rushed up from the
east and south, driving the junk ever
north, until, passing among the Aleu-
tian islands, it burst into the Behring
sea. Repeatedly the rudder was car
rled away, repaired and swept away
again. Half the distance was covered
with jury rudders dragging the vessel
back. Gales and gales succeeded each
other-annOying calms with great
breaking swells that tore and smashed
the craft about while headway was
impossible-and gales that made the
frail ship labor in alarming fashion.
Closest Shave Near End.
Unalaska, in the Aleutians, was
sought for refuge on August 2S and
left again on September 1. On this
last leg of the voyage they had better
luck. A fair breeze sent the ship
down the coast to Victoria. Only a
few hours away from the port, how
ever, the huge bulk of a japanese
steamer suddenly loomed In the fog
threatening disaster.
ut was the closest shave I've had"
said Captain Ward.
81 could have put my hand on her.
But this old junk can spin about like
a tub in her own length and that was
what she did, when the Japanese was
three feet away coming closer every
second"
Now that he is safely on the Pacific
coast, Ward intends to exhibit his
strange ship in every port on the con-
tinent, from Victoria to Panama, New
York to Boston, the st. Lawrence and
the Great Lakes. This done, he WIN