Ellsworth American., 1923-04-25
THE KILN-WOODERS.
Another Chapter in the Tale of Surry
Mariners.

Mariners.
(By A. Il. Milliken)
Rockland harbor was filled with
chipping. We were surrounded by
/ fleet of st. Johns wood boats. These
were the strangest-rigged craft l
had ever seen. They hadn't any top
mast, and no bowsprit-just two
masts. They looked as though they
hadn't been finished.
The captain said: II shall have to
go ashore and sell. Guess, though, I
viii have bite before I CO." He
did bite. He ate two pounds of pork,
a pan OF biscuits, and drank three
cups OF strong coffee. Then he
sorrofully remarked, my appetite is
falling"
| expected to see the captain in his
best togs for his trip ashore, but I
didn't. He combed his hair, put on a
new necktie and then crowned him
self with very choice hat-choice,
because only worn on certain occa-
sions, when he went ashore to sell his
cargo, and when he attended
funerals. Some one named it the
selling hat.
The ever-faithful cook and 1 rowed
stern and looked like an admiral He
went up street, and in about an hour
was back again with the cheerful
news that he had sold" We hauled
the schooner in that night alongside
the wharf "Guess we'd better
heave off the deck load now, so as to
timber up" said the captain.
The next morning the lime COM
| pany sent crew of men down to pile
| the wood up on the wharf. These
men were certainly professional
woodpilers; even a mouse couldn't
crawl through one of their piles,
The way the choppers used to pile
their wood, cat could go through.
The choppers tried to make six feet
measure cord, and the lime COM
pany tried to make a cord measure
six feet. This little difference in
measuring often caused trouble.
| The next day we finished unload
ing. The cook and I went ashore and
visited the lime kilns. This lime
rock is quarried near Rockland, and
was hauled to the kilns with horses
| Wood was used then for burning the
rock. These kilns were intensely
hot, and lot of men half dressed.
were working like demons,
Returning to the vessel, we found
the captain back from Settling up. ="
The company had paid him in green
backs. Checks weren't used much
| then. l remember some one writing
checks when l was boy, and everv-
one made fun of him-called him
vanderbilt"
This cargo money the captain
strapped into long black pocket-
book. Nights he slept with the
| rocketbook and a pistol under his
inflow. But there wasn't any danger
of his killing anyone with the pistol
unless by accident. The captain fired
once at a loon and hit the jib. 1t
circle. eff one knows the vari-
ations," the mate remarked, che can
hit every time with that pistol"
The following morning We sailed
for home. We sailed in company
| with large fleet of sailing yachts
These boats were of all sizes and
rigs. 1t was certainly a pleasing
sight to see all these boats with all
sails set, heading for Fox Island.
| We reached Fox Island that day
and anchored in the exact spot
where we lay before. The skipper
said that he had been anchoring
there for thirty years. Said that he
had the place marked. Good hold
ing ground" the mate said.
The captain taught me how to box
| the compass, how to splice a rope,
| how to sound with dipsy lead, how
4 to measure a fathom. how to tie a
square and bowline knot He al
| lowed me to steer, and taught me the
fundamental principals of pumping.
He told me if | would take an inter
| est and learn all about a vessel, and
would behave myself, that possibly
I might be captain sometime.
After the customary stay at Fox
Island. we left for home. When
near Lazy Gut island, bump, then a
sliding feeling, bump again, and we
had stopped We had struck a
ledge The captain was cool headed.
He never got excited. Nearly re-
marked, This makes the fourth time
I've been on this ledge" 1t was ebb
tide and at low water the vessel was
high and dry. The mate was a
thoughtful man; he pulled out the
plug in her bottom and let out about
thousand barrels of water.
never shall forget how the counte-
nance of this tired, back-broken man
lighted up as he watched gravitation
pump out this kiln-wooder.
won't it make her leak more?"
! asked.
NO" he said, that's impossible" "
The next day we reached home.
The mate. cook and seaman was paid
seven dollars for the trip, and the
trip ended.