Evening star., 1924-04-20
By GRANT OyERTON.

II
T WENT to sea apparently as the re-
suit OF whim, but actually to sat
isfy some strange instinct in me
tha don't pretend to understand.
myself.
l shipped before the mast at San
Francisco on the British full-rigged
ship wayfarer one July day. when !
was still twenty-one years old.
1t was 4 calm evening. that night
At the end of July. No fog had come
rolling in ore.- the sand hills and
through the Golden Gate. The sky
above the city was a tender rose color
that faded into gray as does the color
on a doves breast. Inconsricuously.
one by one. stars were hung out in
the darkening sky; but their pure
brilliance was quickly extinguished by
the nearer incandescence of the
lovely, luminous city.
San Francisco. spread gracefully
over her hills. like a beautiful woman
sitting carelessly on d pillowed
throne. dazZled the beholder, charm ed
and seduced his heart. The lights of
the city were like necklaces and
jewelled ornaments: the Fairmont
Hotel, on the highest point, cleaned
like a diadem.
7 leaned over the rail and the soft
suck and ripple of the water under
my feet furnished music for this
scene of enchantment I turned my
head and beheId quite a different
spectacle-one as fascinating, in its
own way. Two oil lanterns lit the
hoI. 4, So 81
the port and starboard watches re-
spectively. and the connecting door
was open. The men were passing to
and fro-some of them, rather. for
others lay sleeping or drunken in
their hunks.
The evening was interrupted by a
summons from the after deck. We all
walked, stumbled or staggered aft, to
be lined up by the mate, Mr.. Walker,
who then proceeded with the second
mate, Mr.. Stowe, to choose watches.
] was chosen for the port watch, the
mates, and made an extra hand in
that watch. the watches otherwise
consisting of four white men and
three negroes. The watches take
their names from the ships sides
port" is on your left as, you face
forward, "starboard" is on your right.
We were called before it was light,
al hands to the windlass to break the
two anchors, or bowers out of the
mud at the bottom of the harbor,
while a tug stood impatiently by,
ready as soon as the anchors were
up to tow US out through the Golden
Gate. A tall, lean man with an in
gratiating manner, a wheedling voice
and a shifty eye had selected himself
as our chanteyman. His name was
Smith--just Smith. He instructed US
10 call him Smitty. He claimed to be
Irish and to have been brought up
among the klamath Indians.
At each chorused line-"Heave no,
me lads, we're homeward bound
we got in two heaves on the wind
lass. Up, UP, sluggishly upward came
the two great weights of iron to be
Gated on the bow; the impatient tug
few into action, finging US her tow
rope and brcasting Importantly ahead
through the still water of the great
harbor, now rejecting the high, gilded
light Of early morning.
:: z y -
WE forged ahead slowly, passing
" through the Golden Gate. The
shape of the city, on one hand, the
mountains of Marin county on the
ether, receded. The tug left us. We
looked back upon a rugged landfal
in which the cleft through which we
had come was hardly perceptible. The
looks were snatched, quick glances,
for we had fair breeze on our quar-
rcr and all hands were on deck max
ing sail with the utmost possible
rapidity. ~
All twenty-three sails were spread,
my watch was told off to go below
and went with them, after one long
look. over the side at the rush of
water past. We were actually making
thirteen knots, or thirteen nautical
miles an hour-fifteen land miles an
hour, which was as fast, l think, as
the old Wayfarer could travel. At
my rate, she never exceeded it in the
l6, 900 miles ahead of US. When one
looked over the side our speed ap-
peared incredibly swift. have trav-
eIed a mile a minute or better on land
and have had no such sensation of
speed.