Aboard a ship where there were a lot of young men passengers, and
jumping back and forth over open hatches, diving from the yardarm,
catching sharks, and revolver practice at men-of-war hawks, molly
hawks, cape pigeons, catching albatross with a hook and line, etc.,
were among the amusements, some of us met at about 11 A. M. to
breakfast in a cabin the owner of which had a hamper of cakes and two
boxes of Partaga and Regalia Brittanica cigars, these men amongst whom
were a T-- and two M's--had been brought up on civilized things so the
unfortunate owner's cigars went fast. One of us poor fellows was too
fond of drinks and other things and had no business to have come as
he soon got d.t's. and was shut up in his cabin with a sentry. Some
way he got out, ran the length of the saloon, and dived through the
big stern window, through the glass, bending the guard rods right and
left. A man standing by the wheel on deck above, looking aft, saw the
head and arms of a man rise on the top of a following wave, shouted
"man overboard", and threw a preserver. The captain was very good
and we went astern for an hour or more which was dangerous with the
sea that was running; had a boat out too. Then we picked up the boat
and went ahead and he floated alongside near where he went overboard.
They tried everything, though he had already been a little eaten by
fish. Several of our crowd on this ship could not stand the new life
after landing. H shot himself. W shut himself up with brandy and drank
till he died; and so on.
[Illustration: Coaling--Rio Janeiro.]
[Illustration: Man Overboard--Bay of Biscay.]
"THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET."
If you do not know what baldearing is and are short of amusement, tie
the end of a well rope to your cinch and then walk your horse away
eighty feet or so till your bucket comes up full, if you like to and
have a trough along side, arrange it so that bucket catches and tilts
at the top so as to let the water into the trough, or 'troff' as I
suppose it will be spelled later. Then walk your horse back and down
goes your bucket. The first time one man tried, as he turned he let
the rope touch the horse and this horse did not approve. It whirled
around a few times, tied himself up in a knot, and over they went.
Horse up again some way and got to the end of his rope in a hurry. The
two brick pillars of the well (the pride of the man's heart) crumbled
away and off went that animal with eighty foot or so of suga, the
bucket, and the cross beam, into a drove of mares which stampeded
all over the world. Don't know what became of the mares but we got
the horse fifty miles from home next day. He was a good beast but
nervous about ropes apparently. It is better to have a quieter gee for
baldearing.
[Illustration: Act I.--The Great Baldearing Trick.]
[Illustration: Act II.]