typewritten sheet I read: 'Report at Goldsmith's Employment Agency,
No. ---- Greenwich Street. Ship as an ordinary horseman and during
voyage carefully follow the verbal instructions received by you during
our interview, making careful note of all details immediately after
happening. Be cautious in doing this. Upon landing in France report to
the Prefecture of Police, Bordeaux, and obey his instructions to the
letter. Good luck.'
"I went home and put on my oldest clothes; an old blue serge suit, an
olive drab shirt, a heavy pair of army shoes and a woolen cap. I had
let my beard grow and I certainly looked rough.
"In passing through City Hall Park, New York, one sees many derelicts
of the human race sitting on the benches. I sat down between two of
these wrecks of humanity and engaged them in conversation. I wanted
to blend into their atmosphere. About ten minutes later a policeman
came past and ordered the three of us to move on. I slouched away with
the other two. Telling them that I was going out 'panhandling,' I took
my leave, but not before one of them made an appealing and successful
touch for a nickel. The method used by him in securing that nickel
would have done credit to the greatest financiers in the country in
putting through a deal involving millions.
"When I came to the Agency, there was a long line of bums, two and
three deep, trying to ship as horsemen for France.
"It would be impossible to get a rougher and more unkempt gathering
of men. It looked as if some huge giant had taken a fine comb and
carefully combed the gutters of New York.
"I fell into this line and waited my turn. When I reached the desk, in
front of me sat a little fat, greasy Jew. To describe his manner of
handling the men as being impolite would be a great exaggeration. The
way he handled that line of human cattle would have done the Kaiser's
heart good.
"It came my turn, and this conversation ensued:
"'What do you know about horses?'
"I answered: 'Six years in the U.S. Cavalry.'
"The Agent: 'What Regiments?'
"'Eleventh and Twelfth.'
"'You're a liar. You never saw the Cavalry.'
"I felt like punching him in the nose but did not do so. I wanted to
ship as a horseman. I showed him my discharges. He said: 'They're
faked. What did you do, desert, or were you kicked out?'
"I was getting sore, and answered: 'Deserted the Twelfth; kicked out of
the Eleventh.'
"'What's your name?'
"'John Smith.'
"'You're a German.'
"This was too much for me, and I answered: 'You're a damned liar.' I
saw my chances of shipping vanishing in smoke.
"The Jew grinned and rubbed his hands, and said: 'You're all right. Go
into that room and get a card made out, and come back at two o'clock.'
"I received a card and went to a beanery across the street and had a
wonderful meal of corned beef hash, muddy coffee and huge slices of
bread, minus butter. This cost me fifteen cents.
"At two o'clock I reported back, and with seventy-two others, herded
like cattle, in a long, straggling line, flanked by three of the
employes of the Agency, we marched to the Ferry and landed 'somewhere
in New Jersey.'
"The ship, a huge three-stacker, was lying alongside. We were put into
single file, ready to go up the gangplank. Then our real examination
took place. At the foot of the gangplank were a group of men around a
long table. They certainly put us through a third degree to find out
if there was any German blood in us. Several men were turned down. I
successfully passed the ordeal, was signed up for the voyage, and went
aboard.
"At the head of the gangplank stood the toughest specimen of humanity
I have ever seen. He looked like a huge gorilla, and had a big,
crescent-shaped, livid scar running from his left ear under his chin
up to his right eye. Every time he spoke the edges of the scar grew
white. His nose was broken and he had huge, shaggy eyebrows. His hand
was resting on the rail of the ship. It looked like a ham, and inwardly
I figured out what would happen to me if that hamlike fist ever came
in contact with the point of my jaw. As we passed him he showered us
with a few complimentary remarks, such as 'Of all the lousy scum I have
seen, this bunch of lubbers is the worst, and this is what they give
me to take thirteen hundred horses over to Bordeaux.' Later on I found
this individual was the chief foreman of the horse gang.
"We were ordered aft and sat on the hatch. The fellow on my right was
a huge, blue-gummed negro. He was continually scratching himself. I
unconsciously eased away from him and bumped into the fellow sitting on
my left. After a good look at him I eased back again in the direction
of the negro. I don't think that he had taken a bath since escaping
from the cradle. Right then my uppermost thought was how I could duck
this trip to France. The general conversation among the horse gang was:
'When do we eat?'
"We must have sat there about twenty minutes when the second foreman
came aft. I took fifteen guesses at his nationality, and at last
came to the conclusion that he was a cross between a Chinaman and a
Mexican. He was thin, about six feet tall, and wore a huge sombrero.
His skin was tanned the color of leather. Every time he smiled I had
the impression that the next minute he would plant a stiletto in my
back. His name was Pinero. His introduction to us was very brief: 'Get
up off of that ---- ---- hatch and line up against the rail.' We did
as ordered. Then he commanded: 'All the niggers line up alongside of
the port rail.' I guess a lot of them did not know what he meant by
the 'port rail' because they looked very much bewildered. With an oath
he snapped out: 'You ---- ---- idiots! The port rail is that rail over
there. Come on! Move or I'll soon move you.' He looked well able to do
this and the niggers quickly shuffled over to the place designated. He
quickly divided us into squads of twelve men, then ordered: 'All of
you who are deserters from the Army and who have seen service in the
Cavalry, step to the front.' Four others besides myself stepped out.
The first man he came to he informed: 'You're a straw boss. Do you
know what a straw boss is?' This man meekly answered, 'No, sir.' With
another oath, the second foreman said: 'All right, you're not a straw
boss; fall back.' I got the cue immediately. My turn came next.
"'Do you know what a straw boss is?'
"I said: 'Sure.'
"He said: 'All right, you're a straw boss.'
"I had not the least idea of what he was talking about, but made up my
mind that it would not take me long to find out. Then he passed down
the line, picking out straw bosses. I asked one of the men in my gang
what were the duties of a straw boss. He had been over with horses
before, and told me that a straw boss meant being in charge of the gang
to feed the horses and that he had to draw and keep careful check of
the straw, hay, oats and bran. As I had served in the Cavalry, this
job, as I figured, would be regular pie for me.
"In about an hour and a half's time Pinero had selected his straw
bosses and divided the men into gangs, and assigned us to our quarters
on the ship. These quarters were between decks and very much crowded,
and the stench was awful. Iron bunks, three deep, with filthy and lousy
mattresses on them, were set into the sides of the ship. The atmosphere
in that dirty hole turned my stomach and I was longing for the fresh
air of the deck. A dirty bum, with tobacco juice running out of the
corner of his mouth, turned to me and asked: 'Do the gray-backs bother
you much, matey?' A shudder ran through me as I answered: 'Not much.' I
figured out that as soon as I got them, as I knew in a very short time
I should, they certainly would bother me, but I had to keep a stiff
upper lip if I wanted to retain their respect and my authority as straw
boss. Yes, 'gray-backs' are cooties.
"One fellow in my gang was a trouble-maker. He must have been about
forty years old and looked as hard as nails. He was having an argument
with a pasty-faced looking specimen of humanity, about twenty-six years
old. To me this man appeared to be in the last stages of consumption. I
told the old fellow to cut out his argument and leave the other fellow
alone. Upon hearing this he squirted a well-directed stream of tobacco
juice through his front teeth, which landed on my shoe. I inwardly
admired and respected his accuracy. I saw my authority waning and knew
that I would have to answer this insult quickly. I took two or three
quick steps forward and swung on his jaw with my fist. His head went
up against the iron bunk with a sickening sound and he crumpled up and
fell on the deck, the blood pouring from a cut in his head. I felt
sick and faint, thinking that he had been killed, but it would not do
outwardly to show these signs of weakness on my part, so without even
moving near him I ordered one of the men to look him over and see if he
was all right. He soon came around. From that time on he was the most
faithful man in the section and greatly respected me. The rest of the
men growled and mumbled and I thought I was in for a terrible beating.
Lying close at hand was an iron spike about 18 inches long. Grasping
this, I turned to the rest, trying to be as tough as I possibly could:
"'If any of the rest of you bums thinks he's boss around here, start
something, and I will sink this into his head.' Although I was
quailing underneath, still I got away with it, and from that time on I
was boss of my section.
"Every man was smoking or chewing tobacco. Pretty soon the hold became
thick with smoke, and I was gasping for breath, when the voice of the
foreman came down the companionway:
"'Turn out on deck and give a hand loading the horses. Look alive or
I'll come down there and rouse you out pretty ---- ---- quick.'
"We needed no second invitation and lined up on the deck. I looked over
the rail. On the dock were hundreds of the sorriest looking specimens
of horse-flesh I ever laid eyes on. These horses were in groups of ten
or twelve, being held by horsemen from the New Jersey Stockyards. A lot
of the men who had shipped as horsemen had never led a horse in their
lives, and it was pitiful to see their fear.
"The foreman let out a volley of oaths for them to move quickly, and
they decided to accept the lesser evil and take a chance with the
horses.
"Then the work of loading commenced.
"I have been in a Cavalry Regiment when hurry-up orders were received
to entrain for the Mexican Border and helped to load eleven hundred
horses on trains. But the confusion on that dock was indescribable.
The horses were loaded by three runways. My gang was detailed on the
after one. The foreman was leaning over the rail, glaring down upon us
and now and then giving instructions mixed with horrible oaths. He had
a huge marlin spike in his hand. On the dock was the second foreman,
in his large sombrero, a red handkerchief around his neck, wearing a
blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and carrying in his
right hand a coiled lariat. It did one's heart good to see him rope the
horses which broke loose. Watching his first performance, I knew I had
been right in thinking he had Mexican blood in his veins.
"A bleary-eyed drunk was trying to lead a horse by the halter up our
run. He was looking back at the horse, at the same time tugging and
jerking on the halter. You could see the white in the horse's eyes, and
I knew right away, from my experience with horses, that this was a bad
one, an "outlaw," as we would term him in the Cavalry. The drunk was
cursing and swearing and kicking up at the horse's head. The foreman
saw this and directed his barrage at the offender.
"'How in h---- do you expect to lead a horse while you're looking at
him? Turn your back to him, you lousy bum. You are blocking the whole
run. Turn your back to him, I say. You can't lead him thataway. If I
come down there, I'll soon show you how to get him aboard.'
"The bleary-eyed one became bewildered and in his excitement lost his
footing on the slippery runway and fell underneath the horse, at the
same time loosening his hold on the halter chain. The horse jerked his
head loose, reared up, turned around and made a break for the dock.
The man on the gangway tried to scramble out of the way. The horse, in
wheeling, let fly with both heels and caught him below the right ear
with his near hind foot. With a piercing shriek the drunk clasped both
hands to his head, fell over backward and rolled to the foot of the
gangplank, where he lay in a crumpled heap, the blood pouring from his
nose and mouth and the wound below his ear.
"Hearing this shriek, several of the men leading their horses, turned
them loose in their fright, and there was a mad stampede on the dock.
"The pasty-faced horseman, whom I helped out a little while before in
the argument, was standing near the runway, holding on to a horse.
He turned his horse loose and rushed to the bloody mass, which was
twitching with convulsive shudders. The foreman snapped out a long
string of curses that almost froze my heart:
"'What did I tell you? Didn't I tell you not to look at him? I knew you
would get it, and a damned good job, too; blocking that run with your
fool tricks.'
"Then he noticed the pasty-faced horseman stooping over the victim and
went on:
"'Get 'im by the heels, you cross between a corpse and a mummy, and
drag him out of the way. We bloody well got to get this ship loaded to
catch the tide.'
"The pale-faced man kept on with his examination without paying any
attention to the foreman's instructions. The foreman got blue in the
face and bubbled over with rage.
"'Did you hear what I tell you? Get 'im out of the way or I'll go down
there and pound some obedience into you. This ship's got to be loaded.'
"The man still paid no attention. The foreman was speechless. In a
few seconds the stooping man straightened up, and looking the foreman
straight in the eye, calmly replied: 'He's dead.' This did not seem to
faze the foreman in the least and he bellowed out: 'How do you know he
is dead?' The man answered simply: 'I'm a doctor.' Then the foreman
once again exploded: 'A doctor! Blawst my deadlights, a doctor! Well,
if you're a doctor, what in h---- are you doing on a horse ship? You
ought to be rolling pills for the highbrows.'
"The doctor never took his piercing look from the eye of the foreman.
The foreman was now like an enraged bull. Spitting all over himself,
he blustered out: 'Well, if he's dead, there is no doctor that can do
him any good. A couple o' you black skunks over there,' addressing
two negroes who were almost blanched to a bluish white and who were
trembling nearby, 'get a-hold of him and drag 'im out of the way.' One
of the negroes, with a leering grin, replied: 'I shipped on this here
ship to handle hosses, and I don't allow nohow that it's my work to
tote corpses around.'
"Just then the second foreman rushed over, gave the negro a push out of
the way and, grabbing the heels of the dead man, pulled him away from
the run. I turned away, sickened with disgust. He then took an empty
oat-sack and spread it over the bloody head.
"Just then the clanging bell of an ambulance was heard and a
white-clothed doctor, followed by two men with a stretcher, pushed
their way through the crowd of horses and horsemen. He was accompanied
by a policeman. The body was put into the ambulance and taken away,
while the police officer went on board the ship.
"The pasty-faced doctor was holding onto the rail of the runway and
coughing. I thought each gasp would be his last. The second foreman
was talking to him, but the doctor paid no attention. Then the second
foreman coolly measured his distance and swung on the point of his
jaw. The doctor crumpled up and fell on the dock. At this cowardly and
dastardly act, I saw red and made a leap at the foreman. An onrushing
light flashed in front of me and a huge locomotive, going sixty miles
an hour, hit me between the eyes; then, blackness. When I came to,
I was lying in my bunk in the hold. I had an awful headache. Then
everything came back to me with a flash. I could hear the gurgling
of water against the ship's side and knew we were under way. Right
then and there I decided never again, especially while aboard ship,
to interfere with a foreman. Among that gang of human wrecks and
cutthroats it was every man for himself, and the survival of the
fittest. I had two beautiful black eyes, and my nose felt like a
football.
"I went up on deck. The moon and stars were out and the twinkling
lights of New York Harbor were gradually fading into the distance.
Leaning over the rail were the chief foreman and the veterinarian,
'Doc' Casey, by name. I listened to their conversation. The chief
foreman was talking:
"'Load horses? Why, that bunch of scum that they wished on me couldn't
load lump sugar, one lump at a time. How Brown expects me to deliver
1300 horses into Bordeaux with this scurvy outfit, I don't know. We're
lucky, I'm thinkin', if 500 o' them don't die. Why, there's not one o'
the blighters knows which end of a horse eats hay. I tell you, Doc,
your work is cut out for you. If, in a few days, you don't have a
couple hundred cases of colic on your hands, then I'm a bloomin' liar.'
"'Doc' Casey answered:
"'Well, I'll tell you, Mr. Goorty, this is my third trip over and I
have seen some tough bunches, but this one is the limit. I sure admit
I have a job on my hands. It's too bad that Pinero let out on that
young fellow from the Cavalry, because, in my mind, that was a pretty
cowardly blow. He seemed to know how to handle horses. What do you say
if I give him the job of Assistant Veterinarian? He's had six years'
cavalry experience.'
"The foreman answered:
"'Throw him over the side, if you want--I don't give a damn. But I
guess you'll need someone to help you out, so go to it.'
"I was overjoyed. Just then Pinero came aft. The horse doctor turned to
him and said: 'Look here, Pinero, I've seen lots of dirty work in my
life, but that exhibition of yours on the dock is about the filthiest
I've seen in a long time. Now, just take a tip from me. That young
fellow, Smith, out of the Cavalry, from now on is working for me, and
you lay your hands off of him. If I find you meddling with him, I'll
push that silly grin of yours down your throat, until it chokes you.
Now that's all I got to say, lay off of him. Do you understand?'
"Pinero started to mumble excuses, but the Doctor shut him up with 'I
don't want to hear any more. I'm off o' you for life, but remember what
I tell you. Steer clear from the two o' us, sabe?'
"I guess the second foreman sabied all right, because he vouchsafed no
answer. My heart warmed to 'Doc' Casey and I slipped away unobserved.
"The next morning the Doctor fixed me up with court plaster and I was
installed as Assistant Veterinarian at $30.00 for the trip. I was to
sleep in 'Doc' Casey's stateroom, where he had his medicine stock, but
before entering the room 'Doc' said to me: 'Take this bucket of water;
put a few drops of creosote in it, and go aft on the hatch and take a
good bath, and throw your underwear away.'
"I asked him his reason. He answered: 'When you take your shirt off,
take a good look at it and you'll see why.'
"I began to feel itchy all over but minutely followed his instructions.
"I took my shirt off. One look was enough. It was alive, and over the
rail it went. 'Doc' loaned me a white suit and took charge of my outer
clothing. What he did with them I don't know, but that afternoon he
returned them to me. They were shrunk a size smaller, but they were
clean.
"Five days out we ran into a squall and our work was cut out for us.
We were greatly overloaded and had to put horses on the decks in
wooden stalls. The ship was lurching and pitching, and huge seas were
belching over the gunwales.
"Several of the wooden stalls gave way and the horses got loose on
the deck. With every lurch of the ship horses went down, kicking and
snorting, and slid over the inclined deck, hitting against winches and
hatchways, scraping their hide off. It was worth a man's life to get
into that mess.
"I had to respect the foreman and second foreman more or less then.
Into the midst of that struggling and kicking bunch of horses they
went, 'Doc' Casey with them. Four of the horses had broken legs, and
Pinero, instead of shooting them, cut their throats with a sharp dagger
which he carried.
"One of the negroes from the lower hold staggered to the upper deck,
his face blanched almost white, his eyes popping from his head. Between
gasps he informed us that a whole section of stalls, twenty-four in
all, had been carried away between decks, and that the horses were
loose. He said three negroes of his gang were caught in this stampede.
"The foreman mustered most of the men, dividing them into three groups,
in charge of himself, the second foreman and 'Doc' Casey. They went
below. I followed.
"It was hell. The ship was pitching and lurching in a horrible manner.
All I could see was a pile of kicking horses, smashed up planks, and
the three negroes piled up in one corner. As the ship rolled they slid
from side to side. There was nothing we could do. It was madness to
attempt anything. The three negroes were dead, their bodies terribly
mutilated from the hoofs of the horses.
"That night and the following day the ship rode the squall. Then it
became calm and we all got busy. Of the twenty-four loose horses below,
we had to shoot seventeen on account of injuries. Three others had
died from broken necks. The four remaining horses were still alive but
hardly had a square foot of hide left on them. I sure pitied them.
"The next day the three negroes were buried at sea without a word of
prayer.
"About four days out of Bordeaux one of the large steam pipes in the
lower hold burst. In this hold there were sixty-four horses. The
engineer of the ship tried to repair the break, but it was almost worth
a man's life to go down there in that hissing and scalding steam. The
cries of the horses went straight to my heart. There they were, their
bellies heaving, their nostrils red, inflamed, distended, gasping for
breath, their feet spread apart and braced to keep them from falling.
There would be a trembling of the legs, a few spasmodic attempts to
retain their balance, as their bodies sank lower and lower, and this
would be followed by a convulsive shiver as down they went with a crash
to die on the deck. All we could do was to turn streams of cold salt
water into the hold, thus trying to keep the heat down and save as many
horses as possible.
"Why the engineer did not immediately shut off the steam, I don't know.
I noted this fact in my report. It was four hours before he did so;
then the two foremen, 'Doc' Casey and myself, followed by twelve other
men, went into the hold. I shall never forget the sight as long as I
live. Nearly every one of the horses was dead, and those that were
still breathing had to be shot. Some of them were practically boiled
alive. The weather was hot and it was not long before the rotting
bodies made the stench on board unbearable. We had to get those bodies
out. Long tackles were rigged up, and a chain was put around the necks
of the horses. I worked the winch. The bodies were snaked along the
passageways in the hold and up to the hatch. Some of the bodies would
not hang together, and it was a common sight to see a dead horse
suspended in the air, either by his neck or hind leg, drop suddenly
into the hold below, leaving his head or his leg hanging to the tackle.
"Every horse sent to France is branded with a different brand. They
have a system of indexing them. As each dead horse was snaked to the
upper deck, 'Doc' had to stoop over and make a note of the brand before
the horse was thrown overboard.
"As the dead horses were dropped over the side, a resounding splash
was heard and the water was churned into a foamy white as the body
momentarily sank from view. Then it would reappear and disappear in the
wake of the ship, the sea gulls hovering and screaming above it.
"Just outside the entrance of the river leading to Bordeaux, a small,
rakish boat, flying the tri-color of France, came alongside. We hove
to and up the gangplank came three French officers. They were closeted
for about twenty minutes with the Captain of the ship and our foreman.
Then we continued on our course. In some places the banks of the river
were only about twenty feet away. We could see the French women tilling
their fields and as we went by these workers stopped and waved their
hands in the air to us, and we waved back. It was my first sight of
France, and I was not in any way disappointed. It lived up to my
expectations.