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The Seaforth News, 1925-03-19, Page 2A Talk With An Old Salt t a chip on the reefs, :however, wo p t out to the rosette. 'e. e forted her to be - a boat ol! about four thousand lve`ltun- dred tons', The captain had been try- - ing to tut., off all the corners on his way out '•"-„ 'Clue off what corners?" I asked in- nocently. He laughed. "That s our_ way .of describing a quick passage." he said."lie had beau trying to make an ex- t era quick passage, and he had cut one corner fop many, and had rim the ship on the reefs, When we reached her we foond she was rolling under a tre- a i mendous swell: The noise. she made- was terrific. 'You see the reefs were coral, and Cho ship crushed into it as a IShe rolled, We tried to tug her off, but foot 1 it impossible. However, we .1 got the crew and passengers off, and we ran beck as hard as we could for Jamaica where wo landed the people we had rescued. From there we went round to St. Thomas du some cable work. It was found that our cylinders wanted seeing to, so we put into har- bor at St. Thomas, We found that the storm -cone was tip amlouining that a hurricane was veining. So we decided to ride it out In the harbor, Our fires , had all boon put out for the repairs of the cylinders, so we had no choice. Probably you have never experienced a hurricane in those parts, sir?" "No," said 1. 'Tor the very sufiiei. ent season that 1 have never been there." "It is almost impossible to describe. it. It to more like a whirlwind titan anything else. We knew something about it, so we began to gat ready without any delay. There was a 1ot of shipping In the harbor, and that made it more dangerous. Wily, be" lieve ate, sir, a hurricane It those parts bangs great shins together when they are in harbor, and smashes them up like so many toys, unless they take extra precautions, I remember there Ras an American schooner lying un - de' the cliff- as pretty and taut a craft as ever I saw. I lead a chat with fie captain, and T made the remark to him that he would have to make himself secure if he teamed 10 save his shill. He threw his head back, and laughed. "'Why,' said he, 'my ship could ride Mit anything that these parts could produce.' "It struck me that he had never seen a hurricane in harbor', or he would not have talked in that cocksure way. The next few hours taught him his lesson, poor inane It was now getting dark, and all our preparations were nearly "Yes, sir," he said, "I have been at sea, man and boy, for twenty-four years. That's a big slice out of a life time!" But it did not heed his words to in form me that he had spent many years upon tate sea:. Ilia face ,was enough to tell Inc that. Sire, wind, and rain had beaten upon it; and had left it rugged iutcl furrowed;, and tanned, It was a Homely, kind, weather-beaten face that in Be every liue spoke of hardy exposure to all the Stormy winds tha blew. "Yes," I, replied, "twenty-four years as yon say, means a big slice out of lifetime. You must have bad some ex oer'ience iu your time." "Well, I've had my share, sir; but thanks to Providence, I've coo through all right," "In what capacity were you at sea?' I asked.' For ilfteen,years out of the twenty four I was chief steward," he answer ed. "Previous to that I was working my way up to that position, I began at the very lowest rung of the ladder and l'tn proud to say that I Never once slipped back till I became chief of, my department." "The duty of the chief steward is Victualling the ship, as I understand?' I said. "res, the whole burden of that de- partment lien upon his shoulders. He is responsible for all the,mereisions in the ship, and has to see that there is a plentiful supply in stook. Every thing in this direction is under his supervision, from the buyng in of the goods to the serving up at tables Of course, he has a number of assistants to help him. I have had from twenty to thirty under me; but then I have always been on the best ships." "From twenty to thirty!" I exclaim- ed, "That certainly is a large num- ber! What would be the special work of these Linen?" "Well, there would be, say, fear coops. Then there would be so many .state -room stewards, so many saloon stewards, so many bedroom stewards, and so many colored servants to wait at table." "Why, it's quite an important de- partment!" I said. "The hungry passengers would agree with that, site" he replied, laughing; "and the hungry crew also." T could see that. my friend was fair- ly wound up for talking now, so I en- deavored to lead hire on. There Is nothing more Interesting to hear than experien4'es of life, in whatever call- ing they may have been gathered, "'Of course you have been through the Sites Canal many a time?" I said. "Rather!"he replied: "I was on the third ship that passed through after the sanaI was opened. As you know, it Was at first so narrow that ships dare to heave -to while another passes, There are mooring posts at the side for them to make fast to on those oc- casions. You emit(' almost shake Ilands. front one ship to another as you pass.' "I have heard that the Red Sea is very dangerous," I said. "Is that a feet "Yes. It is due to the currents in iln,t part. asumbers of ships have beau lost in the Red Sea." "What Ls the most exciting experi- ence that you have ever had?" I asked. Ro pondered for a moment. "Weil, I ebould sal; the most excit- ing experience was a tornado which came upon us while we were lying in harbor at St. Thomas, in the West In - dim" "Tell me about it." I said. "It was this way. I was at that time nn a boat that was engaged in repair- ing the cable in that part of the world. Let me .see, It was—yes-it was in 1876. We were lying at anchor off Jamaica when the news came that there was a ship ashore on the reefs. I shall never forget the weather we had that day. The rein—well, you never saw anything like it anywhere else! it falls. out there. not In drops, but literally in sheets. I recollect I had to go ashore to loop for some live stock with which to provision the ship; Floods of water were coming down from the hills and covering the roadway to such an extent that you -eoulttn't see the footpath—which was pretty high, too. I had to go back to the ship without having done any- tbing. As soon as we heard there was compteie. \\>e Ilan two anchors down with cables, and six grapplings with wire roping, In addition to that we had some kedge anchors fast No sooner were we ready than the storm broke over us. "I've been in many a spuail, but I never experienced anything like that tornado. The rain came down in sheets, and the wind banged on us like claps of thunder. There was high• land all around and the wind came whirling down into the harbor with terrible force. At the same time the darkness fell upon us, and it was each vessel for itself. The memory of that night will be with me as long as I live. The surface of the water in the har- bor was like a cauldron—not rolling or swelling like the waves of the sea, but all seething and shaking like water in a boiling pot. And the wind! Why, we couldn't show our face on the poop. If we had, it world have sent us over lute shuttle.cocks. The roaring of the gale, and the thunder of the sea outside, and the crashing of timbers as the ships banged together, added to the darkness of the night, made a scene which Is not easily des- cribed. Our vessel trembled and bounded IIlce some living thing under the force of the gusts; but ber cables held 'firm, and she rode out the storm until the morning. "When the (lay broke we saw a scene which beat anything I ever looked on. The harbor was covered with wreckage—so thickly, in tact, that you could hardly row a boat ashore. The American ship, whose captain had been so confident, was no- where to be seen. She had been smashed like a cockshell early in the night, and all her crew were lost. Several other ships had been sunk. A Danish barque which had been ly- ROUSE CLEANING, AT WEMBLEY STOCK Send us the name of a Bank or Loam Company that won't assist in Purchasing a good Pure Bred Sire. BUY BETTER 'rr ;SL The British Empire Exhibition will re -open at Wembley, in April,' bigger and better than ever, As last year, the Canadian National Railways will be one of the biggest exhibitors and Mr. 11. R, Charlton,"manager of the ad- vertising bureau of the company, is at present in England, arranging the placing of the exhibits. Improvements have been made to many of the fea- tures shown last year and much work has been Clone on au especially fine exhibit designed to attract settlers to Cauaada• English fogs and rains have not been kind to the exterior of the pavilion of the Canadian National Railways, and a squad of men have been employed to scrub the building, VERY farmer "ought to know what his -Lee farm is making for hint and which de- partments, if any, are not paying. To this end be needs a simple record of receipts and expenditures, along with yearly in- ventories of land and buildinge, stock, machinery; feed and supplies. The Doper meet of Agriculture at Ottawa offers, for 10 cents, a "Fnrmaes Account Book." Only a few entr os from time to time are needed. Send 10 c for the Account: iBook and receive aka "Seasonabio J5inte" and our latest Lint of free publications. rill in end return slip; - past free, to The Publications Branch Department of Agriculture Ottawa, Ont Name Post O,6Soe iteide and out. The photograph shows leen at work washing the outside of the pavilion preparatory to the open- ing of tlae fair. iug there lead only saved herself by cutting clown all her masts. Nearly sill the jetties around the harbor had been swept away by the wind, A float- ing dry dock had also been sunk, And, In addition to all this, a tongue of land, which ran out into the sea at the en- trance of the harbor, bit! been clean cut into by the gale, and a piece of it carried away." "Neu are right in calling that an ex- citing experience," I said. "Orr. I've lead a few in my tine," he replied. "I hall a narrow escape from pirates once,' "Dld you really? Conte, we must shave that!" "It was In the China Seas. Those waters were infested with pirates at that time. They generally cruised about in queer -rigged low,lying craft like feluccas. And they could sail, too! In a good breeze they would run a steamer hard in those days, I can tell you. There weren't such clippers on the seas then as there are now. And it was a case of heaven help the crew that they got hold of, for they were murderous, cut-throat villains. They used to tack about in an limo. cent manner, with the hien hidden away, and their "teeth out of sight," as the saying Is, until they got within fair reach of some merchantman that had only an ordinary crew aboard, and no means of defense. Then, all of a sudden, they would throw long ropes, with grappling irons- at tho end of them, With these they would hook themselves on to their victim, and before the crew of the merchantman knew what was happening, these fel- lows would be swarming in scores up the side of the ship, armed with knives, What could they do against such numbers, once the pirates fairly got aboard? Many a ship has been caught in that way. But we had good fortune on our side on the occasion when we came across these villians." "Yes," I said, much interested— "yes, go on," "We were holding on our course at an average speed, bound for Pekin, where we were going to take on a cargo of tea. There was hardly any wind blowing, except for occasional puffs, but our ship,• being a steamer, was of course independent of winds. We were steamingalong when we cahgut sight of a Chinese craft dodging about in front of us, as though she were trying to catch the occasional puffs of breeze. As far as we could see, there only seemed to be three or four men aboard. As wo conte within hailing distance of her, a couple of her sten called out to us. From what we 1 could make out, they were asking us to give theist a tow, as the wind was so low that they couldn't make head- way. I ought to state that we were pedfeetly defenseless, not having a single gun on board. While we were parleying with them we were all the time drawing nearer. 1t was just about Hien that I same on fleck. I had a look at her, but somehow I didn't i caro for her appearance, although she seemed hornless enough. All of a sudden, 40 we were drawing almost • within range of a cables -throw, our captain stared hard at her. "'Take her In tow, ell?' said he. 'Not if I know it! All steam ahead there!' "The order was passed below, and before we hardly realized what was happening, our ship was forging ahead at her top speed. Then the Chinamen showed what they were up to. Some of them suddenly appeared, whom we hadn't seen before, and they began In a great burry to throw out their graP- ' piing hooks at us. Tliey missed, and missed again, and before they could ' make any further attempts we were • out of there reach. You see they coral not pursue ase, because there was no wind to help them. If they had caught on to us they would have crowded up our side, armed to the teeth, But for- tunately, our captain was too old a bird for them. The difficulty was that i one could never tell until they began 'their, operations whether they were `pirates or not that one had to do with, because there are Litany peaceful craft i of exactly the same appearance sail - Ing the seas. But there was no doubt foabrou05t ,"at 1M, and 1t was a close shave th I next got -any friend to talk about sharks,' and he told me some,Most in- teresting facts about them; how,, for instance, it is the ground -sharks which are often responsible for the total dis- appearance of a man who has fallen overboard in harbor, or at anchor off the coast; and how they rise from their lair at the bottom whenever they see any object in the clear water above, and drag, their prey down, down into the depths below, `Ile also told me a fact that shows what tremendous strength these creatures have. "Why," said he, "wizen you harpoon one and give hien the windlass line, he faces out wit:n it until the handle goes R.R. No Province 6 16 tx,,,,sar:se�anu ;. round with a whirr that makes you stand clear of it in doable -quick time; and 1 have known occasions, when we have got theme aboard, when the flap- ping of their tails has actually made the vessel shako from stem to stern." In fact he told me many luteresting episodes in his long career, and'I part- ed from hint more firmly convinced than ever of what I said before namely, that there is nothing more interesting to listen to than actual ex- perience, in whatever path of life they come from. The World's Oldest Statues. The world's anent anclont statue is to be found outside, not inside, the British Museumt. It is said that it took two hundred men from t11Lr crew of 17.51,5. Topag, and three hundred natives, to drag the statue from its original site, although It weighs only four lone. It is. the work of a race of huge builders and was one of many similar colossal statues, some of them weighing as much as a huu- drecl tons, scattered over Easter Is. land, in the Pacific. These hil!eows images were eight - ally supplied with bats, in some cases we::ghing another five or six tons, which were red because they were made of tufa or volcanic rock. All the hats have fallen off now and are found lying around the huge statues as though there had been a high wind. This race of ancient builders 1e1L traces in the shape ofeimmenee stone monuments right across the Pacific, and many archeotoglsts think that the islands on which these monuments ti's found. are the lest remnants left above the surface of a vast submerged con- tinent. There is nothing whdch fixes the exact peeled of this aohieveement, but et is possible that the statues' are at least as old as the Pyramids of Egypt. Surely. "This letter won't go for two -pence," exclaimed the post -office assdstant, "It's too heavy. You'll have to put an - ether stamp on it" "Go on," grinned Pat. "It's kidding me ye aro. Another stamp would snake it heavier.' Safe "Gas" Indicator: A -luminous tip from'an old watch or clock hand applied to the indicator of a gasoline tank gauge obviates the use of dangerous lights. Facial surgery, including tate re- modelling of injured noses, ears, and lips, was known in Italy as long ago as 1456. Come to Me, Gentle Sleep. Come tome, gentle Sleep! I pile, I pine for thee; Conte with thy spells, the soft, the deep, And set my spirit free! Each lonely, burning thought In 'twilight langour steep— Come to the full heart long o'er - wrought, 0 gentle, gentle Sleep! Conte with thine urn of dew, Sleep, gentle Sleep! Yet bring No voloe, love's yearning to renew, No vision on thy wing! Caine,. as to folding flowers, To binds in forests sleep -- Long dark, and dreamleas be thine hours, 0 gentle, gentle Sleep! —F. H. Luck and industry are closely re- lated. LABELS I.na-dock Labels for Cattle sheen and hogs. Rests s, Tetteaas, ChICh,,, hands, null Soo Mao. write for • amnnh'.a and Prices. Ketchum ManufaoturIn0 Oa,. Ltd., O. 601 W. Ottawa, Ont. Seed Pu•itatoes New -Brunswick Grown and Govern- ment Certified. Irish Cobblers and Green Mountains, For sale at the following prices: Peck, 50c, Bushel, $1.60 ' Bag, 90 lbs., $2.25. Special price In lots of 5 bags or more. No charge for bags or packages. Can soli you Ontario Grown, at about 20 per cent. less. Yau will have to order early as quantity is limited. Cash with order. H. W. DAWSON P.O. Box 38 - Brampton, On . Use Simonds' Crescent Ground Saws; their teeth area even thickness ihrou upon ttheentira. length of the saw, thus rnpogbindinginlhekert. impossible, Creche Si ind hag is Oran exclusive Simons& feature. S100NDS CANADA SAW CO,t1011014: Vancouver MONLa1AL 5t, John, 51.4 seek?? "Crescont Craned" hence Tooth Crepe Cut, Na. 02422 ISSUE No. 12—'25. REG.'LAAR FELLERS GIMME A NIck6L5 WORTH Or MEAT FOR THE Doe AN' MOM SAYS :NOT TO HAVE tT TOO FAT AN' NOT TO HAVE IT Too LEAN NEITHER! to -3D YOUR MA IS Mt5NTY PERTIc1cLBlz ABOUT THE. MEAT FOR -THE DAW&l JIMMY GETS FIS ORDERS -Ey Gene Byrnes. YEP BP -l' SHE Ater SO PERTICKL6R ABOUT MY FOOD! NOPE? l-t0W;, THAT? WNVY,luht, 1634.. by Tho Heli Syndicate. Inc.) Vier SME V/// JUS 55'15 ANYTHtt.tG ggu0RG ME Ate' GAYS "JlMt�! DUCAN1 '(OU .GOTTA EAT TRIS. STORIES ABOUT WELl-KNOWN PEOPLE Whiner of Peace Award. Viscount Cecil, who has just' re- ce'iretl the theet tlw'ard of the Woodrow. W ils0n Foundation for kers work for :. world peace, is depicted by a sym- pathizing admirer as "a 1nan with the legs of a stork, awkward csnolorLions in pubito and the worst clothes in Cho house of Cctn'utans," itis as a per- sonality that he has gained. "the re- gard of the groat mass of the hien of all classes in iStiglancl." In Parliament toe is "angtrIaa', inaarticuhvte, clawing the air with his bonds, with no speech emerging, and the House of Gammons waiting with respect and no laughter because they lurow this man has. some- thing to say that fills hie heart and soul." Before entering public life Lord Cecil practised law, Ile dwO??a in an , unfashionable port of Lonldon, partly ' because fashion Is not ora his list. of ' things important. A Statesman's Lova for Birds.: Lord. Grey's love to birds is well known. At his home at Pollution Lie has macre two little pollee iota e hozuo for wildfowl. Year after yeas the birds ccme to nest titers and show very- plainly eryplainly that t'h&y' return L,&l'd Grey's ,affection. As soon as Itis ft:atl'Itops are heard the birds rant up to share the food he always gives them. 'When the eggs are hatched out the nu1ly iithle Young ones are brought diet Cor Lord Grey's inspeetione They show not the slightest align of fear. Surprise for the Telegraph Clerk. Royal people often have eo do things like crtlinary folk, butwhoa they do -t13e ordinary' font always get a. litete shock of surprise. Tho other day a telegraph clerk got one of Meese shocks when a tnotor-cer stepped out- side the village post-eiii:'e In which she worked, and a good -I, 'siten•g' young mean alighted, "Where are yawl to .g n;e forme?" &eked the young man as be ,,nrered, The girl told him. he wrote Isis message, and when he Ital alipped it across the counter she read: "Arrive Buckingham Pale :o to-night. —George." In the middle of the el'oek, Prince Georg spoke again. "T say!" he rein. "Could you give me a match?" "Ott yes! Whet ]rind?" she replied. Whether she was flustered or not, Lite historians do not relate. Bat such e meeting must have been rather a test of her nerves. Edison's Breakfast. Like so many other hard thinkers, Mr. Edison' is an absentminded titan, and, as might be expected from one who often goes for several days with gluiest no sleep,he sleeps easily and 500110ly when the chance comes. The following anuueing story, which illus- trates the truth of these general re- marks, ie told by Mr. E. A. Jones in leis book on Mr. Thom'a's Alva Edison. While Edison was 'elopeeintenting tirelessly on his. newly-inventel edea for incandlescent, electric 'ldghting he had been up several nights in eueces- Mon and was almost warn out. So be entered one of 'the workrooms at four o'clock in the morning—he had left iestructicns to be called at nine, \viten breakfast •was to be brought to pial-- auti was soon bucked In profound slum - ben Meanwhl'le one of his coworkers— Mr. Bacheker, I believe-- -bads arranged to have breakfast in the some room at half past eight o'clock, and when he came in and ea wthe inventor peace- fully taking it mach -needed rest he de- cided to play a joke on bite. So, learn- ing from the young man who brought in iris mead that Edison's. breakfast would be ready at nine, at wbdath time he, the young man, would rouse the "boss," Baehedor leisurely proceeded with his heal and rea-d the rano'. At nine o'clock the assistant entered to awaken his master. After a good deal of shaking and pummelling—for Mr. Edison when he seieeps Stteeps heavily—the "old man" got •up and sat down' to the table to await the coming of bis breakfast, which the youth de- clared was rant the way. It took a few minutes, 'However, anal during the in- terval the inventor was. so sleepy that he dozed off again. Then when it - finally did' ari'lvo Bachelor quietly ap pronrlated it and put in its Place the debris of his own meal. A moment latter'Frinson awolce,-gazed at they oil* meats heroic him, looked into the empty cup, . thought a .moment, and then, taking out a cigar, 1'1t it and pro: - deeded to enjoy his usual after -meal smoke, quite -content in the belief that he hod eaten his breakfasi: and forgot- ten all about it. \Area his coworker ethlighteuoci hire -ire grinned :and merely' remarbced, Weil, that's one on me". ---a favorite expresslon of hese Their 1 e pro0eed- ed to do good justiceto11 substantlel meal. He afterwards d•eelcared' that, though it never occurred to lout that he hadn't eaten anything, be cerlaielly had alt inward feeling that he could have drone with anottler brealcra:ct. R. 8. V. 0. "Jake," " said Isaacs in hie friend Jacobs, "what does 'R.S.\'. P.' mean? A is on a wedding luvisiatiohr I got from. Able Cohen." "Well," replied Jake, "ii means bring real silvan' wedding preestals"