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Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — »> signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planchso. tableaux, etc., peuvent §tre filmds d des taux de reduction diff^rents. L rsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est filmd d partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n6cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 ( 1 2 3 4 5 6 i 4 K 1 <5i i -H fl EXPERIENCE k (^ 'W •■^1 5» t. & ^ o- •BY O f CHUS. STEYENS * t Napanee, Ont., Canada. Printed at the office of Chus. Stevens. 1892. a? ttfr-t^yj-TOJ— t3?r-xair-T^V""'.y'~T-P~"W'~S:i='' Sjj— cy- c^-tO- .^ fe. C THE SAILOR BOY- INTRODUCTION. In publishing this story 'The Sailor Boy's Experi- 'jnce" 1 wish to say that I do not claim any ability as an author, and the reader will readily see in perusing m\- story that it is simply what it claims to be, "A Sailor Boy's Experience". The story is written from memories of the past in such moments as I could spare from the cares of a business life. I have endeavored to present to tic leader, Life as I have seen it, and as this work to some extent will fall into the hands of the young, I have refrained from pub- lishing the darker side of my experience ; right here let me say I might have inserted some stories that some would call "Sea tales", but thought it best to hold to facts as I remembered them, with a little spice thrown in. Most Respectfully Yours, Chas. Stevens, (copyright applied for.) ■ ■ ' <5^ iNDEX, ^ 20 CHAPTER I. Off to Sea Good-Byc--Sea sick -Working down I hannel-The Liverpool "Rat." - > • ^ l*age 9 CHAPTER n. Early life- -Father's death— School experience Selling papers— Errand boy. ■ CHAPTER ni. Coimtty life— Among the farmers— At Mortlake - Off for Liverpool -^ * • ^4 CHAPTER IV. Life in Liverpool— Never trust too mvlch to friends —Song, A Seaman's Life. 28 CHAPTER V. Learning the ropes— A deck bo>''s duty 32 CHAPTER Vr Crossing the Equator- Old Neptune— Around Cape Horn-&c 37 6 A SAILOR BOY,S EXPERIENCE. CHAPTER VII. Callao Bay — Discharging coal — A narrow escape — Chincha Islands Loading Guano — Getting under way 40 CHAPTER VIII. Homeward bound— A race home to Europe— In London— A trip to New York 47 CHAPTER IX. My third voyage— The Francis A. Badger - Caught in a cyclone— Dismasted — Picked up at sea. . . . . 51 CHAPTER X. Fourth voyage— Rio de Janeiro harbor — Man over- board—Yankee Joe, the bumboat-man — The ship's stew, ard— Joke on the skipper. .. 57 CHAPTER XI. A trip in a Philadelphia packet — Liverpool pantiles — A slop-shop on ship board. 65 CHAPTER XIL Voyage to the West Indies — Smuggled into the United States army .. .. 68 CHAPTER XIII. r A spy shot— At Governor's Island, Fort Porter — Life as a soldier. . . 70 - - - • r ' - INDEX, 7 CHAPTER XIV. Off to Canada — Crossing the Niagara — Butterfly friends vanish— In Toronto — Sailing on the Lakes— Win- ter in Napanee— Town fair -A trip to Chicago— Gt.'tting spliced— Lake Ontario—Bay of Quinte— Descronto— A description of Napanee — Lake on The Mountain . . 72 CHAPTER XV. Still sailing on the Lakes— All Ashes— Success in business ^ . . . 89 CHAPTER XVI. A trip to the Old Country— Steaming up the En- glish Channel— From London to Glasgow on the Flying Scotchman— Returning home .. gi CHAPTER XVII. Ups and downs of a business Life. .. ... .. 98 CHAPTER XVIII. A trip to Florida— A three yard ticket— Visiting Orange groves, 100 ILLUSTRRTIONS. PACE, The Sailor lioy, (from photo taken at i8 years) . . 3 Leavinj; Port .. 9 Ahnost a collision, (she missed us and that was all she did) .. 17 Farm Life 24 Chincha Islands (in the Pacific Ocean) 35 Homeward Bound 47 Dismasted on the Atlantic, (and sent a large life boat off to us) 53 Birds-eye view of Toronto Harbor 76 A scene on the St. Lawrence opp. . . 86 A Sailor's Home by the Sea . . 9$ The Sailor Boy at forty-five 107 All I'hjhtti n'seroed , Chapter I. -OFF TO SEA. Having said good-bve to my mother and a few friends on the pier, at Liverpool, I stepped on board my ship which was bound for Valparaiso, Chili, for orders. 'The tug took our ship in tow and she moved off "like a thing # of life", out of the dock basin, into the Mersey and so on sea- ward. The wind being fair, a part of the sails were soon set and with the help of the powerful tug in a few hours our noble ship was off Holyhead where the tug was no longer needed, our ship was left to fight her own way through the St. George's Channel under sail to the great Atlantic Ocean. 10 A SAILOR BOYS EXPERIENCE. The next in order was to muster the crew at mid- ship and each officer, sailor, and boy had to answer to his name. The crew of our ship was composed as fol- lows: — Captain, first mate, second mate, ship carpenter, Stewart, cook, twenty able bodied seamen and two boys, myself being one of them. The roll having been called the next thing in order was for the first and second mates to choose their watch, which is done by the first mate pointing out man number one and the second mate selecting his man number two and so on until all the men are divided. The first mate's men go to the port or left side of the ship, and the second mate's men go to the starboard or right side. I was taken into the port watch and my boy shipmate was taken into the starboard. The third mate goes with the first mate's watch and the second mate in the captains', thus we had two officers, ten able bodied seamen and one boy in each watch. The watches having been settled and the ships deck cleared and things stowed away in ship-shape, we were ready for sea in earnest. In a short time a small boat hove in sight and the pilot was taken off. We gave three cheers for the pilot and wished him a safe landing while he in return gave a good bye and wished us a safe voyage. The Captain now having taken full charge, or- dered more sail set, which the men obeyed right merrily We were soon well out at sea and out of sight of land. The watches are now set for the first night, which is to last until our ship arrives into |.ort whither she is bound. As before stated the crew is divided in two watches port and starboard. The port watch have their quarters on the Dort side of the ship forward, and the starboard on OFF TO SEA II the starboard. The first watch, which is from 8 p. m. to 12, midnight, is the mates', during which time the star- board watch are in their quarters, which is called the forecastle. The watch on deck places one of its number at the wheel to steer the vessel, and one on the forecastle on the lookout, which post they hold for two hours, when they are relieved by others taking their places for the next two hours, and so it passes on from watch to watch each sailor taking his turn at both the wheel and the look- out The duty of the man on the lookout is to report to the officer of the watch, any light or vessel that comes in sight, not in a whisper by any means but as soon as he sees a new light he calls at the top of his voice, "light ahoy", and the officer of the watch replies, "where away" when the man on the lookout replies, giving the bearings of the vessel as the case may be, for example : should it happen to be a red light, straight ahead, his reply would be, "red light dead ahead sii " and if off" the bow he would say, giving the color of the light, so many points to the port or starboard, as the case may be. The first watch starts at 8 p. m., which is called eight bells, after which the man at the wheel has to ring a small bell every Half hour, and the deck boys duty is to go to midship and sing out "one bell" and the man on the lookout has to answer by striking a large bell on the forecastle, in this way the officer of the watch has the as- surance that the man at the lookout is awake and attend- ing to his duty. The next half hour is two bells and so on until eight bells has been rung, at four bells the men at the wheel and on the lookout are relieved, and at eight bells the watch below is called and enough noise 12 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE. is made to awaken every one on board. The watch is given three minutes to get on deck, when both watches muster at midships around the *capstan the men are all counted and the first watch is orderd below, as it is call- ed, or to thr'r foreccistle, where they stay, weather per- mitting until 4 a.m. which is eight bells again, and so it goes on from one watch to another, four hours on deck and four below, except the short or dog watch in the evening, from four to six, and from six to eight, when the watch is two hours each, instead of four. The object of the *DOG" watch is to change the night watch, as the reader will see, if each watch was four hours without these short watches in the evening, the same watch would be on deck every night from eight to twelve. Incases of storms the watch below is liable to be called out at a:ny moment, and when all hands are called on deck every man and boy is supposed to be on deck inside of two minutes. It often occurs that sails have to be taken in or reefed or the ship weared as the case may be which has to be done in heavy weather when the wind is ahead the ship is first stood on one tack and then on the other, but in ordinary weather the ship is put in "stays" this is done by putting the helm down and turning the ship around against the wind, but this cannot be done in a heavy gale with a rough sea, so the ship has. to be weared by turning her around with the wind, which on a full rigged ship makes a lot of work and often takes from ten to thirty minutes to do it with all hands, and sometimes it causes a good deal of damage , as the vessel has to be let off into the trough of the sea after turning and getting the wind on the other side of the ship, she has to be * A maohino used for hoisting sails that are to heavy to raise by band. OFF TO SEA 13 brought into the trough of the sea again before she is headed up by the wind. My first night at sea went off somewhat pleasantly as the weather was fine, but the next morning brought foul weather. Our ship being in the St. George's Chan- nel and the wind changing to the west, which was right ahead, we had to shorten sail, which was kept up until night closed in upon us. By this time our vessel was jumping and lunging considerable and I was a sea-sick boy. The officers, knowing what was the matter with me ordered me to my quarters, which was a nice little house on the main deck, a part of which was used as a boatswain's locker, of which 1 shall refer to in another chapter. The storm continued : I became so sick and oh how I longed to see my mother. The next day I grew worse and the Captain had his doubts of my ever recovering, but our Heavenly Father had marked out my pathway so that I was not to die at sea For three days and nights the storm kept the ship pitching and creaking as only a vessel can do when struggling in a storm, and to make matters worse, our ship had to be weared every six hours as we were still in the St. George's Channel. Our captain being an American was not fam- iliar with the coast, had to keep his ship well off the shore ; thus my first three days experience of a seamans life was rough indeed. I never expected to see land again and had some kind friend been able to have taken me ashore then I am certain I would never have wanted to be a sailor again. The third day of the storm was very squally with snow and sleet in the afternoon. The most of the crew were aloft reefing the main top-sai} H A SAILOR BOYS EXPERIENCE, when all at once the cry went out from aloft, "a vessel on our lea bow and she will be into us", tht men left their work and slid down the back stays and other ropes reaching the deck in a very short time. Hearing such a noise, sick as I was I managed to crawl to the door of my room and I beheld a barque rigged vessel all but upon us. She missed us and that was all she DID. I have never been able in the years that have pas- sed since that terrible moment to forget that sight, for had that vessel stnack us on our broadside our ship would have been lost with all hands, as no boat that either ves- sel had could have lived or rode safely o'er the waves of such a sea as was running that day. How well I remem- ber our dear captain as he wept with gratitude for the deliverance that God had wrought for us, in fact the hard- est heart on board the S. Curling that day was made to thank God for delivering them from a watery grave. The following night continued to be very rough, but the next morning brought a change of wind and weather. As soon as the sea had run down somewhat, orders were gived to *'*make sail" which was increased from time to time until the next day. My fifth day at sea was fine for the time of year, it being in the month of December My .seasickness gone I was in a fair way to get well. The Captain, God bless him, was so kind to me, being my doctor, and on more than one occasion, when I was sick in my bunk he brought me extra food to tempt my appetite so that I would at least try to eat something. In the afternoon my .shipmate Jim, assisted me to the door so that I could look out and take a farewell look at the hills of Old England, informing me that we would * A term used when more sail is to be set. issel on tft their ropes such a door of all but L SHE ve pas- ht, for would er ves- ives of imem- Tor the J hard- ade to grave. ut the :athen i were me to s fine mber well. 3eing I was t my king. ) the )k at ould OFF TO SEA IS not see them again for some ten or twelve months, which I afterwards found to be too true. Our sixth day at sea was very fine indeed and as our ship was bound for the Pacific Ocean each days sail brought us into warmsr weather, so by the first of January we had taken up the north-east trade winds ; our gallant ship with a fair wind under full sail was making about 200 miles per day southwards. Her cargo being one thousand tons of coal some two hundred tons of ballast* she was in fine trim for sailing, and she being half clipper we very seldom come across a sailing vessel standing on the same course that we could not out sail. Having been at sea some twenty days and recovering my strength I again entered into my duties as a deck boy which duties, Jim my boy shipmate, who had been to sea for two years, was to instruct me in my work. I soon learned that he was from Liverpool and had been known as a "wharf rat". This may seem a strange name to my readers, so I'll explain wnat is meant by a "wharf rat' when applied to boys. It is a boy who has no Home, his father and mother, if he has any, think more of drink than of spending what they earn or could earn in taking care of their boy, thus he is sent out to look after himself and earn, or steal his own living as the case may be- These boys go down on the docks, where vessels unload •heir cargoes and pick up their living by stealing any- thing eatable, such as corn, rice, currants, etc., that is be- ing unloaded out of the ships. Sometimes the sailors on the different ships lying at the docks will give them some food and in this way they live from day to day sleeping at night in boxes, barrels and in fact anywhere i6 A SAILOR BOV'S EXFEKIKNCE. 1 'r :r ; !i, where they can hide from the police ; if they happened to see a policeman coming after them, they will hide away among the bales, boxes or other packages lying on the dock or drop down through a broken plank in the dock thus hiding from him completely. Should he at- tempt to hunt for the boy it would be as much trouble to catch him as it would a rat, hence the name these boys get is "Wharf Rats." My shipmate as before stated had been one some two years previous to this time, so he was known on the ship as the "Liverpool Rat," at least, he went by that name among the sailors. I did not fare as bad as that, but being from London I received the name of "Cockney" a nick-name that sailors claim belongs to anyone born within the sound of Bow Bells, London, England. When our ship had been to sea some thirty days, my shipmate thought it time that I should do a share of the climbing ; of course up to this time I had never been sent aloft, so one fine day Jim went aloft to the mizzen- truck, (the top of the mizzen-mast) and tied a silk hand- kerchief to the truck. It was a fine handkerchief, one that Jim used to wear on special occasions, when in port He informed me that if I could climb up to the truck and take the handkerchief down it should be mine. I looked at it for some time, then the sailors got at me in a teasing manner, saying, that if I could not climb up and secure that prize on such a smooth sea, I would never make a sailor. I had done some climbin^j before going to sea on vessels lying in the dock at Liverpool, but had not attempted, even in port, to climb to the truck of a large ship. I now found my courage •+ -/: o con Jim alli I cl tog vise shif true and han this fair acc( Caf chi€ the OFF TO SEA. 19 considerably tested, looking up at the prize and then at Jim and the sailors making fun of me, finally I gathered all my courage together and started up the rigging : as I climbed up hand over hand the officers cautioned me to go steady and not look down, but look up, which ad- vise I obeyed to the letter, and to the surprise of my shipmate Jim, I unfastened the handkerchief off the truck, and putting it between my teeth I started down and reached the deck in safety, Jim was considerably disappointed in losing his handkerchief but consoled himself by saying that after this I could do my share of the climbing, at any rate in fair weather, which I now felt quite willing to do after accomplishing what seemed to me a hard feat The Captain hearing of my success in securing the handker- chief informed Jim that he would have to look out or the Cockney would get ahead of him. I! IIP! tj Chapter II.— EARLY LIFE. Having given the reader a small insight of the first few weeks of my experience on the "briny deep" I now shall invite you to go back with me to my early life be- fore I became a sailor. I was born in the Parish of Lamberth, London, Eng in the year of 1847. My father being a carpenter and joiner and in a small way at least, a master builder, and until his health failed him we' had, I might say a comfor- table home. Our family consisted of father, mother, two brothers and one sister. When I was about nine years of age my father died, having been sick some two years previous to his death, which left my widowed mo- ther in somewhat straitened circumstances with five children to battle with the world for a living. During the two years sickness previous to my fathers death he built for my mother, what is know in Englaitd as a "mangle" a machine used in England for rolling or pressing plain clothes and used extensively in the Old Country saving a great deal of ironing in laundry work- This mangle proved to be a source ofquiteaHttleirKome EARLY LIFE 21 to my mother as my brothers and myself used to run it while mother took in other laundry work, thus sustain- ing her little family. My sister and oldest brother being well grown up were able to earn their own living, and thus things run along smoothly for some time. I do not remember having been to school two months altogether for up to this time the long sickness of my father and the hard struggle mother had after my fathers death it seemed almost impossible for my mother to raise sufficient funds to pay for our schooling. I distinctly remember one Monday morning I was sent home by the teacher because I did not have two-pence, (four cents) to pay for my schooling the ensuing week, for it must be remembered that we did not have the free schools in England then that this Canada of ours has. How well I remember the sad look poor mother had when I told her that the teacher sent me home for the money and her reply was that she had spent her last sixpence for bread. I told her not to cry as I hoped to be able to get work soon and help her. During the week I believe I put my promise into practice, for I managed to earn a few pennies doing odd jobs so that by Saturday evening I had saved up nine pence. I started over Blackfriers bridge very early the next morning for Fleet street, a distance of about three miles to invest my first nine- pence in a dozen of weekly penny papers which I has- tened back to our own neighborhood with to sell, which I disposed of in a very short time and returned to the office for another lot, and in this way my nine-pence gave me a clear profit of ten -pence which I turned over "yi A .SAILOR hoy's experience ::•! "m\ to my mother with a gieat deal of boyish pride, but not- withstanding my mother was in need of every penny, she was opposed to me selling papers on the Lord's Day The following week I secured a situation with a merchant tailor in Fleet street at a salary of a half a crown a week, (sixty cents). I had to walk three miles each way to my place of business night, and morning, and many a day I have had to carry parcels of clothing as far as Kentish town, Euston Station, and other points in the western part of London, a distance of five and even ten miles, and walk every step of the way when my em- ployer could for a few pence have paid my 'bus' fare to, at least within a rea.sonable distance where 1 had to de- liver the parcels. When not delivering parcels my duty was to keep the work-shop tidy and sit on the bench cross-legged, tailor fashion, and do sewing such as mak- ing linings, padding, etc., and when nothing else to do had to practice working button holes. Having been employed about a year at this place my employer failed, and of course, I had to look elsewhere for employment but I wish here to say that I gained considerable experi- ence with the needle which in after years proved of a considerable value to me when at sea, and notwithstand- ing I had labored with a merchant tailor at very small wages I used to pick up considerable by selling papers evenings after my days work at the tailoring department was completed. I have often purchased a dozen papers from the printing office just across the street and would sell them all before reaching home, thus making four pence, as the paper offices gave thirteen papers for a dozen, and at the same time, as the old adage says, "kill %\ EARLY LIFE. 23 two birds with one stone." Before closing this chapter I will give the reader a short account of London weather, London is noted for its heavy fogs in fall and winter ; at times they are so thick the public have to carry torches to find their way about the city, these fogs sometimes last for several days during which time business is almost at a standstill, boats of all kinds on the river have to stc p running and not- withstanding the great care that is taken by the police, many people are knocked down and seriously injured by horses, while crossing the streets during these fogs. It very n^ten happens that the s m is not seen, even for one short hour during a whole week, and one can readily imagine the inconvenience that five million peo- ble have in getting to and from their places of business when taking into consideration the many narrow and crooked streets there are in London. The winters are not as severe as in this country ; spring opening quite early, a notable feature in spring weather in London is that every little cloud that arises brings with it a shower and it is no uncommon occurence to have sunshine and rain several times a day. '"k Chapter III. -COUNTRY LIFE. Having an uncle living at Mortlake, a small country village on ti)e river Thames, about nine miles from the city of London, and noted as the winning post for most all boat races on the river Thames, he invited me out there to pay them a visit, which of course, I very gladly accepted to get out of the city into a country place to me was quite a treat, and while visiting him I engaged for a short time with a neighboring farmer, or what is known better in England as a "market gardner". EARLY LIFE. 25 My duties were to assist in feeding the stock and help prepare the vegetables for market, which had to be all washed, trimmed, and tied up in bundles suitable for market It was no uncommon thing for three large waggons to leave the yard late in the evening to reach the next days market in the city. Marketing in London is done on altogether a dif- ferent scale to what it is in this country. Take for example in the rhubarb season. This would all be cut and gathered in the afternoon, drawn into a yard where there are numerous sheds erected for sorting, packing, etc. The leaves are about half cut off and so bunched up so that they would form a nice square package with leaves at each end and neatly tied up with a flag suitable for this purpose, these bundles contain anywhere from seventy five to one hundred stalks, and when the wag- gon would be loaded it would look like a load of hay. The most of the farm waggons used for carrying such as this to market was drawn by three single horses one ahead of the other and the driver would walk along sid« of the lead horse every step of the way, arriving at Coven Garden or Borough Market in ample time to dispose of his load which would l)e sold out to dealers at a stipulat- ed price per dozen, as fast as one dealer drove up and got his supply another would follow right aiPber and thus the load would soon be gone. On more than one occassion when the weather would suddenly turn warm the load thus piled up would begin to heat, damaging a large portion of it which would be run off at most any price it would bring. Such vegetables as beets carrots, radishes, etc., are all washed and sorted bemashed and her sails part- ly blown away, she staid by us for two days and the weather having settled she spoke to us saying that she would proceed on her voyage as she eould not help us in any way. Our hearts were sad as she sailed away for it was some consolation to know that should our vessel spring aleak, which we all feared she would by straining herself with so much rolling, we would have some chance of being saved, but things looked dark indeed, as she sailed away from us, but as ** the darkest hour is before the break of day " so it proved in our case, for the brig was only just out of sight when a large vessel was sight- ed to the Westward running Eastward and she would likely see us which she did. She run down and hove too under our lea AND sent a large life boat off to US. The captain decided to abandon our vessel as we had neither mast or sails and she was leaking badly by this time ; our crew was taken off in three boat loads ; the first contained the captain's wife, children and pas- sengers, the captain was the last man to leave the vessel, we all got on board safely before dark, it taking some three hours to transfer us, the sea was running so high 56 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE, that we could not see the life boat only as she came on top of a wave. As soon as the transfer was made, sailsf were set and the ship headed Eastward on her voyage, she being bound for Bordeaux, France, with a general cargo. The officers and crew made us as comfortable as possible, for it must be remembered that a merchant ship is not prepared to furnish quarters for a double crew, which the crew of our vessel made. Next morning the sea was somewhat settled, we sighted and spoke to the American ship **Uncle Joe", she had left New York the same time as our vessel did, and was now in a leaky condition ; the captain tried to make armngements with our crew to assist him work his ship to Liverpool, but they declined so he changed his course south for the Bermuda Islands. We made Bordeaux on the twenty-eight day after being picked up and our crew was handed over to the American Consul as ship wrecked seamen. The Consul gave us a boarding house and some clothing and in time sent the crew back to New York excepting myself as I decided to ship on the American Ship Samaritan then laying in port unloading guano from the Chincha Islands, ^^ I''' I I i Chapter-X FOURTH VOYAGE. Our ship having unloaded her cargo of Guano, she sailed in ballast for Cardiff, Wales, to load coal for Rio pe Janeiro, Brazil. We shipped what is known as a trip crew to take the vessel to Cardiff. When loaded with coal and ready for sea we shipped another crew for a twelve months voyage round Cape Horn to load Guano and return to Antwerp, Belgium. Our crew was com- posed of all nations, some were sailors and some had never been to sea, our officers were a hard lot and u«ed some of the men very rough on the voyage out to Rio de Janeiro, which we made in seventy five days. While unloading coal a part of our crew ran away one night, one boy and two of the men were caught and put in jail until our vessel was ready for sea again. The night before our ship sailed they were brought on board and chained to the mast till next morning, like so many cattle would be. The next morning the anchor was hove up and the tug started out with our ship sea- ward, the men that were chained up all night had been released early in the morning and set to work. One of these men was a real hard case, he had travelled all over i't p . s^ A SAICOR boy's experience. the world with a circus, this man, while the rest were getting breakfast, dropped over the side of the ship and struck out for the shore. Nobody saw him except the man at the wheel, and as our vessel was being towed to get over the bar in time for high tide, we did not stop to pick him up ', we learned however, when we arrived at Callao, that he was picked up by a coasting schooner and taUen into port. The other man that had run away was whipped off the main top-sail-yard-arm, by the sail, in .1 gale of wind off Cape Horn while reefing the mains top-sail, and our captain would not allow the boat to be lowered to pick him up, saying tiiatno boat could liveinr such a sea. We threw him a life buoy and saw the poor fellow swim and get it ; it was a hard sight to see him on the top of each wave struggling for life and we mak- ing no effort to pick him up, but it must be remembered it was blowing a gale with a hea:vy sea running and our ship sailing in ballast we could not wear her and come within a mile of him, so the poor fellow must have per- ished quickly as the weather was quite cold. We were now two men short A few days after losing the man overboc' the passenger steward, those who were sick had a hard time of it. We had considerable fun three times a week with the passengers in dealing out their rations, the watch on deck would get the hard-tack, (biscuits) salt beef, salt pork, rice, flour, beans, peas, etc., arranged in barrels under the Hurricane deck ready for distribution the meat having been cut up in chunks and one of us placed in charge of • each barrel with a measure, the passenger 'i if Wi; 66 A SAILOR BOY'S EXPERIENCE. steward would call out the names when the passengers would come forward with all kinds of pans, dishes, etc., to receive their rations. If it happened to be the head of a family the stewart would call out the number, which meant that we were to serve out rations to him for that number of people. Now when it came to dealing out ^his salt beef, or as sailors call it " salt horse", many of the passengers would not take it, for some of this beef was so hard that it was out of the question to either soak or boil it, so that it would be eatable and no wonder as the greater part of it no doubt had been old naval stores that had been kept in store probably from five to ten years and bought up as good enough to feed emigrants on. We had about the same trouble in dealing out the hard tack (biscuits), these were known to us as " Liver- pool Pantiles." A pantile in the old country is made out of clay and used for roofing, and, of course, they are hard ind water proof ; such was the hard tack served out, for you could put them to soak in boiling water and when you tried to cut them you would find them hard and dry except a thin coating on the outside. They are said to be a mixture of bran, shorts, glue and sawdust. We found no small job to serve out rations to all the pas- sengers as it took from three to four hours. The pas- sengers had to cook their own food in a galley especially fitted up foi them, and such a mess as our vessel Was kept in, notwithstanding that we were on the broad Atlantic the odor that came up from the passengers quarters sometimes was sickning. It can be easily seen that it was a matter of no small importance to the owners that we made as fast a voyage PHILADELPHIA PACKET. 67 as possible, for notwithstanding the coarse food the passengers were kept on, it cost considerable each day to feed such a crowd. Whenever we got a fair or leading wind all sail was carried that our ship could possible stand under we would often pass other vessels carrying close reef top-sail, when we would be sailing along carrying full top-sail and main top-gallant-sail, in fact, the captain never would allow the main top-gallant sail taken in till it blew to pieces, and we found it no small job to send the torn o.ie down to the deck and replace it with another as it often has to be done in quite rough weather After a voyage of thirty days we arrived in ihe Delaware where our ship came to anchor at quarantine, and was inspected by the medical officers, and finding no sick- ness on board of an epidemic character our ship was al- lowed to be towed to Philadelphia after the passengers had thrown overboard their mattresses and other effects they did not intend to take ashore with them. It was quite a sight in the river to see them float off with the tide. On arriving in the city our passengers having been landed, our vessel tied up and everything in 'ship-shape' the crew were paid off, and as we had received a months pay in advance, before we left Liverpool, the most of us had not enough coming to us to pay for the tobacco we had from time to time on the voyage out, the captain of this as they do on most sea going vessels, carried what is known among sailors as a ''slop shop" which consists of tobacco, needles, thread and other articles that sailors require when at sea ; which very often they neglect to provide themselves with before leaving port for which of course, they have to pay what is known among sailors as :!ii !' i. m. 68 A SAILOR boy's EXPERlENCk. II •^ammv " sea price." On vessels going on long voyages the " slop shop" is quite a variety as it not only has the above mentioned goods' but it contains clothing, foot wear and oil skins, the latter being used considerably among sailors in wet and rough weather, they being made of heavy factory cotton dipped in oil and dried a number of times until they are water proof After having been paid off we went to a sailors boarding house until we could secure a berth in another vessel. o Chapter XII.— VOYAGE TO THE WEST INDIES My next voyage was in a Philadelphia barque for the West Indies with a general cargo. We left Phila- delphia early in December and spent Christmas and New Year discharging our cargo, the weather being as warm as our summer in the north. After taking in about 100 tons of sand for ballast we sailed in January for Philadelphia, making the round voyage in less than sixty days. Our return trip was trying indeed, as we had had such warm weather and to return to our severe northern climate in so short a time was almost unbear- able. When we entered the Delaware we found the river blocked with ice, and it took some time for the large tow boat to tow us up to the city ; after arriving there our crew were all discharged and the vessel laid up. A number of us shipped in another vessel bound for Key West with a cargo of coal, but the weather turned out so cold that the large ice boat could not keep the river open so we had to go to a sailors boarding house for a time and wait foi milder weather. PHILADELPHIA PACKET. 69 It must be remembered that the Civil war with the South was still going on, and the cities were over run with all kind of sharks to smuggle men, and boys too, in- to the northern army. One evening while waiting for my ship to sail, I was taken out, as I was informed to my ship, with the understanding that my baggage would be put on board. We all took a parting drink, and to my great surprise, the next morning I found myself in a guard house, and I was informed that I had enlisted the night before and had taken the bounty of three hundred dollars and the balance of six hundred dollars would be paid me in three months. I tried hard to convince the officer in charge that there was a mistake about it, and that I had no money, but on looking into my pockets I found that I had some twenty dollars that I could not account for. The mean, contemptible rascal who led me to believe that he was taking me to my ship had drugged me and then sold me (a mere boy of eigh- teen years of age,) for the sum of three hundred dollars, less the twenty dollars he had managed to put into my pocket. I now made up my mind to make the best of it, and as there was a number of us in the same fix, we passed the time away in playing cards and many other games that sailors and soldiers have to amuse themselves with when not on duty . As soon as there were enough of us collected together they moved us to larger quarters, which I fancy had done service as a prison. In the course of three weeks we were taken to New York and stationed at the fort on Governor's Island. When leav- ing Philadelphia, an incident happened that made a good !■ '. 70 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE. impression on my mind for I had become very rough be- ing associated with so many rough and strange people as one is thrown in company with when being a common sailor. While in a street car on my way with others in charge of the guards to the depot, a middle aged lady ask- ed me about my home and why I had enlisted so young when I told her the facts that I did not know how it was that I was there, and that I had a kind mother over the sea in Liverpool, she with tears in her eyes, gave me some good advice, at the same time handing me some change, which I thanked her for and promised her I would try and be a good boy No doubt she thought of her own son who had left his Northern home to go South and fight for his country, as she informed me that her only son had been drafted for the army some time before. Chapter XIIL— A SPY SHOT. While stationed at Governors Island we had to drill hard every day and while here a number of spies from the South had been taken and court marshalled, one of which was shot while we were there. We were all march- ed out and the poor fellow was shot down in our presence like a dog. Such are the misfortunes of war. Our next move was to Fort Porter, Buffalo N. Y. Our full regiment of one thousand men went there on an immigrant train, and after a tedious ride of twenty-four hours we were marched down to the barracks but on vr- riving there we found that the regiment that had been stationed there had not departed, so we had to take up Fort Porter. ;i our quarters in the drill shed, sleeping on the frozen ground sleep was out of the question till wc ran up and down and got tired out We only put in two nights in this way after which we were removed to fairly comfortable quarters. While stationed here we had to drill hard every day and as I made fair progress I managed to keep out of the awkward squad and the guard house. It was now coming on spring and we expected to be sent south to the seat of war every day, of course, our regiment was made up of all kinds of men and some of our company played a sharp trick to get the rest of their bounty money by getting outside parties to represent that they were relatives of theirs', mothers or sisters as the case might be, so I made applications to have mine sent to my mo- ther at Liverpool. At that time an American dollar was only worth fifty cents in gold, so for my three hun- dred dollars, the balance of my six hundred dollar bounty I got about fifty dollars in green backs and one hundred and twenty five dollars in gold. The gold I had sent to my mother which she received all right, and the fifty dollars in greenbacks I was to have had was given mostly as fees to the sharks that helped me get the bounty be- fore it was due, so the reader will see that I had vory little left for my own use. In our company was a man from St. Catherines, Canada and another from Liverpool England, with whom I spent the greater paj-t of my spare time, both of whom seemed to be fast friends of mine. Both of these men had persuaded a confederate to draw their bounty for them which left ttiem a good sum in ready cash. it iii. ■ff 72 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE. The spring was coming on and our Fort being situ- ated on the banks of the Niagara river we could see the large sheets of ice break away on Lake Erie and drift down the Niagara river with the current One night my comrades suggested that being a sailor I might get them across the river the first dark night, and as I did not like a soldiers life I entered into a bargain with them, that if I got them over the river they were to pay my passage to Montreal and give me twenty dollars in cash so from that time forward I was lying my plans to get past the guards and secure a boat for the undertaking, a risky piece of business, but I was ready for most any- thing for I was tired of such food as, • . Pea soup, hominy, bean soup and rice, it '- A soldier in the army is living mighty nice, < . •• Salt pork and hard tack would give a man the gout, I never would enlist again, for soldieiing is play- ' > Y . r- , V . .y i v-^ [edout Chapter XIV.-OFF FOR CANADA. ^■ As stated in the previous chapter I made a bargain with my two comrades to get them across the river into Canada. I found out while on guard duty where there was a small boat locked up called a punt The following night being dark we started, passing the guard by crawl- ing on the frozen ground until we got to where the boat was locked, but to break the chain without the guard hearing it was the next thing, so we decided to lay still till a train went by, as the railroad ran around the Fort along the bank of the river; we had to wait some time for a train to come along but when she did come we ha( OFF FOR CANADA. 73 had to make quick work of it and lay down until it had past, for if the guard had seen us he would have challeng- ed us and had we undertaken to run he would have shot us down, but good luck was in our favor for we got the boat into the river all right and paddled her with the boards that were used for seats. It took some time to paddle over. The night was very dark and as we had to dodge the drifting ice, that the river was full of we must have drifted some two or three miles down the river before we reached the other shore, we had a hard time in landing as we struck a shoal where the current was very swift and rough, which caused us to get out of the boat and hold on to her and push her along stand- ing in the water. It was a good thing we took that course for before we got to shore we had to jump into the boat and do some hard paddling as the water was quite deep between the shoal and the shore, which we reached all right exce pt we got a cold ducking which was not very nice at midnight in the month of March, however we had reached the land of freedom to us. Not having a change of clothing or any place to shelter us there was nothing left for us to do but to lie down under the first tree we came to till morning. The next morn- ing our wet clothes was frozen on us, and I can assure you, we not only looked, but felt tough. My comrade from St. Catherines now became our pilot, we had to walk some miles before we reached the nearest railroad station and on our way we stopped at a farm house by the roadside and got a drink of water and begged some rye bread, the woman told us that this was the best she had, so we thanked her and went on. My 1 ', alii i ir 74 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE. comrades had considerable money but it being in large United States bills they did not want to let anybody know they had any. I did not eat much of the rye bread as I was suffering from my old complaint, fever and ague, brought on again by getting wet the night be- fore. We pushed on until we arrived at the station where we took a train for St. Catherines. When at the depot I asked my comrades to give me the money for my fare to Montreal and the twenty doUai's as promised, they both promised to give it to me as soon as they got the money changed at St Catherines, which looked reasonable enough as I knew their money was in iarge bills, so when we arrived at St. Catherines my St. Cath- erine comrade left me for a few minutes to get his money changed, but he gave me the slip, as it is now twenty-five years since he went out to get his money changed to pay me for risking my life in helping him run away from the United States army, and I think his bill must have been so large that no bank in the Dominion of Canada Could change them, and he was forced to wait until some was made for he has not come back to settle with me yet. My Liverpool comrade I now stuck to like "a bee on a posy" until we got to Hamilton, when he told me he had only enough money left to pay his fare home to Liver- pool, so thanking me for helping him over the river at the risk of mv life, he left me without a cent in my pocket in a strange city, sick with fever and ague. I came to the conclusion that neither of them would do much for God's sake if the devil was dead. It was now that I longed for mother, but there was nearly four thousand miles between us, it was out of the IN Toronto. 75 question to see her then, and as the saying goes, "a faint heart never won a fair lady," I made up my mind to make the best of it, so walking up street I engaged board for a week and as I was dressed in full uniform they did not know what to make of me, I fancy I was looked upon as one of the curiosities we read about in Dicken's work or an escaped "what is it" from Barnum's Museum. At last when I found a boarding house and was settled down for the night I tried to plan out what was the best to do; one thing I did was to lay a plan to get even, in part at least, with the man that sold me in Philadelphia, and as I remembered his name and address I wrote him that if he would send me twenty dollars I would return and go through again Before the week was out I received a letier in reply with twenty dollars enclosed, stating that he would put me through again and get me a larger bounty, but his game did not work as I acted on the prin- cipal, "a man beats me once it is his fault, if he beats me twice it is mine." The next day I started for Toronto expecting to go on to Montreal, but I was taken so sick on the train before I arrived in Toronto, that I had to go to a boarding house where I staid for three weeks, my cash in the meantime went like butter in the sunshine for a greenback was only worth about sixty cents to the dollar then in Toronto. One evening in the latter part of April while partak- ing of my supper I overheard a stranger who had stepped into the office of the hotel ask the proprietor if any sail- ors were boarding with him? He replied.no sir, not know- ing of course that I was a sailor, hurrying through supper I stepped out on to the street and had a talk with him; 111/- t " W ■ -■• 1 i»i, ; <,''■ H| 1 • ■ a ■ .X' '■' ' ', ' -■ ' ■ ■■.' ■ '-'t^ ^•. ^;h :■:.:. ^:.l ' :','ffw. .,,1] . ^ 1^' ,■:■': if : O CO o of u W I Q h-l ON THE LAKES. n after conversing a few minutes with him he found out that all my sailing had been done on the sea, so turning to me he said, "so you are a salty then", a name that clung to me among my shipmates on the lakes for sev- eral years afterwards . I found out that the man I was talking to was the mate of the schooner America, a ves- sel of about one hundred and fifty tons belonging to Kingston, Ont The schooner was then lying at the northern docks, so he requested me to come down with him and see the "skipper" an invitation I readily accept- ed. After a little talk with the captain he told me to get my "dunnage" and come aboard that evening as he intended to sail next morning if the wind and weather were favorable. I informed him I would go right up town and get my baggage which, by-the-way was easy to carry as it consisted of what I had on and a change of under-clothing which was in the hands of the wash- woman. . . The next morning I left Toronto in the old America In going down the lake I got wet and not having any change of clothing my old complaint soon came on again. The next day we anchored off Presque Isle Point and I was ordered into the boat to help row the captain to the pier a distance of about three miles, and while waiting for him to return the chills came on me again and Captain George of the Schooner Centurion, then lying at the dock loading wood, assisted mc to a small store sitqated near the dock where they gave me a dose of ground pepper mixed with small beer, and I can assure the reader it was an awful dose, but can frankly say that I have never had the fever and ague since, as it v\\ •7^^^ 78 A SAILOR BOY'S EXPERIENCE. I ^ broke it up on me completely. It was some time, how- ever, before I recovered my strength so as to take hold and do my share of the work on board of the schooner, but I wish here to say that the captain and the crew wias very kind to me and did everything they could to light- en my burden. Our schQoner entered into the cord-wood trade be- tween Brighton, Ont, and Charlotte, N. Y., the wood being for the N. Y. C, & H. R. R. R. Our vessel carried from ninety to one hundred cords and we generally made two trips a week, and as we had to load and unload our own vessel except a little help we could pet in unloading it was very hard work indeed. I staid on this vessel until the end of the season when she was laid up in Kingston. Having taken care of my wages I had a nice little sum coming to me that would more than cover my expenses through the winter. During the summer I had heard a good deal of talk among the different sailors I met while sailing on Lake Ontario, of the little town of Napanee, although never having visited the place I decided as soon as my vessel was laid up to start for there and make it my home dur- ing the winter. Leaving Kingston via the Grand Trunk Railroad and travelling westward for twenty five miles, I was favorably impressed by the picturesque appearance of the place as our train pulled over the hill east of the town, and I think most travellers will agree with me that Napanee as seen from a Grand Trunk train coming in from the East will compare favorably with any town of its size in Ontario. i.'i ' ' TOWN FAIR 79 1 arrived in Napanee the last of November 1865, 21"^ settled down for the winter. The following Tuesday was a big day in town, it being the winter fair. These fairs are held quarterly and are largely attended by the people from the sur- rounding country. The greater part of the business transacted at these fairs was in barter, and in fact most of the business done by stoie-Keepers was by having two prices on their goods, one for cash, the other for trade, and cash being scarce the bulk of the trade was done by barter. During the winter I attended the, then called, *Me- thodist Episcopal Church, Rev. David Wilson, Pastor and while attending special services held by him I was led to see that I was a lost sinner and I then embraced Christ as my Saviour, a turning point in my life indeed, and I can now say, notwithstanding all my failures in trying to live a Christain, I owe my success in life, very largely to the fact th^t I sought first the kingdom of God and indeed His promise has been verified in my case for no good have I ever wanted. During the winter I received much good in.struction3 from that godly woman, Mrs. Rev. David Wilson, and although she was afflicted and confined to her room a good part of the time, I received from her such council as was a great blessing to me. Sh6 called me her "Sail- or Boy" and I looked upon her as a mother ; she has since passed away but her christain works live on. In the spring I went sailing again in my old schoon- er, the America, which I left in June, and shipped on a *The MethodiatB in Canada having sinoe then united into one body they are now known as the Methodist Church. Bo A SAILOR BOY'S EXPERIENCE. larger schooner for a trip up the lakes to Chicago. Our schooner left Oswego (light) for Green Bay, Wisconsin; to load lumber for Chicago, 111. We had a fine run up Lake Ontario until nearing *Port Dalhousie, Ont, where a change of wind brought rain. Arriving at the canal late in the afternoon and after unrigging our vessel suitable for the locks, we started off being towed by two team of horses. The tow path on this canal is noted for its mud in wet weather, and as it had been raining all the afternoon and most of the night, we had rather a hard time of it getting our vessel along. My work was to carry a line along walk- ing on the bank of the canal, so that when the vessel was to be checked or stopped, I could put it over a spile (or post) which are set all along the canal for that purpose. I found it a hard job, and on more than one occasion the mud was so heavy that my boots stuck fast and I had to get my line over the post and then go back and hunt up my boots. In going through this canal we had no rest until the vessel was got through, refitted and un- der sail on Lake Erie which took us some thirty hours, and I can say that I never was so tired before or since. We had a fine sail up Lake Erie and when about thirty miles from the Detroit river, we came across a tug which took us in tow with some half dozen other vessels bound west passing Detroit and through Lake St. Clair. We passed Port Huron into Lake Huron and made sail again ; our vessel headed for the Straits of Mackinaw, passing through the Straits and across Lake Michigan the next morning we entered Green Bay and lay our course *Tlie entrance to the Wetland Canal. ON THE LAKES. 8l for Oconto, Wis., where we was to load lumber for Chi- cago. Arriving there late in the afternoon we started to load our vessel, and talk about work, there is where you get it, as we worked long after dark and was at it again before daylight next day until our vessel waf: load- ed, mostly with heavy lumber, it was indeed very hard work with little or no help and as soon as the last plank was loaded we made sail down the bay. The next morning we rounded the peninsula in*^o Lake Michigan and shaped our course up the lake f j» Chicago making the trip from Oswego, N. Y., to Chicago, 111., via Oconto, Wis. in three weeks. Chicago is, as no doubt most of my readers is aware the head of navigation on the great fresh water Lakes, and no wonder the poet in the old world composed the verse, To the West, to the West, to the land of the free. Where the mighty St. Lawrence, rolls down to the sea ; Where a man is a man if he's willing to toil, An gather together the fruits of the soil. for it must be remembered about one half of the distance from Chicago, Illinois, to Liverpool, PIngland, is navigable on these great lakes, the St Lawrence River and the Gulf of St Lawrence, and I doubt very much if a finer body of water or more ^iclu'esque landscapes are to be found elsewhere either in tiie old or new world. After spending a few days in the great western city I re-shipped on a lake steamer for Odgensburg. N. Y., passing down the lakes calling at the principal ports we entered the St Lawrence near Cape Vincent, and sailed down among the far famed Thousand Islands pa.ss- sing Clayton and Alexandria Hay on t^^'^ American 82 A SAILOR hoy's EXPERIENCE •;■ ti and the town of Brockville on the Canadian side of the river. Odgensburg, N. Y., our destination was reached in a little over a week from the time we left Chicago. Here our vessel, after unloading, left with a general cargo for Chicago, and way ports. When we arrived at Oswego, N. Y., I left the steamer an*.' took a berth in a sailing vessel trading on Lake Ontario. Late in the fall before our vessel laid up for the win ter, while at Oswego, N. Y., I was married, or as sailors call it, "spliced", and soon after settled down in Napanec. Ontario, and although I was only twenty years of age I believe it was a step in the right direction, as I have never had any reason to regret the step and I can say with my German friends "Dot marriage mit me vas not a failure." The following winter I spent in trying to chop cord wood at thirty cents a cord and made out to make from thirty to forty cents per day at it, but it was hard work and being a light man I was not a success at wood chop ping, however, I stuck at it till spring, when I shipped on the lakes again. Some seasons we would have good times with good wages, so that by fall any man that took care of his wages would have enough to keep him nicely through the winter; but my experience was, that by spring I would be just where I was the spring before, financially, so I began to think that it was time I did something for my- self and family and "have a shot in the locker" as the sailors call it when laying up something for a rainy day The last few seasons I followed the water I sailed on the Bay of Quinte and lake Ontario, a short descrip- LAKE ONTARIO. 83 tion of which may not be out of place here. Lake Ontario is without doubt one of the finest lakes of fresh water in America It divides York State from the province of Ontario, Canada ; its waters are pure and deep and most of its harbors are good. We will commence at its head at Hamilton, which is situated on Burlington Bay within a short distance from the lake proper, about thirty miles east is Toronto Harbor, a birds-eye view of which we give -^n page 76, the city is the capital of Ontario, and as will be seen by the cut, is situated on the lake shore. Hanlan's Island lies about one mile to the south which forms a breakwater from the open lake, making a fine land locked harbor of about four miles in length, sailing down the north shore of the lake some 63 miles and we ;'imve at Port Hope where our government has spent a considerable amount of mor. \v in making a good harbor which was done by cribbing ,. id is now a fine harbor^ but is somewhat hard to make >i heavy weather. Some thirty miles east of Port Hope is Presque Isle Point and Brighton Bay, and forty miles furv'ier east we have South Bay Point which affords a good 1 -e for both west and south west winds , two or three mile to the cast of South JVay Point we have the False ])ik\ Island, which has a fine light hou.se on it, that can b seen at a distance of ten or fifteen miles out into the lak ". Some twelve miles north of the False Ducks lies In<. an Point, which also has a good light, which can be seen fi >m the deck of a ves.sel when off the Ducks in clear weatht v About thirty miles North east of the False Ducks is the city of Kings- ton, known as the old limestone city Kir ^ston is situa- ted, I might say, at the terminals of four b >dies of water 84 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE, l'-\ Hi : 1 m i < I namely, the foot of Lake Ontario, the head of the St Lawrence river, (North Channel), mouth of the Rideau River and the foot of the Bay of Quinte . The city has some fine buildings on the out-skirts being the Provin- cial Asylum and Penitentiary occupying several hundred acres of land in buildings and grounds. South of Kingston about twelve miles lies Cape Vincent, N. Y., which is reached during the season of navigation by boat twice daily, and during the outing season boats are crossing about every hour. Cape Vin- cent is connected with Kingston by team in winter, driv- ing the river, North and South Channels and across Long Island. It is about twenty miles by water around the head of the Island by Lake Ontario, and about twenty eight miles by the river St. Lawrence around the foot of the Island. There is a canal cut through the Island but of late years it has got so filled up that it is very seldom used. On leaving Cape Vincent we steer a little west of south and in about fifty miles we reach Oswego, N. Y. Here we have a good harbor made by the United States Government Oswego has a fine water power, but not- withstanding all this the business of the city is said not to be as good as it was a number of years ago. Oswego is a hard harbor to make in a heavy west or nor- wester and in fact heavy grain laden vessels coming down the lake that get caught out in a heavy blow they generally run on down past Oswego to the river and come to anchor off Cape Vincent, until the storm is over. Fifteen miles west of Oswego we have Fair Haven a fine harbor completely land locked. Here the Lehigh BAY OF QUINTE. S5 Valley Railway have their coal trestles and a consider- able amount of coal is handled from this port Fifteen miles west of Fair Haven is Sodus, and sixty miles west of Oswego is Charlotte, the mouth of the Genesee River the port of Rochester, some 70 miles west of Charlottc we enter the Niagara River which is navigable several miles up to Lewiston, N. Y., which is seven miles below Niagara Falls. The Toronto steamers make two or more trips daily during the season of navigation, from Lewiston about forty miles across the lake. The beautiful Bay of Quinte is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is now connected with the Lake at its head by the Murray Canal, some six miles long, running west to Brighton Bay. A little south of the entrance to the canal is the carrying place, where Weller's Bay (which run in East from Presque Isle Point) divides the two bays by a narrow strip of land ; it was here the Indians years ago portaged their canoes in going up and down Lake Ontario. A few miles north-cast is the mouth of the Trent river. Sailing down eastward twelve miles we come to the city of Bcllcvi'le ; here the Moira river empties into the bay, four railfes east of Belleville the bay narrows to about one half a mile wide and is known as the Belleville narrows ; right here on the south shore of the bay wc have Mass- assaga Park and I might say licllevillc's Pride. It is a delightful spot with a beautiful grove, a number of sum- mer cottages, wharf and fine hotel, which is kept open during the camping season. East of the Park i> liig Bay a notable spot for fishing and boat racing. Some three miles east the Salmon river empties into the bay. Con ^^m S6 A SAILOR f^OV's EXPE?r£NCE. tinuing our course east of Belleville some sixteen milcv we reach Deseronto formerly known as Mill Point, here the waters of the bay meet the waters oftheNapanee Valley and the bay takes an elbow turn to the scuth-west. Deseronto on the north shore of the bay is a stirring place and the headquarters of (the American firm) The Rathbun Company with its gigantic Lumber and Shin gle Mills, Terra Cotta Works, Flour Mills, Chemical Works, Sash and Door Factory, Ship Yard, Car Works and a number of other enterprises all run by The Rath bun Company, to say nothing of the numerous agencies the Company has at Napanee, Belleville, Kingston and other places. This firm floats their logs down the Napa- nee, Salmon. Moira, and Trent rivers from the interior of the country for many miles, in some cases taking two and three seasons to reach the bay from the time the>' arc rolled into the river near where they are cut. Leaving Deseronto we sail east up the Napanee River seven miles we reach Napanee, the county town of the united counties of Lennox and Addington. The main line of the Grand Trunk Railway runs through the town and connects with the Great Western division of the same line at Hamilton at the head of lake Ontario for Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls and Buffalo, N. Y, at the west and Montreal and Rouse's Point N. Y. at the east, connecting with the Deleware & Hudson Cana\ (Companies Railway for Albany and New York points, jiJ«o with the Central Vermont Railroad at St. John's. Que., for all points in New Engl?nd. We also have the Bay of Quinte Railroad running up the Napanee Valley as far as Varker, thence running y f. y. y 7. ^ BAY OK OUINTE. 87 North-west connecting with the Ontario division of the Canada Pacific Railroad at Tweed for points east and west. Thus shippers have the choice of the two great Trunk lines to all points in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and all the Western States. Returning to the bay by the Napanee river, we learc Dcseronto and steer down the nine mile reach for Picton Hay, between the high hills of Prince Edward and Adolphustown. Reaching Thompsons Point we turn to the south-cast three miles for Glenora, which is locat- ed on the south shore of the Bay at the base of the mountain ; tying our vessel up at the wharf, we began ascending the mountain by the road, which is a rocky one winding around the mountain some distance, at last the summit is gained and here we gaze on one of the many wonders of Canada, a beautiful sheet of water called "Lake on the Mountain." It is said that in the centre of this lake that bottom has never yet been found. The land around this sheet of water is much lower than the surface excepting around its banks which are elevat- ed. Our scientific men tell us that this lake must be fed by a subterranean passage from Lake Erie some two hundred miles west, as one feature is noticeable about this Lake on the Mountain that when there is a severe storm on Lake Eric its waters soon become turbid. The waters of this lake is easily disturbed and its waves come dashing up on the shores even when the wind is not blowing more than a good stiff breeze. This lake gives a never failing supply of water power to the mills at the base of the mountain. Stand- II 90 A SAILOR HOV'S EXPERIEXCE. mm wagons and other stock about three hundred dollars, so using what ready cash I had on hand in repairing the potash works I got to work in November. I succeeded in making up enough Potash to made a shipment to Montreal and the next morning intended to ship it, but before daylight my works caught fire and by the time I got over to the factory it was in ashes. As the firemen stood there with me looking and trying to .say a consol- ing word to me I told them that as my business was ashes I ought to be satisfied now as it was all ashes. With winter setting in and no funds to rebuild with except the five hundred dollars that I expected to get as insurance it was not very encouraging, but as my motto was, "Victory or Death" I .soon decided to rebuild the works. My neighbors came to my assistance with labor and some means, for which they agreed to wait on me, I started with renewed courage and before night 1 had a gang of men in the woods getting out timber, and in ten days from the time of the fire I was in my new building and to work again. The market in the meantime had advanced its price for potash, so I ran the factory night and day, shipping my potash to Montreal and Livcroool thus realizing a good price for it, while my leached ashes I shipped to New York by boat, selling them at the dock there. In three years I had made enough to pay for the factory, made good my loss by fire and had a tidy little sum be- sides purchasing a number of adjoining town lots that my incr^as'ng business required. A TRIP TO THE OLD COUNTRY 9» Chapter XVI.— A TRIP TO THE OLD COUNTRY. Having' worked soinewhat hard for the past six years, 1 decided in the spring to take a trip to the old country and sec my mother. Leaving Napanee early ir» April I took the Grand Trunk Railway to Kingston, then the boat for Cape Vincent where I boarded a Rome, Watcrtown and Ogdensburg train for Rome thence via the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad for New York city. Having previously engaged a cabin passage on the Anchor Line Steamer F'urnessia for Lon- don via Glasgow ; but, finding on arriving at New York that the Company had another steamer leaving the same day for London direct, I exchanged my ticket for the London steamer leaving New York at 5 p. m. the same day. Steaming down New York bay out through the nar- rows and around Sandy Hook we are out into the At- lantic before dark steaming eastward for the Old Coun- try in company with several other ocean steamers which left New York on the same tide. The next morning we were out to sea with nothing in sight except one of tl i steamers that left New York with us, which kept our company for four days after which we lost sight of her until the morning of the teiitli day she again heaved in sight as we approach the entrance of the Knglish Chan- nel. The trip across the "Herring I'ond" was all that could be desired as the weather most of the time was clear and the wind and sea moderate ; about nine o'clock in the morning of the tenth day we are passing the sig- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1 1.0 I.I 1.25 1 "- '" m ■■ m 1 2.0 12.5 ilM 2.2 1.8 1.4 1.6 <^ 'W /}. A >^ vy ur ship to see that there was no sick- ness on board ; this v/oi'k took some time as our ship had over 1 100 cabin and steerage passengers ; after pass- ing medical examination and our baggage having been overhauled, the cabin passengers were allowed to land that evening, but as so much time had been taken up in examining the baggage, when mother and I landed we found that we were too late to take the evening train ; thus, causing us to remiin over in New York until the following evening. Returning home by the N. Y. C. and R. W. & O. Ry., via Cape Vincent we arrived at home on the 36th. May well pleased with my trip and much improved in health, having made the round trip in six week.s. In ;i:! 98 A Sailor boy's experience. the course of a few days I got settled down to business again which I found on my return not in a very flourish- ing condition on account of the general depression of business all over the Dominion that usually preceeds a general election which was shortly to come off for the Dominion Parliament in which the late Premier "The Right Hon. Sir John A. MacDonald, G. C B." was nomi- nated at the town of Napanee to represent the county of Lennox ; (Napanee being the county seat,) the Premier was elected by a small majority ; but, his election for Lennox was afterwards protested, at the trial the Premier resigned and took his seat for Carleton, as his party at that election run him for both seats, and as a matter of fact he had to resign one. Chapter,— XV 11. UPS AND DOWNS OF A BUSINESS LIFE. Up to this time my potash factory had proved a paying business, but, as business in general had entered into a serious depression it was with great difficulty that I eould run my factory and make "both ends meet" for the following year, and to use the old adage "The bottom foil out of business'", it was then I had the privilege of testing some of my would be friends as my finances be- came low^ my credit seemed to melt away with my cash and what was the best step to take for the time being, I was at a loss to know, I therefore decided to shut down my potash factory and take a trip to the New England States and try and sell my Unleached Ashes to the farmers. I can assure you I found this a very up-hill undertaking and somewhat expensive as I often fell into HOME. 99 business flourish- ssion of :ceeds a f for the er "The IS nomi- )unty of Premier :tion for Premier party at latter of IFE. •roved a entered ilty that leet" for bottom /ilege of ices be- nycash being, I it down -ngland to the ' up-hill fell into the hands of "Sharks" who bled me for all I was worth, of course, for a number of years previous to this I had been shipping some Unleached Ashes, but, as my trade in this line only amounted to about fifty cars per annum there was not enough in it to expend a large amount in advertising and travelling about ; as the reader can readily understand that the margin on this class of mer- chandise is very light, in fact, I doubt if there is any merchandise, except coal, that is handled on as small a margin per ton, as Unleached Ashes wi* n taking into account that they are all paid for as '^JoUected and the collecting of them is a cash outlay, and in fact the whole business from first to last is a cash trans iction, while, on the other hand we often have to carry them a number of months before a market is found for them ; thus it will be seen that the success of the business depends very largely in placing your goods direct with consumers in large quantities. Before closing this chapter I will say that my busi- ness at present in exporting Unleached Ashes now ex- tends to Portland, Me., in the east, Chicago, 111., in the west, and Florida in the south, say nothing as to the ground we cover in Ontario collecting and storing so that I can safely say my business has given general satisfac- tion to my numerous customers. \--\a ■''• 'I : I . it] U : Chapter.— XV I II. A TRIP TO FLORIDA. Having a considerable trade in Florida I decided a few >ears ago to take a trip to the "Land of Flowers". I made this trip in the winter calling at New York en route to settle up some business there. Purchasing a ticket for Orlando, Florida and return, via Atlantic Coast Line all rail from New York, (my ticket being about three yards long.) The reader will understand that the above line is composed of a number of Lines which run through trains from New York, (Jersey City) to Jackson- ville, Fla; starting from Jersey City about 7 a.m. via Newark and Bound Brook, N.J. we rush along, our train passing a number of very pretty villages, towns and country residences between Jersey City and Philadelphia the dwellings are mostly modern design and painted in handsome colors ; on page 95 we give a cut of a Sailors Home situated not far from Philadelphia, Pa, and the reader can ea^^ily see by the nice lawn and grounds around this home that it is indeed a cosy place and is a fair specimen of the numerous dwellings to be seen along this route. A TRIP TO FLORIDA. lOl Passing Philadelphia by the same Line we are soon across the state of Pennsylvania into the state of Delaware this being the second smallest State in the Union. We soon cro^s it into the state of Maryland cn>ssing the mouth of the Susquehanna River, where it empties into the waters of Chesapeake Bay, a little further south we cross Bush and Gunpowder rivers and in a short time our train is pulling into the beautiful city of Baltimore the metropolis of Maryland, situated on the Patapsco River. At Baltimore those passengers not being fortunate to secure a sleeper has to change cars ; however, we do not have to wait long before we are off again for Washington D. C, here we change again for a through train made up for Jacksonville, Florida. From, Washington we con- tinue our journey south crossing the Potomac River into Virginia running down along its banks most of the time. At Quantico this branch of the Pennsylvania Ry. system ends and we are now two hundred and sixty two miles south of New York. Our train receives a new crew from here to Richmond, Virginia eighty two miles which is run over the Richmond, Frederhcksburgh and Peters- burgh Ry. From Quantico south the train hands are most all colored people, and one annoyance to this route to through passengers not having secured a sleeper, is the constant change of conductors, and at each change the passengers are aroused up for their ticket, which of course, is very annoying especially through the night when a person is tired and trying to catch a few mo- ments sleep as the train rolls on. From Richmond to Petersburgh we run over the Richmond and Petersburgh Ry. a distance of twenty 102 A SAILOR boy's EXPERIENCE. three miles, and during this run a new conductor arouses us up for another coupon off the original three yard ticket. Our next run is over the Wilmington and Wel- don Ry. to Wilmington, North Carolina, two hundred and ten miles ; from here we take the Wilmington, Columbia and Augusta Ry. to Florence, South Carolina, and from Florence to Charleston, S. C. 102 miles which is made over the North Eastern Railway. Leaving Charleston via the Charleston and Savannah Ry. the run to Savannah, Georgia, is one hundred and two miles ; from there we run over the Savannah, Florida and Western Ry. Leaving the coast we branch off to the south west to Waycross, Ga, ninety six miles, pass- ing through considerable Georgia Pine ; here the Jack- sonville branch of this road takes a turn to the south-east seventy six miles to Jacksonville, FLi. Along this line of railroad, we pass numerous saw-mills which appear to be of a portable character and the impression that I got from what I saw from the car window was, that the mills are moved to the lumber, instead of the lumber be- ing moved to the mills as is the custom in Canada, and no doubt I am correct, as the nature of the soil would make drawing logs on wheels, any great distance, an expensive operation. In addition to the lumber business I noticed a number of resin works, which is carried on similar to our mode of making ...aple sugar, the trees being boxed and the gum collected and boiled down suitable for market, the work being performed largely by colored people. After resting a few hours in Jacksonville, I took the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key- West Ry. for Orlando, A TRIP TO FLORIDA. 103 South Florida, passing en route a number of orange groves loaded with luscious fruit, forming a very pictures* que scene. The soil along this line of railroad is chiefly sand, and it appears that all the work necessary to build a railroad is to "down" the Georgia pines, grub out the roots, make a ditch on each side and lay the ties and rails ; the road has very good stations at most of the towns of any size, some of them indeed are quite hand- some. Orlando has a population of about 6,000, is a pretty town and the county seat of Orange county. From what I saw of it and the people, I .l.ould think it a very desirable place to live in on account of its elevation, it being situated about mid"- ay between the Gulf of Mexico on the west, and the * Atlantic Ocuan on the eal^ ; .t is also surrounded by numeroiis lakes. The i 'habitants claim that while it is protected from frosts in the winter it is cool in the summer on accouut of the winds which blow from the Gulf and Ocean. Returning north by the same route I stopped off at San- ford, and visited several orange groves in the vicinity of Twin Lakes, during my stay of two days. In the north we think we eat some fine oranges which are said be im- ported from Florida, but you want to be in a grove and sample them for yourself direct from the trees if you want something that is delicious. So far as my observation went the land around this section was chiefly sand and where not cleared off was grown up with Georgia pines, which do not grow very large. I was informed that a bearing orange grove was the result of a great amount of 104 ..' A SAILOR BOYS EXPERIENCE. 1>M KiV w: M labor in clearing off the land, planting trees and a liberal use of fertilizers ; in many groves Unleached Ashes are used with valuable results. My next stop was at DeLand, the county seat of Volusia county, where I put up at a hotel situated in the midst of an orange grove, and what I saw in my short visit at this place I should judge it was a prosperous town exporting a large quantity of oranges and other Florida fruits ; continuing my journey north I next pul- ed up in Palatka from which point considerable fruit is handled and a good deal of other commercial busin-ess carried on. Palatka is at the head of navigation on the St. Johns River for sailing vessels ; several lines of steam- ers make daily trips from here to Jacksonville and other points on this and adjoining streams. Returning to Jacksonville, the metropolis of the State, I spent a few days arranging some business, when I start again for South Florida, by the way of the Florida Ry. and Navigation Go's. Line. Leaving Jacksonville we strike off to the west to Baldwin Junction; where the line takes a turn South and runs parallel with the Jack- sonville, Tampa & Key-West Ry. about twenty miles to the west. Passing Waldo on the Cedar Key branch we run out to the town of Gainsville, the county seat of Alachua County, from here I took the Florida South- ern Railway for Leesburgh, which is situated at the west end of Lake Harris in Lake County. My intentions were to remain over night here, but a^ter inquiring of some parties, with whom I had been transacting some business, as to the best hotel in the place, he told me the hotels were not run on a very good jcale, but he directed A tRiP to FLORIDA 105 nie to the best one in the town. Being tired and some- what hungry I ordered supper and on sitting down to the table it became a question as to who was going to get th^ larger share of the victuals, (such as it was,) myself or the cockroaches that were running over the food ; I laid down my krtife and fork and watched them play a game of pullaway after they had satisfied their inner man, until I heard the whistle of a train in the distance so paying my bill I boarded the train for Tavares, en routeto which place the train runs along the north shore of the beautiful Lake Harris. On my ar- rival there I found that the town some time previous had been swept almost out of existence by fire, and the Railroad ticket office for the time being was carried on in a box car. Here the hotel porter conducted me to a beautiful hotel where I had comfortable quarters. I could look out of my window on the waters of the beautiful Lake Eustis. The next day I left for Eustis town situat- ed on a Lake of the same name on the Line of the Florida and Southern \ EXPORTED BY RAIL ON SHORT NOTICE BY e^J^gli^;^ Napanee, Ontarib^ Canada. I would respectfully call your attention to my "Bea- ver Brand" Canada, Unleachedf. Hard wood Ashes, which contain from 70 to 8b per cent of ACTUAL PLANT FOOD in the form of Potash, Phos. Acid, Vegetiable Lime, Iron, Soda, Silicia, etc . They are thoroughly sifted, which re- ' moves charcoal and other debris with which ordinary ashes are filled, and being gathered under rqy personal supervision and stored in good buildings awaiting ship- ment, I can positively guarantee them free from 'adul- teration" and pure unleached, which makes them the cheapest and best general fertilizer in use, and for gras^i lands they are unequalled. As a lawn dressing they are particularly desirable, being odorless and easily applied* and their effects are noticeable for years- I can furnish car lots in bulk or barrels ; and small lots in barrels only. Price list and descriptive pamphlet free on application. Address, Chas. Stevens, Drawer 621, Napanee, Ont, Can. »' ff ® ;e by (^ ada. "Bea- which FOOD , Iron, ch re- linary rsonal ship- adul- m the grass y are plied» 5mall phlet Can.