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About North Georgia times. (Spring Place, Ga.) 1879-1891 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 1890)
NORTH GEORGIA TIMES C. N. KING. I Proprietor S. B. OAKTKR, i A SAILOR’S WORK. The Daily Routine During a Merchantman’s Voyage. Jack Tar Must Be Up Early and Ready for Anything. The mate of a square-rigged mer¬ chantman thus descri bed the life of an able-bodied seaman on a loug voyage: A sailor may be said to begiu his day's work with tho “morning watch” at 4 o’clock, when he must turn out of his narrow bunk in the “fo’castle" and tumble up on deck prepared to scrub and wash down decks, which arc al ways more or less badly stained with salt water and iron rust. Plenty of water for cleaning purposes is always near at hand, and with the aid of buck¬ ets and ordinary brooms, brushes, or “squegees" Jack usually succeeds in making thiugs tolerably clean. But if tho ship is coming into port and this Captain wishes tho decks to look particularly white, Jack must go down on his hands and knees and scour the decks with all the vigor of a char¬ woman with certain articles called “holystones." Now, holystones are not treasured fragments of some classi¬ cal shrine, but common-looking pieces of sandstone about tho sizo of a brick, and it is not too much to say that poe try abandons tho nautical mind when the holystoning process becomes neces¬ sary. The operation is always long and laborious, and tho only respite Jack has from this odious task i3 in polishing tarnished brass-work or being ordered aloft to attend to some troublesomo sail or bit of running gear. Consequently, by 8 o’clock, when he is relieved by tho “focenoon watch” he has had suffi¬ cient exercise to get up an appetite for breakfast sueh as is rarely equalled or surpassed by anything human. This meal, year in and out, consists of a liberal supply of a hot black beverage called coffee, which is stewed to distraction, and sweetened, if at all, with molasses. Then there is ship’s bread, porridge, or “burgoo," and a species of hash called “lobscouse, ” which nobody but a hungry sailor was ever known to successfully digest. Jack then fills his pipe, spins yarns, or returns to his uuambrosial bunk for a nap, while his shipmates, the “fore¬ noon watch,” are busy making things snug on deck and aloft. Indeed, it would bo difficult to say what the ‘•forenoon watch’’ will not find' to do, for much depends upon the state of the weather. But yards must be constantly trimmed, according to the direction of tho wind, saih furled, and running gear looked after, and in addition to a seaman’s regular duties of setting and shortening sail, thero is always plenty of sail-mending, rope-splicing, spar¬ scraping, oiling, varnishing and paint¬ ing to do, to say nothing of tho dirty work of tarring the standing rigging and ropes occasionally. Then every man must take his turn or “trick’’ at the wheel, which is always a mono¬ tonous and extremely dangerous duty in bad weather. At 11.30 the men who composed the “morning watch’’ are called to a dinner of hot pea soup, boiled pork and a baneful pioce of meat that no argument xyill ever convince Jack i3 anything but army mule or horso which lias died a natural death. “Salt horse” is thorc fore, the name bestowed by him on this tough-pickled substance, and ho thinks himself lucky when it is followed by plumduff or “stickjaw pudding.” This sumptuous repast is then washed down With copious draughts of coffee, and after filling and smoking the inevitable pipe once more Jack feels invigorated and happy, and goes on deck as ono of the “afternoon watch,” which relieves the “forenoon watch” at 12 o’clock. The “afternoon watch,” wo will sup¬ pose, for brevity’s sake, is employed on deck with duties of tho same nature as • engaged in tho “forenoon watch,” and at 4 o’clock this watch is again changed. So you see that, generally speaking, the men have four hours on dpty and four hours off. But if this took place with undeviating regularif it is evident that one set of men would always bo on duty during the best part ■of tho night—an arrangement that ■would be manifestly unfair. In order, ■therefore, that one watch should not ■have the long night’s duty thero are fwlint we sailors call tho “dogwatches.” i These watches are the hours between 4 SPRING PLACE. GA.. THURSDAY. MAY •>•.>, 1S!)0. o’clock in the afternoon and 8 o'clock in the evening. The “afternoon watch" accordingly go below at 4 o’clock and come on deck at G, when they have two hours’ dog watch. At 8 they go below again, and thus by means of these dog watches the crew of a ship get alternate nights of duty on deck. Jack livos on a floating house of busi¬ ness, which is continually carrying him into unexpected labors. However, in moderate weather, everything is usually made snug aloft between (land 8o’clock in the evening, when Jack’s work is finished for the day. IIo may then smoko his pipe, and sing his favorite song or “shanty” to his heart’s content. But if during tho next few hours, or in the course of the night, tho barometer goes down and the weather looks omin¬ ous of a gale to windward, ho has to turn out of his snug corner in tho fore¬ castle nt a moment’s notice, when lie hears the boatswain shout: “All hands shorten saitl” Now, this is one of tho worst features of Jack's life, for nine chances out of ten it is blowing grent guns when he gropes his way up on deck and crawls up the shrouls, and you can form no idea of the perilous npomentum of a vessel’s pitch until you have been on her upper yards or jib boom trying to reef or furl sails in a heavy sea. That accidents are not more frequent is probably owing to a sailor’s blind luck or the efforts of tlio good little cherub that is perched up aloft. . When a sailor has performed his task aloft on a “dirly night,’’ the first thing he thinks of is ardent spirits, and the crew then sing tho whiskey “shanty." One man usually starts the song ns they come down the shrouds, and tlio rest smack their lips by way of a hint to the Captain, and the line “I Drink Whisky When I Can" is sure to be given with such an emphasis os to soften the heart cf the gruffest old sea captain. —New York Times. Famous Amazons of Dahomey. The Republic of France Is at witli the King of Dahomey, and a French newspaper published the infor¬ mation that a battle had been fought,in which eight combatants were killed and many wounded. Tho interesting fact in the dispatch lay in tho last lines: “Among the dead were found some of the female warriors of the Kiug of Da¬ homey.” IVho are theso Amazons? About one-fourth of tlio feraalos are said to be married to the fetish, many even before their birth, and the re¬ mainder arc entirely at the disposal of the King. The most favored aro select¬ ed as his own wives, or enlisted into [the regiments of Amazons, and then the chief men arc liberally sup¬ plied. The Amazons form the fbwer of the army. The/ are marshaled into regi¬ ments, each with its distinctive uniform and badges, and they take the post of honor on the flanks of tho battle line. Their number has been variously esti¬ mated at from ono to six thousand. Their weapons are blunderbusses, flat muskets and bows and arrows. They are in part recruited in a remarkable manner. If a wJman in Dahomey has an acrid temper, or if her husbaad wants to got rid of her, he honors him¬ self by presenting her to the King, who, if she has the requisite physical qualifi¬ cations, turns lier over to his army offi¬ cers to be drilled as an Amazon. It is said that at the death of tb King a horrid scene ensues. The wives, after the most extravagant demonstra¬ tions of grief, attack and murder each other, aud remain in an uproar until order is restored by the new sovereign. —Philadelphia Press. She Sweetly Requested. There were seven men standing on tho rear platform of a Gratiot avenue car, and every one of them was smok¬ ing, when a woman signalled the con¬ ductor to stop, He held the door open, but she stood and surveyed tho crowd for a moment, and as no one moved she Rwcotly requested: “Conductor, won’t you please knock out ono side of the car, so that I can get out without disturbing those gen *’• non ?”—Detroit Free Press. Quite Tasteful. “O Sophyl I hear you kissed Mr. Rondo, tho poet, in tho conservator last night.” “Um-m-ml” “Tell me. What was it like!’’ “Well, ho has a very pronounced literary taste."— Pud. STUDENT DUELS A Pecular Feature of Leading German Universities. “Friendly” Contests Which OF ten Result in Bloodshed. The duels I have just witnessed, says a Berlin letter to the Hartford (Conu.) Courcmt, were student affairs and char¬ acterized by the features common, to suchscenes. I went as the guest of a German whose department at tho uui versity was theology; this shows that no thought of the mensur (duel) being objectionable enters tho most orthodox mind. At an early hour of the morn¬ ing we went to a distant part of the city, to a building which stood in the rear of a yard, the front of which was occupied by a beer saloon. Tho room was low-studded, dirty and bare of fur¬ niture, as well as insufficiently heated by a stove; long boxes containing the dueling outfits stood along the walls, and on the window seats were spread tho operating tools of tho sur¬ geons; a passage led into a back room fitted up with tables as a drinking place, and a waiter constantly circulated between the two in order to fill the orders for beer and cognac. The forty or fifty ben present were nearly all smoking and the air was opaque and malodorus with the weed. On my ar¬ rival my German friend introduced me to tho “second" of his club, who bade me welcome, and then paid no more at¬ tention to my presence. I should men¬ tion that this was not a corps duel, but a so-called Bursehcnschaft contest. The corps is the swellcst club or association in student life, aad as its members wear distinctive colors the duels between the corps aro more picturesque; but in all other respects the contosts of the other organizations do not differ. The sight of the blood, stained breast protectors thrown in the middle of the , floor between chalk lines’and the Tiospital-liko smell that pervaded the place, did not add particularly to the festivity of the hour. Soon came the arraying of the contest¬ ants, a long, tedious procos; after each principal had stripped bare to the waist and donned a linen dueling shirt, no end of bandages wero wound about his neck and arm, the breastplate, not uuliko those worn by our base ball catchers, was adjusted, iron goggles were put over the eyes, aad a great box ing-glove on the right hand, so that it was a wonder how the sword hilt could be grasped at all. When the right arm is thus prepared it is so helpless that it has to be put in position high above the bend by a man who stands be3ido tho duelist for that purpose, and when¬ ever “halt” is called by the seconds, the arm is caught and held ’ .by these same men, the duelist himself be¬ ing as powerless as a mediteval knight in armor when off his horso. Tho ap¬ pearance of tho contestants when fully equipped is grotesqus and clumsy. The seconds area prominent and picturesque feature; thoy stand diagonally to tho duelists, padded also about neck and body, though to a less degree, wearing caps like those of American jockeys and with swords which they cross on high between the principals and remove when they give the order to fight. Still an¬ other man, the time-keeper and ref¬ eree, stands hard by with pencil, note book aad watch in readiness, so that in all there is a little group of seven men in the middle of tho room, the number being swelled inter mittingly to eight, when the duel is advanced, by tho doctor who coolly ex¬ amines the wounds of the fighters to see that none are serious enough for a cessation of hostilities. Ono hundred and twenty quarter-minute rounds are fought, which gives half an hour of actual fighting, though sometimes this is shortened to fifteen minutes. Of tho three contests I witnessed, tho first voas entirely bloodless, one of the schlagers (duelists) alone receiving a tiny eciatch on the cheek, which injury was received with groans of derision or disgust from the onlookers; they evidently thirsted for gore. When number one was over, my theological friend, apparently feeling that an apology was in order for the lack of excitement, assured me that the next would be more beautiful (schoner) and that I would “see blood.’’ Thus cheered I waited expectantly. The promise was fulfilled. Before number two was half fought both principals were a sickening sight, and blood was pretty much all over the place. If the mother of either of these young men had been present she would have been extremely uncom¬ fortable. As each round was called they stood up doggedly and cut away with their keen rapiers long after one would have thought the weakness from loss of blood would have made continuation impossible. It was an exhibition of bull-dog courage that had its heroic side. Before the time was up the surgeon put a stop to the fight, deciding that the worst punished of the two had had enough. Then en¬ sued the dressing of the wounds, one of the most interesting features of the dap. The wounded called for cigar¬ ettes or cigars, and calmly smoked while the needle and knife did their work and the scissors made bare patches in the hair of their heads. Mean while another couple wero called auf dcr Mensur (to the combat, literally, to the line), This third bout was fought to the finish, but was no whit behind the other in the amount of blood spilt and hair cut oil; a kck of the latter fluttered through the air and was picked up by the doc¬ tor and put oil his operating table with the r< mark that he would give it to the young man’s sweetheart, which, by the way, is customary. At the end of each duel, when the goggles were pulled off, the fighters shook hands and grinned at each other in the most friendly fashion; the groggy nature of the smile may be imagined, but it was pleasant to sec as a sign that no bad blood remained,— and much less good blood, as well. Time to Interfere. Sam Bolus was a great, hulking six footer. He had threatened Dick Hy ans, who was half his size, so often iliat ho felt tho time had come to sub¬ stitute acts instead of words, Dick would persist in walking across Sam’s meadow iastcad of keeping to the king’s highway. Ono day Sam’s palienco gavo out, and seoing a couple of his neighbors watclktng him, he chased Hick down the road until he caught him. Then the trouble, bagau. Dick was cornered and had but ono thing to do, and he did that so effectually that in a twinkling lie had big Sam on his back, while ho sat astrido on his chest and used nature’s weapons with might and main. Sam wriggled and twisted, but found he couldn’t help liimslf, while tho laughter of tho bystanders did not add to his comfort by any means. Finally lie roared in desperation: “AVlry don’t you part us? Don’t you seo we’re killing each ot.Jjpr. ?” Wonderful Hydraulic Machinery. What is thought to bo one of the mo9t interesting as well as marvellous constructions yet devised in the way of hydraulic machinery, has been for a while past in operation in the rolling mill at Wheatland, Penn. Its purpose is the rolling of pipe iron, and this it accomplishes in a mantJbr and with a degree of success hitherto unattained. In practice, huge slabs of iron, weigh¬ ing hundreds of pounds, are pulled from the furnace, glowing at white heat, and placed on a long iron bed, which moves forward, upward, down^ ward and sidewise, the mass being pushed through rolls, back again, and stopping only when it has become re¬ duced to the proper size in the shape of pipe iron. The whole operation re¬ quires tho atteution of but one or two employees, who control the machinery by a few simple levers, tho saving of labor being thus very great. A Reptilian Fighter. Tho gigantic Ccratopsidoe, whost skulls Prof. O. C. Marsh has been ex¬ amining, appear to have been not the least important of the creatures that lived in North America before the bison. Remains of the90 reptiles have been found over a distance of nearly 800 miles in the upper Cretaceous de¬ posits along tho eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. In the best known genus of tho family, the skuli, exceed¬ ing in size that of every land animal hitherto known, must have reached a length of more than eight feet. It was wedge-shaped, and had a remarkable and most formidable armature, including a sharp-cutting beak in front, a strong horn on tho nose, a pair of immense pointed horns on top of tho head and a row of sharp projections around the back of th® head. All wero protected by a horny covering of great strength. Vol. X. New Series. NO. lti. SCIENTIFIC SCRAPS. I Two French dentists extract teeth without paiti by spraying the external ear with ether. An instrument lias been inveute 1 in Prussia by means of which an exact dif¬ ferential diagnosis of diseases of the lungt will bo possible. The inventor is Dr. Janiczewski. *' v *i An electric vegetable is said to have been discovered in India, which has the power of affecting the magnetic needle at a distance of twenty feet when the weather is clear and dry. With the view of testing the rapidity of electric welding, twenty pieces of one-inch common round iron bars with rough ends were lcccutly welded to¬ gether by two men in thirteen minutes. It is claimed that wall papor can bo made in such a way that the passage of low-tensions electric currents will heat it moderately warm to the toucli and diffuse throughout the room an agreea¬ ble temperature. A further step toward the artificial production of the diamond has been made by passing an electric current through carbon electrodes in u cell con¬ taining fine white saud and electrodes, the whoio being under considerable) pressure. The application of hydraulic power to tho manufacture of steel seamless boats is one of the latest things in Esg land. These boats are thought to be in every particular superior to those made of wood, and can bo made at about tho same cost. It is now proposed that London shall dig the deepest hole. Thu pit would have nn elevator and be lighted by electricity, and in each stratum would he excavated a museum for exhibiting specimens of tho minerals, fossils, etc., afforded by it. The conclusions reached by modern meteorologists aro that Cyclopes of great intensity aro ascending spiral whirls of wind having a rotary motion in a direction in the Northern hemi¬ sphere opposite to the movement of the hands of a watch. The yield of the trout spawn in tho fish-breeding establishments nt Orval, Belgium, is stated to linvo been ex¬ ceedingly good this year. Of tho yield 25,000 eggs wero sent to this country in exchange for a like number of Cali - fornia trout eggs. Inquiry made in France in ordor to carry out tho new law giving certain advantages to fathers of more than seven children has elicited, among other things, the fact that there aro 2,000,000 households in which there has been no child. Experiments recently made in Franca with a view to discovering the vitality of trichine show that even when ex¬ posed to a temperature of 20 degrees to 25 degrees below zero for about two hours the little animals become as lively as ever on a return to normal tempera¬ ture. Professor Poo of Bridgeport, Conn., has drowned and res imitated a pet rab¬ bit eleven times, and suffocated it also with tho fumes of burning charcoal and restored it to life. Tho professor uses a pair of artificial lungs, Artificial respirations produce muscular contrac¬ tion and expansion, forcing oxygen into Uho lungs and drawing out the deadly? gases, Modern chemistry shows that the medical lore of the ancient herbalists had a much sounder basis than had been imagined. In 1597 water cresses were recommenced for the euro of scurvy and scrofula, Chemists now say that tho cress contains sulphur, phosphorus, iodine and iron — sub¬ stances that are known to be actual antidotes to scrofula. The World’s Sheep and Wool. It is roughly estimated that the world contains at least half a billion sheep— possibly over 600,0o0,000—producing about two billion pounds of wool. Tho world’s crop of wool can only be guessed, but it is certain that the hum¬ ble sheep contributes at least |3J0,000 000 annually, in wool, to tho wealth of mankind. Our own wool crop, great¬ est in 1884, when it was estimated at 808,000,000 pounds, was jn 1888 2G5, 000,000 pounds. Nearly half tho wool wa wear is of foreign growth, the figures of 1887 being a crop of 269, 000,000 pounds, an import^ of 114,000, 000 pounds, and a content) of 133,000, 000 pounds wool in imported goods.— '4 Monthly. The Strength of the Hills is His. The Strength of the Hills, inexorable potves! What might more stern than their granite breasts ? Sky-ward in their pride the mountains tower, Tossing pine-plumes on their stately crests Gray r.lifTs gleam out from the chusn-.s where Sudden the hill-tops were wrenched apart, Leaving the rock in its sternness bare, Strong and silent, the mountain's heart, Above their purple grandeur, lie Whose strength is theirs, unbounded free, Sits in resistless majesty. Dear heart! Thy grief Jehovah wills, His is the awful strength of hills. The Strength of the Ilills, beneficent power! Cradling the light on their tender breasts, Gently as mother-germs cradle the tlower, Soft ly as dew on the violet rests. Hose-lights transfigure the mountains where Noiseless the cloud-drifts above them part, Haining the sun on their foreheads bare, Light and love to the mountain’s heart! Throughout their blossomed beauty, Ho Whose strength is theirs, protecting, free, Whispers his boundless sympathy.— O Friend, a Father reigns above, l'he strength of the hills is rest, is love. —Jessie 1\ O'Domicil, in Housewife. HUMOROUS. Railroad corporations aro reticent— they keep their own counsel. Teacher—Which teeth doo .nan get last? Johnny Knowitall—Tho false one3, of course. “You make mo tired," said the wheel to the wheelwright, as he uafliuchingly hammered away. A tableware trust is to bo formed. Trust tlio servant girl to break it—the tableware, we mean. Sometimes the office seeks the min, but generally the man knows when the office is on his track. Do not regard with suspicion tho man who adopts an alias. It is a proper ambition in any oho to dc3iro to make a name for himself. Sumway (with newspaper in his hand)—Here are some paragraphs head¬ ed “Polico Intelligence.” Gazzam—I didn’t know the/ had any. Minister (to convict)—My good min. I’m very sorry to find you hero in prison. Convict 1111—Yes, sir; but you ain’t half so sorry a3 I am. I’m sure there’s little I would give for The man who from his cares would fly. For When you have nothing left to live for, You still have something less to die for. Mamma to Maud—Your tastes are really becoming quite too expensive, my child. Remember that fine feathers do not always mako fine birds. Maud— No,j mamma; but you’ll admit they make fine bonnets. “No use," said an impecunious debt¬ or to an importunate creditor, “you can’t get blood out of a turnip.” “I know that," responded the creditor,] “but unless I get this money, I’ll have gore from a beat.’’ ■M Michigan produces a larger number of shingle) than any other stato in the Union. In spite of this fact it is very doubtful if tho small boy of Michigan is any more obedient than tho small boy in any other state. Tho intelligence of animals became one of the subjects of discussion at a little dinner party. An enthusiastia advocate of the dog was asked: “Do you mean to tell us that thero are some dogs with more sense than their masters can boast of?” “Certainly; I have one.” A Folicemnti’s Life. There is an opinion very commonly held that the members of the police force have, as the saying is, a “regular picnic.” To my mind nothing could be further from the truth. To those who are thoroughly acquainted with the duties and tho lifo of a policeman it is perfectly plain that those public servants earn every dollar they receive from tho city treasury. I was riding on a Third avenue “dummy” train tho other day, when I saw one member o» the force whose lot, at least, was not enviable. He looked like a new re. cruit, too, but he boro himself like a hero. IIs certainly possessed some of tho spirit which enabled tho esn martyrs to»faco the rack and the wild boasts of the Colosseum with a smile.' It was, if I remember rightly, at Fiftj* idxth street or thereabouts. Tho officer was with one arm supporting and load-i ing an intoxicated woman, while on-the other arm ho carried an tlio baby was crying and a Jgowd of ur¬ chins at tho officer’s heels V * aud laughing. Ifelt sorry fd’ow .—Brooklyn Gilt >•
