IIBBnilHWiniHHBIWHiHWBWUfflniWBEn 
 
 ^Uk— T 
 
 T&VNKEE-SWANSON 
 
 CHAPTERS FROM A LIFE 
 AT SEA 
 
 A.W. NELSON - 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS ONE OF 
 A COLLECTION MADE BY 
 
 BENNO LOEWY 
 
 1854-1915 
 
 AND BEQUEATHED TO 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 G 540.N41 
 
 Yankee Swanson; chapters from a life at s 
 
 3 1924 019 180 706 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924019180706 
 
YANKEE SW ANSON 
 
CAPTAIN A. W, NELSON. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 CHAPTERS FROM 
 A LIFE AT SEA 
 
 BY 
 
 CAPTAIN A. W. NELSON 
 
 view l^otft 
 
 STURGIS & WALTON 
 
 COMPANY 
 
 1913 
 
Copyright, 1013 
 By STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY 
 Set up and Electrotyped, Fublisbed, September, IBIS 
 
TO MY DAUGHTER 
 ELNA IRENE NELSON BISCHOFF 
 
 IN MEMORY OF HER CHILDHOOD 
 DAYS-SO VERY HAPPY AND 
 DEAR TO US BOTH-I IN- 
 SCRIBE THIS BOOK 
 which will recall to her and to me 
 the times when, at home in the inter- 
 vals of long cruises, my chief amuse- 
 ment consisted in telling her stories, 
 as she sat on my knee, of my ad- 
 ventures at sea, especially those of my 
 first voyage, wherein the experiences 
 of Yankee Swanson, the cook. Jack 
 Le Fevre, and others called forth 
 terror, laughter, or tes^rs as her ten- 
 der heart and vivid imagination made 
 her live through all that I related. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 IN the following pages I have endeavored to give the 
 reader a correct idea of sea life such as I myself ex- 
 perienced thirty-five years ago. The sort of life which 
 I have tried to portray will in a few years be a thing of 
 the past; in fact, even now sailing vessels are scarce, and 
 with the completion of the Panama Canal it is generally 
 conceded that they will be doomed to the scrap-heap, and 
 that with them will also disappear such conditions as I 
 have tried to describe. 
 
 Sea stories as a rule are interesting, especially to land- 
 lubbers, and the libraries are full of such works; but as 
 the majority of them are written by people who know very 
 little about the real sea life and never had any actual ex- 
 perience of it, it follows that, no matter how able the 
 writer, the story in itself is devoid of or lacking in what 
 I might call salt sea air. 
 
 For many years, commencing with my boyhood days, I 
 have been in the habit of keeping a diary wherein I made 
 notes of things that happened on shipboard, this with the 
 object in view of writing a book at some future time. My 
 grandfather, ninety years old when I left home, was in a 
 way instrumental in starting me to keep a diary, he having 
 kept one during ten years of campaigning with Napoleon, 
 and he very often expressed a wish to be able to make 
 use of his notes to write a book. Hence my idea of writ- 
 ing. 
 
 Some time ago, when I decided to make use of my diary 
 for writing, I intended to cram my whole thirty-six years' 
 experience into one story. This I found was too much 
 
PREFACE 
 
 for me; my notes fairly 'bewildered me. I pondered over 
 the situation for some time and made several attempts, 
 but somehow it did not look right, the main reason being 
 that I shifted from one important period to another, some- 
 times years apart, leaving out all minor details. I finally 
 decided to confine myself to one cruise at a time, and 
 selected my first voyage at sea as the main subject of my 
 story, not on account of any particular occurrence, but 
 that it was under the eye of the hero of my story, Yankee 
 Swanson, first mate, that I was taught to be a sailor. 
 Yankee Swanson was a man whom I have always looked 
 upon as the veay embodiment of what a good sailor and of- 
 ficer should be under trying and at times desperate condi- 
 tions. 
 
 Another reason why I selected my first voyage, was my 
 desire to make the reader acquainted with my friend and 
 shipmate Jack Le Fevre, at present a successful man of 
 affairs in Sweden, whom I have in a small way been in- 
 strumental in giving a fair start in life. 
 
 My grandfather plays an important part throughout 
 the story, and I have taken great pleasure in trying to 
 portray what sort of a character he was. It was his up- 
 permost wish that I should remember everything he told 
 me about Napoleon, he having in view that perhaps in the 
 future I would be able to fiatly contradict JSTapoleon's de- 
 tractors, my grandfather having been an eyewitness to 
 many noble deeds of the Emperor. 
 
 With these objects in view I went to work, and the re- 
 sult is nothing more or less than the feeble effort of a 
 sailor to put on paper what he has actually experienced on 
 land and sea. 
 
 A. W. K 
 
INTEODUCTION, 
 
 To most of us the sea is an adventure to whicli we gladly 
 go and from which, we return with relief. To others it 
 is romance, vaguely enticing, dimly alluring, always main- 
 taining its distance. To Captain Nelson the sea is a 
 place where men are bred, toil, live, struggle and so reach 
 their desired haven. Just as the citizen of New York or 
 of Boston or of San Francisco is interested in- his 
 "home" — its politics, prosperity and society — so the 
 writer of these open pages speaks of the seven seas. His 
 politics are those of ships, lines, seamen; the prosperity 
 that he labours for has to do with huge arcs of latitude 
 and the society that he knows is world-wide. 
 
 Inniimerable others have written of the sea. But here 
 we have the straightforward tale of a man writing on the 
 sea. I know of no writer who has so completely laid 
 before us a picture of a society and a life which is by 
 itself and wholly apart from what we call our world. 
 We are taught that the continent of North America is 
 bounded on the East by the Atlantic and on the West by 
 the Pacific Ocean. The genuine sailor — and Captain 
 Nelson rose to the command of one of the finest passenger 
 liners in the world — reverses this : for him the Pacific 
 Ocean is bounded on the North by the Aleuts and the 
 Pole, on the West by Siberia, Japan, China, Siam, India 
 and the Malays and Africa. 
 
 It is the natural point of view and I venture to assert 
 that in no book of my acquaintance has this been kept so 
 perfectly as here. 
 
 Inevitably the true seaman partakes of the simplicity 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 of his environmeiit. He is strong, capable, enduring and 
 with his eyes always fixed on the horizon. Yet nothing 
 will so develop the peculiarities of a character as the en- 
 forced loneliness and ofttimes hardship of a life whose 
 activities and associations are limited to a ship. Only 
 such intensification of daily thought and labour could pro- 
 duce men of the type of the indefatigable and mendacious 
 cook ; the alert and self-sufficient Yankee Swanson or any 
 of the other numerous and delightful characters in this 
 book. 
 
 Most of all Captain IsTelson has put into our hands an 
 invaluable document. In an age when we go about ask- 
 ing, What does it all mean ? and. Where will it all end ? 
 He shows us the careers of men who saw their goal and 
 went towards it with simple energy and najive faith. No 
 one can follow him long before he will realise that the 
 civilisation and culture of the sea are different from ours ; 
 that the seafarer has other virtues than those we boast 
 and that his vices are what we would call weakness in 
 ourselves. 
 
 Wholly apart from this implicit interest the narrative 
 runs briskly along, carrying us through seas and storms 
 and into harbours and ports which we visit with eager- 
 ness, dwell in for the moment with delight and leave with 
 romantic regret. Within the first few pages we are mem- 
 bers of the crew and thenceforth, by his simple good faith 
 and realism, we are seafarers ourselves. The book has 
 the classic interest of Robinson Crusoe. It must be ac- 
 cepted by the reader as it is ; one must yield oneself sim- 
 ply to its flow and I warrant you that at the end you will 
 have made acquaintance with men never to be forgotten 
 and often to be recalled with pleasure and quick pulse. 
 
 JoHW Fleming Wilsott. 
 
YANKEE SW ANSON 
 
 I WAS bom in a small village called Hoganas, situated 
 in the southern part of Sweden. This place is lo- 
 cated on the coast of The Sound of Helsingor and is not 
 far from Copenhagen, which is on the Danish side of The 
 Sound. The scenery around our place was at all times, 
 summer and winter, of the grandest description. We had 
 an unobstructed view of the whole sound, and the not 
 very distant shore of Denmark which, during the summer 
 time, was resplendent with the foliage peculiar to that 
 northern land. And in the winter time when the country 
 was covered with a mantle of snow, and the sound was 
 frozen over from side to side so that we were enabled to 
 cross it with our heavy wagons, the scenery was no less 
 beautiful. The sport we had on the ice with our skates, 
 skis, and iceboats can only be appreciated by people 
 brought up under similar circumstances. 
 
 My father, Jons Mlsson, was the happy owner of a 
 farm that had been in our family for centuries, and had 
 been handed down from father to son, the eldest being 
 always considered the heir to the property. In our fam- 
 ily there were three boys and three girls, and at the present 
 time of writing we are all alive, the boys in America 
 and the girls at home in Sweden. 
 
 Education was compulsory even then in Sweden, but 
 
2 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 was of a meagre character and cannot be compared to the 
 education received in the common schools of America or 
 Sweden to-day. 
 
 My oldest brother, Nils, whom my father looked upon 
 as his worthy successor, did not like the idea of being a 
 farmer. He preferred the roving life of a sailor. He 
 was very ambitious and had decided to work his way up 
 to the command of a vessel, which he did, and of which 
 I will have something to say later on. This move on my 
 brother's part caused my father to look upon me as his 
 successor on the farm. What that meant to me I will try 
 to explain to the reader : 
 
 Up to eight years of age it had been understood among 
 the members of my family that I was either to be a sailor 
 or a soldier, as I had always expressed my preference for 
 one or the other. The reason was due to my love for 
 books of adventure and travel, which were perused by me 
 eagerly. Those that interested me most were the books 
 concerning the life and career of I^apoleon and of Ad- • 
 miral Nelson. In pursuit of my love for books of this 
 character I was greatly encouraged and aided by my grand- 
 father, who was a veteran of the Napoleonic wars. He 
 had served through several campaigns, notably the Rus- 
 sian of 1812. 
 
 The old man would never cease talking of Napoleon 
 and Nelson, especially " Old Nap," as he called Napoleon, 
 and he was fond of relating tales regarding both great 
 men. One incident that occurred at the Berezina •River 
 he was especially fond of relating. Napoleon had ordered 
 my grandfather to perform some military duty, which 
 was done evidently to his entire satisfaction as he pre- 
 sented him with a twenty franc piece as an indication of 
 approval of his work. Grandfather also had a snuff box 
 that he obtained in Moscow, and every time he took a 
 pinch of snuff he thought of Napoleon and the terrible 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 8 
 
 hardships they had gone through in that Russian cam- 
 paign. 
 
 I shall always consider the times I spent sitting on my 
 grandfather's knee listening to his campaign tales, as the 
 happiest moments of my life. I am the happy owner of 
 the snuff hox and the twenty franc piece, and I never 
 look at them without giving the old man a thought. As a 
 matter of fact, " Old Nap " comes in for a share of my 
 thoughts, too. 
 
 When my father decided that I should stay at home 
 and hecome a farmer all my hopes and ambitions disap- 
 peared, vanished into space. My disappointment was 
 great, and I felt»my heart bursting at the great blow to 
 my future aims. I well knew that objections were of no 
 use so far as my father was concerned, for his word was 
 law to us. I therefore decided to consult my grandfather 
 quietly. He listened patiently to my tale of woe, telling 
 me not to take it too much to heart; that I was still too 
 ^oung to decide for myself my future course in life. He 
 advised me to continue reading about our own special 
 heroes and to trust in God. When the time did come for 
 me to strike out for myself he said, " Then go, and my 
 blessing wdth you, as I know that you are made of the 
 right kind of stuff." He felt sure that among strangers 
 my way would be easier and better than by sticking to 
 the old farm, and he advised me to be a sailor, as the 
 opportunity for seeing the world was greater by follow- 
 ing the sea than being a soldier. Besides, Sweden was 
 only a sixth rate power, and war at that time being on 
 the decline and unpopular throughout Europe, the chances 
 for a young man to make his way in the army were not 
 what they used to be under a leader like IsTapoleon, who 
 never missed an opportunity of advancing any one, pro- 
 vided he had ambition. "Yes, my boy," grandfather 
 would say, " those were stirring times ; but the ' Grande 
 
4. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Axmee ' is a thing of the past. Its memhers are getting 
 very scarce; I am one of the last ones, and the only com- 
 fort left me is the memory of past deeds, and to have you, 
 my hoy, such an attentive listener. But the future is 
 before you, and if you will only bear in mind -what I 
 have so often told you, ' to be a man at all times and tell 
 the truth regardless of consequences,' you will be all right, 
 and always come out on top." 
 
 I promised the old man that I would try to live up to 
 his teaching the best I knew how. With that promise he 
 seemed pleased, and before I left him he had me laughing 
 by telling me some little episode of the war in which his 
 record was very creditable, but which he did not think 
 extraordinary as it was an every-day occurrence in the 
 " Grande Armee." He then gently hinted that at some 
 other time he would tell me something more interesting. 
 This being a signal of dismissal, I kissed him good-bye, 
 and went home satisfied in my own mind that by doing 
 what grandfather bade me do things would come out all 
 right. 
 
 After what I have related took place, nothing more was 
 said about what I was going to do when I got big. Every- 
 body knew it was a delicate subject with me. I kept my 
 own counsel. Grandfather undoubtedly had requested 
 the family to not mention the subject again. I never 
 grumbled about the work to be done around the farm, 
 therefore everybody thought I had become reconciled to 
 being a farmer, which opinion I never attempted to 
 change, simply letting matters take their own course. 
 
 In this fashion several years slipped by, happily enough, 
 until one day my mother told me that father was in some 
 financial trouble, due to his having been surety for a 
 tailor in town who had been owing a large sum of money 
 and had gone bankrupt. Father had to make good the 
 money, which necessitated his selling a large part of the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 5 
 
 farm. The remainder would not be sufficient to keep ua 
 all in bread and butter. So my father told me one day 
 that if I still entertained the thought of becoming a sailor 
 he would place no obstacles in my path or influence me in 
 any way. He had long cherished the hope that one of 
 his sons would take over the farm, as had been done for 
 all these many years. But now that things had turned 
 out as they had, it would be much better to go elsewhere 
 to look for a livelihood. 
 
 Upon hearing my father talk in this strain, I felt very 
 much distressed, not on account of myself but on account 
 of him and my mother and sisters, also a younger brother, 
 who were unable to support themselves. I told him that 
 I was more than willing to strike out for myself any time, 
 much more so now since circumstances pointed in a di- 
 rection which it seemed my duty to follow. In that case, 
 if Fortune favoured me, I should be able to lend a helping 
 hand if needed. This was more than my father could 
 stand. The tears came to his eyes, and as he embraced 
 me he gave me to understand that he was more than 
 recompensed for the loss of his money in having a son 
 who was willing to help shoulder the burden that he felt 
 already was more than he could carry. 
 
 I now hastened to grandpa to give him the good news 
 — not the bad — regarding the money matter, and found 
 the old man and his wife almost hugging the stove. It 
 was winter and the weather was bitterly cold. Grandpa 
 was not long discerning that something unusual had taken 
 place, and the first words he said after I had greeted him 
 were these, " Hello, son, what is up ? Have you got a 
 new book about old Napoleon? Ton look so happy. 
 Come and sit down. I have something I want to tell you. 
 We won't talk ' N"ap ' and "Waterloo to-night. It makes 
 me sad and I can see that you are happy. I would like to 
 keep you in that state the remainder of the time I am with 
 
6 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 you. It will not be for long, my boy; I feel it in my 
 bones ; the old machine has done its work. I am now past 
 ninety and have no kick coming. The only thing that 
 worries me is that I still see you working yourself half to 
 death on the old farm when, as a matter of fact, you should 
 be away from here, out on the ' briny,' trying to make a 
 name for yourself." 
 
 After a lot of talk of that sort I found it very easy to 
 break the news. When I had finished what I had to say 
 grandfather was overjoyed, and declared that it was the 
 best piece of news he had heard since the battle of Aus- 
 terlitz. And, as if to add more force to what he said, he 
 got up and went to his old box-trunk and took out the 
 Moscow snufF box and the twenty franc piece. After 
 admiring them for some time he handed them to me with 
 the request that I should ever cherish them, not so much 
 on account of their having belonged to him but rather for 
 the circumstances under which he had obtained them. He 
 referred, of course, to the incident of the Berezina Eiver 
 and the campaign of 1812. I promised to comply with 
 his wishes and stowed my heirlooms away in my pocket, 
 with a profusion of thanks, after which we discussed ways 
 and means. 
 
 This was in the month of March, 1877, and I was thir- 
 teen years of age, having been bom on the 5th of January, 
 1864. My eldest brother had then been at sea several 
 years and was an able seaman on a little barque belonging 
 to our place and commanded by a distant relative named 
 Captain Bengston. I told my grandfather that I was 
 thinking of writing my brother, requesting him to speak 
 to Captain Bengston to get me a place as boy. The old 
 man did not approve of my plan. Evidently he thought 
 I would be much better off among strangers. But my 
 father and mother approved of my choice, as they thought 
 it would be the only way to make a start with any show 
 
YANKEE SWANSON T 
 
 of success. Accordingly I wrote to my brother about it 
 and in the course of a few days received an answer from 
 Captain Bengston, stating that he was on his way to Scot- 
 land with a load of lumber from some little port on the 
 Baltic Sea, and that he would anchor off our place and 
 take me on. This would cause no dfelay as he had to 
 take on provisions at the same time. Captain Bengston 
 gave the approximate day when to expect the vessel 
 (Forsette was her name), and as it was only a matter of 
 a few weeks I became very busy getting my things ready 
 for a sea voyage that was expected to last over summer. 
 The Forsette as a rule tied up at our port for the winter 
 months. 
 
 Our farm was located about two miles from the sea- 
 shore and the dwelling house was surrounded by a number 
 of trees, some of them very tall. By climbing one of 
 them I could get a very good view of The Sound, as well 
 as the surrounding country. When the time approached 
 for the vessel to arrive I almost became a squirrel, as 
 grandfather expressed it. I must have made a trip to 
 the top of that tree every hour for several days before 
 there was any chance of that ship arriving. But such 
 was my anxiety and fear of getting left that I took no 
 chances of her passing without my knowing something 
 about it. 
 
II 
 
 AT last, one fine Sunday morning I sighted from my 
 lookout tree the old ship beating her way up against 
 a fresh northerly breeze to the anchorage off our little 
 port (Hoganas). She had everything set and the sun was 
 shining on the sails. She had a " big bone " in her teeth, 
 which made her look very saucy. Secoming excited at 
 the appearance of the ship I came down from the tree all 
 out of breath, reporting her to my father and suggesting 
 that we had better go down to the wharf at once. Father 
 said there was no hurry, because the wind was from the 
 north and she would not sail again until the wind became 
 fair. And besides, the captain would be sure to come on 
 shore to have a chat with the owner of the vessel over 
 business matters before he sailed. My father informed me 
 that if I was so anxious he had no objection to my going 
 to the wharf, as he was sure my brother Nils would come 
 ashore on the first boat. 
 
 Without further hesitation I ran to the house to get 
 my good clothes on. While dressing I pondered upon the 
 proper headgear to wear. Putting on a brand new sou'- 
 wester which grandpa had given me, I stood before the 
 mirror admiring myself. It looked first class and in ship- 
 shape, but somehow I felt uneasy and discarded it for a 
 straw hat. Afterward I was glad I had done so, as my 
 brother told me the crew would have ridiculed me cruelly 
 if they had seen it. 
 
 When I reached the wharf the Forsette was at anchor 
 about a mile from the beach. Some of the men were stiU 
 aloft furling the sails and others were getting a boat into 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 9 
 
 the water. Seated on a box I awaited developments. 
 Soon the small boat put off from the ship and came along- 
 side the wharf. Captain Bengston was steering and my 
 brother was pulling the stroke oar. Making the boat 
 fast, all hands came ashore and then began a general 
 handshaking all around between the sailors and towns- 
 people who had sauntered down to the wharf to meet the 
 newcomers. 
 
 My brother was glad to see me and enquired about all the 
 folks and a great many other things as we walked toward 
 home. He hinted now and again that he did not approve 
 of my going on board the old hulk, as she was rotten and 
 leaking like a basket. I begged him as a favour not to 
 say anything about it to anybody, because I had made up 
 my mind to go if she could only keep afloat until I got on 
 board of her. This he promised to do, but he cautioned 
 me not to blame him if anything happened. With that 
 we approached the house, where we found all the members 
 of the family assembled to greet my brother. 
 
 We spent a pleasant Sunday, which was to be the last 
 for many a day to come. Captain Bengston and his wife 
 called during the evening. The captain was quietly ob- 
 serving me all the time, ultimately stating that the voyage 
 would be no joke. As for money matters that de- 
 pended on myself; on how much I could do, and how 
 quick I would be to learn. The more I could do and the 
 quicker I could master things the better it would be for 
 me. I thought I understood the conditions perfectly well, 
 but alas ! my imagination was greater than my judgment. 
 
 The next day, the wind coming from the south caused 
 Captain Bengston to be a busy man getting his crackers 
 and salt horse aboard of the barque. Having said good- 
 bye to my family, father hitched the horse to the buggy 
 and took my trunk down to the wharf where it was put 
 into the boat. By and by the skipper announced that he 
 
10 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 was ready. Then the boys fell to with a will, as they 
 were anxious to get out to sea before dark. 
 
 After the small boat was hoisted on board it did not 
 take very long to get her under weigh, the first officer 
 having her hove short and the lower topsails sheeted home 
 before we got alongside, evidently anticipating an order of 
 that sort. Shortly afterward an order was given to man 
 the windlass, in which everybody took part, the skipper 
 taking the wheel. After a good deal of heaving, and con- 
 siderable more swearing, the anchor was broke out of 
 the ground, the foreyards braced back on the port brace 
 and she started to swing around on her heel very grace- 
 fully and gather headway. The carpenter went aft to 
 relieve the skipper at the wheel while the mate and all 
 hands were busy securing the anchor and setting every 
 stitch of canvas she could carry. 
 
 Being very much occupied I did not have time to take 
 a look at the old place. The wind had in the meantime 
 increased to a strong breeze, kicking up a nasty, choppy 
 sea that made me feel very uncomfortable. The old ship 
 herself was no better off. I thought, as she creaked and 
 groaned under the pressure of her sails she seemed to be 
 in misery, and to be doing her utmost to no purpose. 
 
 Several vessels went by us as though we had been at 
 anchor. One of them was a three-masted, full-rigged ship 
 that looked very beautiful. My brother told me that she 
 was a Yankee clipper. She had three skysails and several 
 stunsails set, and the appearance she presented was very 
 inspiring, from a sailorman's point of view. I heard the 
 captain say she was logging fourteen knots per hour. 
 
 Late that evening the captain took me down to the cabin 
 and pointed out a little hole just back of his own room 
 and told me that that was where I was to sleep. He also 
 gave instructions to the mate that, for the present, I should 
 be allowed to sleep all night. And as for work he thought 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 11 
 
 I should be at the beck and call of every man on board, 
 because from long experience he had found that method 
 a most excellent one for training young seamen. 
 
 The mate suggested that I should assist the cook for a 
 few days until I got the hang of things, and afterward 
 become of use on the deck. The skipper did not approve 
 of the mate's idea. He said he was afraid the temptation 
 of overeating or doing myself harm by coming ia contact 
 with so many good things to eat would be too great by 
 allowing me to fraternise with the cook. The mate burst 
 out laughing and said: 
 
 " The very idea of anything like that occurring on the 
 Forseite is a joke." 
 
 " How so ? " said the skipper. 
 
 " On account of the reputation you were so fortunate 
 to get last summer," the mate replied. 
 
 " You are alluding to the fellow who became sick and 
 died after I took him to the hospital?" answered the 
 skipper. 
 
 " The same one ! " replied the mate. " The doctor told 
 me he was too far gone with starvation for medicine to 
 have any effect on him." 
 
 Seven bells having struck, the mate left abruptly and 
 I heard him give orders to pump ship. I crawled into 
 my bunk and tried to sleep, but somehow I found I was 
 not sleepy, neither was I hungry. I had eaten nothing 
 since leaving home. I cannot say I was sick, still I was 
 not feeling anything extra. I certainly felt out of place, 
 and longed for the day to come when I would be able to 
 do my work and not be obliged to listen to a lot of foolish 
 talk regarding what would be best for me to do. How 
 long I lay awake thinking I do not know, but I did have 
 a long refreshing sleep. My brother came down to see 
 me early next morning, and taking me forward handed 
 me a cup of coffee and some hard-bread, which I enjoyed 
 
12 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 first rate. The mate came along in a swaggering way 
 and asked if I was ready to go to work. I answered that 
 I was willing to try. He took me aft to his room and 
 pointed out a number of things lying loose and told me to 
 find a place for them, and after that to sweep out the room 
 and tidy it up. " When you have finished that I guess 
 we will find something else for you to do. And bear in 
 mind," he said, " whenever I tell you to do anything do it 
 quickly, do it the best you can, and you will find me a 
 friend." I thanked him for interesting himself to that 
 extent in my behalf. He nodded his head and left me 
 to my task. 
 
 As this friend of mine will appear throughout this 
 story it will he necessary to get a little better acquainted 
 with him. 
 
 Mr. Swanson was by no means a rough, ordinary sailor. 
 Kough he was in appearance, to be sure, and rough in 
 his language toward any one who had to work under him. 
 More so if things did not go right. But further than 
 that his roughness did not extend. He was at heart a 
 good, honest man, about forty-five years of age. He stood 
 six feet two inches in his stocking feet ; was muscular and 
 active as a cat. He was bom in Hoganas, where his 
 father had been a fisherman, but on account of his father's 
 cruelty he ran away from home at an early age. 
 
 For years nobody knew or cared what had become of 
 the boy. Owing to the father's neglect the boy never 
 had a day's schooling and did not know how to write. 
 But in the course of a few years, having served in Ameri- 
 can ships, he mastered the English language. And being 
 studious by nature he had, with the assistance of a 
 friendly captain, acquired sufficient knowledge to enable 
 him to fill the then very important position of second 
 officer on a California clipper called the Flying Send. 
 
 He had continued to serve in the merchant service until 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 13 
 
 the Civil War broke out, when he joined the United States 
 'Navj as a volunteer and was with Farragut at Mobile, 
 and other engagements. Years after the close of the war, 
 having accumulated a little capital, he went back to his 
 old home, not with the intention of staying there, but just 
 to make a call. " As bad luck would have it," he would 
 say, " I fell in love and that is how I came to be mate on 
 the Forsette." 
 
 I am sure he was out of place on board this craft, as 
 he undoubtedly possessed great experience and ability. 
 After we became better acquainted he would tell me funny 
 stories and his experiences as second officer on the Cali- 
 fornia clippers and during the Civil War. Some of these 
 experiences were blood-curdling. When I expressed an 
 unfavourable opinion regarding some of his actions he 
 would say, " But I had to do it, my boy, otherwise they 
 would have done me." 
 
 I asked him once how he could content himself with 
 playing second fiddle to his brother-in-law. (Captain 
 Bengston and Mr. Swanson married sisters.) Mr. Swan- 
 son had always commanded good wages and now he was 
 working for a paltry sum and had employment only six 
 months in the year. He told me that it was on account 
 of his wife, who had a very bad opinion of America. 
 
 " When this cruise is over I will speak to her once 
 more," he said, " and perhaps I will be able to make her 
 come with me. If not, I will go it alone. life is too 
 short to waste any of it on this old craft. Therefore, I 
 want you to take my advice and look alive while you are 
 here with me. I will make a sailor of you, and when 
 this cruise is ended I will guarantee you will be able to 
 take care of yourself in any Yankee packet that ever 
 floated." 
 
 One day when I was putting his room in order I found 
 among his belongings a pair of boxing gloves. Never 
 
1* YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 having seen anything lite them before of course I did 
 not know their usa While looking at them, Mr. Swanson 
 came in to light his pipe. He started to laugh when I 
 asked him what they were for. He told me that the cap- 
 tain expected to make a trip to Archangel, hx Eussia, 
 from Scotland, and as the weather there is extremely cold, 
 necessitating the wearing of thick, heavy gloves, he had 
 overhauled his trunk to make sure that his wife had not 
 forgotten to put them in. I said something about them 
 not being very warm, having tried one of them on. He 
 informed me that that was a mistake as he had seen men 
 who had had them on and had got overheated. One man 
 in particular did not come to for a long time. I told him 
 that if I had known anything about such gloves I would 
 have asked grandpa to get me a pair. 
 
 The steward and cook on the Forsette was another 
 character, but a different type from the mate. He was 
 about sixty years of age, and the greater part of his life 
 he had spent in English coasting vessels as cook. He was 
 a braggart, and his only pleasure in life, now that he was 
 an old man, was to get seated in some comfortable place 
 with some patient listener, and tell wonderful tales of 
 heroic deeds and narrow escapes. 
 
 One day the old Forsette was rolling a great deal while 
 I was busy in the galley helping the cook to secure things 
 that were rolling about. I innocently asked him if he 
 had ever seen worse rolling than we were having just 
 then. My query took the old man's breath and he seemed 
 stunned for a moment. He lighted his pipe and nodded 
 his head as if thoroughly disgusted with such a foolish 
 question. After a time he said: 
 
 "You mentioned something about rolling, did you 
 not?" 
 
 "Yes," I said. 
 
 " Well, I'll tell you about rolling, but I don't want you 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 16 
 
 to Uab about it to all hands on tlie ship, as you did about 
 the Duchess of Flubdub that wanted to marry me when I 
 was young. Some years ago I was chief steward on a 
 full rigged clipper carrying coal from Newcastle to Lon- 
 don. One day we got becalmed on the Dogger Bank, in 
 the North Sea. There was a heavy swell on that day 
 and the rolling of the vessel and the antics she cut up 
 made the skipper's hair stand on end. I could not sleep, 
 and as the weather was warm I took my mattress out, 
 putting it on the main hatch', thinking I would be able 
 to get a little nap during the lulls. At times she would 
 let up for a few minutes then all of a sudden, just as I 
 was on the point of dozing off, she would start off worse 
 than ever, and I saw the North Star through the scupper 
 holes. That was rolling some. 
 
 " Ah, my boy, you have not seen anything yet. As a 
 friend I would not advise you to take up the steward or 
 cooking business. Better stick to the deck. It takes such 
 a long time to become an expert at cooking. It was years 
 before they rated me Al. The study of cook books will 
 never do it. I tried it, but it was no use. Actual ex- 
 perience is what tells." 
 
Ill 
 
 WE had now been a week at sea, and were only half 
 way across the North Sea. The wind had been 
 variable and light most of the time. On Dogger Bank we 
 were becalmed, and had a visit from some English fisher- 
 men. They came alongside with their boat well stocked 
 with fish, which they exchanged for a few bottles of Copen- 
 hagen brandy. 
 
 The captain asked them what prospect there was of a 
 change in the weather, and they told him it would breeze 
 up from the eastward before sundown. This would be 
 favourable for us, so the skipper put on his Sunday smile 
 and remarked to the mate that we would get in the next 
 morning. 
 
 " I hope so," said the mate, " as I am getting tired of 
 it. My men and I need a rest. This business of spend- 
 ing twelve hours out of the twenty-four at the pumps is no 
 snap." 
 
 " I am aware of that," replied the skipper, " but I do 
 not hire you for the purpose of letting you have a soft 
 snap. This business of having soft snaps and luxuries 
 at sea is played out. If they fancy that kind of thing 
 in your Yankee packets well and good, but you have no 
 right to expect that in a North Sea trader, and I being 
 your own brother-in-law." 
 
 A catspaw from the right direction came along and the 
 mate bellowed out, " Lee fore braces, tacks, and sheets ! " 
 and numerous other orders. In a moment we were slid- 
 ing along at a pretty good rate, the catspaw having devel- 
 oped into a brisk breeze. 
 
 The following morning we made land, but owing to 
 
 16 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 1(7 
 
 some miscalculation on the part of the navigator, or else 
 faulty steering, we found ourselves many miles south of 
 where we should have been. On that account the course 
 had to be altered about four points, and the wind being 
 due east was well on the starboard quarter. Evidently 
 the old Forsette had on more sail than was good for her. 
 The cook said so, and the skipper thought so. But he 
 wanted to hang on to everything within reason so that he 
 could make the Firth of Forth before dark, thereby get- 
 ting a pilot on board and a tugboat engaged to tow us up 
 to Grangemouth. 
 
 I shall never forget that day. It really was my first 
 day of real hard sailing. I have had many since then, 
 but none left such an impression as this particular day 
 did. The wind blew steadily from the same direction, 
 and although we had somewhat more of it than was good 
 for us, the prospect was such that it would not get worse, 
 as the sky was clear and the barometer indicated fine 
 weather. All hands were on deck, the watch having been 
 called from below to stand by, expecting every moment 
 that something would give way. Besides, there was the 
 pumping to be attended to, the leakage having increased 
 considerably under the heavy pressure the old craft was 
 subjected to. We were in company of a number of coast- 
 ing vessels, mostly British. The cook knew them all, 
 and had served in the greater part of them. They were 
 also trying their best to accomplish what we were after, 
 but we held our own in fine shape. I felt very proud 
 of the Forsette, and the cook had to acknowledge that he 
 had seen worse sailing, so it must have been pretty good. 
 iWe made the Firth of Forth late that evening and got 
 a pilot on board. As several tugs were outside looking 
 for jobs, we had no trouble in getting one of them to 
 take us in tow, although there was considerable haggling 
 about the price. 
 
18 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 It was quite dark by the time the towing hawser was 
 belayed, and the tug started off toward the entrance of 
 the Firth. This was a matter of considerable regret to 
 me, because I was expecting to see the scenery and com- 
 pare it with that of my home. What I did see was in- 
 teresting. Craft of all kinds were moving up and down 
 the Firth. There seemed to be no lack of life on the 
 shore, and I became amazed at the long trains of freight 
 and passenger cars running in all directions. Such 
 sights were new to me. 
 
 I was sitting in a comfortable place on the deck-load 
 of lumber enjoying it all. A new world was opened 
 before my eyes. But my day dreams were rudely dis- 
 turbed by the cook, who came sauntering along and took 
 a seat beside me saying, " I see you are enjoying the 
 sights, my boy. I used to like these kind of things my- 
 self when I was a young man, but for a man of my years 
 they have lost their charm. As a rule I am very broad- 
 minded regarding young people — I mean by that I never 
 yet refused to take a young fellow around a bit when I 
 thought I could be of some use to him. I know I have 
 been foolish at times, and out of pocket too, by taking 
 them sightseeing, which they did not appreciate. I know 
 of two ungrateful youngsters that I showed everything to 
 in London, and then they grumbled about paying the ex- 
 penses. I believe they even begrudged me a few pots of 
 Dublin stout that they had to pay for. 'When I hinted 
 that a bite to eat before going on board would not be out 
 of place, they almost fainted. Just think of it! Their 
 ingratitude was beyond understanding. I was different 
 from that when I was a boy. There was nothing too good 
 for an old sea dog when I was around; more so if I 
 thought I could benefit by cultivating their acquaintance. 
 That's how I got along so well. Although I never liked 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 19 
 
 bragging, I am proud to say that I am known as the best 
 sea cook in the whole British empire." 
 
 I could not help laughing at his hints to have a day 
 ashore at my expense. Yet he annoyed me very much by 
 interrupting my day dreams, as I wanted to see all I 
 could. It was, therefore, a matter of great delight to me 
 when I heard the stentorian tones of the mate calling the 
 cook to make some coffee for the pilot. 
 
 " And," the mate added, " mind you make coffee, not 
 dishwater." 
 
 After the cook had gone to prepare the coffee, the mate 
 said to me, " You had better go and have some sleep, boy, 
 as you have had a pretty busy day. I am proud of the 
 way you handled yourself on the royal-yard this evening. 
 You did a great deal better than that fellow who is twice 
 your size." He referred to another boy in the fo'cs'le. 
 " I think you can earn a boy's pay and you shall have it." 
 
 I told him what the captain had promised my father. 
 
 " That part of it is all right," said Mr. Swanson, " but 
 I am the man to tell him what your work amounts to, and 
 you will have as much pay per month when we leave 
 Grangemouth as that big chap I am alluding to, or my 
 name ain't Swanson." 
 
 Of course, I thanked him for the interest he took in me. 
 At the same time I felt a little uneasy for the captain. 
 He really had done me a great service by taking me on, as 
 I was only a supernumerary and it did not look right to me 
 that anybody should make it their business to demand pay 
 for me, when the captain had promised to do the right 
 thing. As yet I had not done a great deal of work, outside 
 of keeping the cabin clean. 
 
 I went to my bed and was soon asleep. When I awoko 
 we were made fast to a stone quay in Grangemouth dock. 
 Getting my clothes on in a hurry, I ran up to assist — at 
 least I made a bold bluff at it. 
 
20 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Tlie panorama of new and changing sights held me spell- 
 bound; but I observed that the workingmen appeared to 
 wear better clothes and looked much stronger than those at 
 home. There were no wooden shoes to be seen, and the 
 people appeared to be better fed. Everything I saw im- 
 pressed me very much. 
 
 After breakfast, the stevedore came on board and made 
 arrangements with Mr. Swanson about discharging the 
 cargo. The crew was to work the cargo on the vessel and 
 land it on the quay, and the shoremen were to receive it 
 and load it on trucks for transportation to the lumber 
 yards ; or if there was a shortage of trucks — which was 
 very often the case — the shoremen, according to agree- 
 ment, were to pile it on the pier so as to enable the crew 
 to work at all times, whether there were trucks or not. 
 
 The stevedore, whose name was Duncan, was a very nice 
 man. I did a small favour for him one day and he gave 
 me a half-crown. His head foreman, MacDougall, was a 
 hard citizen, and had the reputation of being the best 
 scrapper in Grangemouth. He lived up to his reputation 
 by irritating everybody by seeking to fight, thereby causing 
 people to be more or less afraid of him. 
 
 With the crew on the vessel, MacDougall had nothing to 
 do, but he never neglected an opportunity to hamper us 
 with the work, which annoyed the mate a great deal. He 
 spoke to MacDougall about it on several occasions, the 
 latter returning a nasty, snappy answer. It was all Mr. 
 Swanson could do to control his temper, and I feared if 
 they should come to blows it would be all day with him, 
 feeling sure that the big bully was able to whip two like 
 Swanson. 
 
 On account of the vessel leaking, the captain engaged 
 some calkers to calk the ship's side from the water line 
 down, as fast as she came up by unloading the cargo. We 
 were not allowed to have a fire on board the vessel while 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 21 
 
 lying in the dock, consequently it became necessary to boil 
 the pitch ashore. It was understood that the captain was 
 to furnish a man to attend to the boiling of the pitch, and 
 being the only one available, I was selected for that duty. 
 The pitch was boiled on the bank of the Firth, about ten 
 minutes' walk from the ship. Between this place and the 
 ship was a very fine macadamized road, lined on each side 
 with a row of trees and rustic seats here and there. 
 
 There were many visitors every afternoon, which made 
 it very interesting for me indeed, although I could not 
 talk the language. Yet I liked to study the people. 
 These visitors were mainly servant girls in charge of little 
 children. As they sauntered along the road they always 
 caught sight of me — if not me, certainly the smoke 
 — and the little ones being curious to find out what was 
 going on, invariably had their way. They would laugh- 
 ingly run up to me, and had lots of fun over my appear- 
 ance, although it was what a pitch boiler should be. 
 Nevertheless I felt embarrassed and wished that I could 
 put on a better front. But my looks did not seem to 
 bother them any; they came right up to me, asking ques- 
 tions that I did not understand, but I tried to make myself 
 agreeable in different ways, and we became friendly in a 
 very short time. 
 
 On my way back to the ship one evening I met the cook, 
 who asked me how I had been getting along, and also in- 
 quired about the visitors. 
 
 " Too bad you can't talk the lingo," he said. " I will 
 come down to-morrow and make it right for you." 
 
 " There is no need for you to interfere, as I am getting 
 along first rate, and I am sure I will do better to-morrow." 
 
 " But you must learn a few sentences, at least. There 
 will be no harm in that. You should be able to bid the 
 time of day ; it would help matters out a bit. They would 
 feel more at home and so would you. I know I lost a fine 
 
m YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 cKance once under peculiar circumstances, and this is how 
 it came about. 
 
 " I was chief steward on board a Baltic trader. We 
 were lying at a place called Liibeck, in Germany. The 
 skipper was a young man, and a sport if there ever was 
 one. He had company on bbard morning, noon, and 
 night, and he kept me pretty busy. Among his callers was 
 a handsome young woman who came almost every morning. 
 I think the skipper was a little gone on her. If so, I 
 can't blame him; I was a little affected that way myself. 
 My wife had died a short time before, and I was therefore 
 prospecting for another one. One morning this woman 
 had breakfast with the skipper, and when they were 
 through he was called away to see some one on the wharf. 
 I went in just about that time to clear away the table and 
 found her sitting in the cabin alone. I nodded to her 
 as any gentleman would have done, and she said, Wie 
 Gehts ' (How do you do). I did not know what it meant, 
 and that is where the fun comes in, fool that I was. We 
 had had hot cakes for breakfast, and seeing that she had 
 eaten every one that I had put before her the thought 
 struck me that she was fond of them and would like to 
 have some more." 
 
 " What similarity is there between hot cakes and ' Wie 
 Gehts'?" I asked. 
 
 "You don't think there is any? Well, what about 
 ' wheat cakes ' then, does that sound any nearer to it ? " 
 
 I admitted it did. 
 
 "Well, that very day I made up a big batch of hot 
 cakes and sent them out to her house, requesting her to 
 let me know if she cared for some more. Now you see 
 how necessary it is to be careful how you handle women 
 folks. That lady never came aboard again." 
 
 I admitted that his was a peculiar case and that it 
 would be necessary for me to steer clear of such pitfalls. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 29 
 
 " Well, I wouldn't have made such, a fool of myself if 
 I had been situated as you are, having an old friend and 
 shipmate at hand who is capable and willing to handle 
 the lingo. Bear in mind, sonny, that you are no better 
 off in English than I was in Dutch. 
 
 " You just think that over," continued the cook. " See 
 how nice it would be if you could get on the right side 
 of these little darlings. They would invite you to their 
 houses and ask you to bring any of your friends along. 
 Queer people, them Scotch. They like foreigners, but 
 they have to be of the right kind. Look at the opportu- 
 nity you have of learning the language. You would learn 
 more English in two hours from those pretty little lassies 
 than you would in a trip to China with that bully mate 
 of ours, Yankee Swanson." 
 
 By this time we were near to the Forsette and seeing 
 a large crowd of people on the quay making a great deal 
 of noise and using very strong language, the cook remarked 
 that there was a row on and that he would not be sur- 
 prised if MacDougall and Swanson were having a set to; 
 that if such was the case old man Bengston would be 
 looking for another mate the next day. When we reached 
 the crowd we found that what the cook had surmised was 
 right. A cold shiver ran down my spine when I saw my 
 old friend in the midst of that savage crowd, stripped to 
 the waist, with a pair of boxing gloves on his hands. I 
 elbowed my way through the crowd and taking his hand 
 asked him what the matter was. Observing my anxiety 
 and wonderment at the condition of affairs, a smile spread 
 over his face and he said : 
 
 " Don't be alarmed, my boy. I'll be with you in a 
 few minutes. Mr. MacDougall and I are going to give 
 a little exhibition in sparring for the benefit of the Sail- 
 ors' Home." 
 
 I felt somewhat relieved at his explanation, although 
 
24 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 it was not altogether satisfactory on account of the many 
 angry faces surrounding the combatants. Very soon they 
 assumed the correct pugilistic positions, and I quickly 
 saw that Swanson was perfectly cool, while MaoDougall 
 was furious and uttering threats. 
 
 MacDougall's tactics were evidently designed to knock 
 his opponent out by sheer strength, as he was a man of 
 muscle. But Swanson had taken his measure carefully 
 during the past few days and was quick enough to find 
 his weak points. He therefore let MacDougall work him- 
 self into a frenzy, to which he contributed by making side 
 remarks reflecting on MacDougall's muscle, and side-step- 
 ping all blows. I then saw to my relief that Swanson 
 had not served with the American colours for nothing. 
 In a very short time, when Swanson saw that the bully 
 was thoroughly winded, he started to perform on the 
 various parts of his anatomy in a most scientific manner, 
 more particularly the face. At length Swanson saw there 
 was no use to continue the punishment, so he gave one 
 good solar plexus blow that sent MacDougall to the " land 
 of Nod." 
 
 The crowd was glad that the bully had met his master, 
 and nothing was too good for Swanson in Grangemouth 
 after that. 
 
 •When the decision in the fight between MacDougall 
 and Swanson had been unanimously rendered in favour 
 of Swanson, Mr. Duncan advanced with outstretched hand 
 to Swanson, expressiag himself as well satisfied with the 
 result of the fight. He insisted that everybody who had 
 any interest in the fight should retire to the nearest public- 
 house and celebrate the event by taking a drink at his 
 expense. 
 
 The irrepressible cook exclaimed that he had never seen 
 a prettier fight or a better managed one. " I doubt," he 
 added, " if I could do as well as Swanson when I was his 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 25 
 
 age. Swanson polished him off to the Queen's taste." 
 
 Mr. Swanson said that he had no objection to taking 
 a drink with Mr. Duncan, or anybody else in the crowd, 
 provided it was understood that no one bore him any ill 
 will. " If so," said Swanson, " let him step forward and 
 settle it now while he is in the hmnour." No one came 
 forward, so they aU started for the public-house. I knew 
 that was no place for me, so started to go on board, but 
 Swanson saw me and taking me by the arm said, " It is 
 aU right, boy. You can take ginger-ale." 
 
 Every one was satisfied that Swanson was no ordinary 
 boxer. But the cook had to have his say, telling the 
 crowd how glad he was that none of them thought of taking 
 on Swanson because instead of benefitting the Sailors' 
 Home, it would more likely be the undertaker. He also 
 said that he knew Swanson many years ago when he was 
 only a lad in San Francisco, out of a job with a board 
 bill to pay. There was a fellow giving boxing exhibitions 
 at the Bella Union Theatre every evening, and he offered 
 one hundred dollars to anybody who could stand four 
 rounds with him. This fellow was called Yankee SuUi- 
 van. Swanson thought this was a good chance to get 
 some easy money, so volunteered his services. 
 
 " Ah, boys, it was a sight to see, the way that fellow 
 handled himself. I don't think he made a move that I 
 could have criticised. Yankee Sullivan lasted just one 
 little round, when he was down and out for good, so we 
 thought at first. But after a long time he came to and 
 the first words he uttered were, ' who hit me with a 
 sledge-hammer ? ' " 
 
 Swanson and I did not stay long at the public-house. 
 There was no ginger-ale so I did not get anything, except 
 a shilling that Mr. Duncan gave me. 
 
 When we got on board the captain was at the gangway, 
 and he and Swanson engaged in conversation at once. I 
 
ae YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 did not know what they were talking about, but heard 
 afterward that the captain was afraid the authorities 
 would make trouble for him as well as the mate on account 
 of the fight. The captain had sent my brother to the 
 hospital to see how MacDougall was, and he had been 
 informed that his jaw was broken. This was not true, 
 however. MacDougall left the hospital the next day, but 
 he did not come to work again for Mr. Duncan. He evi- 
 dently felt ashamed to mingle among his men, and they 
 would have made his life miserable. It is human nature 
 that when a man ia down everybody has a grudge against 
 him. 
 
THE following morning I was up early, as I wanted to 
 see the mate before going to the pitch boiling place. 
 Coming out of the cabin I saw him forward talking to my 
 brother. It seemed that my brother was consulting him 
 about getting paid off from the Forsette. 
 
 My brother had met a captain on shore with whom he 
 had sailed before. He had a vacancy on his ship and 
 offered it to him. My brother wanted to accept it, pro- 
 vided Captain Bengston was willing to pay him off. The 
 mate said he would intercede for him, adding, " in case 
 you get the job I shall promote one of the ordinary sea- 
 men and the little fellow here can go on the Articles as 
 ordinary seaman." 
 
 I blushed at hearing of my intended promotion. But 
 the mate told me that I would have to go into the fo'cs'le, 
 and that I would have to be careful not to let that big 
 chap ride rough shod over me, as he would make trouble 
 for me. 
 
 When my brother's case was presented to the captain, 
 he said that he would not stand in any one's way when 
 he could better himself. He paid my brother off and he 
 joiaed the Swedish barque Concordia at Liverpool, where 
 she was loading general cargo for Capetown. 
 
 I was very sorry to lose my brother, but I had good 
 
 friends in the mate and the cook so I was no longer a 
 
 stranger on board. I was glad he had a chance to better 
 
 himself, and it turned out afterward to be the best move 
 
 he ever made, for it proved to be a small gold mine to him. 
 
 The longshoremen were assembling for work so Swan- 
 
 27 
 
28 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 son shouted, " Turn to," to our men. I went over the 
 gangway and walked slowly toward the pitch boiling es- 
 tablishment, there being no hurry for the pitch, as it was 
 not required before nine o'clock. Passing the cook-house 
 I thought of having another cup of coffee, and perhaps 
 something to eat. 
 
 The cook-house was a barrack-like affair, long and nar- 
 row. One side of it was all stove and the other all 
 shelves. There must have been at least twenty cooks, 
 mostly foreigners. There was an entrance at each end 
 of it, and as I entered I found our cook seated in a chair 
 — the only one in the establishment — entirely surrounded 
 by other dirty cooks. Directly in front of him was a 
 small window, but no glass in it, through which he was 
 squirting a continuous stream of tobacco juice, with a 
 force and precision that was simply astonishing. He 
 was evidently the boss of the place. When he saw me he 
 shouted, " Hello, boy, what's up now ? Any more news 
 from the front ? " I told him that I had come in for a 
 cup of coffee. " Hey, you, Billy," he shouted to another 
 cook, " get this boy of mine a cup of coffee and something 
 to eat. And mind you don't take any of my stuff or you 
 will get some of the medicine that MacDougall got." 
 
 Turning to me he said, "While that chimney-sweep 
 is getting your coffee take a seat on the floor. I am in the 
 act of telling these greenhorns a few important things in 
 the manly art of self-defence. As I have told you before, 
 I have been the principal actor in many a hard fought 
 scrap. In relating these things to greenhorns who don't 
 understand the game, it is of more importance to them 
 to know that sometimes, just when you have got your 
 man going, the unforeseen will happen and off you go 
 into dreamland. That's what happened to me once. It 
 was a dream pure and simple. This is how it happened : 
 
 " It was just after the Crimean war, when I was chief 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 29 
 
 steward of a pretty good sized Liverpool barque and we 
 " were chartered to go to the Black Sea to fetch home a 
 regiment of soldiers, quite a number of officers and some 
 ladies. They were a half starved lot when they came on 
 board and were civil enough then, but they changed a 
 whole lot I can tell you after eating my cooking. I 
 worked as I never worked before, and as I never will 
 again. It was all to no purpose. They kept kicking 
 about everything and it got worse every day. With the 
 captain's permission I was allowed to take some of the 
 ladies into the galley to fix up certain dishes for their 
 husbands. It sort of helped out in a way, too, though at 
 times it was a perfect nuisance. Being a handsome fel- 
 low, if I do say it myself, it caused a great deal of fric- 
 tion among the officers. One day a young snob of a 
 general came to the galley door and accused me of being 
 too friendly with his wife, and also of having put poison 
 in his pudding. These insinuations made me angry, not 
 so much on account of the reference to the poison, but his 
 wife — the Lord help us — was the ugliest woman on the 
 ship. The charge was too ridiculous and I told him so. 
 Many of the officers backed me up. This made him mad- 
 der still. It seemed that he wanted me to admit that I 
 was a little gone on her. I guess he thought it would be 
 a feather in his cap on account of her ugliness. But I 
 wouldn't have it that way and demanded redress, and 
 with bare knuckles at that. The doctor investigated the 
 pudding and found no poison in it. The general then 
 agreed to accept my challenge. (It was agreed that 
 the fight was to come off on the Saturday following, on 
 the quarterdeck. The captain volunteered his services as 
 referee, which was agreeable to both of us. 
 
 " As we had two or three days to brush up before the 
 fight came off, I selected a fellow out of the fo'cs'le to 
 give me a bit of a rub-down every afternoon when I got 
 
30 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 through exercising with a pair of SO'-pound dumbbells. 
 That was all the training I did. I didn't really require 
 any, as I always kept myself in first-class condition. 
 However, on this occasion I did take a little extra pre- 
 caution. I wanted to give that snob of a general an 
 illustration of the Crimean war on a small scale. How 
 well I succeeded you wilt now hear. 
 
 " Saturday afternoon came round, and say, boy, how I 
 did ache to get at that general. I was happy when the 
 mate announced that everything was ready for the go. 
 I left my room stripped to the waist, and as I stepped on 
 the poop-deck I bowed to the captain and the spectators. 
 My opponent was ahead of me in the ring, talking to an- 
 other general who had been selected as timekeeper. The 
 captain asked me if I had any objections to this general 
 acting in this capacity. I told him that I had none. It 
 was early in the afternoon and I knew that I had all sorts 
 of time to polish off half a dozen generals. Everything 
 being satisfactory, and according to Queensbury rules, the 
 timekeeper said, ' go ! ' 
 
 " In the first three rounds I didn't do any serious exe- 
 cution; it was more after the fashion of a dancing match 
 than anything else. Once in a while I would prick him 
 up a little with a left or right hook to let him know that 
 I was there, but outside of that I confined myself entireily 
 to dancing around him like a cooper round a cask. 
 
 " In the fourth and fifth rounds I made it very dis- 
 agreeable for him. He must have thought it was Sebas- 
 topol all over again. The captain asked as a favour not 
 to prolong the agony. ' Everybody can see,' he said, 
 'that the general is not in your class.' I therefore de- 
 cided to wind the fight up in the next round by giving a 
 small imitation of the charge of the Light Brigade which 
 I thought would please the spectators, as the majority of 
 them were soldiers. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 31 
 
 " The timekeeper called ' Time ' for the sixth and final 
 round. I charged him with the intention of finishing him 
 with a solar plexus blow. The blow was landed right 
 enough but when he was falling he threw both arms around 
 my neck and I knew no more. There we were, both of 
 us knocked out. The mate pulled the general off and I 
 finally came to." 
 
 We sat around and talked it over until Billy came with 
 coffee and a snack to eat. 
 
 After eating I resumed my labours with the pitch, 
 which was at boiling point when one of the calkers came 
 down to take it to the ship. He also brought me a note 
 from the mate in which the mate asked me to come to the 
 boat with the calker. I wondered what he wanted, and 
 was surprised when he said that the captain wanted me to 
 go to Edinburgh with him. The chronometer was out 
 of order and had to be taken to Edinburgh to be repaired. 
 The captain thought he would give me a little outing at 
 the same time for my good work with the pitch. Mr. 
 Swanson had spoken to the captain about my being put 
 on the Articles, to which the captain had no objections, 
 saying that it was no more than right and that I might 
 consider myself under pay. Thanking him I hurried 
 away to get dressed for the trip. 
 
 At the depot the captain found several friends, cap- 
 tains of various vessels, who had decided to make the trip 
 too, combining business with pleasure. I had charge of 
 the chronometer and was pleased to make the trip. 
 
 This was the first time I had ever travelled on a rail- 
 road and everything I saw interested me very much. We 
 passed through several tunnels, which puzzled me indeed. 
 The scenery on the way was grand to my eye and every- 
 thing looked substantial and comfortable, compared to 
 what I was accustomed to see at home. 
 
 Arriving in Edinburgh we went to a hotel and had a 
 
Sa YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 good meal. The skippers were all in good humour, 
 Bengston in particular. He said all kinds of nice things 
 about me to the other captains and, better still, gave me 
 a pound to spend as I pleased. All this praise caused me 
 to think a great deal of myself. I had the twenty franc 
 piece ornamenting my silver watch chain, and compared 
 it with the sovereign the captain had given me. I was 
 undecided which was the prettier and wondered what the 
 folks at home would say if they saw me at that moment. 
 I felt sure grandpa would have shed a few tears at my 
 good fortune. 
 
 The other captains had heard of the girls visiting me 
 at the pitch boilers and joshed me about them. I ad- 
 mitted that I was in clover so far as they were concerned. 
 One captain wondered how it was possible for me to get 
 along when I could not speak the language. " Oh," said 
 Bengston, " yes, he can. My cook, Baron Von Mun- 
 chausen, takes care of that. Miss Duncan told me yes- 
 terday that he could say lots of things to her; in fact he 
 asked her for a kiss." 
 
 When I heard this I was covered with confusion and 
 felt annoyed that the cook should have betrayed me in 
 such a manner. Had I really committed myself? And 
 was that pretty girl who had asked me so many questions 
 Miss Duncan? Every time I thought of it I blushed to 
 the roots of my hair and swore that I would wreak 
 vengeance on the cook for what he had done. I thought 
 of telling Captain Bengston about the trick played on me 
 by the cook, and then I thought that he might laugh at 
 me, so I left the matter undecided until my return to the 
 ship. 
 
 We went to a great many places of historical interest 
 in the Scottish capital, among them being Holyrood Pal- 
 ace, where we saw the room occupied by Mary Queen of 
 Scots, and also the axe with which she was beheaded. I 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 33 
 
 also saw the basket in whicli James, afterward King of 
 Scotland, was lowered from the castle, thus making his es- 
 cape. In the evening we went to a theatre. I had never 
 been in one before. It amused me more than anything. 
 
 I did not sleep well that night, although the bed was 
 much better than any I had ever slept in. I lay awake 
 thinking. Somehow I could not get Miss Duncan out of 
 my mind. The whole thing seemed a puzzle to me. Why 
 did she tell the captain about it? If she told him she 
 must have told her parents also. I thought she ought to 
 have been ashamed to mention it, and yet she evidently 
 considered me innocent of wrong-doing. I had helped 
 her on several occasions to carry the little ones along the 
 road when it was time to go home. At all times she had 
 seemed pleased with my behaviour. Yet I felt deter- 
 mined to talk to Swanson who I thought would straighten 
 the matter out for me. I soon fell asleep and dreamt 
 that it was not I who had asked such an impertinent ques- 
 tion but a fellow much bigger than I. 
 
 After breakfast next morning we went to the park and 
 saw a number of children dressed in Highland costume 
 playing there. It looked very odd to me, and so I asked 
 Captain Bengston how they came to be dressed in that 
 manner in the city. He told me that in some parts of 
 the Highlands they wore no clothes at all. I laughed at 
 him as I thought he was joking. 
 
 After dinner we went to the railroad depot and Captain 
 Bengston put me on board the train, in charge of the con- 
 ductor who was told to put me off at Grangemouth. The 
 captain gave me some verbal orders for the mate and said 
 good-bye. 
 
 With my sovereign I had purchased several souvenirs 
 for the folks at home, among them being some fancy clay 
 pipes for grandpa. 
 
 There was a big fat woman seated next to me in the 
 
34 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 car, who talked a great deal to the other passengers, 
 finally addressing a few remarks to me. I did not know 
 what she was talking about, but as she persisted in address- 
 ing me I nodded my head, meaning that I did not under- 
 stand English. The other passengers were very much 
 amused at what she was saying, which caused me to feel 
 very embarrassed as I thought she was making fun at my 
 expense. 
 
 Very soon we entered a tunnel, and shortly afterward 
 were startled to hear the most blood-curdling yells which 
 we discovered came from the fat woman next to me. My 
 souvenirs fell to the floor and were stamped upon by the 
 woman who was still yelling something unintelligible to 
 me. As I stooped to pick up my package from under her 
 feet she landed me a most powerful blow with her fist 
 that made me see stars and landed me on the floor. When 
 we reached the end of the tunnel I resumed my seat, but 
 not the fat woman. She stood frothing at the mouth and 
 swearing volubly. When I gazed upon her I was horror- 
 struck at her altered appearance. She was as black as 
 an inkwell. Everybody was laughing at her except my- 
 self, as I was afraid of receiving another knockout blow. 
 The train coming to a stop she called the conductor. He 
 examined my hands and found no evidence of the crime 
 with which she accused me. She continued to swear and 
 was not satisfied that I had not done it. It was quite 
 obvious that somebody in a spirit of mischief had rubbed 
 her face with a boot-black brush and then thrown it out 
 of the window. To make matters worse she wiped her face 
 with a dirty handkerchief which she had. This only made 
 the smear more general, and produced more laughter from 
 the passengers. She got off the train shaking her fist 
 at me. 
 
 Being very much upset over the loss of my trinkets and 
 the false accusations against me, I did not observe the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 35 
 
 passengers who got on at this wayside station until a little 
 tot of three or four years canae and sat on my knee. I 
 recognised her as one of my little friends of the pitch 
 boiling place. Making her comfortable on my knee she 
 insisted on giving me a piece of candy, for which I thanked 
 her in English. Looking around for her caretaker I 
 observed her sitting almost opposite me beside an elderly 
 lady who looked to be her mother. The mother said 
 something to the little one but she took no notice ; instead 
 she put her arms around my neck seeming to be quite 
 happy in my company. The mother was a pleasant 
 looking lady, who seemed to enjoy the situation of her 
 daughter and laughed when she noticed the liberties the 
 little one was taking with me. I did not object as they 
 were an improvement on the company I had had during 
 the early part of my journey. After a while there were 
 two vacant seats next to me and the lady and her daughter 
 came over and occupied them. They introduced them- 
 selves as Mrs. and Miss Duncan, making me feel quite at 
 home. We arrived iu Grangemouth about six o'clock in 
 the evening. The little one had fallen asleep in my arms 
 and remained asleep after we got off the train. I accom- 
 panied the ladies with my burden which was growing 
 heavier every minute. Miss Duncan walked beside me, 
 chatting all the time. She offered to relieve me but I 
 refused to part with my little friend. I did not know all 
 Miss Duncan said to me and vowed I would start in that 
 very evening to learn English. I understood a little 
 English but could not express myself in that language. 
 I was afraid to say anything for fear I should again ask 
 for a kiss. 
 
 We very soon arrived at Mrs. Duncan's house. Mr. 
 Duncan met us at the door and embraced his wife and 
 daughter. He then took the sleeping child from my arms 
 and kissed her affectionately, pushing me into the hall. I 
 
36 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 tried to tell him that it was necessary for me to go on 
 board ship but he would not hear of it. He showed me 
 into the parlor, where I found Swanson and some more 
 of Mr. Duncan's friends. Mr. Swanson, after shaking 
 hands with me, asked me what sort of a trip I had had. I 
 started to tell him but was stopped by Mrs. Duncan and 
 Betsey, who relieved me of saying any more about it. 
 
 The evening turned out to be a most pleasant one for 
 me. Miss Betsey took me in hand and said I was a 
 wonder at picking up words in English. I asked Swanson 
 to put me right in regard to the kissing, which had worried 
 me so much. Strange to say, it did not worry me half 
 so much now as it did in Edinburgh. I rather wished it 
 was true, more particularly so when Miss Duncan said 
 that I had never uttered such a statement. I then made 
 up my mind that I would not boil pitch much longer with- 
 out really asking. 
 
 Swanson was a general favourite that evening by telling 
 funny stories, singing nigger songs and dancing horn- 
 pipes. I never thought there could be so much humour in 
 so stem a looking man. 
 
 Mr. Duncan offered Swanson MacDougall's position as 
 general foreman stevedore, which was considered a very 
 good position, but Swanson would not hear of it having 
 promised his brother-in-law that he would finish the sum- 
 mer cruise on the old Forsette. 
 
 It was about eleven o'clock that night when we left the 
 house. Mr. and Mrs. Duncan and their friends invited 
 us to call again before we sailed. Miss Duncan promised 
 to call at the pitch place the following day, and as a 
 special favour to her I promised not to eat at the cook- 
 house, as she wanted to bring me something nice for my 
 lunch. 
 
 On our way to the ship Swanson asked me how I had 
 enjoyed myself and when I told him what a good time I 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 37 
 
 had had he was pleased. He asked me if I would like 
 to call again. I answered him that I woidd be glad to at 
 any time. " I thought so," he said, " they are nice people 
 all right. Miss Duncan will buy you some books to take 
 along and we shall start to study English at odd moments 
 on our trip to Norway and Russia. When we get back to 
 old England you will be able to do your own talking." I 
 felt encouraged and promised to be an apt pupil. " I know 
 you will," said Swanson. " And there is something else 
 you will have to attend to that is as important as learning 
 English, and that is to know how to use those fancy gloves 
 of mine. However, I am proud of you and so is the 
 Duncan family. I hope the old man will get a charter 
 for Grangemouth before the summer is over. Well, we 
 shall see. To-morrow we ought to get letters from home. 
 I suppose you will get a big one from grandpa. Have 
 you written home ? " 
 
 I told him that I had not. " That's bad," he said. " If 
 it was not so late I would make you write to-night. But 
 mind you do it to-morrow or there -will be no more visiting 
 Betsey. Never neglect to write to your mother. My case 
 was somewhat different. In the first place I had no mother 
 to write to, and in the second place I did not know how 
 to write until I was almost a man. My father never had 
 any use for me, except to give me a licking. Still I did 
 not allow that to stand in the way of letting him know 
 how I was getting along, and sometimes I backed it up 
 with a few dollars that must have come in very handy for 
 him in his old age." 
 
 I reflected upon what this man had told me, and my 
 respect for him increased. After I had gone to bed that 
 night I lay there a long time before sleep came to my 
 eyes, vowing that never again would I give him an oppor- 
 tunity to criticise my behaviour in regard to writing home. 
 I would write to-morrow even if there was no letter for 
 
38 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 me. There was plenty of interesting news to relate. The 
 trip to Edinhurgh alone would be sufficient. I thought I 
 had better not say anything about Betsey. I preferred to 
 tell grandpa personally about her. 
 
AWAKING early next moming I turned out and went 
 on deck, finding the cook to be the only one astir. 
 He was getting a few things ready to take to the cook- 
 house and asked me to help him, as it would save him 
 another trip to the ship. " You can fetch the coffee-pot 
 back for the men. That will be your job anyhow, now 
 that you are going to be an ordinary seaman," he said. 
 " I am glad that you don't seem to care for the cooking 
 business. It is the last thing that a young fellow should 
 go in for. Look at me. Here I am sixty years old and 
 not a place for me to rest my weary head, nor a dollar 
 laid by for a rainy day." 
 
 I admitted that his case was a sad one and said, " Why 
 don't you marry ? " 
 
 " Marry, marry who ? " 
 
 " Oh, somebody." 
 
 " Well, yes, there was a time when I could have married 
 somebody, but that was years ago and I was a fool, too, if 
 I say so myself. I was altogether too particular, wouldn't 
 stand for anything but the very finest points in the women 
 folk. I now see my error, and I am afraid that there is 
 none of the kind left that I am looking for." 
 
 I tried to describe the fat woman, my acquaintance of 
 the train, to him, but I could not get him interested. 
 Evidently there was something wrong with him that mom- 
 ing. 
 
 When we got to the cook-house, Billy, the cook I have 
 
 spoken of before, treated me to a cup of coffee, and in a 
 
 39 
 
40 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 short time our cook had the coffee-pot ready for me. 
 Arriving at the ship, I was met by Axel (called " The Big 
 Lobster" by Swanson), who demanded in a very angry 
 tone why I was so long in getting the coffee on board. I 
 told him I could not bring it before it was ready. That 
 did not seem to satisfy him, as he remarked that my 
 bi"other was not on board to take my part and if I repeated 
 the offence there would be something doing. I got very 
 angry and asked him to see about it at once, which he 
 proceeded to do by upsetting the coffee-pot, which I had 
 set on the deck, in his rush to get at me. 
 
 I had seen enough of Swanson's little scrap with Mac- 
 Dougall to learn that it would be most tactical on my part 
 to keep away from him until an opportunity presented 
 itself. I succeeded in avoiding him for some time, but I 
 soon ducked and ran between his legs, thereby upsetting 
 him. This caused a great deal of laughter among the 
 sailors who were standing about, and Swanson, having 
 heard the commotion, sauntered forward to see what it 
 was all about. When Axel saw the mate he stopped chas- 
 ing me. 
 
 " What's the trouble, Andrew ? " he asked. I told him 
 it was all over the coffee not being brought aboard sooner. 
 
 " Oh, is that all," said the mate. " And for that Axel 
 wanted to lick you. Well, now you had better give him 
 a chance, and I will see that fair play is given to both, 
 and," turning to me, " if you do not polish him off as I 
 did ITacDougall you had better not call on any of your 
 Scotch friends. They would not welcome you, be sure of 
 that. You, Axel, just wait a moment while I bring out 
 the inittens, and while I am away just stretch a rope 
 across here so that nobody will interfere." 
 
 Axel was about two years my senior, very large and 
 ungainly, but very much stronger than I. He had a 
 nasty disposition and was constantly picking at me mak- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 4.1 
 
 ing sarcastic remarks about my being tbe mate's pet, 
 and making life in general as miserable for me as be 
 could. Wben I went forward among tbe men be made 
 it a point to criticise my unseaman-like talk, and on 
 several occasions called me a farmer. 
 
 Wben tbe mate was adjusting tbe gloves, first on Axel, 
 tben on me, I made up my mind tbat I sbould conquer or 
 die in tbe attempt to lick my opponent. Swanson gave 
 me some advice just before be said tbe word " Go." 
 " Keep away from tbat lobster. Don't let bim clineb, and 
 every time you get a cbance soak bim in tbe jaw or tbe 
 solar plexus, and be will be done for inside of two 
 minutes." 
 
 A number of longshoremen bad arrived on tbe quay and 
 tbe mate invited tbem to come on board. Several re- 
 marked tbat it was not fair to pit me against sucb a big 
 fellow. The mate said be would stand treat for all bands 
 if Axel won. One of tbe longshoremen took bim up. At 
 tbat Swanson said " Go." 
 
 There is no use for me to describe tbe fight, being one 
 of tbe combatants. I know that I was knocked dovsna 
 twice and saw any number of stars. But I saw my oppo- 
 nent go down twice, and bad tbe pleasure of sending home 
 a dandy blow on bis nose tbat made it bleed freely and 
 worried bim a great deal, causing him to be careless in 
 his defence, thereby giving me the cbance to soak bim one 
 in tbe eye and another in tbe solar plexus, which doubled 
 bim up like a jack-knife. He started to cry, to the great 
 amusement of tbe spectators. Swanson tben came for- 
 ward and announced me the winner, at the same time 
 taking me by the band, saying, " With a few lessons I will 
 back this boy against any one in Grangemouth, for bis 
 size and age." 
 
 Tbe longshoremen insisted upon shaking bands with 
 me, and tbe fellow who lost his bet wanted to stand treat 
 
YANKEE SWANSON ) 
 
 at oiice, but Swanson said it was time to ttjm to; the treat- 
 ing could wait until evening. 
 
 Getting ready to go to my pitch boiler, one of the calkers 
 told me not to mind about it that day, saying, " We will 
 look after it ourselves," intimating that I had already 
 done a good day's work. I insisted that I was not tired ; 
 besides I did not like the idea of any one thinking I was 
 too much used up not to attend to business. So I started 
 a fire and soon had the pitch boiling. 
 
 Later on I sat down for a rest and took out pencil and 
 paper, intending to write to my mother, but found that 
 my hand was too shaky, so put it off for a little while. A 
 calker came for some pitch, and taking a good look at 
 me said that I looked first rate compared to Axel. 
 
 " Come along and take a look at him. You will find 
 him an interesting object. You sure did make a better 
 job of him than you did of the fat woman. Yankee Swan- 
 son is the happiest man in Grangemouth. I thought Mr. 
 Duncan would burst his sides laughing when Yankee told 
 him about it. Duncan is now taking up a collection to 
 recompense you for the loss of the clay pipes and the hard- 
 ware that you broke on the fat woman. Say, boy, you 
 are all right. The cook told me all about it. That 
 fellow is no ordinary square-head. It was lucky for you 
 that Swanson put you on to Axel's weak points, or you 
 would have been a goner. That fellow Axel is .as strong as 
 an ox, but Yankee is taking it out of him now ; he is mak- 
 ing him pack double loads. I feel sorry for the poor fel- 
 low. Duncan asked him to let up, but it is no use. That 
 Swanson is a hard citizen. I should not like to work 
 imder him." 
 
 I told him that I did not care about going back to the 
 ship just then, as I had a letter or two to write ; besides I 
 was on the lookout for somebody to bring me something to 
 eat. 
 
'■' YANKEE SWANSON 43 
 
 Praising my ability as a pitch, boiler the calker picked 
 Tip the pot and returned to the ship, while I began to 
 write my letters with a perfectly steady hand. I was on 
 the point of putting my writing material away when I 
 observed Miss Betsey. She was standing some distance 
 away, looking intently at me, evidently expecting to find 
 me in pieces as her father had told her about the scrap. 
 She made no move to come any further, so I went to her. 
 She put out her hand in a most friendly manner and I 
 squeezed it heartily. She expected to find some terrible 
 change in my looks, but found none, except a lump on my 
 forehead about the size of a goose egg. Her father had 
 told her that I would not be able to take solid food for at 
 least two weeks so she had only brought some soup. When 
 she found that I was able and willing to eat anything in 
 the food line she insisted upon going back for something 
 more substantial than soup. I asked her not to bother, 
 as I could go to the cook-house for dinner. She told me 
 she would bring me something next day and also some 
 books for Swanson to teadh me English. I thanked her 
 and said I should never forget her, at which she laughed 
 heartily. 
 
 She wanted to know if I did not feel sore after the 
 beating I had received, and when I told her " No " she 
 seemed surprised because MacDougall was very much so 
 after his fight, she having been told so by MacDougall's 
 daughter. 
 
 I asked her why she had not brought her little sister 
 with her. She informed me that her father said I was a 
 most gruesome sight to behold and he was afraid she would 
 not recognise me. It appeared that Miss Eetsey had been 
 misinformed about the whole business, so I was anxious to 
 make it right. Seeing the cook coming toward us, I 
 thought he might explain matters more clearly, but the 
 question was, would he? 
 
44 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 I was suspicious of the cook, as it was hard work for 
 him to tell the truth. He handed me a couple of letters 
 from home, and nodded his head in a familiar manner to 
 Miss Duncan, at the same time taking the board upon 
 which I had been writing and arranging a comfortable 
 seat for her. After inviting her to be seated he squirted 
 a streak of tobacco juice into the river, wiped his mouth 
 with the back of his hand, pointed with his thumb over 
 his shoulder at me, and said something about my not 
 having any sense and begging her not to be offended. 
 Then he squatted dovsna on his haunches like an Indian and 
 started to relate a lot of things which were probably lies, 
 but they amused her, because she laughed heartily at what 
 he was saying. 
 
 I felt angry with the cook, as I wanted him to put me 
 right with Miss Duncan regarding the fight. After a 
 while there was a lull. I supposed he was inventing a 
 new lie, so I said, " Here, cook, tell Miss Duncan about 
 the fight. She has been told that I got the worst of it. 
 Please tell her the truth, cook, and I will promise to treat 
 you to a pint of stout this evening." 
 
 " I am sorry you did not speak about that before. It 
 is too late now. I wanted her to feel sorry for you, and 
 on that account said Axel knocked the stuffing out of you, 
 and that if it had not been for the mate and myself you 
 would have been knocked out for keeps." 
 
 There were two buckets of water standing close by, 
 which I kept handy to pour over the fire when my day's 
 work was done, and also when the pitch boiled over, which 
 it sometimes did. It was my fire department. Unable to 
 control my temper, I was roused into a frenzy by the 
 cook's mischievous falsehoods, and immediately charged 
 him with the whole fire department, which paralyzed him 
 for a moment as such a thing was entirely unexpected. 
 He must have thought that Niagara Falls had broken 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 46 
 
 loose, and not being a friend of clean water, he must have 
 felt very uncomfortable. After using the water, I picked 
 up a piece of firewood, expecting the cook to charge. I 
 did not have long to wait; he came at me like a mad 
 bull, and I let fly the piece of wood which caught him on 
 the head, knocking his hat off. On he came, and I ran 
 towards the road but had the misfortune to stumble and 
 fall on my face. Before I could get up he had me by the 
 neck and started to drag me to the pitch pot. 
 
 My little friend enjoyed this episode immensely until 
 she saw that the cook was master of the situation. Then 
 she began to fear that there was real danger for me. She 
 told me afterwards that she thought the cook was going 
 to bum me in the pitch pot, and if so, it was time for 
 her to act. With the piece of wood she had been seated 
 upon she flew at the cook and belaboured his old head 
 until it became necessary for him to give her some atten- 
 tion. Taking advantage of this, I began kicking at his 
 legs, with the result that he gave up the unfair fight which 
 was now beyond his control and retreated towards the 
 cook-house in a most undignified manner. 
 
 Just then some small boys happened to come along the 
 road and asked the cause of the exciting chase. Betsey 
 told them that the cook had tried to burn me up, and would 
 have succeeded if she had not intervened. The boys 
 joined in the chase, hurling stones and pieces of coal at 
 him, which made matters worse for the cook. 
 
 By the time he reached the cook-house he was exhausted 
 and closed the door as soon as he entered, while my friend 
 and I went back to the pitch pot. 
 
 It was now late in the afternoon, and as yet I had had 
 Nothing to eat and there were my letters waiting to be 
 read ; but I did not open them, knowing well that I would 
 not enjoy them with this terrible hunger gnawing in my 
 stomach. While thinking the matter over, a calker came 
 
46 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 to get some pitch and not finding it ready asked what was 
 the matter. I told Betsey to explain, which she did in a 
 most satisfactory way because the calber laughed as I 
 never saw anybody laugh before. He swayed his body 
 back and forth, supporting his sides as if afraid they would 
 burst, finally throwing himself on the ground alongside of 
 the pitch pot, he roared and grunted so that we thought 
 he was having a fit. After a while the calker came to 
 his senses, got up and took a pinch of snuff, picked up one 
 of the buckets and went down to the river to fill it. Com- 
 ing back, he put the fire out and took the pitch pot, calling 
 to me to come along. I said " Good-bye " to my friend, 
 glad enough to leave, as I was very hungry. 
 
 I told the calker about the state of my stomach. He 
 seemed surprised at what I told him, and called a fellow 
 who seemed to be looking for a job and told him to carry 
 the pot doTvn to the Forsette. The calker and I very soon 
 fetched up at a nice eating-house. Evidently he was a 
 regular patron of the place, as he seemed to know every 
 one. A handsome waitress came up to us and the calker 
 gave his order. They appeared to be on very friendly 
 terms, judging from their conversation. I did not like 
 that, as I hoped she would go off and get our order first 
 and then come back for the chat. It seemed she had for- 
 gotten all about it for the time being, and the calker 
 looked as though he was going to throw another fit. He 
 threw himself on the table and upset two water bottles, 
 and the waitress dropped into a chair almost powerless 
 to control herself. It seemed contagious, this laughing; 
 every person in the room was soon laughing, except my- 
 self, and I guess I would have been, too, if I had not been 
 so hungry. 
 
 At last the waitress thought it was time to see about 
 our order, and when she came back she placed some bread 
 and butter on the table. I felt like starting in on that. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 47 
 
 but as the calker made 11:0 move, I hesitated. After some 
 time the steaks and potatoes came, with plenty of coffee. 
 The calker invited m© to help myself, -which I did. I 
 certainly enjoyed my dinner, and commenced to feel like 
 myself again. The calker remarked that I seemed to be 
 in a hurry, but I took out my letters and showed that they 
 were unopened. 
 
 He observed that I was somewhat excited, as well I 
 might be, not knowing what sort of lies the cook had 
 invented for my benefit to tell the captain and first officer. 
 As far as the mate was concerned, I felt easy enough, but 
 with the captain it was a different case altogether. I was 
 afraid he would think I had not shown sufficient respect 
 for bid age, even if, as in this case, old age had forfeited 
 all respect by telling lies to a friend. 
 
 While we had been eating, a number of Duncan's men 
 who worked on the Forsetie came into the restaurant, and 
 when they saw the calker and me sitting there they came 
 over to us and started to relate the cook's version of the 
 case. It was just as I suspected — a story without a word 
 of truth in it. He had told the captain that without any 
 reason I had enticed a lot of young men to waylay him 
 and beat him up, but he had fought with his usual bravery, 
 having finally to give up on account of the great number 
 of young men who were beating him up vtdth stones and 
 scantlings. The calker said that under the circumstances 
 they would all go down to the ship vdth me and give the 
 captain and everybody else concerned the true facts of the 
 case. I was very glad of this, as I did not know how the 
 captain would take it. 
 
 Arriving at the Forsette, we found all the sailors and 
 second mate ready to go ashore to get something to eat, as 
 the cook had nothing ready, his excuse being that the 
 other cooks had robbed him of his stores; that he was 
 unable to defend himself owing to the terrible beating he 
 
m YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 had received at the hands of the ruffians I had set upon 
 him. 
 
 The calker who had been so kind to me took it upon 
 himself to be the spokesman. He related to the captain 
 and the mate all that Betsey had told him. Perhaps he 
 exaggerated a little, but if so, it must have been in our 
 favour. I say " our," because Miss Duncan did as much 
 damage as I did. The captain tried to put on a dignified 
 look, but could hardly restrain himself while listening to 
 the calker's ridiculous tale. Everybody, including the 
 mate, joined in the fun, until the poor cook, who was 
 sitting on the main hatch, his face buried in his hands, 
 every inch a fallen hero, could stand it no longer so he got 
 up and walked into his galley. 
 
 After the calker and his companion had left the ship, 
 the captain called me aft, and in the presence of the mate 
 asked me to tell the whole story regarding myself and the 
 cook. After I had finished the story he seemed to reflect 
 upon it for a moment, and finally said : " Well, boy, I 
 don't blame you for getting angry with the old cook on 
 accoimt of the lies he told about you, but you should have 
 had some respect for old age, when you threw the 
 water on him; besides the cook is a born liar, but it is 
 mostly about himself and does nobody any harm. There- 
 fore you will have to apologise to him at once. I can't 
 understand how that little girl of Duncan's could raise all 
 these bumps on his head. If I did not know different I 
 would swear that Swanson had been giving her a few 
 lessons. Are you sure you did not assist her with a 
 scantling ?" 
 
 I told him that I had confined myself entirely to his 
 legs, and that Miss Duncan had attended to the head 
 decorations. Mr. Swanson grinned and said something 
 about Miss Duncan's having shown considerable skill and 
 generalship. He praised her courage in tackling an old 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 49 
 
 campaigner like the cook when she thought her friend was 
 in danger. " Anyhow I will hear all about it this even- 
 ing," he said, " as I have an invitation to call on the 
 family. The cargo will all be out by to-morrow, and this 
 being my last chance to call I will take the boy along and 
 bring him face to face with the girl. I am anxious to find 
 out all about this episode before we apologise to the cook." 
 
 The captain thought that was a good scheme and 
 ordered me forward. All the sailors except Axel had 
 gone ashore to get something to eat. He did not like 
 being seen by anybody on account of his swollen nose and 
 black eye. 
 
 I sat down on my box and started to read the letters 
 from home. They did not contain much news, as they 
 were all written a few days after we left. Mother in par- 
 ticular warned me to be good and to always walk the nar- 
 row path. Grandpa scribbled a few lines, telling me he 
 was taking care of my pigeons ; that his old dog Blucher 
 missed me a great deal, so much so that he did not eat for 
 several days after I left; also that my younger brother 
 was not successful at turning the grindstone, and as a con- 
 sequence his tools were not in the condition they used to 
 be. " But I don't blame him, I have nothing to recom- 
 pense him with. He does not care for my stories of ' Old 
 Nap.' He is a good boy, though, and misses you a great 
 deal, as do the rest of us." 
 
 This brought tears to my eyes. I tried to hide them 
 because Axel was sitting there looking at me. I was not 
 ashamed, but I did not want him to think I was repenting 
 my treatment of him. 
 
 Just then the cook came up and told Axel that in the 
 future he was to help carry the stores and cooking utensils 
 to and from the cook-house. In other words Axel had 
 been promoted because I couldn't cook anything except 
 pitch. 
 
60 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Axel did not take kindly to this advancement. He 
 considered it a step backward. I did my best to encour- 
 age him to accept the position, telling him that it would be 
 splendid to see him and the cook walking up the street to- 
 gether with their bruised faces. I also said that I had 
 heard the mate say that to-morrow would be the last day 
 for calking, and that he much preferred Axel to me for 
 assistant cook because I was a better sailor. 
 
 ITo more was said about the subject that evening. I 
 turned in to go to sleep, but some drunks came in shortly 
 and woke me up with their noise. They were laughing 
 about the cook's adventure with me. They said it was the 
 talk of the town. One fellow in particular raised such a 
 racket that Swanson, hearing it all, walked into the fo'c'sle 
 grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and with a swift 
 kick landed him out on the deck on all fours. The poor 
 fellow was a sight when he came back into the fo'c'sle. 
 The cook got a rag and some water to wash him with, then 
 decorated him with sticking plaster until he looked like a 
 scarecrow. 
 
 I did not sleep very much that night on account of 
 thinking of home, and for the first time since leaving I 
 wished I was back again. I felt restless in the morning 
 when I turned out, and not waiting for Axel to come vdth 
 the coffee I went on shore. 
 
 My intentions were to visit the eating-house where the 
 calker and I had dined previously. When I reached 
 there a young fellow was just opening up the place. He 
 said good morning and asked me what I wanted. I told 
 him I wanted a cup of coffee. 
 
 " A cup of coffee ? " he said. " What's the matter -with 
 Munchausen? Is he past repairing, and did Yankee 
 Swanson send him to the undertaker? The fellow who 
 was punished last night is a sight. I swear his mother 
 wouldn't know him. He was in here last night for hia 
 
JACK LE FEVRE WHEN 1 FIRST SAW HIM. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON SI 
 
 hash. He was telling us what he is going to do to Yankee 
 Swanson before he quits the ship. How does Yankee 
 look?" 
 
 I told him that I had not seen the mate since last night, 
 so could not vouch for his looks. 
 
 " Well, after I have straightened up a bit I'll go down 
 and take a look at Yankee. However, go in if you want 
 some coffee. You will find the lassie there, and she will 
 attend to your wants. Never mind paying for it. Tell 
 her that Jimmie is good for it." 
 
 I entered the place and found the same girl whom I had 
 met the evening before. I asked her for a cup of coffee. 
 She brought it, also some bread and butter. After I had 
 finished I took out my purse to pay for it, but the girl 
 would not accept any money, saying, " This is on me, 
 laddie." I thanked her and went out. Not finding 
 Jimmie I went back to the ship. 
 
 I found Mr. Swanson standing on the quay. He came 
 towards me and asked if I had seen anything of Gustave, 
 the fellow he had had the trouble with the previous even- 
 ing. I told him what I had heard at the eating-house. 
 " Then," he said, " that fellow has run away, and it is a 
 good riddance. I wish some more of these clowns would 
 take a walk before they make trouble." He told me that 
 it would be my last day at boiling pitch, as the calking 
 was nearly finished, and the cargo would all be out by 
 evening. On the following day we were to go to the coal- 
 bunkers, where it would only take a few hours to load, 
 after which we would have to get out of the dock and 
 anchor in the Firth until ready to go to sea. 
 
 He told me to keep a sharp look out, and notice what 
 was going on, as we were going to rig out the jib-boom 
 and the royal yards were to be sent aloft before evening. 
 
 Leaving him, I walked down to the pitch boiling place 
 and started the fire. After a while a calker came along 
 
52 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 with a pitch pot, which he placed upon the fire and then 
 lighted his pipe. He sat down to rest and enjoy his 
 smoke while the pitch was cooking. He told me that only 
 one more pot would be required, and remarked that he 
 guessed I would be glad to hear of that. I gave him to 
 understand that I enjoyed the work very much indeed, 
 and felt sorry that it had come to an end so soon. 
 
 " Well," he said, " you have made a good many friends, 
 and I suppose you will be sorry to leave them." 
 
 I admitted that the Scotch were great people and that I 
 would miss them all, himself included. This seemed to 
 please him and he asked me if the boss had said anything 
 to me about money. I told him no. " Well, he will be- 
 fore you go away. All of us have given him to under- 
 stand that you are to be paid a pound, which is to be taken 
 out of our wages. You are worth more than that, but 
 we are all poor men, and that is all we can afford. Be- 
 sides, the boss will do a little on his own account. He has 
 plenty of money, but don't say I told you." I promised 
 him that I would not, and the pitch being at boiling point, 
 he took his pot and off he went. 
 
 Some time previous to the above events there occurred 
 a certain incident which was to be the introduction to a 
 long friendship. 
 
 One day at the pitch pot I noticed a boy standing on 
 the road looking dowu towards me. I had seen him sev- 
 eral times before at the cook-house, where he had made 
 himself generally useful helping the cook. He seemed to 
 be of a happy disposition, always jolly and good-natured, 
 even when the cooks called him nasty names or refused to 
 give him anything to eat after doing some work for them. 
 He would grin and take it as a joke. His clothes were 
 nothing but rags, and his shoes had neither heels nor toes. 
 In short, his appearance was awful. I had never seen 
 any one so ragged and dirty before. I beckoned him to 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 59 
 
 come down. He hesitated a moment, looking up and down 
 the road as if expecting some one. When he came down 
 to where I was, I asked him if he was hungry. I offered 
 him a couple of hard-tacks that I happened to have in my 
 pocket, and he thanked me in such a gentlemanly manner 
 that it struck me as peculiar in such a dirty boy. His 
 English was different from what I was accustomed to 
 hearing in Grangemouth. I therefore concluded that he 
 was a stranger. 
 
 After he had finished the biscuits he asked me for a 
 drink of water. I handed it to him, and he took a long, 
 deep drink. Then he patted himself on the stomach in a 
 most comical manner. I think he wanted me to under- 
 stand that he would now be all right for twenty-four hours 
 anyhow. Taking a seat upon the ground, he looked at 
 me for a long time with such pleading, sorrowful eyes that 
 I felt sorry for the poor little fellow. Very soon he asked 
 me if I liked music. When I told him I did, he took out 
 a little tin pipe from his pocket, wiping it tenderly with a 
 dirty rag, then running over the scales a few times he 
 finally began to play the " Marseillaise." Nothing could 
 have suited me better, as I at once thought of grandpa. It 
 was his favourite tune and the only one he cared anything 
 about. I tried to keep tune to it by singing, which pleased 
 the little musician very much; so much so that he started 
 to march back and forth, causing me to feel afraid that 
 he and his rags would soon part company. 
 
 After he had repeated the " Marseillaise " several times 
 he sat down and asked me if I liked dancing. When he 
 found that I did, he said he would dance for me after 
 resting a little. I then thought he must be a lost actor 
 or something equally interesting. 
 
 Having rested a little, he took out a harmonica and 
 rubbed it up a bit. He then ran up and down the scales 
 to see if it was in tune, but shook his head as if doubtful 
 
54) YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 of the result. After several attempts at blowing, he 
 struck up the " Blue Danube," which he played through to 
 see if he had the right key. Taking a careful inspection 
 of his shoes before dancing, as if he intended to make a 
 good job of it this time, he again struck up the waltz. 
 The boy danced well, considering the bad shape of the 
 ground, which was covered with sand, gravel, and pieces 
 of brick scattered everywhere; and worst of all, here and 
 there were big lumps of pitch in the sand, caused by the 
 boiler overflowing. I knew it would be the means of 
 causing disaster to his shoes and called his attention to the 
 fact. 
 
 I was too late, and the boy was not listening to anything 
 except his music when the catastrophe happened. In 
 executing some fancy step he managed to get his feet 
 tangled up in a pitch patch, with the result that he fell 
 and left the soles of his shoes stuck in the pitch. The 
 poor boy picked himself up, walked over to where he had 
 got stuck, and stood there looking at the soles of his shoes 
 for some time. He was evidently figuring if it was worth 
 while to recover them. Observing his perplexity, I told 
 him not to mind, as I would give him a pair, having two 
 pairs of my own, and that I would fetch them for him if 
 he would look after the pitch while I was gone. Upon 
 hearing this he became good natured at once, and wanted 
 to know what he had to look out for. I showed him how 
 and left for the ship. On my way I met one of the 
 calkers and told him about the stranger, as I was afraid 
 he would molest the boy if he did not know the reason for 
 his being there. 
 
 When I arrived at the ship I found Swanson on the 
 dock talking to one of the Scotchmen. Observing me, he 
 asked me why I had come back to the ship, thinking some- 
 thing had gone wrong with the pitch pot. I told him 
 about the strange boy I had met, and also what I had come 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 66 
 
 to fetch for him. He thought for a moment. Then he 
 said, " Can you spare the shoes ? " I told him that I had 
 two pairs beside the ones I had on. I also said that it was 
 my intention to take him a shirt and some other things 
 that I could very well spare, as the boy was almost naked. 
 The mate then told me that I was not to give anything 
 until he saw the boy, as he was afraid that he was some 
 ragamuffin playing on my sympathies. He then ordered 
 me to return to work and to send the boy up to him, when 
 he would look him over and perhaps give him something 
 to do if the boy was found worthy of it. 
 
 When I arrived at the spot I found the boy occupied in 
 dancing a hornpipe with his bare feet, having discarded 
 the uppers in expectation of what I had promised him. 
 He was playing the tin pipe and the calker was beating 
 time on the pitch pot with a piece of rock. Miss Duncan 
 and several more of her friends were spectators. The 
 little kids were turning somersaults and performing some 
 amusing tricks. Miss Duncan asked if I could do any- 
 thing like that. Confessing my inability, and feeling very 
 jealous, I thought that if the youngster was only properly 
 clothed he would soon be creating havoc among the hearts 
 of the ladies, and that I certainly would not be in it for 
 one moment. I enjoyed the dancing as much as the chil- 
 dren. I was only a child myself, although I " paddled my 
 own canoe." The old calker enjoyed it more than any 
 one else. When the dancing came to an end he was pro- 
 nounced a success. 
 
 The poor boy had been so busy entertaining the girls 
 that he had not noticed my arrival. When he did observe 
 me and saw that I had brought nothing he became very 
 down-hearted, but was gentleman enough not to say any- 
 thing. The calker started to leave with the pitch pot, 
 when I asked him to take the boy along to the mate, who 
 wished to see him. The calker looked dubious at that, 
 
56 , YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 and said, " What can Yankee Swanson want with that 
 boy ? Perhaps he is going to let Munchausen adopt him, 
 as the cook told me yesterday that he had a lot of salt 
 horse that had gone bad on him, and he may employ the 
 boy to consume it." 
 
 I told the calker that he was mistaken, as Swanson 
 intended to give the boy something to do, if everything 
 was satisfactory. The calker looked at me for a moment, 
 and then burst out laughing, as if it was all one huge 
 joke. He said, " Sonny, that is the funniest yet. Fancy 
 Swanson giving up anything, except such as he gave Mac- 
 Dougall." 
 
 I could not help laughing, as it was true, in a way, 
 never having seen Swanson give anything away myself 
 before; but then, there was no reason why he should not 
 do so if he wished. The calker told the boy to come 
 along, and he looked at me as much as to say, " Is it all 
 right ? " I nodded approval, and off they went to the 
 ship. My visitors having had enough fun, also said 
 " Good-bye," and left me to think what sort of a reception 
 the boy would get from Swanson. 
 
VI 
 
 ME. SWAiNSON gave the boy a much better reception 
 than I expected. The boy's story was a strange 
 and sad one. There was no reason to think that he was 
 telling an untruth. He has since told it to me many 
 times, and I shall relate it further on in my narrative. I 
 prefer to do this, because when I decided to write these 
 reminiscences I thought it would be best to relate things 
 just as they occurred, or as I remember them. 
 
 Mr. Swanson felt satisfied with the truth of the boy's 
 story. He and Captain Bengston interested themselves 
 in the boy and bought some good cheap clothes and shoes 
 for him, but did not allow him to put them on until he had 
 a good scrubbing down with " sudje mudje," while Axel 
 and Munchausen had to swallow the mortification of being 
 compelled to fetch hot water from the cook-house for that 
 purpose. Swanson told the cook that he would hold him 
 responsible if the job was not done properly. 
 
 The boy had a home for the time being. Swanson 
 made him cabin boy, and his name went on the Articles 
 (Jack Le Fevre) at twenty-five cents per month. He be- 
 came a useful member of the crew and was well liked by 
 everybody except Axel. The cook admitted that the boy 
 stood ace-high with him. Jack and I became warm 
 friends from the day he entertained me with his music and 
 dancing, and ever since we have been on the most friendly 
 terms. 
 
 It being my last day at the pitch establishment, I said 
 
 " Good-bye " to a number of friends who called. None of 
 
 the Duncan family came, as Mr. Swanson had promised to 
 
 57 
 
68 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 call on them that evening, and was going to take me 
 along. 
 
 I went up to the cook-house for dinner, which I found 
 to be quite an elaborate affair. Evidently the cook was 
 giving pointers in fancy cooking to the other cooks. Tor 
 some reason or another the cook was very affable to me, 
 giving me the best of everything. He spoke very highly 
 of me to the other cooks, and seemed to have forgotten 
 all about the affair at the pitch pot. I felt sure that he 
 had a card up his sleeve to spring on me when an oppor- 
 tunity offered. 
 
 After dinner I went back to the pitch pot and waited 
 for the calker to come for the last of it. I did not have 
 long to wait, for he and Jack soon came along. Jack had 
 a wheelbarrow, into which we put the wood that was left 
 over, and several other things that I had made use of. 
 The abandonment of the camp made me feel a little down- 
 hearted, as I had had a fine time there and would miss it 
 a great deal. 
 
 When we reached the Forsette we found the boss calker 
 and the captain settling up their accounts. Jack and I 
 were busy getting the things on board, because after that 
 was done our day's work was completed and we could wash 
 up. 
 
 When I reported to Swanson he told me to clean up a 
 bit and put on my good clothes, and report to the old man 
 in the cabin. " The remainder of the day is yours," he 
 said. " To-night we will take a little trip ashore, and to- 
 morrow we will get our coal on board, and then away we 
 go." 
 
 I went up to the cook-house to get a bucket of hot water, 
 which the cook gave to me without any trouble. He also 
 presented me with a piece of Castile soap, which I suppose 
 he had stolen from one of the other cooks. After bathing 
 and dressing myself, I reported to the captain, who told 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 69 
 
 me that the boss calker was well satisfied with the way 
 I had supplied his men with pitch, and the men had asked 
 him to pay me a pound of their wages. Captain Bengston 
 handed me the money, and informed me that the boss had 
 given him an order for a suit of clothes for me. He told 
 me to accompany him, as he had business up town, and 
 would see that I got properly fitted. On the way we 
 stopped at the cook-house, where the captain spoke to the 
 cook about some stores that he expected down in the morn- 
 ing. While the captain was talking, the cook kept his 
 weather eye on me, being curious to know what I was doing 
 in company with the old man. When the captain was 
 through with him, he managed to edge up to me, although 
 I tried to avoid him, and whispered in my ear, " Say, boy, 
 did the calker give you anything ? " I told him that he 
 had, and that I was going with the old man to get a new 
 suit of clothes. " Didn't he give you any money ? I have 
 been giving him hints all along about doing something for 
 you, and I thought if he had given you any cash I would 
 like to borrow a few shillings, as I have a few friends I 
 would like to call on this evening. The old man won't 
 give me any more. Tou can come along if you wish, and 
 I will make it pleasant for you. I have no hard feelings 
 against you on account of that little racket with the girl. 
 It was her fault. I was only fooling, don't you see ? " I 
 had a few shillings in my pocket, and must admit that I 
 felt sorry for the poor old fellow. He was not so bad, and 
 he made me laugh at times. So I gave him two shillings, 
 on condition that we be friends again. I did not stop to 
 listen to what else he had to say, as the captain was a good 
 way ahead of me, so I hurried up and caught him, but 
 walked a little behind him, as I was afraid he would ask 
 me what the cook wanted, and if I told him he might be 
 angry with the cook and me. I had intended giving the 
 few shillings to Jack, but comforted myseK with the 
 
60 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 thought that I still had the pound, and was on wages, 
 thanks to Swanson. 
 
 In the evening Mr. Swanson and I went out to call on 
 our friends for the last time. I had a new suit of clothes, 
 and so had Swanson. He looked first rate, and being in 
 good humour, we chatted as we walked along. 
 
 The captain had shipped another sailor to take the place 
 of the one who had run away. Swanson said he was well 
 pleased with him, because he had acted during the day as 
 if he knew his business. He was a Swede, but had sailed 
 in English and American ships and spoke English well. 
 We met several people whom Swanson knew, and they 
 wanted to take us into the public-houses and treat, but 
 Swanson excused us by saying that I did not drink. 
 
 As it was early in the evening, Swanson took me to a 
 music hall. We heard a couple of songs and saw some 
 fancy dancing. It was all very funny. I thought of 
 Jack, and said that he could beat them all. Swanson 
 laughed, and remarked that he hoped he would turn out 
 as good a sailor as he was a dancing master. " He is a 
 Erenchman," he said, " and as a rule they ain't much on 
 salt water; but I suppose there are exceptions." 
 
 Passing a candy store, Swanson said to me, " Have you 
 any money in your pocket ? " I told him that I had. 
 " Well, then buy a box of candy for the ladies ; that's what 
 we do in America, and I believe it is the style here also." 
 He selected a nice box and I paid for it. 
 
 On arriving at Mr. Duncan's house, we found the family 
 sitting out on the doorstep. They seemed very glad to 
 see us. Mrs. Duncan said I looked fine in my new suit. 
 I liked that, although I wished Miss Betsey had said some- 
 thing like it ; yet she was kind enough, just the same, and 
 made me feel at home. 
 
 Mr. Duncan was the first one to say anything about the 
 racket with the cook. We had to go over the whole story 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 61 
 
 again, amidst a great deal of laughter. Betsey deliber- 
 ately told how she had beaten the cook with the piece of 
 wood, whereupon Swanson said if such was the case she 
 would have to come to the ship and apologise to the cook, 
 as he had told the captain that I was the instigator of the 
 whole thing, by causing a lot of young men to beat him up. 
 Miss Duncan said she would go down the following day to 
 see us off when we hauled out of the dock, and if the cook 
 was not in hiding she would give him some more. 
 
 Mr. Swanson had evidently forgotten all about the 
 candy. I had not, but was too bashful to say anything or 
 to offer it to Mrs. or Miss Duncan. I kept it in my hand 
 all the time as if afraid it would run away. I finally mus- 
 tered up courage to offer it to Miss Betsey. She looked at 
 it, and on seeing what it was, blushed a little, and thanked 
 me in the very kindest way. I got as red as a turkey 
 cock. Swanson was grinning at me, and I thought that 
 every person was doing the same. I was glad that the 
 jolly calker was not there, for I am sure I should have 
 made for the door and run away. As usual, Swanson 
 came to my rescue. He told them that I was bent upon 
 taking something to Miss Betsey, because she had been 
 good to me, and that he proposed to buy the candy, which 
 he felt sure she would appreciate. Mrs. Duncan said it 
 was very kind of me to think so well of them ; that she had 
 taken a fancy to me the first time she met me on the rail- 
 road cars, and she sincerely hoped that we would meet 
 again. She predicted that in a few years I would be 
 captain of some fine big vessel like the Forsette. " Yes, he 
 will," spoke up Mr. Duncan, " and he will give me his 
 stevedoring. Won't he, Yankee ? " 
 
 " Of course he will," said Swanson, " and then he can 
 take Betsey to Edinburgh for an outing. The fat woman 
 will be dead by that time." This caused a general laugh, 
 
62 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 and I had to laugh myself, at the mention of the fat 
 woman. 
 
 S-wanson asked Betsey to play something on the piano, 
 which she did. Afterwards she accompanied Swanson 
 while he sang " Suanee Kiver," " Nancy Lee," and other 
 songs. 
 
 Swanson told about our new hoy Jack. Mrs. Duncan 
 said she would help the little fellow in the way of clothes. 
 She said she had seen him once on a Sunday afternoon at 
 some park in Grangemouth, where he had been dancing 
 for pennies to get something to eat She wondered then 
 who he was and where he came from. 
 
 Swanson thought it was time for us to go, as we had to 
 be wide awake next morning, and there was a great deal 
 to be done, meaning that we had to get our load of coal on 
 board and haul the ship out of the dock and anchor her in 
 the river. 
 
 Miss Betsey gave me a little package containing books 
 and a few other things that would be useful to me at sea. 
 It was very thoughtful of her, and I thanked her and ex- 
 pressed my gratitude the best I could. Swanson enlarged 
 on what I said — at least he said a whole lot. Mrs. Dun- 
 can kept looking at me and remarking, " the poor little 
 feUow." 
 
 We said " Grood-bye " witib a good deal of handshaking, 
 and hoped we would come back to Grangemouth from 
 Archangel. Miss Betsey asked me, as a favour, to make 
 good use of the books. I told her she could take my word 
 for it that they woiild be completely worn out. In fact I 
 was doubtful if they would last that long, as I intended to 
 go at them good and strong. She laughed a little sadly. 
 I think she was sorry I was going away, and we were 
 never to see each other again, perhaps; but we did meet 
 again years afterwards, but in another part of the world 
 and under changed conditions. I shall tell my readers 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 63 
 
 about it when I get that far, but it will be some time before 
 I can do so. I will now leave the Ihincans for the present ; 
 but they were such nice people that I shall never forget 
 them. 
 
 When we got out into the street Swanson asked me if 
 there was anything I wished to buy before going on board. 
 I told him that I would like to get a shirt and a pair of 
 socks for Jack. Swanson said he was very much in need 
 of such things, but thought that the Duncans would send 
 something down for him in the morning, as he was sure 
 Mr. Duncan would come to see him, if nobody else did. 
 If Mr. Duncan did bring these things then I could keep 
 them for myself. I told him that I had promised Jack 
 something, and did not like to disappoint him, even if the 
 Duncans did give him something. We looked about for a 
 store, but they were all shut up for the night. Swanson 
 said that we had stayed too long, but he promised to get me 
 what I wanted in the morning. When we reached the 
 dock gate we saw two men walking ahead of us, very much 
 under the influence of liquor. They were arm in arm, 
 supporting each other. I recognised one of them as our 
 cook and the other as the new sailor that the captain had 
 engaged in Grangemouth. As we passed them the cook 
 shouted, " ship ahoy, there." Mr. Swanson stopped and 
 took hold of him by the shoulder, saying, " Is that you, 
 cook ? " When the cook saw to whom he had spoken, he 
 offered all manner of excuses, but Swanson said nothing. 
 We went on board, and our friends followed as best they 
 could. 
 
 The next morning we were astir early. The cook, who 
 was as drunk as he was the evening before, had been to 
 the cook-house and prepared the coffee on time. I was 
 glad of it, because if it had been otherwise, the cook would 
 have been in for a good scolding, if nothing worse. 
 
 We hauled the Forsetie down to the dock gate, and at 
 
64 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 high tide we passed through the lock and entered the other 
 dock, where we loaded the coal. 
 
 To me the loading was an odd operation. A car loaded 
 with coal, weighing ten tons, was swung out over the main 
 hatch. A pull at a tripping line disconnected one end of 
 the car and its contents ran out and dumped itself in the 
 hold of the ship. In about three hours it was all over, 
 and we had to haul away at once to make room for other 
 vessels which were waiting to take their turn. 
 
 We moved to the dock gate again, and at high tide in the 
 evening the tugboat took hold of us and towed us out into 
 the river, where we anchored. 
 
 During the day Swanson had purchased the things I 
 wanted, which made Jack extremely happy. He looked 
 altogeAer another boy from what he was at first. Mrs. 
 Duncan was as good as her word. She sent him some 
 very good underwear, so that, with the clothes the captain 
 gave him, and what he received from the mate, he was as 
 well off as anybody on the Forsetie. 
 
 The captain had promised to take Jack along for the 
 trip to Norway and Russia and back to some port in Eng- 
 land. He did not know which port it would be, but it 
 made no difference to Jack; he was as much at home in 
 one place as another. 
 
 I knew if Jack would make good with the mate he would 
 be all right, as he had a tender heart for boys. He had 
 been a boy himself, and from what he told me, he must 
 have received a great deal of ill usage. Strange to say, it 
 had the effect of making him very considerate of boys. 
 Hardship and abuse of that sort more often harden a per- 
 son ; but then, Swanson was no ordinary person, as I found 
 out in time. 
 
 The next day was Sunday, and after early coffee all 
 hands turned to. Some were busy rigging out the jib- 
 boom, and others sending up the royal yards. The first 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 65 
 
 job I got "when we came on deck was to reave off the two 
 gantlines on fore and main to send the royal yards aloft. 
 The second mate had charge of sending the yards aloft, 
 while Swanson and half of the men busied themselves with 
 the jib-boom. It was a race to see who would get through 
 first. Everybody seemed to take an interest in the work, 
 and things went along smoothly. We were all through 
 with these two jobs- by breakfast time. 
 
 After breakfast the sails were taken out of the locker. 
 They were all tagged with leather tags and were sent aloft 
 with the same gantlines that I rove off for the royal yards. 
 Afterwards all hands went aloft to bend the sails, one 
 watch each on foretop and main. The sails were furled 
 as fast as we bent them. When that was done the ropes 
 were coiled down snug, decks swept clean, and the pumps 
 manned. This ended the day's work, and then came the 
 chief event of the day, " slicing the main brace." Every- 
 body took their " nip," except Jack and me. The cook 
 was sure to be around when anything of this sort was 
 going on. The captain was pleased with the manner in 
 which the calking had been done. The vessel hardly 
 leaked, although loaded down to her water mark. 
 
 I noticed that the captain and the mate were on better 
 terms than on the voyage out. Evidently they had 
 patched matters up. I was glad of it, as they were both 
 good men. Everything on board a ship, as to her being 
 good or bad, depends on these two men. Nothing is 
 more disagreeable to the mate, as well as the watch, to have 
 the captain come on deck in the morning, before he has 
 had' coffee, and start in to find fault with everything he 
 sees. As a rule, the mate, if he happens to be a fellow 
 who scares easily, will try to make things agreeable by 
 being disagreeable with the men. The " handy Billy " 
 will be brought into use at once. The yards will want to 
 be braced up a little more or else checked in a little. A 
 
66 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 gasket might happen to he adrift, chafing a sail some- 
 where, which is something awful. I pity the poor boy 
 who left it in that shape, at least in an American ship. 
 He is lucky if he gets off without having his ears boxed. 
 Luckily for us on the Forsette we had a mate who wouldn't 
 stand for anything like that. On the other hand, I think 
 there was hardly anything that any reasonable man could 
 find fault with when he was on deck, Nothing escaped 
 his notice; at the same time, he was not a man to keep a 
 fellow working all the time, just to have you doing some- 
 thing. 
 
 When Swanson came on deck, night or day, and re- 
 lieved the watch, he would take a walk about the ship, 
 every now and then casting an eye aloft, and when he had 
 gone his rounds he knew pretty well what was wanted. 
 He wouldn't do what I have seen the second mate do many 
 times, viz., break the stops on the buntlines to make work 
 for some of the boys. Swanson caught him at it once, 
 and called him down for it. No one liked the second 
 mate. He was not a bad man, but somewhat of a hypo- 
 crite. He had a habit of saying, " Thank the Lord I am 
 not like that." He was very quick to see the faults of 
 other people; as for himself, he was a saint, in his own 
 estimation. 
 
 I was made happy when informed by Swanson that I 
 was on his watch. Axel was on the second mate's. The 
 new man, Swanson also took. I think he thought he was 
 a hard case and needed trimming a bit. He always liked 
 to do that himself, although the second mate was a handy 
 man with his fists. Jack was to stand no watch, his duty 
 being to keep the cabin clean and to assist Munchausen 
 when he couldn't find anything to do, which was prac- 
 tically what I had to do on the voyage out. 
 
 It was Monday morning, early in June, that the tugboat 
 came alongside and passed the hawser on board. The 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 61 
 
 captain was on board the tug, having been in town clearing 
 the ship for a place in Norway called Bodo. As soon as 
 he came on deck he gave orders to heave up anchor. All 
 hands and the cook, even Jack, lent a hand. It came in 
 easy enough, but the cook was feeling a little gay, so 
 started the old chantey, " We are bound for the Rio 
 Grande." All hands joined in the chorus. After a while 
 he switched to the " Banks of Sacramento." We got the 
 anchor up all right and catted it. The wind being fair 
 down the Firth, we set the fore and main lower topsails 
 to help along the tug, the current being strong and against 
 us. 
 
 I do not remember how long it took the tug to take us 
 out to where we let go the hawser, but I do remember that 
 it was a most beautiful day, and it gave me a fine oppor- 
 tunity to see what I had missed going up, owing to its 
 being night time, and the incessant conversation of the 
 cook. 
 
 After the anchor was catted and the lower topsails 
 sheeted home, we did nothing more until well out in the 
 entrance of the Firth, except to steer the vessel, and the 
 carpenter always had that job, going in or out of port. 
 
 There was considerable wind outside, and it was in the 
 right direction. We had nearly everything set when the 
 tug blew its whistle as a signal to let the hawser go. Dip- 
 ping our ensign to the tug, the skipper shouted a pleasant 
 voyage, and off we were to Norway at a pretty good clip. 
 The hands were called aft to splice the main brace, and 
 the watches set, Swanson taking the first watch. 
 
 I was ordered to take the wheel, relieving the carpenter, 
 who went forward with the other men to get their dinner. 
 After a while I was relieved by one of the men to get my 
 dinner, and as I went forward the captain called me back 
 and gave me a letter. When he handed it to me he winked 
 his eye and said something about sweethearts. The cook 
 
68 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 came out of the cabin at the time, and seeing me with a 
 letter an idea struck him that he could be of some use to 
 me in translating it, suspecting it was in English. I had 
 no idea of permitting him to have anything to do with my 
 correspondence, love or otherwise. I declined his offer, 
 but went to the carpenter's place, where there was no one. 
 When I opened the letter I was curious to see the signa- 
 ture. It was Betsey Duncan's all right. I put the letter 
 back in my pocket, and went to the fo'c'sle to have my pea 
 soup and chunk of salt beef. Having finished dinner I 
 went back to relieve the man at the wheel. The mate was 
 walking the poop deck with a smile on his face — a sure 
 sign that everything was 0'. K. 
 
 In any well regulated ship it is strictly forbidden to 
 speak to the man at the wheel, except the ofiicer of the 
 deck in giving an order. Swanson impressed this on my 
 mind on many occasions. In this case it was somewhat 
 different. I was only a boy and he considered himself 
 as my father, at least he treated me as such. After a 
 while he said, " Well, Betsey did not come down to see 
 us off after all." 
 
 " She wrote, though," I answered. 
 
 "When? To-day?" 
 
 " I believe so. The captain just gave me a letter." 
 
 "What did she say?" 
 
 " I can't read it myself, as you know. I therefore 
 brought it along so you can see for yourself — " 
 
 " That would not be fair to Betsey," said Swanson, in 
 his most teasing manner. " Suppose it was a love letter. 
 I would be no hand at explaining it to you if it is. I 
 could not tell a good love letter from a bad one. It was 
 always my luck to make a mess of things when love was 
 on the board. Let the cook tackle it. He is an expert. 
 He will be able to unravel it thoroughly and explain the 
 fine points from the weak ones." 
 
YANKEE SWANSON &9 
 
 " In that case," I replied, " the letter will go unread 
 until I can find some one that can tackle it. The cook 
 got me into much trouble once by my placing confidence in 
 him." 
 
 The smile on Swanson's face developed into a laugh. 
 " Very well, Andrew, don't blame me if it is not what 
 you would like it to be. Under these conditions I will 
 tackle the job, but would advise you to try the cook 
 first." 
 
 As I would not listen to anything about the cook, Swan- 
 son took the letter and started to read it. I was watch- 
 ing his face, which wore a mingled expression, more of 
 fun than anything else. When he had finished he said, 
 "Well, it sounds all right. There may be some fine 
 points in it that I don't understand. I told you that I 
 was a poor hand at it. This is about what she says. 
 She wishes you a very happy voyage and a safe return to 
 Grangemouth. She wants you to remain her good friend 
 and to think of her once in a while. She feels certain 
 that you will meet again, and sends her regards to the 
 mate and the captain, and warns you to steer clear of the 
 cook, as he is a very bad man, because he tried to make 
 trouble between you two, and by doing so he made trouble 
 for himself. Then she winds up by saying, ' Good-bye, 
 Tour True Friend. I have nothing to send you. You 
 never asked me for anything.' What can she mean by 
 that," sard Swanson. " There you are. That is some- 
 thing the cook could see through in a minute. We will 
 let it go at that, and between you and me we will answer 
 that letter in JSTorway." 
 
 I asked Swanson to keep the letter for me, being afraid 
 that the cook or some evil-minded person might get hold 
 of it. It is worth keeping, I thought, as bye and bye I 
 would be able to read it myself without an interpreter. 
 
70 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Nothing more was said about the letter. I had my doubts 
 about Swanson, though, as I had seen enough of him in 
 Grangemouth to know that he could be as mischievous as 
 anybody ; and as for Betsey saying that I had never asked 
 for anything, and therefore she could not send me any- 
 thing, I attributed to Swanson's fertile imagination. 
 
 We had a most beautiful trip across the North Sea to 
 Bodo. It was daylight twenty hours out of the twenty- 
 four, and as we proceeded towards the Arctic Circle it be- 
 came daylight altogether. 
 
 The distance from Grangemouth to Bodo is about one 
 thousand miles, which we covered in a week. This is 
 not bad for a vessel of the Forsette type. The royals 
 were never furled during the entire trip. The wind was 
 westerly, sometimes veering to SW, light to moderate 
 breezes, with a smooth sea. I enjoyed every watch of the 
 trip, and hated to turn in when my watch was up, because 
 of the beautiful weather. Mr. Swanson took great pains 
 with Jack and me, as he was anxious to make good sailors 
 out of us. Nothing important was ever done without him 
 telling us the why and wherefore, showing us how to splice 
 rope and to make numerous knots, some of which were 
 very fancy. When handling the ship under sails on that 
 voyage, he never squared or braced a yard without telling 
 us why he did so and what effect it would have on the 
 vessel. 
 
 Swanson became very much attached to my friend Jack. 
 It was a stand off whom he liked best. Jack had the ad- 
 vantage of me in this respect, that he spoke English. 
 Swanson considered that language his, I think. At any 
 rate, he could use it better than his mother tongue, having 
 left home at an early age. Besides, Jack was a song and 
 dance artist of no mean order, and, as I have already 
 stated, Swanson was fairly good at that himself. It was 
 
YANKEE SWAN SON 71 
 
 not strange, therefore, that he should like the hoy, par- 
 ticularly as he was so down-trodden by misfortune which 
 was not of his own making. 
 
 Jack was not standing any watch, so had the evenings 
 to himself, and often when Swanson and the skipper were 
 in good humour they would send for the boy to bring up| 
 his tin whistle and the harmonica. The boy was happy 
 to be able to accommodate them, and he would play some- 
 times for hours, and for a change he used to do a little 
 stunt in dancing, which delighted us all. Sometimes the 
 captain insisted that Swanson dance a jig or hornpipe, 
 which he did, but his dancing did not compare with Jack's 
 for gracefulness. 
 
 Miss Betsey's books I made good use of on the watches 
 below. I soon found out that the easiest way to learn 
 was by listening attentively to Swanson talking to the boy 
 M>r to Captain Bengston, who also spoke English well, 
 although he made use of the east coast brogue, which is not 
 considered good English. 
 
 Sometimes after being relieved at the wheel, the mate 
 would keep me on the poop with him for an hour or so, 
 when he would talk to me in English. He had great pa- 
 tience to explain everything I asked about. I often won- 
 dered how he could bear to be asked so many questions, 
 and on one occasion I expressed myself to that effect. 
 His answer was that it did not matter so long as I did 
 not ask the same question twice. He told me I had a 
 good memory, and was quick to pick things up, but he 
 would box my ears if he had to repeat to-night what he 
 had told me last night. At times I would speak to the 
 cook in English, but I could not learn much from him. I 
 always had to go into explanations as to who had taught 
 me, and invariably he would criticise the mate and the 
 English he spoke as being incorrect. " The Americans 
 do not speak English," he would say. " It is a mixture 
 
78 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 between Indian and Frenoli; some Englist, of course, too, 
 when spoken the way Swanson speaks it. It reminds me 
 of a Patagonian more than anything I know of. The 
 English I speak is the pure stuff, and no mistake. I am 
 sorry you waste so much valuable time in learning that 
 stuff. It will never do you any good unless you should 
 be crazy enough to take Swanson's advice and sail in 
 Yankee ships. If you do, you will never be a sailor. All 
 that they want in these ships is a fellow that is handy 
 knocking out some poor fellow like Gustavo, that he made 
 a mess of in Grangemouth. He ought to be thankful that 
 I was there to patch that fellow up or he would have bled 
 to death. Where, then, would he have been ? In jail, of 
 course, where he ought to be. I was that mad that I 
 could hardly keep myseK from going out and giving him 
 a piece of his own medicine. Old as I am I ain't afraid 
 of the likes of him. Any time he wants anything in the 
 shape of Jem Mace, The Game Chicken, or any other 
 first class duck, I will be there with the goods." 
 
 He then asked me if Swanson ever said anything about 
 him, and I told him th^t Swanson always spoke ?n the 
 very highest terms of him, especially of his cooking. 
 " Well, as far as the cooking goes, he has no kick coming. 
 He was never fed better in his life than he is here. Just 
 fancy plum duff twice a week. Where did he ever get 
 that ? Not in his fancy Yankee packets. I sailed in some 
 of them and know all about them, but I never liked them. 
 There is too much knockout business for me — no friend- 
 ship whatsoever among them. If you should happen to 
 be so unlucky as to borrow a dollar or two from one of 
 them fellows he would never stop talking until it was paid 
 back, and with big interest at that, mind you. I don't 
 like that. If I borrow a little from a shipmate, I expect 
 him to keep mum until such time as I am willing or 
 able to pay back. Then if he is a true friend he will say 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 73 
 
 ' Never mind, pal, have a driiik; witli me, and we "will call 
 it square.' " 
 
 I believe that the old fellow could have kept up that 
 talk for hours if I would have listened to him. It was 
 all right for a change, knowing as I did that he could not 
 help it. When I made a move to leave he would always 
 say, " !N"ow keep this to yourself. I would not talk like 
 that to any one else." 
 
 I told him I could well believe that, also his reasons 
 for doing so. 
 
 " Of course you do," said the cook. " You are dif- 
 ferent from that fool Axel. I am disgusted with him. I 
 taught him quite a lot at the cook-house in Grangemouth, 
 but he never as much as gave me the price of a glass of 
 ale. Now what do you think of that? Ain't that the 
 limit?" 
 
 " Pretty tough," I said. " It is hard to believe that he 
 could be so ungrateful." 
 
 " It is a fact just the same. I even went so far as to 
 tell him of the little borrow you obliged me with, thinking 
 it would limber him up a bit. It was no use. The fel- 
 low had no sense. I think Swanson was right for once, 
 in Axel's case." 
 
 I told him I was sorry that he mentioned the matter to 
 anybody, more particularly to Axel, as he would tell it 
 all over the ship. " Don't worry about that," the cook 
 said, " you can tell him that you did it because I gave you 
 a pointer or two. That will make him feel small, and 
 perhaps he will get next himself to do better in the future 
 by his betters." 
 
 I thought the chances of anything of that sort occurring 
 with Axel were very slim indeed, in which the cook con- 
 curred. 
 
VII 
 
 SUNDAY morning we made the coast of Norway, and 
 by noon we were within five or six miles of land, 
 rocky, forbidding-looking islands and headlands. We 
 were going along at a fairly good speed, with everything 
 set that would draw, the wind being dead aft. Towards 
 evening we had land ahead and on the port bow. We 
 were now several degrees north of the Arctic Circle, and 
 as there is very little difference between night and day in 
 that locality during the summer months, we kept on our 
 course, although it seemed a very intricate piece of navi- 
 gation. We almost rubbed up against one or two islands. 
 The water is several hundred fathoms deep close up to 
 within a few feet of the rocks. For that reason there is 
 no danger, unless you run on to them. 
 
 The scenery is grand ; but it is also the most forbidding 
 scenery in the world that I have ever seen, except, perhaps, 
 Tierra del Fuego, which is the counterpart. It gave me 
 the shivers when I saw those great high mountains, sev- 
 eral thousand feet high, and in some places with over- 
 hanging cliffs. Not a blade of grass, or anything 
 else that grows, is to be seen on these islands. In some 
 places there were immense waterfalls, caused by the snow 
 melting on the mountain tops and the water falling 
 straight down into the sea vsdthout touching anything. 
 
 The following morning the wind fell lightly and we 
 
 hardly moved through the water. It was as smooth as 
 
 glass. We were within hailing distance of a small island, 
 
 on which there was a boat-landing and also a few stone 
 
 huts. A boat vdth a man and a boy in it put off towards 
 
 74 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 75 
 
 us. We backed our mainyards and the boat came along- 
 side. When the man came on board he enquired where 
 we were bound. Upon being told he asked the captain to 
 give him a chance to pilot the vessel. The fee he asked 
 was very moderate, I think, because there was no haggling 
 about it. The boy took the boat back to the landing, and 
 the pilot then assumed charge of the Forsette. 
 
 The wind had fallen dead calm, and the captain en- 
 quired anxiously if there was any anchorage in the neigh- 
 bourhood. The pilot told him " !N'o," but he said, " there 
 is no danger at all. What little current we have will 
 keep the vessel in the centre of the fjord (inlet)," — and 
 what he said turned out to be so. I have seen the same 
 thing on other inland waters; Puget Sound, for instance, 
 where the anchorages are very scarce also. I remember 
 on one occasion, when out fishing with a friend in a small 
 boat on Puget Sound, about three miles from Tacoma. 
 Just at the time we had caught all the fish we wanted a 
 dense fog came down. We had no compass in the boat, 
 so were practically lost, as far as knowing the direction 
 we should proceed. We therefore took in the oars and 
 lit our pipes, waiting for the fog to lift. Towards even- 
 ing we heard the puffing of a steam launch. She was quite 
 near us and I hailed her, asking how far it was to Tacoma. 
 The fellow in the launch was evidently annoyed at being 
 asked such a question. At any rate he was very sassy 
 and shouted through the fog, " Go to H — 1, what do you 
 take me for? You are in Tacoma now, you fresh guy." 
 
 All that night the Forsette drifted with the current, and 
 it happened to be favourable, so we made good progress. 
 Sometimes we were very close to islands, but never touched 
 any. All hands were on deck within call, as the pilot 
 expected " catspaws " to come along, and that would re- 
 quire trimming yards and sails. The cook had gone to 
 his bunk, so Jack and I made ourselves useful in the 
 
76 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 galley by keeping the coffee hot and frying fresh herriags, 
 which could be caught by the simple process of dipping a 
 bucket overboard with a rope attached. A big school of 
 whales was very busy all around us that night, feeding on 
 herring. They were having a jolly time. One big fel- 
 low came so close to the ship that when he " blowed " he 
 almost smothered Axel with water as he was standing on 
 the fo'cs'le head, keeping a lookout. This gave Axel an 
 unpleasant odour, and when he went aft to relieve the 
 wheel the pilot objected, saying that the odour interfered 
 with the navigation of the ship. Swanson made him 
 change his clothes, and accused him of being asleep on the 
 lookout, otherwise he could have side-stepped the whale's 
 breath. I thought that Swanson was unreasonable with 
 Axel, but then no one liked him, and even the cook said 
 he was not worth his salt. 
 
 One day Axel started to make things unpleasant for 
 Jack, while on watch below, and Swanson overheard him. 
 Axel was put to clean out the pigpen, with orders to re- 
 port when it was done. When he did report, Swanson 
 took a look at it and said it was not properly done, and 
 ordered him to get some sand and canvas and scrub away 
 at it until all the odour had disappeared from the pigsty. 
 The poor fellow was almost broken-hearted when Swanson 
 told him that it would not pass inspection. It was a 
 good lesson to him to be more careful in the future. 
 Every now and then when Swanson was not around his 
 nastiness would crop out, as he had a bad disposition. 
 
 During the morning a gentle breeze sprang up, thus 
 helping us to make several tacks across the inlet, and 
 weathering a little island where the course was altered 
 several points. By noon we sighted Bodo and came to 
 anchor during the afternoon. We were all more or less 
 fagged out that evening after the sails were furled and 
 the decks cleared up. We had had very little sleep during 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 77 
 
 the last twenty-four hours. The captain was expecting 
 the port authorities to come off that evening to receive us, 
 but they did not. I suppose it was after hours with them. 
 Government people are the same all the world over; sun- 
 rise to sunset constitutes a day's work for the port doctor 
 in most parts of the world, but would not be the proper 
 thing in Bodo, because the sim does not set there for 
 weeks. On the other hand, their nights are equally long 
 during the winter. 
 
 Bodo looked beautiful from the ship. It is situated on 
 a flat piece of laud surrounded by high mountains. It is 
 really on an island, but looks to a stranger as if it were 
 part of the mainland. 
 
 The islands and the mainland about Bodo are not by 
 any means barren and desolate looking like the other out- 
 side islands I have described. As a rule the stranger is 
 agreeably surprised when visiting this part of the world 
 for the first time. I was so myself, although I had not 
 seen anything to speak of, except my home and Grange- 
 mouth. I had expected to find little stone huts without 
 windows, and a hole near the ground to crawl through for 
 a door, such as I had read about among the Hottentots 
 or the Patagonians. Therefore, as Jack and I were sit- 
 ting on the railing that evening, admiring the beautiful 
 view that surrounded us, I could not but feel that this 
 little place Bodo, although so far north and within the 
 Arctic Circle, had a charm of its own that would continue 
 to grow on a person after getting better acquainted with 
 the people and their mode of living. 
 
 The inhabitants of northern Norway have one advan- 
 tage that no other people possess in the whole world within 
 the same latitude, and that is, their harbours are ice free, 
 winter and summer. The cause of this is the Gulf 
 Stream. This great ocean river, after crossing the At- 
 lantic, sweeps the northern coast of JS'orway in its course 
 
78 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 to the Arctic Ocean, where it finally disappears. This 
 causes the climate on the coast to be mild, comparatively 
 so to other places situated in a more southern latitude. 
 As an illustration, take Labrador. 
 
 The Gulf Stream is certainly a great advantage when 
 we take into consideration that the country is so rugged 
 that no roads worthy of a name could be constructed ex- 
 cept at an enormous expense. Therefore all transporta- 
 tion goes by water. Another advantage is the large 
 amount of fish that abound in these waters. No one can 
 have any idea how plentiful they are until they see for 
 themselves. If a person has sufficient money to buy a 
 fish hook and a piece of string, starvation is out of the 
 question in Bodo. There were a number of small boats 
 rowing about in the harbour with young people in them, 
 out for an airing. Some of these had musical instru- 
 ments and entertained us with a few songs. Jack had 
 thought of taking his instruments and playing a few 
 tunes, but many of the men had gone to bed, being tired 
 out, so we went to bed, too. 
 
 The following morning the port doctor came on board 
 and gave us pratique, after which the skipper went on 
 shore to see the consignee. Axel and I went as boatmen. 
 When we landed at the little wharf the captain told us 
 not to leave the boat, as he would soon be back. The 
 pilot, who had gone ashore with the skipper, came back 
 alone after a while. He told us that the captain had 
 received orders to take the Forsette to a place twenty 
 miles further up the inlet, called Grotto, where the coal 
 would have to be discharged. He also stated that the 
 captain would not be back for some time, and that we 
 would have plenty of time to take a run on shore to see 
 the place. Axel thought it was a capital idea, and sug- 
 gested we go at once. I declined to do so, because I did 
 not like his company, and because the captain had said 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 79 
 
 we were not to leave the boat. The pilot then said that 
 it would be all right, as he would stay by the boat, and 
 handing me a crown . said, " Take something at my ex- 
 pense. It will do no harm." I told him I did not drink, 
 and would not leave the boat without permission, as I 
 felt sure the old man would not like it. He then gave 
 the crown to Axel and told him to go and enjoy himself. 
 
 Axel, nothing loath, did so. The pilot thought it was 
 time for another drink, and asked me to tell the captain 
 that he need not wait for him, as he would come off in a 
 shore boat. 
 
 The first to come back was Axel in a very drunken 
 state. He was very abusive, calling me a sucker, and 
 telling some boys who were fishing from the wharf that 
 he would have killed me at Grangemouth if it had not 
 been for the mate and the cook. Not wishing to have 
 any trouble with him, I remained silent. He was 
 stronger and bigger than I, and there was no telling what 
 he would do in his drunken condition. When he saw 
 that I did not care to fight, he got much bolder and picked 
 up a big cod that one of the boys had just taken off a 
 hook, and threw it at me with all his force. I ducked, 
 but in doing so, fell into the water, narrowly escaping the 
 boat. No harm was done, as I was a fairly good swim- 
 mer. Scrambling into the boat, I wrung some of the 
 water out of my clothes, while Axel and the other boys 
 laughed at me. I thought the matter over and decided 
 that my only salvation was to go on the wharf and fight 
 him to a finish. With that idea I took off my jumper 
 and went on the wharf. What with my lessons from 
 Swanson and the few friendly bouts with Jack, I felt 
 confident of wiiming. Axel was surprised to encounter 
 such a whirlwind of fury as I sailed into him. I was 
 angry right through and through and never gave him a 
 minute's rest. It was hit, hit, hit, as hard and as fast 
 
80 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 as I could, and regardless of all rules of civilised war- 
 fare. His face was smeared all over witli blood, and in 
 his distress lie started to run. I followed him up, at- 
 tacking him in the rear with a dried stock fish that I had 
 picked up on the wharf. There is no telling how this 
 fight would have ended if it had not been that Axel had 
 the fortune to run into Captain Bengston as he came 
 down the wharf. 
 
 The old man was speechless when he saw what had 
 happened. He stood still, as though he were rooted to 
 the ground, with Axel seeking protection behind his back 
 like a six-year-old kid. It was lucky for me that he did 
 so, as it saved a lot of explanation. The old man got a 
 whiff of his breath and imderstood at once. " You are 
 drunk," he said, as he slapped Axel's face and sent him 
 down on all fours, where he lay and grunted like a hog. 
 The captain ordered him into the boat, but he kept grunt- 
 ing until the old man put new life into him by means of 
 a swift kick, which had the desired effect. The captain 
 said nothing to me, and I offered no explanation. He 
 asked the boys, who gave him all the information he 
 wanted, and I was glad to hear them tell the truth, as it 
 seemed to me from the manner in which they enjoyed the 
 fun that they were all on Axel's side. The pilot came 
 along by this time, and he told the captain what he knew 
 about the affair, the captain partly blaming him for giving 
 Axel the money. 
 
 Axel came back to the ship as a passenger, the pilot 
 taking his place at the oar. When we got alongside, 
 Swanson was at the ladder to receive us, and had a sar- 
 castic grin on his face when he saw the condition of Axel. 
 The captain started to explain matters to the mate, but 
 stopped short when Swanson said he had witnessed the 
 whole affair from the ship with his glasses. 
 
 After the boat was hoisted on board Axel made a move 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 81 
 
 to go and fix up a bit, but Swanson put a stop to that by 
 telling him to clean up the pigsty. He went about it in 
 a sort of half-hearted way until the mate gave him to 
 understand that it would be an all day job unless he got 
 a move on him. Axel still remembered the sand and can- 
 vas business on the trip over, so pitched in like a good 
 fellow and by dinner time the mate let him off by saying 
 that the sty was clean enough for any hog. 
 
 The cook was thoroughly disgusted vrith Axel and 
 would not even offer him a piece of sticking plaster, which 
 was sadly needed. Axel pleaded for a little piece, but 
 the cook's heart was adamantine. " I told you at 
 Grangemouth that it is always good to have a friend," he 
 said. " That little money matter I wanted you to help 
 me out with would never have hurt you any. As for 
 sticking plaster, it would be foolish to waste any on you. 
 Tou are better looking now than you ever were before. 
 That boy improves your looks every time he polishes you 
 up. He is altogether different from you. He helped 
 out a bit in Grangemouth. It was only a little, to be 
 sure, but that is neither here nor there; he did the best 
 he could, and he did not do it for nothing. I gave him 
 a few pointers that I fancy he is making good use of. 
 Swanson and I watched the whole proceeding from the 
 poop, and we were tickled to death at the fine way the 
 little fellow struck out from his shoulder. I recognised 
 my fine little points the very minute he went after you. 
 If I was you I would take to the rocks and give little 
 Frenchy a show to make an honest dollar or two. Swan- 
 son would be only too glad to get rid of you, I am think- 
 ing, after you have had a few more whacks at the pigsty." 
 
 Poor Axel ! It was pitiful to look at him ; yet it was 
 next to impossible to prevent laughing at the way the old 
 rascal of a sea-cook went at him. It was a welcome 
 change for him. when Swanson sang out " Turn to." We 
 
8a YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 took out a kedge anchor from the hold and several coils 
 of rope (3 inch) from the sail locker, as the pilot intended 
 to kedge the vessel well past a little island, where he ex- 
 pected to get a little wind to start us on the way to Grotto. 
 
 When we hove short on the anchor, Ajxel and I were 
 sent aloft to loosen sails, in order to have them ready to 
 be sheeted home should a catspaw come along. The sec- 
 ond mate and two men went in the boat to carry out the 
 anchor. About three hundred fathoms of small line were 
 coiled up in the after end of the boat, and away they 
 went with it in the direction of the island, and as far as 
 the line would reach. 
 
 "When the kedge was down, we took in the slack on the 
 line and tripped our anchor, after which all hands manned 
 the capstan and away we went as fast as we could run 
 around the capstan. After we got a little way on her it 
 was easy work, because there was no current in the inlet 
 just then. We took the line off the capstan, and all hands 
 tailed on to the rope with a will, brought on by splicing the 
 main brace a couple of times, and by the cook's lusty 
 singing, " Blow the man down in Grangemouth town, hay, 
 hay, blow the man down," and several other chanteys. 
 
 Jack and I thought it was great sport, and made as 
 much noise as the cook. The old pilot laughed, and said 
 he had never seen a jollier crowd. 
 
 We were abreast of the island in a couple of hours, 
 and the wind which the pilot had predicted, or rather 
 hoped for, came in a favourable direction. Everything 
 that would draw was sheeted home and set, so that by 
 midnight we had the anchor down and the sails furled 
 toward our destination. Grotto. The mate detailed Jack 
 to stand anchor watch, and all went to their bunks pretty 
 well tired out. Grotto was a very small place of perhaps 
 a dozen houses, and was used principally as a whaling 
 station. As the wharf was not large enough to be of any 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 83 
 
 use, we had to discharge in lighters, which was a very 
 slow process, on. account of not having a steam winch on 
 board. 
 
 The carpenter was set to work to make coal tubs from 
 some empty barrels, while the sailors rigged the hoisting 
 gear. The lighters were fairly good sized — twenty-five 
 tons each. Swanson figured that if two were loaded in 
 a day he would call it a good day's work, and the whole 
 cargo would be discharged in six days. 
 
 At noon the following day we were ready to load the 
 first lighter. Swanson arranged things in this manner: 
 Four men in the hold to fill the tubs, four men at the 
 handwinch for heaving, and the second mate, carpenter, 
 and one man — Axel — to dump the tubs in the lighter. 
 I was detailed to the hold to attend to the hook. Jack's 
 position was the easiest of all; he supplied the men with 
 water, and at times was called upon to fill their pipes, as 
 the mate allowed the men to smoke. The cook had a 
 sort of roving commission handing out the grog, which 
 is considered necessary in Swedish vessels to facilitate 
 work. In American ships this is considered detrimental, 
 but in my experience I have found it very handy at 
 times, especially when work had to be rushed. 
 
 We were able to load the two lighters daily, as per 
 Swanson's estimate, which gave us plenty of time to our- 
 selves, because the mate let all other work go. To get 
 the cargo out was his main idea, as the captain was 
 anxious to get to Archangel before the White Sea be- 
 gan to freeze. This it sometimes does at the end of Sep- 
 tember. 
 
 During the daytime and at night we used to take the 
 small boat and go for a trip on shore. Swanson did not 
 care, as long as we were on the spot when the empties 
 came alongside. There was very little amusement for a 
 sailor on shore, but Jack and I found means to enjoy 
 
84. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ourselves. One day Jack and I went ashore, and at the 
 station a young man told us that he expected a tribe of 
 Laplanders with a herd of reindeer to camp in the neigh- 
 bourhood that night. The Lap scouts had been into the 
 station during the day and notified them to that effect. 
 It was considered quite an event when these people ar- 
 rived, which they did once a year. They generally had 
 a quantity of dried reindeer meat to dispose of, and many 
 other things, which they exchanged for their vsrinter's sup- 
 ply of coffee, tea, and sugar. Their presence made 
 things lively in Grotto, as the supply boats came there 
 from Bodo and other near-by towns to do business with 
 them. 
 
 Another piece of news that the young man gave us 
 was, that an English nobleman's yacht would be in Grotto 
 in a day or two to take on coal at the station, and he 
 hinted that the yacht would likely come alongside the 
 Forsette to save time, labour, and money. We were also 
 told that the manager of the whaling station had promised 
 the Englishman a whale hunt during his stay here, 
 thereby making his visit interesting as he came there every 
 year. From the high opinion they had of the nobleman, 
 it was evident that he spent his money freely. Jack and 
 I then took a walk to a hill to see if the Laps were in 
 sight, the young man pointing out to us in which direc- 
 tion they would come. 
 
 We did not see any of them, and as the shoremen 
 nearly had a lighter empty to take off to the ship, 
 Jack and I got into the boat and went on board. We 
 gave them all the news we had received on shore, and 
 every one hoped that the yacht, the Laplanders, and the 
 whalehunt would all turn up to-morrow, as there would 
 be no work on account of it being Sunday, thus giving us 
 a chance to take in the sights. 
 
 The cook asked me if the young man had told me how 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 85 
 
 many reindeer there were in the herd. I did not know, 
 but bluffed him by saying offhand, seven thousand. 
 
 " Is that all ? It's hardly worth looking at," said the 
 cook. 
 
 " I thought that was a big herd," I said. 
 
 " Man alive ! A big one, huh ! I saw a herd once in 
 Siberia that had fifty thousand head and one thousand 
 big Dane dogs to herd them." 
 
 " What did they feed the dogs ? " I asked. 
 
 " Feed them ? Well, you would scarcely believe it, 
 but it is a fact, just the same. They fed them on snow- 
 balls, icicles, and tallow candles. It was a splendid diet, 
 as they were all as fat as butter-balls." 
 
 I intimated that it would require an enormous amount 
 of candles, but he said that was a mistake; that one box 
 would be sufficient from one end of Siberia to the other, 
 for the simple reason that the climate is so severe that 
 the food takes a long time to digest. " The only draw- 
 back," he said, " is the time taken in feeding the dogs. 
 The Laps have plenty of time and move by easy stages. 
 With the reindeer it is different; they require a lot of 
 moss, which grows under the snow. Sawdust is a luxury 
 for the reindeer. I once saw a tribe of Laps that had 
 pitched their camp in the neighbourhood of a sawmill. 
 It was in the northern part of Sweden. There was an 
 immense pile of sawdust just outside of the mill, and 
 during the night, when nobody was about, the deer got a 
 scent of the sawdust. They tackled the whole lot, and 
 not being satisfied with that they started in on a pile of 
 six by six timbers, and if the watchman had not woke up 
 in time, they would have got away with the mill also. 
 Seven thousand ain't much to look at, but I guess that 
 you and Frenchy will be interested, as neither of you 
 have seen anything of that sort before." 
 
 The lighter was now alongside, and the cook, feeling 
 
86 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 fine, as he always did after one of his lies, came out and 
 gave the boys a hand at the winch, at the same time sing- 
 ing the old Black Ball chantey : 
 
 "Whiskey, Johnny, whiskey is the life of man; 
 Whiskey for my Johnny." 
 
 The lighter was loaded in a very short time. The men 
 in the hold were down to the skin, which made shovelling 
 easy. It was hard on the winchmen, because the fellows 
 below were constantly shouting " Heave up." Swan- 
 son was over the hatch with his pipe in his mouth, and 
 a satisfied grin on his face. Once in a while he would 
 say something to the cook that made the men laugh, and 
 the cook always had an answer ready for him. 
 
 The following morning, before we turned to, I ran 
 up the fore royal yard and looked in the direction the 
 Laplanders were expected to come. The reindeer were 
 there all right, but not seven thousand strong. They were 
 just then descending the m,ountain ridge, and still several 
 miles away from Grotto. They were mere little specks 
 on the snow, and the animals moved with irregularity, 
 scattering over a large territory. The Laplanders and 
 their dogs followed behind. Some of the people were on 
 skis, and others on native sleds drawn by reindeer. 
 
 Although it was a little past midsimmier, the snow and 
 ice on the hills made good travelling. I came down and 
 reported to the mate what I had seen. He seemed quite 
 interested and went up on the main topsail yard, remain- 
 ing there for some time. 
 
 Captain Bengston went on shore after breakfast, and 
 on his return told Swanson that the Laps had pitched 
 their camp on the mainland, about half a mile from 
 Grotto. There were one thousand five hundred reindeer 
 with one hundred persons, including kids. They Wso had 
 a number of dogs, which looked like wolves, that kept up 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 87 
 
 a continuous performance of howling, which we could hear 
 from the ship. Jack seemed much interested in the tribe, 
 and asked me if we could row over in the evening to pay 
 them a visit. I advised him to ask Swanson, and if he 
 gave permission we would go after supper. None of the 
 sailors seemed to care about going, except Axel, but Swan- 
 son would not allow him to go with us, as he was afraid 
 of trouble. Instead of Axel he suggested the cook, as he 
 would make an excellent chaperon. The cook was not 
 unwilling, provided we took sufficient money to buy him 
 a drink or two. We promised to do the best we could 
 for him in that line, but I thought it was doubtful if these 
 people had anything of the kind that he cared to drink. 
 " Don't you fool yourself on that score," he said. " I 
 know these fellows, and can talk some of their lingo. We 
 shall have no trouble to get along with them. I am going 
 to take some tea and make them a present of it, but don't 
 you tell the old man." ' ' i 
 
 After supper we set off for the camp. Jack and I pull- 
 ing, Munchausen in the stem sheets handling the tiller. 
 We were all togged out in our best, and Jack took his tin 
 whistle in case there would be some dancing. The cook 
 had advised him to do so, as something of that sort would 
 likely take place, and if not, then when the Englishman's 
 yacht arrived at night he surely would be able to make 
 an honest dollar or two. If the yacht should come along- 
 side it would give us a chance to get acquainted, as it was 
 dollars to doughnuts that he knew the lord, and if not, 
 the lord knew of him and his cooking. 
 
 " It is not so many years ago that I was cooking on one 
 of these craft," said the cook. " I suppose that I would 
 have been there yet if it had not been for a little trouble 
 I had with a widow duchess, that I think I told you boys 
 about. It was a foolish move on my part, yet I was not 
 to blame. She was clean gone on me, and I don't know 
 
88 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 as I could blame her, as I was as fine a looking fellow as 
 you could wish to see. Her relations were dead agaiast 
 me, and jealous — my, oh my, I never saw the likes of it. 
 It got so bad that the men folk on board could not eat 
 for a week. We were then cruising in the Baltic Sea, and 
 the weather was cold. Their appetites should have been 
 at their best. They had the nerve to blame it on the 
 cooking, thinking of course to get even with me in that 
 way. The widow would not stand for it. She was put- 
 ting on flesh while the lords and dukes were getting thin. 
 Finally they got desperate, and one morning doctored her 
 coffee so that she got deathly sick, and the captain had to 
 put in to Copenhagen for medical attendance. By some 
 hook or crook they got the doctor to swear that the widow 
 was poisoned, and got her to believe it, which was real 
 cruel for the pair of us. They left her in the hospital, 
 and I never got a chance to explain things to her. How- 
 ever, I fixed the lords and dukes on the way back to 
 England, which caused them to remember the cook, and 
 no mistake. They started to praise the cooking after the 
 widow left. I thought I would give them some of the 
 stuff they had given the widow. The result was that 
 two of them came within an ace of dying before we got 
 back. They tried to make trouble for me in London, but 
 gave it up for a bad job when I threatened to expose the 
 whole case. They did not want the widow dragged into 
 it again, they said. The matter was ultimately compro- 
 mised by giving me a year's salary." 
 
 The cook cut short his yam when we came close to the 
 camp. Some of the Laplanders came down to the beach 
 to inspect us. When the boat was hauled up on the beach, 
 they made us welcome by shaking hands and inviting us 
 to their tents. They have a language of their own, but 
 most of them speak Swedish or ]Srorse, which are very 
 similar. We therefore had no trouble in making our- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 89 
 
 selves understood. Jack was very much at home. He 
 was wonderfully quick at picking up Swedish, which he 
 spoke better than I did English. We had several little 
 spats over that, each one accusing the other of being selfish, 
 Jack wanting to speak in Swedish, and I in English. 
 
 The cook made himself so much at home among the 
 Laps that it looked as though he had found a long lost 
 brother. He made a bluff at speaking Laplandish, but 
 no one seemed to understand what he said. Jack said it 
 was strange that he could not make himself understood, 
 but the cook told him there was nothing strange about it, 
 as the Laps talked so many different dialects, and he only 
 spoke the best grade. 
 
 There was a pot hanging over the fire in the centre of 
 the tent which the cook proceeded to investigate, pro- 
 nouncing the contents dogstew. He asked Mrs. Lap if 
 we could have a little when it was ready, and she said 
 she would be pleased to give him some. I was glad she 
 did not include Jack and me in the invitation, as I did 
 not like the idea of tasting dogstew, and told the cook so. 
 He seemed surprised at that, and told us we would find it 
 a change from salt horse. Moreover, the stuff we were 
 getting on the Forsette might be old cat for all he knew, 
 and if it were not for his fancy cooking we would never 
 be able to eat it at all. I thanked him for the informa- 
 tion, but inasmuch as he had nothing to do with the cook- 
 ing of the dogstew, we thought it better not to take any 
 of it. " There is some truth in that," he said, " but just 
 to be sociable I wish you would try some." We told him 
 that we would see how he got along with it, and if he did 
 not make too wry a face, we would try some of it. The 
 boss Lap in the tent and the cook were having a long 
 confab about things that did not interest us, and we were 
 therefore anxious to get out and try our luck in some 
 other tent, expecting to find it not quite so dull. But 
 
90 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 the cook would not hear of it, as Mrs. Lap expected us to 
 remain to supper, and it would be bad manners to leave 
 her in that way. When Mrs. Lap took the pot off the 
 fire the cook asked permission to treat them to a pot of 
 tea. Producing his package, he asked for a pot, which 
 she extracted from a bundle of rags, and was appropriated 
 by the cook. In a short time the tea was ready, and Mrs. 
 Lap was busy dishing out the dogstew in little china 
 bowls. Serving the cook first, she passed one to each of 
 us, then to her husband. The children did not come in 
 on that deal, as they were not allowed to come into the 
 tent while there was company. They opened the flap that 
 answered for a door and looked in, but that was as far 
 as they got. Poor little fellows, they licked their chops 
 when they got a whifF of the stew. I asked the cook 
 why they did not give them any, and he told me that they 
 would have to lick the bowls clean after we were through. 
 It was the custom among the Laps not to overfeed chil- 
 dren, and beside it was a saving to clean dishes that way 
 in the winter time, because fuel was scarce and water 
 could only be got from boiling snow or ice. Each of us 
 was given a spoon, but after being told of their method 
 of cleaning dishes, we could not touch any of it. The 
 cook said it was fine, not dog, but a nice, fat, juicy bear. 
 He wished us to try it, and said that Axel would have 
 enjoyed it, as he was only good for doing that sort of 
 thing. 
 
 Some friend of the Laps called, and both of them went 
 outside. While they were gone Jack and I threw our 
 stew into a slop pail. I was sorry to do it on account of 
 the children, but it was impossible to eat the stew, and I 
 did not like to offend the poor people, as they meant well. 
 
 When the Laps returned, they finished the stew, and 
 asked if we would like some more. Jack and I declined 
 with thanks, even the cook said he had had enough. I in- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 91 
 
 timated to the lady that I should like a cup of tea, think- 
 ing we would get clean cups for that, but I was mistaken. 
 She did not ask the children to lick the cups, but proceeded 
 to pour the tea into the stew bowls. This was more than 
 Jack and I could stand, and as we were getting very sick 
 we made a break for the flap, and swore never again to 
 enter another Lap tent during meal hours. The cook 
 was very much ofFended, and said he would never again 
 take us out for a good time, in fact he would report our 
 bad manners to Swanson, who would not Hke to hear that 
 at all. 
 
 " Axel would know how to behave better than that," 
 he said. We were too sick to reply to him, so left him 
 in disgust. He returned to the tent, while Jack and I 
 strolled through the camp, observing the animals, which 
 were more interesting. 
 
 The Laps were the worst beggars I had ever met. 
 They asked us for everything in sight that they thought 
 belonged to us. We bought a few trinkets they had for 
 sale, but they charged more than they were worth. One 
 asked us to take a drink with him. He poured out some 
 liquor in a dirty wooden bowl. It smelled like com 
 brandy, but the Lap said it was not so; it was a much 
 superior stuff brewed by themselves. 
 
 This might be the stuff the cook was telling us about, 
 so we thought we would buy him some for misbehaving 
 at the dinner table as we did. Asking the Lap how much 
 he charged per bottle, he said he did not care to take 
 money, but would let me have a bottle in exchange for 
 my coat belonging to the suit I bought in Grangemouth. 
 I told him to try again, and he suggested my shoes would 
 be about right. I told him he was unreasonable, and 
 started to walk away, when a happy thought struck Jack. 
 Taking out his tin whistle, he commenced to play a tune 
 which pleased the Laps very much, because every tent- 
 
92 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 flap was raised, and in a short time the whole tribe, in- 
 cluding a lot of dogs, gathered around the musician. 
 When he ceased playing, he wiped his instrument and 
 put it back in his pocket. The young folks were disap- 
 pointed, as they had paired off for a dance. Nothing 
 would induce Jack to play, unless they gave him a bottle 
 of their brew. When they knew what was wanted they 
 went to their tents and returned with bottles galore, which 
 they offered as a gift for more music. 
 
 The cook and his lady friend came out about that time, 
 and he volunteered his services to take charge of the bot- 
 tles. No objection being raised, he started to pick out 
 the best brands. As there were no labels on the bottles, 
 it was not an easy task, but his nose read for him. He 
 selected a dozen bottles, which he pronounced extra fine, 
 and suggested that I should take the bottles down to the 
 boat and watch them until he saw fit to go on board. I 
 told him I did not come ashore for that purpose, but to 
 enjoy myself. 
 
 " You are very disagreeable," said the cook. " What 
 more enjoyment could you have than the haul we have 
 got away with. I never heard of such luck. Just fancy, 
 twelve bottles extra dry, and I expect to do better than 
 that before we leave. I don't mind telling you that the 
 lady who gave us that excellent stew is a vsddow. Do you 
 see the point ? " vidth a knowing wink of the left eye. 
 
 I told him I understood. "Well, she is the richest 
 woman in the tribe ; five hundred of the reindeer are hers, 
 and I don't know how many dogs. That dirty looking 
 fellow in the tent is a brother of hers. Of course he is 
 boss at present, but if my eyes do not deceive me, there 
 will be no trouble ousting him. The widow is clean gone 
 on me. Did you notice how she blushed when I gave her 
 a lover's vtdnk ? " I said I did not notice it. 
 
 " Well, perhaps you did not see it. It was pretty 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 93 
 
 smoky in there. You could not see much of anything, 
 when I come to think of it. She was blushing, all right, 
 and I was following it up fine when that little fool Jack 
 spoiled the whole business by playing his infernal whistle. 
 I will catch up again if you will only do as I tell you — go 
 to the boat and watch the bottles." 
 
 The cook went back to the tent of the charming widow, 
 while Jack and I went down to the boat to wait for the 
 cook's return. The Laplanders were in no mood for 
 much fun, I thought, as they had pitched their camp that 
 day, after days of travel. We decided that we had se- 
 lected a bad evening for calling. 
 
 ■While waiting for the cook, Jack entertained me with 
 several pieces of music. He also danced a jig that was 
 then all the vogue in England. He insisted that I learn 
 step dancing, and informed me that we could make a lot 
 of money in England by dancing in the music halls. I 
 did not think I would ever be able to master those fancy 
 steps, but Jack insisted that I could do so inside of two 
 weeks if I would allow him to teach me. So it came 
 about that I became a dancer. Nobody in the ship knew 
 anything about it. We used to ask Swanson for the boat 
 to go ashore, and there behind rocks, or anything else that 
 happened to be handy, I received my first lessons. At 
 first I was very clumsy, but Jack encouraged me. After 
 a few lessons I found it very interesting ; so much so that 
 on several occasions I very nearly gave the whole thing 
 away by forgetting myself and doing a few fancy steps 
 on shipboard. I had promised Jack that I would be 
 careful and let no one know anything about it until some 
 fine day at sea, when there was nothing doing, and Swan- 
 son was in a good humour. Jack was to take out his 
 whistle and play one of his favourites, and then I was to 
 step out and do the grand act to the surprise of everybody. 
 
 It was time for us to go on board, but there were no 
 
94i YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 signs of the cook. Jack said he would ran back to the 
 camp and see what had become of him. He found the 
 cook and the widow returning from a stroll among the 
 reindeer. The cook said he had found it most interest- 
 ing. "Which?" asked Jack. "The widow or the 
 deer ? " " The prospects, you little fool," answered the 
 cook." "Prospects of what?" said Jack. "Another 
 dog stew ? " " E'o, the prospects of giving you a good 
 licking if you don't behave yourself in the presence of a 
 lady. I will report this to Mr. Swanson and he will stop 
 your shore leave." " I notice that you are taking a 
 lot of liberties yourself," said Jack, " by holding your 
 arm around the lady's waist." 
 
 " That's nothing," said the cook. " We are engaged, 
 but don't say anything about it. Her relations are dead 
 against it, and besides she has a lot of kids, too many to 
 suit my fancy. But you can't have everything your own 
 way all the time. As I have told you before, I have been 
 a fool in my time through being too particular, and as a 
 result the ladies gave me the slip. But no more. I am 
 going to stick to this. If it is a fact that she is the owner 
 of five hundred head of reindeer, I don't intend becoming 
 one of them by no manner of means. As soon as I can 
 get charge of the woman and her herd I shall round them 
 up and drive them in to some big town in Sweden and 
 sell out. The deer are worth one hundred crowns apiece. 
 That figures up to fifty thousand crowns. We will then 
 settle down in some pretty little place where there is 
 plenty of sunshine, to live on the fat of the land. ISTo 
 more dog stew or tallow candles for us. If you keep this 
 to yourself you won't get the worst of it. The little lady 
 is extremely fond of music, and I don't think she will 
 have any objection to my adopting you. Seeing she has 
 so many of her own, one more or less cuts no figure. In 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 96 
 
 your case, any on© would take you for a Lap anyway." 
 Jack got angry at the cook's insinuations, and I think 
 the lady would have objected also if she had understood 
 English. The cook was then informed that if he stayed 
 longer he would have to swim to the ship. He lingered 
 a moment, long enough to steal a kiss from the oily widow. 
 Jack told me he did not know whether the widow objected 
 or approved of the cook's way of making love. She 
 grunted out something that might have meant either. 
 Anyway, the cook was satisfied, and after wiping his 
 mouth with the back of his hand, he squirted a mouthful of 
 tobacco juice, which unfortunately landed in the eye of 
 a dog and caused it to set up a most ungodly howl. He 
 then came aboard, and as we rowed leisurely along the 
 beautiful fjord the cook gave us an outline of what he 
 intended to do, provided things turned out right. We 
 were both sleepy and paid no attention to what he was 
 saying. He accused us of being ungrateful for not tak- 
 ing more interest in things concerning himself when he 
 had made everything interesting for us. 
 
 When we got alongside of the ship the cook wanted to 
 take charge of the bottles, but Jack put in a stiff kick 
 and said that they belonged to him. He was going to 
 give them to Swanaon, so he could treat the sailors on 
 the following day when working cargo. The cook said 
 that was a piece of foolishness, to give such excellent stuff 
 to sailors. " They won't appreciate it. Better let me 
 have it, and I will get some cheap powerful stuff for them 
 some other day." But Jack would not stand for that, 
 and finally compromised by letting the cook have one 
 bottle, which he said was a measly way of treating an old 
 pal who had done so much for us. 
 
 The shore people were getting an empty lighter along- 
 side just then, and one of the men asked how we enjoyed 
 
96 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ourselves at the camp. The cook started in to tell them 
 all about it, but Jack and I took ourselves to bed, knowing 
 we would have a hard day's work the next day. 
 
 Jack's bunk being aft, he had the misfortune to drop 
 a bottle as he walked down the ladder. Its contents 
 flowed all over the floor. Swanson, being a light sleeper, 
 woke up with a start, not on account of the noise it made, 
 but from the odour of the excellent fluid that had gone to 
 waste. He let out a roar that almost frightened poor 
 Jack to death. He wanted to know who had authorised 
 him to bring Chinese stinkpots on board. Jack said he 
 had brought it as a present to him, as the cook told him 
 it was most excellent stuff, almost as good as champagne. 
 Swanson turned out and took a smell of the bottles, after 
 which he despatched them over the side, and then told 
 Jack to go forward and tell the cook that he wanted to 
 see him at once. I had just got my clothes off when 
 Jack delivered his message. The cook was in the act of 
 treating one of his chums, having had a little nip himself, 
 when his face assumed a mingled expression of contempt 
 and fear. After stowing away the bottle in his bunk 
 and muttering something to himself, he walked aft to 
 flnd out what was the matter. 
 
 The cook had no sooner gone than the friend he had 
 treated called all hands to take a drink. Inside of two 
 minutes the bottle was empty, and everybody in their 
 bunks again. When the cook came aft Swanson repri- 
 manded him for having been so inconsiderate as to let 
 the boys have liquor when he had cautioned him to take 
 good care of us. It was with that understanding that he 
 had allowed him to accompany us ashore. 
 
 The cook told the whole truth regarding the stuff, and 
 how it came into our possession. Jack was very much 
 surprised, and so was I when he told me what the cook 
 had said. I never thought that he was capable of telling 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 97 
 
 so much truth at one time. Swanson forgave him on the 
 understanding that it did not occur again, and ordered 
 him to get a bucket of water and a rag to clean the cabin. 
 
 The cook said something about letting the boy who had 
 dropped the stuff do the cleaning up, but Swanson would 
 not hear of it and told him he should consider himself 
 lucky to get off so easily. Jack took pity and offered to 
 clean up, but Swanson would not have it that way. He 
 said that was encouraging vice. The result was the old 
 cook got the bucket of water and made a bluff at cleaning 
 it up. 
 
 After the job was done he came into the fo'cs'le with 
 the intention of having a good nip before going to bed. 
 He sat down and stared at the lamp hanging from the 
 ceiling. I was still awake, and kept watching his old 
 face. It really was a sad sight to behold, and I won- 
 dered what thoughts passed through the old man's brains. 
 He must have felt humiliated to be treated in the manner 
 that Swanson seemed to take pleasure in imposing on him. 
 I thought then, and have thought thousands of times since, 
 how it is a person in authority can take pleasure in humil- 
 iating a person who is not in a position to retaliate. 
 
 I liked Swanson, but I certainly did not approve of the 
 way he treated the old man, who in his way was harmless. 
 As I lay there in my bunk watching the old fellow, his 
 face furrowed from half a century of hardship and dissi- 
 pation, I felt sorry for him, and I prayed to God to pro- 
 tect me from a similar fate. 
 
 After a while the cook commenced to grope for his 
 bottle, and when he discovered that it was empty his rage 
 knew no bounds. He worked himself into a frenzy and 
 threatened to kill all hands. With that object in view 
 he went out and soon returned with a large axe used for 
 chopping wood. The sailors aU pretended to snore, but 
 woke up suddenly when they saw the cook meant business. 
 
98 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Axel and the sailor who shipped at Grangemouth ran out 
 on the deck shouting " Murder." This brought the cap- 
 tain and the two mates forward on the run, and Axel, 
 without being asked anything about the racket, commenced 
 to tell the captain the whole thing, which was only partly 
 true. He did not say anything about himself and the 
 men stealing the bottle and drinking the contents. He 
 said they were all asleep and that the cook came in, wak- 
 ing the whole lot of them by threatening to kill them all. 
 
 Swanson walked into the fo'cs'le, where he found the 
 cook sitting on the box with the axe in his hand. Swan- 
 son asked him for the axe, which he readily gave up. He 
 then asked him what made him go crazy all at once. 
 The cook told him about the bottle that he had brought, 
 intending to give them all a drink, but while he had been 
 in the cabin they had stolen his bottle and consumed the 
 contents. Swanson, turning to the men, asked them if 
 such was the case, and they all swore the cook was telling 
 a lie. The cook proposed that the second mate should 
 smeU their breaths, but Mr. Ericson objected to this. 
 " Thank God I am not a drinking man," he said. " That 
 is the reason I proposed you should smell them, as you 
 would be sure to detect them," said the cook. " The boy 
 must have seen and heard the whole business, but if he 
 was to tell the truth these galoots would throw him over- 
 board some dark night. They are the meanest lot I ever 
 had the misfortune to be shipmates with, and that is the 
 reason I intended to finish them all off with an axe, as 
 there ain't a single one that I would care to soil my hands 
 with in a square stand-up fight." 
 
 Captain Bengston came into the fo'cs'le and proposed 
 that the safest way would be to put the cook in irons 
 until he came to his senses. Swanson said that it was 
 not fair, as he felt sure the cook was the injured party. 
 He then asked me if I knew anything about the matter. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 99 
 
 " Don't be afraid to speak out," lie said, " I will see that 
 nobody puts a hand on you, and if they do, they will get 
 something that they will not forget in a hurry." 
 
 I repeated the cook's statement, and when I had fin- 
 ished, the fellow from Grangemouth shouted that I was 
 as big a liar as the cook. He did not say any more just 
 then, because Ericson, who was standing close by, got a 
 whiff of his breath, and not being able to stand the smell 
 of liquor, decided to close his mouth, which he did with 
 a blow powerful enough to fell an ox. The fellow fell 
 on the floor, completely knocked out. A chum of his 
 tried to restore him by throwing water on his face, at the 
 same time remarking that it would cost the mate dearly. 
 Ericson laid him low in a similar manner, and asked if 
 any more had anything to say about the matter. No- 
 body responding, Swanson told them all to go to bed and 
 leave the cook alone, as he expected all to turn to in a 
 couple of hours, otherwise he would take a hand in the 
 fun himself. He ordered the cook into the galley, and 
 he was glad to get out; he did not have to be told twice. 
 When the two men whom Ericson had knocked out came 
 to look at themselves, they swore that the cook would soon 
 have to make a long journey to a place where all sea- 
 cooks go. 
 
 I lay awake listening to their talk, expecting every mo- 
 ment to hear of some fancy place that would be assigned 
 as my abiding place in the future. Nothing was said 
 about me, so I guessed that Swanson's warning had a 
 wholesome effect. 
 
 Next morning I was wakened by the cook singing 
 " Nancy Lee " in the galley. I had to laugh when I 
 thought of all the racket a few hours before. Evidently 
 the cook had forgotten all about it and was ready to be 
 friends with the whole world if given half a chance. I 
 got up and went into the galley to find the cook busy with 
 
100 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 the coffee-pot. He was glad to see me, and gladder still 
 that I had told the truth regardless of consequences. 
 
 " I am proud of you," he said. " You never said any- 
 thing about the other bottles that I wanted to take charge 
 of last night. It was lucky you did not, for if those swine 
 had got hold of them there would have been murder sure ; 
 as it is, it is bad enough. Say, what a wonderful slug- 
 ger that fellow Ericson is. He can give cards and 
 spades to Swanson when it comes to hard hitting. I bet 
 those two fellows he laid out won't be able to eat for 
 several days. If they are slack about turning to this 
 morning, Yankee will put the finishing touches on them. 
 I was somewhat to blame, as it was wrong to give them 
 good liquor. It requires a gentleman like myself to ap- 
 preciate good stuff. Swanson does not, and most people 
 make mistakes by judging, entirely, the odour. That is 
 all wrong. Suppose you were to buy Limburger cheese in 
 London; the grocer would think you were crazy if you 
 objected to the odour. It is the same with liquor. If 
 Swanson had only tasted instead of smelling, he never 
 would have thrown it overboard. There is no use crying 
 over spilt milk, but next time we make a haul like that 
 we won't tell anybody." I replied that it was doubtful 
 if Swanson would let us go any more, on account of the 
 racket last night. He seemed to think that Jack and I 
 could square matters by telling the mate how much the 
 widow was in love with him. Even if we stretched the 
 point a little and added that she intended to present him 
 with a young reindeer, he would not feel hurt about it. 
 
 I suggested that if she did give the reindeer calf that 
 he take it on board alive or else be present when it was 
 killed, as otherwise she might palm a dog off on us. He 
 laughed and said if such should be the case he would cook 
 a first class dogstew that they would never forget. If 
 he did that I would have to tell the truth about it, and 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 101 
 
 then what if he should happen to run up against Ericson's 
 fist. He admitted that the results would be far from 
 pleasant. 
 
 No more was said about the stew, and as it was " turn 
 to " time, the night watchman called the men for their 
 coffee. The men started to come out one by one, swear- 
 ing at every one, particularly the cook, who rather en- 
 joyed the abuse, as he kept singing " Nancy Lee " until 
 the sailors threatened to bombard his galley with lump 
 coal. 
 
 When the lighter-men came from shore, Ericson went 
 forward and sang out " Turn to." Swanson was stand- 
 ing at the main hatch, watching us, as we piled up from 
 the fo'cs'le. He noticed that the two men who had got 
 licked by the second mate did not come. He ordered 
 Ericson to see why they were not present. In the mean- 
 time the rest of us went to our respective stations and 
 started to hoist the coal. The second mate was a long 
 time returning — at least Swanson thought so. He went 
 forward to investigate matters himself. 
 
 It now appeared that these two men refused to do any 
 work, demanding to see the captain about getting paid off. 
 The cook was accordingly sent aft to summon the captain, 
 who when he made his appearance had some irons in his 
 hand and a law book. The captain explained to the men 
 what would be done to them if they did not return to 
 work at once. The Swedish law is very severe for of- 
 fences of that sort, so the men decided to go back to 
 work. 
 
 They certainly had changed in looks since I last saw 
 them. One could hardly see on account of his eyes being 
 swollen. The other fellow's jaw was entirely out of shape, 
 and his face of a purple color. Both had formerly worked 
 at the winch, but now on account of their changed appear- 
 ance they asked Swanson as a favour to allow them to go to 
 
102 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 the hold, where they would not be so conspicuous. This 
 was granted, hut not with very good grace. 
 
 Ericson said several times during the day that he was 
 thankful to the Almighty that he was not like these fellows 
 who did not know how to behave themselves, and conse- 
 quently met with such awful accidents. " Here I am," 
 he said, looking at his left hand, " in pain and hardly 
 able to upset the basket, all on account of their bad 
 manners toward a fellow that always wishes them well. 
 It ought to be a warning to them that they can afford to 
 profit by in the future. Just think of what would have 
 happened if they had run up against Swanson. They 
 should thank their stars that I can't hit very hard, and 
 then I am soft-hearted, too." 
 
 The cook, who heard Ericson express himself that way, 
 thought it would not be amiss to say something by way of 
 sympathy, and said that he was handicapped himself with 
 too soft a heart. " When I saw you hit the men last 
 night I am sure I felt the pain a great deal more than 
 they did." 
 
 " Is that so ? " said Ericson. " How do you think you 
 would have felt if I had succeeded in killing them off with 
 the meat axe ? " 
 
 The cook was not prepared to answer that question. 
 He shook his head and requested Ericson not to refer to 
 that matter again, as he felt like crying. 
 
 The lighter was loaded by noon, and there being no 
 more empties for the afternoon, Swanson let us have the 
 day to ourselves after we had swept the decks and cleaned 
 up generally. The cook was a splendid fisherman at all 
 times, but this morning he had caught enough cod and 
 halibut to fill a deck tub. These he had stewed, boiled, 
 and fried, and it was certainly a feast. He also made a 
 delicious broth for the two men who had sore jaws. It 
 being my duty to fetch the grub from the galley, the cook 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 103 
 
 told me that the broth was for sick men only. I declined 
 to tell the fellows, giving as a reason that I was not soft- 
 hearted enough. 
 
 " You need not tell me that," said the cook. " If you 
 had not backed up Jack he would have let me take the 
 other bottles, and these poor fellows would not have met 
 with such nasty accidents. You are to blame for it, and 
 the least you can do is to see that they get proper nourish- 
 ment." 
 
 I told him that I would tell the men the broth was there 
 and they could help themselves. 
 
 " All right, have it your own way. You will never 
 amount to anything in this life," he said, " for you won't 
 take advice from your betters. Never ask me for a favour 
 again. Everything is Swanson with you. Here is your 
 grub, and get out of here." 
 
 The men were very hungry and thought the fish were 
 delicious. The sick men made several attempts to eat, 
 but without success. It must have been a painful process, 
 judging from their wry faces. They got angry when I 
 delivered the cook's message. They did not say or swear 
 much, but gave me plenty of black looks, and muttered 
 something about what a nuisance it was to have kids in 
 the fo'cs'le. 
 
 Axel laughed at these remarks, as he classified himself 
 as a man, though he had been whipped by a boy twice, 
 and he stood a splendid chance of getting another whaling 
 if he kept up his fun much longer. 
 
 After a while one of the men thought he would try a 
 smoke, thinking to get some comfort. He had no sooner 
 lit the pipe than he threw it away, and swore the pain 
 was the worst he had ever experienced. If he ever got 
 back to civilisation again he was determined to fix Erie- 
 son. He said he felt like giving his shipmates a piece of 
 his mind for allowing him to be treated the way he was. 
 
104 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 but would defer it until some other time. The other 
 fellow did not have very much to say, as a pain in hia 
 stomach bothered him. He kept rocking his body and 
 groaning with pain. Once or twice his nostrils twitched 
 as a dog's will when they smell something good. I guess 
 he perceived the odour of the broth, which he longed for. 
 After some groaning he said if he only had something that 
 he could eat he would feel better, and would be pleased if 
 some one would fetch the broth, as he could not go him- 
 self, and the looks of that old hyena in the galley would 
 make him worse. Axel offered his services, but they were 
 declined because of his liability to drink it all before he 
 got to the fo'cs'le, just as he did the rum last night. He 
 then asked me if I would go. Thinking to oblige him, I 
 went to the galley, but the cook said I was too late. 
 
 " Do you think I am running an all day and night res- 
 taurant ? " he demanded. 
 
 I pleaded with him, saying that he would be sorry if he 
 did not give it to them ; his tender heart would rebel when 
 he saw their suffering, as it did the night before when the 
 second mate pummeled them. 
 
 Just then Captain Bengston came out on the poop-deck 
 and shouted " Cook ! " Munchausen went aft to see what 
 was wanted. This was my chance. I took the copper 
 pan with the broth in it to the fo'cs'le, emptied it into 
 another pan, and put the cook's pan back into place. 
 
 The sick man went at the soup as if he had never eaten 
 before, while the other one eyed him and waited for an 
 cavitation to join. " Ain't you going to leave some for 
 your pal ? " said one of the men. The fellow retorted, 
 " Don't talk. What can you expect from a man like 
 him? He would see a man starve to death before he 
 would offer you a bite, and I was the only one that took 
 his part last night. I am sorry now that I did not let 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 106 
 
 Ericson hammer him thoroughly. Never again will I 
 take his part." 
 
 Ericson came forward and said that Swanson wanted 
 me. Going aft, Swanson said that Jack and I were to 
 fix ourselves up and go with him in the hoat. We were 
 not long in getting ready, and we soon had the hoat at the 
 ladder, with a flag in the stern sheets. Swanson appeared 
 togged out in his best, smiling, and with a cigar in his 
 mouth. We knew then it was either the whaling station 
 or the Lap camp. A great number of boats had been 
 rowing past us during the morning toward the camp, so 
 we expected there was something doing in the camp that 
 evening. 
 
 Before Swanson came into the boat the cook came to the 
 side and whispered to me, " Say, kid, if you see that little 
 lady of mine tell her that I will call on her this evening 
 and settle matters." I told him not to worry, that she 
 would be informed of his tender heart and how he made 
 sick people comfortable. 
 
 The conversation was cut short by Swanson's appear- 
 ance, who ordered the cook to get out, as he was not 
 wanted. The cook gave me a sly wink, as much as to say, 
 " Make it all right for me with the widow, and I won't 
 forget it." Jack and I then bent to the oars with a will. 
 After a little, Swanson ordered us to take in oars and 
 step the mast with two sails set — a sprit and jib sail. 
 
 The wind being fair at the time, we went with the sheet 
 well slacked otf, flying through the water. Swanson put 
 on his Sunday smile and acted like a boy at a picnic. He 
 explained to us the art of sailing a boat to advantage. 
 We became interested in what he said to us, and that 
 pleased him very much. He allowed us to steer the boat 
 while he attended to the sheets himself, which was the most 
 important part of sailing in these waters, on account of 
 the fierce squalls that originate in the canyons and be- 
 
106 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ^- ™ 
 tween the islands, having enough force to upset any craft 
 if the sheets are not looked after properly. 
 
 In rounding a little island, one of these squalls struck 
 us. The boat careened and took in a lot of water over 
 the lee gunwale. Swanson sung out to Jack, who was 
 steering at the time, " Hard down." At the same time 
 he let fly the sheets. Jack and I became quite excited, 
 but Swanson laughed although his fancy shoes were full 
 of water. 
 
 The squall lasted about a minute or so, but Swanson 
 said he was going to take no chances. We then put into 
 a little island and took on board a lot of rocks as ballast. 
 The water was baled out and we set off again, with Swan- 
 son steering and each of us with a sail apiece, fully warned 
 to look out for squalls. 
 
 The boat was well pointed up to the wind, which was 
 blowing quite briskly now as we made several tacks across 
 the fjord. Swanson said she was as stiff as an old church. 
 In rounding an island called the Chimney, so named on 
 account of its shape, we fell in with another sailboat of 
 our own size. Swanson sized it up for a moment and 
 said we could beat it, and bore down on it to utter his 
 challenge. When within speaking distance, it turned out 
 to be the manager of the whaling station and two of his 
 men out for a spiu on the fjord. They said they were 
 expecting to meet the English yacht that had been due for 
 several days, but not being in sight, had decided to run 
 down to the Laplanders' camp to see what was going on. 
 Swanson said the camp was our destination also, and if 
 they were game he would put up twenty crowns on which 
 boat would get there first. " All right," said the manager, 
 " I will go you, but let me take on a little more ballast." 
 " I will do the same," said Swanson. 
 
 The manager and Swanson were jollying each other on 
 the outcome of the race. The former took a bottle out of 
 
YANKEE SWANSON lOT 
 
 his pocket and took a stiff drink, begging Swanson to 
 excuse him for not offering him any, as it was not con- 
 sidered good form in Norway to offer an opponent a drink 
 before a fight or a race. " But regardless of who is win- 
 ner, we will have a drink together when we get to the 
 camp." 
 
 The distance from the island to the camp was a little 
 over seven nautical miles the nearest way. A small island 
 situated in the centre of the fjord, and about half way to 
 the camp could be passed on either side. It was under- 
 stood by the manager that each party had the right to 
 choose their own route, if it was advantageous. 
 
 By keeping the island on the starboard side the dis- 
 tance to camp was a mile longer, but if the wind held out 
 right it would be a fair wind after rounding the island, 
 whereas if keeping to the port side it would be a dead beat 
 to windward, provided the wind did not change. 
 
 It was 3' o'clock by the manager's watch when he gave 
 the word to start. In a moment we had the sails set and 
 stood off on the starboard tack, with the manager's boat 
 in the lead. He did not point as high as we did, so Swan- 
 son thought he was blanketing us, and went about. The 
 manager made a long leg of it and did not go about until 
 he was close over on the other shore. On his return tack 
 he discovered that he had made a mess of it, as Swanson 
 was to the windward of him. Evidently our boat was the 
 better sailer on the wind, or else the current helped us. 
 
 On passing the manager, Swanson shouted, " Double 
 your stakes," but the former said he would see about it 
 when we got up to the island. 
 
 " It will be too late then," said Swanson, " as we will 
 be so far in the lead that we can't talk to you, and I am not 
 going to wait for you there for the sake of another twenty 
 crowns." 
 
 The manager started to make short tacka, and Swan- 
 
108 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 son, out of pure miscliief, made a long leg and stood over 
 to the otker shore, hut soon a gust of wind came that put 
 the lee gunwale almost in the water. We kept our eyes on 
 Swanson, expecting him to sing out, " Slack away," in- 
 stead of which he said, " Hold on to everything, and don't 
 slack an inch, if you know what is good for you." The 
 wind then veered a couple of points in our favour, but the 
 manager's boat was too far to leeward for us to shout to 
 him, so we contented ourselves by waving our caps at him. 
 
 At 4 o'clock we were at the island, and Swanson, find- 
 ing that the wind was still from the same quarter, decided 
 to beat to windward and make a fair wind to the camp. 
 The channel was very narrow, and the wind, falling light, 
 we did not make good time. But then the manager was 
 a good half mile in the rear, and everything pointed to 
 our winning the race. While the wind was light with us, 
 down to leeward it was fresh, with the manager mak- 
 ing for the other passage. When he disappeared on the 
 other side we were unable to tell how he was getting along. 
 We were anxiously waiting for the wind, which ultimately 
 did come with as much as we could take care of. After 
 three or four tacks we weathered the island and squared off 
 for the Laps' camp, with a flowing sheet. Swanson was 
 happy and singing. Jack thought of playing on the whis- 
 tle, but Swanson ordered him to attend to his spinnaker 
 sheet. 
 
 When we had covered a couple of miles the manager's 
 boat appeared at the other end of the channel. It was 
 quite evident that he was badly beaten. At 4:45 we 
 rounded to off the camp, doused the sails and put out the 
 oars, landing on a smooth, sandy beach and securing the 
 boat. 
 
 Swanson decided to rest a bit until the manager arrived. 
 " We will drink to his health," he said, " if anything is 
 left in the bottle. If there is not, it will be an additional 
 
YANKEE SWANSON. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 109 
 
 expense. Half of the stake belongs to you, boys, to do as 
 you like with, except to buy any more of that stuff you 
 brought on board last night." 
 
 We faithfully promised to obey his orders. He then 
 related to us his varied experience in boat sailing, both 
 at home and abroad, and it was interesting, more par- 
 ticularly so when he told us of the large amount of money 
 that changed hands on the outcome of yacht racing in 
 America. 
 
 It was 5 :45 when the manager's boat arrived off the 
 camp. We gave them three cheers when they rounded 
 to. The manager embraced Swanson like a long lost 
 brother, and brought out the bottle, but it was empty, and 
 the evidence was right there in his face and walk. He 
 was a good loser, and paid his money without any com- 
 plaint. Swanson turned over half of it to us. The man- 
 ager told Swanson that he was so confident of winning the 
 race he would have bet any amount of money on the out- 
 come before we started, but seeing how he handled the boat 
 we felt less sanguine about it. It was the first race he had 
 lost, and would not have minded if he had lost it to 
 a Norwegian. 
 
 " What difference does that make ? " asked Swanson. 
 " If you find it so very hard to lose to a Swede, let us 
 have another go at it again next week, and both of us 
 put a little more money on the result." 
 
 " I'll go you," said the manager, shaking hands. " The 
 English yacht will be here for sure, and King Oscar is on 
 his way down from the North Oape, where he has been 
 watching the midnight sun, and most likely he will drop 
 in for a few days. When he is here we always get up 
 something in the way of sport, and he being a Swede, will 
 take more than ordinary interest in it. He will hang up 
 a purse that will be worth sailing for. Come on up to 
 camp and see if we can get something safe to swallow- 
 
110 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 As a rule it is fierce stuff they have. I hear from my 
 men that some of your men got badly poisoned by it." 
 
 " Yes, that's a fact, and I am sorry to say that they met 
 "with an accident afterward," Swanson replied. 
 
 " Is that so ? Did they fall overboard ? " 
 
 " Worse than that ; they ran up against the second 
 mate's fist, and have lost their appetites for the time 
 being." 
 
 " He does not look like that kind of a man," said the 
 manager. 
 
 " That's true. He is a very tender-hearted man, but 
 it was his fist that did the job ; his heart had no say in the 
 matter." 
 
 " That seems funny to me." 
 
 " It does not to the poor men," said Swanson. " You 
 can see them for yourself to-morrow if you are coming to 
 see me about that race of ours." 
 
 Arriving at the camp, we found a large number of 
 visitors. God knows where they all came from. Jack 
 had no idea there were so many people in ^Norway. The 
 manager was hunting for a bottle of good liquor so that he 
 could treat. There were many peddlers and many kinds 
 of liquor, but none of the kind he wanted. At last he 
 got what suited him, and they sat down at a table with the 
 bottle and some glasses. Jack and I excused ourselves, 
 after which we wandered off to hunt up the cook's sweet- 
 heart, who came in sight very unexpectedly. 
 
 "We entered a circus tent, and found it to contain a 
 dancing bear, an organ grinder, and a Dutchman trying to 
 stand on his head, which he did not succeed in doing. 
 He seemed very much put out about it, and blamed the 
 audience, which was very noisy. He had better success 
 with the bear, who danced all right, but growled a good 
 deal, as though he did not like it. The Dutchman en- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 111 
 
 couraged him to make fumiy noises by freely using a heavy 
 hardwood stick on the paws and ribs. 
 
 The cook's lady love was in the circus and elbowed her 
 way to us through the crowd. She shook hands as if we 
 were old time acquaintances. Jack was her favourite, and 
 she lavished all her attention on him, and he in his best 
 Swedish tried to tell her that the cook would come along 
 later. It was amusing to me, and I enjoyed the conver- 
 sation more than the circus. 
 
 When the show was over we went to look for something 
 else, and hearing music from a near-by tent, we decided 
 to enter. The widow told us it was very fine dancing. 
 " Just like you," pointing to Jack. I invited the widow 
 to come along, and wondered what the cook would say if 
 he saw me with her. .When we entered, judge of our 
 surprise to see Swanson and the manager watching a clog 
 dancer on a portable platform. They did not notice us 
 enter, so I went up to Swanson and gave a pull to his coat 
 tail. Turning around he asked for Jack, and I told him 
 he was escorting the widow. He ordered me to bring him 
 at once. " Shall I bring the widow also ? " He made a 
 grab for me, but I ducked and got away. I saw him 
 relating something to the manager, at which they both 
 laughed heartily. 
 
 The tent was packed with fisher-folk and farmers from, 
 the surrounding country, and also people from Bodo. 
 This gathering was nothing else than an annual fair, 
 where all the people combined business with pleasure. 
 The Laps disposed of their reindeer product and bought 
 supplies for the winter. 
 
 I returned with Jack and the widow to where Swanson 
 and the manager were. The latter recognised the widow 
 as an old acquaintance, and informed us that she was one 
 of the wealthiest in the tribe. She was considered quite 
 
112 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 a " catch." Swanson said that the cook had succeeded in 
 landing her all right, and was waiting to get another show 
 at her, when he would be king of the whole tribe, dogs and 
 all. The manager said he was welcome to her. 
 
 " Jack, here is a chance for you to make an honest 
 crown or two," said Swanson. " Did you bring your 
 whistle ? " Jack answered in the a;ffirmative. " I want 
 you up on that platform, just to show these people what 
 is really a dance. Tou do your best and we will do the 
 rest. As you have your wooden shoes on, give us a clog 
 dance. Use plenty of steam and kick the stuffing out of 
 that platform." 
 
 Jack did not seem to fancy the proposition. The audi- 
 ence was not to his liking. He asked Swanson to allow 
 me to dance with him, but he would not listen to it, so 
 Jack took out his whistle and announced that he was 
 ready. The manager stepped forward and said that he 
 would introduce a little sailor who had a great reputation 
 in England and Erance as a clog dancer, and would fur- 
 nish his own music while dancing. He also hoped that if 
 the dancing came up to their point of view they would not 
 refuse to put something in the hat when it was passed 
 around. 
 
 The manager then took Jack to the platform and lifted 
 him up, the audience cheering the little foreigner lustily. 
 Jack bowed and acknowledged the greeting in true actor 
 style, which caused Swanson to say aloud, " The boy is a 
 bom actor. I am proud of him." 
 
 Running over the scales a few times, at length he struck 
 up a clog dance, and his little feet started to rattle on the 
 boards like a pair of Spanish castanets. He kept perfect 
 time with his feet, twisting and turning in all manner of 
 shapes. The audience was spellbound, and nothing was 
 heard but the rattle of Jack's shoes. He wound up the 
 performance by turning a somersault without touching the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 113 
 
 platform witli his hands. The audience went wild at this 
 unusual exhibition. The widow went crazy and jumped 
 upon the platform, embracing Jack and smothering him 
 with her kisses. Finally she grabbed his cap and went 
 among her tribe, exhorting them to contribute without 
 stint. 
 
 She evidently thought that the more that was contrib- 
 uted the more Jack would dance. When she turned the 
 proceeds over to him he thanked them all; at the same 
 time he kept a wary eye upon the widow. 
 
 After resting for a little the crowd began shouting for 
 another dance. N"ewcomers were continually arriving 
 until the tent could hold no more. The atmosphere was 
 stifling, causing me to feel faint. I tried to get outside, 
 but it was impossible to move. Jack had started another 
 dance, which I could not see, but could hear the rattle of 
 his shoes, and was mighty glad when he finished. At 
 length I was enabled to escape the overpowering stench, 
 and made my escape to the outside, where God's pure air 
 was never more appreciated than it was at that moment. 
 Swanson and the manager, after some little trouble, res- 
 cued Jack, who was the victim of another buxom lady. 
 When he was brought outside, the poor boy was completely 
 exhausted, and could only feebly shake my hand, being 
 utterly unable to speak. Swanson had Jack's cap full of 
 silver, and the manager had his arms full of beer bottles, 
 while the widow had a basket of sandwiches. We all 
 squatted down and had a most enjoyable feast. 
 
 After the lunch was eaten Swanson ordered me to fetch 
 the flag from the boat, while the manager counted Jack's 
 wealth, amounting to fifty IN'orwegian dollars. The money 
 was tied up in the flag, and we all said good-bye. As 
 there was no wind, Swanson and I took the oars with Jack 
 at the tiller and off we went to the old Forsette. 
 
 At 4 o'clock next morning the night watchman reported 
 
114 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 to Swanson that some vessels were entering the harbour. 
 They proved to be King Oscar's yacht, Kong Bing and 
 Lord E.'s Ocean Spray, entering at the same time. 
 Swanson cast his eagle eye fore and aft, alow and aloft, 
 seemingly disgusted with things in general. He ordered 
 the watchman to rouse us, and the cook to have coffee 
 ready for the men at once, as he wanted to wash decks and 
 the royal yards sent down before breakfast, because the 
 old ship was getting top heavy, and it would be necessary 
 to take on ballast before the remainder of the coal could 
 be discharged with safety. 
 
 The men grumbled, some on account of heing roused so 
 early to wash down. " Just fancy, washing down a rotten 
 old collier like this! It's worse than a Yankee slave 
 packet. They won't even give us a crown to go ashore 
 and see what's doing at the camp. They are afraid we 
 would run away. Run away ! and in a place where there 
 is nothing but rocks, which no one can eat. Even the 
 rocks are preferable to what that hyena in the galley calls 
 soft-tack." One of the speakers took a loaf of stale bread 
 and threw it at the bulkhead, behind which the cook was 
 taking an early morning smoke. The clay pipe dropped 
 from the cook's mouth and out he ran on the deck, shout- 
 ing, " What in H — are these galoots up to now. Firing a 
 royal salute, or are they gone crazy ? " 
 
 Coming aft, I foimd Swanson explaining to Jack the 
 fine points of the king's yacht, which was in the lead and 
 approaching slowly. Although it was only a little after 
 4 o'clock, the sun was up, and everything looked beautiful. 
 The ensign was run up and dipped as they passed under 
 our stem. King Oscar was on the bridge, a tall dis- 
 tinguished looking man, every inch a king. 
 
 " Take off your caps," said Swanson, when the yacht 
 was closest, " and shout, ' Long live King Oscar.' " The 
 king raised his hat to us in acknowledgment of our salute. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 116 
 
 Swanson turned roimd and found the cook with his pipe 
 in Ms mouth, cap on back of head, and arms folded across 
 his chest, in a very defiant and insulting attitude. Walk- 
 ing up tq the cook, Swanson demanded to know why he 
 had not taken off his cap as we did. 
 
 " I have no use for the likes of them. They are no 
 good to you or me," replied the cook. 
 
 " If it was not for your grey hairs, you old pirate, I 
 would wring your — neck," yelled Swanson. " Get 
 out of my sight before I do it anyway." 
 
 The cook hurried off as fast as his old legs would 
 allow him, muttering something about a terrible temper. 
 
 We were greatly disappointed when the yachts did not 
 stop at Grotto, but went on to the Laplanders' camp. 
 Our friend the manager came off on a small boat to 
 inform us that the yachts would be back later in the day, 
 that they had only gone to inspect the camp. He wanted 
 Swanson to come along with him, as he had to interview 
 the captains regarding the amount of coal required. 
 Captain Bengston was not on board, and Swanson did not 
 like to leave the ship during the captain's absence, but 
 after some persuasion he consented to accompany the man- 
 ager and left Ericson in charge, giving him a lot of in- 
 structions, the principal one being that should the king's 
 yacht come up from camp, the men must all be assembled 
 on the fo'es'le head and shout, " Long live the king," until 
 the mountains shook with the echo, and if any one did 
 not bare his head he was to be knocked down and out, if 
 possible. 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said the mate. " It will be carried out 
 to the letter. I can always do finer work when I have 
 no one to interfere with me, and you can depend on it 
 that I will handle this crowd." Ericson then ordered 
 " turn to " in a louder tone than usual, at the same time 
 giving them a fair warning if they did not get a move on 
 
116 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 themselves. He announced that Mr. Swanson was going 
 away for the day, and a certain amount of work had to 
 be done and the quicker it was done the better. He said 
 he would do as much as anybody else. " But," he con- 
 tinued, " I am as hard-fisted as I am soft-hearted, and 
 if there is any loafing or hanging back, it will be bad 
 business." " Ah, give us a rest," said the fellow with 
 the swollen jaw. "Bye and bye," said Ericson, "wash 
 down." 
 
 Swanson came on deck all togged up and took a glance 
 at the gang washing the poop-deck. He said something 
 to Ericson about them not killing themselves in the mat- 
 ter of work. Ericson allowed it would go swifter after 
 a little. " All right, do your best toward getting the dust 
 off her in case we should have visitors from the fancy 
 craft when they return." " Don't worry, Swanson, it 
 will be done, or my name ain't Ericson." 
 
 Swanson shouted to Jack to have the cabin windows 
 shining like a new ITorwegian dollar, as the widow would 
 be sure to visit us one of these days. 
 
 Swanson being safely out of hearing, Ericson went up 
 to the fellow who had said, " Ah, give us a rest." " Here, 
 you said something about giving you a rest." " That's 
 what I said," mumbled the fellow. " All right, I wiU 
 give you a rest, and that just now." And with that he 
 hit him a fearful blow on the healthy side of his face, 
 dropping him like a log. Ericson picked him up as if he 
 had been a baby and threw him bodily into the sea. The 
 fellow tried to get hold of the fenders on the ship's side, 
 but Ericson was brandishing a four-by-four scantling over 
 his head, and swore by all that was holy to brain him if he 
 came up the side. Letting go the fender, he swam to the 
 boat that was hanging under the stern and scrambled in. 
 " Well, boys, it is too bad we are a man short, but we will 
 have to make up for it. That fellow is having the rest 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 117 
 
 he asked for. I hope no one else needs a rest. If he does 
 just let him ask for it." 
 
 This was a master stroke on Ericson's part. Never 
 have I seen a collier's deck cleaned so thoroughly as the 
 Forsdte's was. After the deck was finished the sailors 
 wiped down the paint work. Ericson then ordered Axel 
 and me to reeve off the gantlines for sending down the 
 royal yards, and to get everything ready up there so that 
 it would take only a few minutes to lower the yards. 
 
 I had never hefore sent down a royal yard, but knew 
 how to do it, as Swanson had drilled it into me many 
 times when at sea. It was therefore a certainty that 
 things would be all right by the time the men were through 
 on deck. There is a fascination about sending up or 
 down the royal yards for every young sailor, and then 
 there is always the pride in being able to do the job and 
 do it quickly. 
 
 Spar drill in the navy is always a pleasure to watch. I 
 remember once in Montevideo seeing a lot of warships of 
 many different nations, at spar drill. We of the mer- 
 chant mariae took a keen delight in observing the contest, 
 but the Yankees were always first, beating all others every 
 time. 
 
 There I was with the gantlines, four inch rope. It was 
 pretty heavy when I got it in the crosstree, where I be- 
 layed it for the time being. Looking over the maintop, 
 I saw that Axel had his gantline foul of the topsail hal- 
 yards. At first I thought of calling his attention to it, 
 but seeing that Ericson was watching us, he might decide 
 to give me a rest cure also. I unshackled the royal 
 halyards on the yard, and unrove it by bending a small 
 gasket in the shackle. When that was done, I belayed the 
 halyards in the crosstree, and by means of the gasket I 
 rove off the gantline, which was my first lesson in sending 
 down a royal yard. The sail being bent and furled on 
 
118 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 the yard, I slacked up the gaskets and restowed snug aa 
 possible. I then bent the gantline on the yard by drop- 
 ping the end of the gantline on the fore part of the yard, 
 brought the end up agaia on the after part, and took a 
 full round turn with it. The end was then brought across 
 the standing part of the gantline and belayed well on the 
 other yardarm by taking a round turn and half hitching 
 the end. I now went out and took off the mousing as on 
 the brace hooks. Ericson, seeing me do this, sang out to 
 me to unhook them at once and rehook them on the cross- 
 tree. Having no further use for the foot ropes, I unbent 
 them and stretched them along the yard. The unparallel- 
 ing of the yard was a matter of no moment. I simply 
 had to take out a small forelock, which I did with a mar- 
 line-spike. All that remained to be done was to climb up 
 on the masthead and start the seizing on the lifts. 
 Everything was then ready for the men to sway away on 
 the gantlines so that the seizing on the lift could be taken 
 off altogether. 
 
 Going down the crosstree, I sang out, " All right," 
 and waited developments. Axel had not been heard from 
 as yet, but really nothing seemed to have been done by 
 him. The men were putting away their buckets and 
 brooms, so I knew something would be doing soon. The 
 cook came out and cast his evil eye aloft first on one top 
 and then on the other. If any remarks were passed I did 
 not hear them. The fellow who had asked for a rest was 
 very comfortable or else dead. There was no movement 
 to be detected as he lay stretched on the bottom of the 
 boat. Everything was grand and peaceful from my ele- 
 vated position, and I was enjoying myself immensely. I 
 could see the yachts and numerous other craft containing 
 visitors. 
 
 At last Ericson sang out, " Away on the f oretop 
 gantline." " Ay, ay, sir," and up I went to the masthead, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 119 
 
 casting the seizing adrift in a jiffy, and sang out " Lower 
 away." As the yard cockbilled, I shouted, " Vast low- 
 ering," while I seized the upper yardarm to the gantliue; 
 then, " Lower away," " All clear," and down I went on 
 the gallant backstay. 
 
 The men took the yard and stood it up in the fore rig- 
 ging and secured it. " Well done," said Ericson. 
 " Look at that fool on the main. God only knows what 
 will become of him if he ever gets down here alive. Run 
 up and show that flathead how to send down a royal yard, 
 otherwise it will be dinner time before we are through 
 with the job. We need a little rest as well as that fellow 
 in the boat." 
 
 When we came on deck, Ericson sang out, " Breakfast 
 all." After a moment he said, " Except Axel. He'll get 
 his to-night." He gave Axel some grease and brickdust, 
 telling him to clean up some old copper plate, and when 
 that was done to scrub out the pigpen. The rest of us 
 were to have the day to ourselves, except when the king 
 and lord came back, when we were to go on the fo'cs'le 
 head and shout for them. The fellow who was resting 
 was not to be disturbed until the king arrived and then he 
 would have to shout as loud as the rest of us. 
 
 I went to the galley to fetch the grub. The cook was 
 there smoking. He asked me how I liked the mate. 
 " Pretty hard-fisted, ain't he ? " he said. " He sure is a 
 dandy on the resting business. I^ever saw sailormen 
 worked as hard in my life. He's got Swanson skinned 
 ten miles, both for work and resting; never thought it 
 was in him, he looks so peaceful-like. That's the worst 
 with these soft-hearted men, when they break loose they 
 are worse than the devil." I took the grub to the fo'cs'le, 
 where I found the men waiting for me. They asked what 
 I had brought. I answered, " Coffee and cracker hash." 
 
 One fellow said that was not worth while getting up 
 
180 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 for. " In the last packet I was in we got apple pie on 
 Sunday and a glass of grog after the decks were washed 
 down. This is the limit." 
 
 " I understand the cook wants to meet the lord, too," 
 said another. " He used to be chief cook to the lord's 
 grandmother, and came near marrying her. That's what 
 he told Jack a few days ago." 
 
 " You can't believe that cook," said the first. " I wish 
 Swanson had dumped him this morning. It would have 
 been a good riddance. I am sick of Ericson. Just look 
 at what he has done to poor Nils. The last I saw of Nils 
 he was lying like a flapjack on the bottom of the boat.'.' 
 
 After breakfast a boat arrived with the mails from 
 Bodo. Ericson distributed them, and I got no less than 
 six letters from home. Swanson received several with 
 the Grangemouth stamp on them. Finding a comfortable 
 nook under the long-boat I read my mother's letter first. 
 It was the usual motherly letter. She said she had been 
 informed that Swanson was a terrible man, fearing neither 
 God nor the devil. She also cautioned me to keep my 
 catechism on all occasions, so that I would not be behind 
 the other children and fail when I went to my first com- 
 munion. Then she went on to tell about my pigeons, and 
 the great care grandpa took of them. The dog, Blucher, 
 had chased them one day when the old gent was feeding 
 them, and he had given Blucher a scolding. The dog 
 had not been the same since, evidently taking the matter ' 
 very much to heart. She said that brother Nils was well 
 satisfied with his new position, having written so from 
 Liverpool. The letter wound up by telling me to be care- 
 ful when up on the mast, not to fall down and break any 
 bones. 
 
 My father's letter was in a similar strain. Crops 
 looked promising, and plenty of foreigners circulating 
 money. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON lai 
 
 My sisters wanted information regarding the looks and 
 clothes of the young girls in Scotland, and if the Scottish 
 girls were as pretty as the girls at home. I thought, 
 " Just wait until I describe Betsey Duncan, and then you 
 will open your eyes." 
 
 Grandpa's letter was the last, as I knew it would be 
 the most interesting of all. The old man began with the 
 tools, saying that they were next to useless, as I was not 
 there to turn the grindstone. " Ernest does the best he 
 can, but he does not know how to handle the stone. He 
 blames it on me, saying I press harder on the stone now 
 than I did when you were at home. There is no sense 
 in that, as I am getting feebler every day. You remem- 
 ber the old dog, Blucher. He is almost as bad as his 
 namesake, who did us so much damage after Moscow. 
 Yesterday I was feeding the pigeons in the yard, and he 
 was lying down watching me with his nose between his 
 paws, when suddenly he jumps up and snaps at them and 
 bit me in the hand. I grabbed at him, but he got away 
 from me. You know that I was ninety my last birthday. 
 He would not stop running when I called him. Then 
 he jumped the fence, and as I came after him a rock fell 
 down on my right foot, crushing the top of my wooden 
 shoe. I then took off my shoes and went after him again. 
 The rascal started to whine, and when I called to him he 
 came only too gladly, as he was tired out. I did not whip 
 him, for he is getting old too, and has been a good dog in 
 his day. The only way I punished him was this : he had 
 no supper, which made him feel very bad. Your mother 
 is worried a bit because your mate has a hard name. I 
 told her to quit that, as the ' Harder the better ' was our 
 rule in the army. When I served under Marshal Davoust 
 he had an awful name, but I found him to be the best 
 of the whole lot, except the Little Corporal himself. These 
 hard fellows are all right for those that are willing to do 
 
ISa YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 what is right, but a martinet for the lazy ones. Next 
 time tell me all about this fellow Swanson. They say 
 that he almost murdered a fellow in Grangemouth. Well, 
 good-bye, and don't lose the snuff box or the gold piece. 
 Your grandpa, Mis Hanson." 
 
 Jack, who had finished his cabin, was anxiously waiting 
 for me to finish my correspondence, to have a social chat 
 in English. It was Swedish and English on alternate 
 days now. I could not break away from grandpa's let- 
 ter, laughing and crying over it. And old Blucher; poor 
 dog, he must have been jealous. I was glad he did not 
 beat him. 
 
 Now and again Jack would rattle his shoes, and blow 
 a few notes on his whistle, to attract my attention, but it 
 was no use. Grandpa's letter was more fun to me. At 
 last Jack came over and sat beside me. He wanted to 
 know what I was laughing at. When I told him it was 
 grandpa's letter he insisted on sharing the fun with me, 
 which caused him to laugh as heartily as I did. I had 
 told Jack a great deal about my home life previously, and 
 now after this letter he expressed a desire to see the old 
 man, a real Napoleonic hero that could chase dogs over 
 fences at the age of ninety. It was no wonder that 
 Napoleon won his victories. ^Jack then made up his mind 
 to stay by the old Forsette until she returned to Sweden 
 in the fall. 
 
 That afternoon Jack and I laid under the boat, building 
 air castles. I told Jack that if he would only turn the 
 grindstone lively for the old man to sharpen his tools 
 that he would win favour with him, not but that his na- 
 tionality would have some influence too. This conver- 
 sation took firm hold of Jack and he was more determined 
 than ever to speak Swedish. He was a bright scholar and 
 already could understand all that was said in Swedish. 
 
 Jack asked if Blucher was very old. I told hiTp that he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 123 
 
 ■was about the same age as I was, as he had been in the 
 family since I could remember. " In that case he can't 
 live very long, and I would like to bring him another 
 dog," said Jack. " Wellington " was suggested for a 
 name for the dog, but when told that it would not be 
 agreeable to the old man he changed it to "Nap." 
 
 " You remember that pretty white dog at whom the cook 
 spat after kissing the widow. He forgave the cook, be- 
 cause he knew he had to spit after kissing the widow." 
 
 " Are you going to let her kiss you to pay for the dog ? " 
 
 " Oh, no. I will give her a clog dance, one of the 
 lively ones, that will fetch the dog and a reindeer calf 
 into the bargain." 
 
 " We'll see what Swanson thinks about the scheme. If 
 the widow does not part with the dog he can get one of 
 those white pointed-nose fellows from the manager." 
 
 " They are not as pretty as the widow's dog, and besides, 
 I figure on getting a reindeer calf. It will make the cook 
 green with envy. He is jealous now as it is. Somebody 
 told him she kissed me last night." 
 
 It must have been Axel who tpld the cook, as he was 
 at the gangway when the manager joshed Jack in the 
 morning. 
 
 " Look at Axel now," said Jack. " There is Ericson 
 finding fault with the cleanliness of the pigsty. Ericson 
 is a bad man. Swanson would not be so hard as that, 
 anyhow on Sunday." 
 
 " You wait and see what Swanson will do to him after 
 he has read his wife's letter and finds out that Axel wrote 
 home and told his mother that Swanson almost killed a 
 man in Grangemouth ; and that Miss Duncan and I licked 
 the cook and made him blind in one eye." 
 
 " Did he say that ? " 
 
 " My mother told me so in her lettef, and she has beeni 
 crying about it ever since." 
 
124 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 " Swanson will kill him. Don't you think we should 
 tell Axel before Swanson gets back, so that he can run 
 away, jump overboard or do something?" 
 
 Axel then appeared, Ericson having let him ofE, after 
 all. As he was passing us I called him and told him the 
 contents of my letters. At first he was dazed and did not 
 seem to realise the enormity of his tale-bearing propensity. 
 Jack began to whimper and threw his arms around Axel's 
 neck, sobbing out the terrible fate awaiting him when 
 Swanson read his letters. 
 
 Axel admitted giving his mother the news, but did not 
 think of any possible harm coming out of it, never ex- 
 pecting his mother to tell the news to everybody in the 
 village. 
 
 " I don't know what to do," said Axel. " Swanson 
 does not like me the same as he does you. This morning 
 the cook told me that Swanson was a murderer, and the 
 reason he came back to Sweden was because a price was 
 set upon his head in America, and that if they caught him 
 he would be hanged." 
 
 I told Axel that it was a lie, and the cook would have 
 to sujBFer for making such a statement. Axel was terror- 
 stricken and afraid to meet Swanson. Jack at this mo- 
 ment struck up a clog dance on the harmonica, and started 
 to rattle his shoes. This caused us to laugh and the spirit 
 of mischief to enter Jack, who had observed the cook at 
 the galley door with a grin on his face. The cook made 
 some slurring remark about " Crazy French kids " — 
 Jack ran up to the door, and turned a somersault. In do- 
 ing so, one of his shoes flew off his foot, missing the cook's 
 face, but landing in a kettle of boiling water, which 
 caused some splashes to land on the cook's hands and feet. 
 The cook howled loud enough to wake the dead, picked up 
 his poker, raced Jack round and round the decks, with 
 Jack always in the lead, turning somersaults and dancing. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 125 
 
 Axel and I were laughing when Ericson came out of his 
 cabin, where he had been reading his mail. He joined in 
 the chase and captured the cook by the collar, demanding 
 to know the cause of the trouble. Jack told the story, but 
 the cook wanted to explain. Ericson told him to shut up, 
 as he could not tell the truth if his life depended on his 
 doing so. 
 
 " I want you to understand that for the present I am 
 master of this craft," said Ericson. " A little warm 
 water on your hands and feet will only take dirt off of 
 them. If I was permanent master I would see that you 
 used plenty of it and often. Get into your doghouse, and 
 let the boys alone." 
 
 The cook withdrew in a surly mood, and Jack sat down 
 by me, enquiring how I liked his imitation. !N"ot com- 
 prehending what he meant I asked for an explanation. 
 He said he was giving an imitation of grandpa and 
 Blucher, the somersaults representing Blucher taking the 
 fences and ditches. 
 
 The whole thing was so ridiculous that it made me 
 laugh so that my sides ached. After a time the three of 
 us met again to consult over plans for Axel's future. 
 Jack said he had talked with Swanson that morning re- 
 garding the money he had and told him that half of it 
 belonged to me. It was not Jack's fault that I had not 
 danced, as Swanson wanted Jack only. The other half he 
 was going to buy clothes with, unless Mr. Swanson wanted 
 it. This brought tears to Swanson's eyes, who said that 
 he only wanted to know if his heart was in the right 
 place, and squeezed his hand until the tears came. 
 
 " It's like this, Andrew," Jack said. " You will have 
 to part with your money for Axel's sake. I would give 
 mine, but what would I say if Swanson asked me for it 
 so that he could take care of it until we got to England. 
 I would have to tell a lie, and I don't like to do that. 
 
126 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 If the worse comes to worst we can make a clean breast 
 of it and I will settle witk you when we get to Archangel 
 or England." 
 
 I could hardly reply to the little fellow, but at length 
 told him it was a good scheme. He jumped up and em- 
 braced me and then Axel. He rattled his only shoe, the 
 cook refusing to give up the other, as he required it as 
 evidence for Swanson. 
 
 Twenty-five dollars would be sufficient to take Axel 
 home, ten for steerage ticket and fifteen for expenses. 
 The steamer left every Saturday from Bodo, and it was 
 no trick to get to Bodo. Axel was overcome by the boy's 
 generosity, although in the past he had done him every 
 nasty trick that he could think of. ■ Jack informed Axel 
 that he would bring the money after dinner, as he was 
 afraid Ericson would hear him handling the money and 
 think something was wrong. 
 
 I went to the galley for the grub and asked the cook if 
 I had to save any food for the fellow in the boat, or if he 
 was going to save any. He told me to find out from the 
 second mate, who had the swelled head because the old 
 man and the mate were not on board. He muttered, 
 " That old square-headed elephant would have trouble 
 putting his hat on without a shoe-horn." 
 
 I went aft to see Ericson and get instructions regard- 
 ing the man in the boat. He had just finished dinner 
 and was filling his pipe. Stating the case to him, he 
 pondered whether the man should have anything to eat 
 or not. " All right, let him come up. I don't think he 
 will eat much. Tell Axel to relieve the man after he has 
 had his own dinner, and to keep a good look out for the 
 yachts. Let me know when they are coming, as I am 
 going to have a nap." 
 
 Jack, overhearing the conversation, got the money and 
 brought it to Axel, who thought it would be a good time 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 1^7 
 
 to get away. I told Axel of the mate's orders and Jack 
 went with him to haul the boat to the gangway. The 
 fellow who had been in the boat all day did not seem the 
 worse for his bath or the beating he received. He thought 
 it was a great joke to get out of hard work as easy as that. 
 
 His eating power had improved some, but probably it 
 was due to the fact of his not having any food for so long. 
 Axel got into the boat and Jack dropped it astern, making 
 the painter fast as before. Then we all prepared for a 
 good long nap, as it was Sunday. 
 
 Late that afternoon we were aroused by Ericson an- 
 nouncing that the boat had been stolen and that Axel 
 had run away. Also, the yachts were coming down the 
 fjord full pelt. Swanson would sure raise a row if he 
 was in the neighbourhood. " Stand by, all of you," 
 roared the now half -crazy Ericson. " Get up on the 
 fo'cs'le head and start in to practise. Now then, one, two, 
 
 three — why in h don't you holler? Here, you get 
 
 up on the t'gallant yard, and if you don't yell, I'll pull 
 you down." He tied a rope around the leg of the fellow 
 and sent him aloft with orders to yell until his head 
 came off. 
 
 The fellow took precautions to tie himself to the yard, 
 so that if Ericson pulled he would have to pull the mast 
 down too. Jack was sent aft with orders to dip the ensign 
 when the yachts passed by our stern. The cook was de- 
 tailed to regulate the shouting by counting " One, two, 
 three, long live the King and Lord R.," every thirty sec- 
 onds. At first the cook was to manage the rope attached 
 to the fellow aloft, but the cook did not seem to like the 
 job, so he took it himself. This was a foolish move on 
 Ericson's part, as he had had ample revenge on the poor 
 fellow. 
 
 The yachts were still some distance off. Ericson let 
 .the fellow know that he was still on the job by giving an 
 
188 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 extra hard pull or two. The fellow let out a most un- 
 godly howl, as if his neck was broken. 
 
 " Aha ! It hurts," said Ericson. " There will be no 
 trouble with you, my man. Remember, it's noise we 
 want." 
 
 The yachts were now pretty close in, and word was 
 passed to the cook to begin the shouting, which was done; 
 but not a blessed word from the masthead. Ericson was 
 fuming. He jumped up on the top of the house and 
 bracing his feet against the mast, he pulled with all his 
 might, at the same time telling the cook to keep up the 
 shouting. The king's yacht was very near, with the king 
 on the bridge. Lord R. was on his also. Both of theni 
 raised their hats in recognition of our lusty shouting. 
 Ericson almost pulled his arms off trying to get something, 
 man or noise, which was the last he remembered for 
 some hours after. It seems that the fellow aloft, when 
 he saw what Ericson was up to, reached down and cut 
 the rope which had Ericson's whole weight on it, and 
 Ericson turned a back somersault, landing on the deck, 
 and striking his head on an iron bar rendering him uncon- 
 scious. The fellow aloft then started to make up for 
 lost time by yelling long after every one else had knocked 
 off. . !^ ,, 
 
 The cook then assumed command when he saw that 
 Ericson was out of commission, by ordering him to shut 
 up. " It's all over," said the cook. " Not by a good 
 deal," shouted the fellow, " it has only just begun. Long 
 live the King, and the Lord help us and Ericson." 
 
 King Oscar's yacht did not anchor, but the lord's did 
 a little distance from the Forsette. The shouting of the 
 sailor attracted the attention of those on the yacht, who 
 lowered a boat and came alongside of us to find out the 
 cause of the shouting " Lord help us, and Ericson." 
 An officer in very fancy uniform came up the gangway, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 129 
 
 and asked to see the captain. " He is not on board," says 
 the cook, who had gone to receive the officer. " Ah, well, 
 are you the first officer ? " " No, sir. He is on shore, 
 too. I am the chief steward and cook." " Ah, I see. 
 Is the second officer on board ? " " He is, but he is nearly 
 dead." " I would like to see him if he is well enough 
 to speak." " I don't know about the speaking part. He 
 took sick and fell down and hurt himself." 
 
 " Say, what is the matter with that strange thing on 
 the fore t'gallant yard? Is he sick also?" 
 
 " Not at all, the healthiest farmer in the bunch. He 
 took a fit when the shouting commenced, and ran aloft 
 like a monkey. We have been trying to coax him to 
 come down, but nothing will do but a gatling gun, or 
 perhaps a good jolt of whiskey." 
 
 " I wish he could be brought down, as it is very annoy- 
 ing to his lord^ip." 
 
 " If you had some whiskey in your pocket I might try 
 to fetch him down, but it might be hydrophobia. I knew 
 a fellow who caught it by just talking to another like 
 that." 
 
 " This ship must be a bloody floating lunatic asylum," 
 said the officer. 
 
 " It will be shortly if we don't get a drop of something 
 to fetch that fellow down." 
 
 " Have you any idea what brought it on ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes. Nothing but overfeeding and too much 
 rest." 
 
 The cook asked the officer if they had a doctor on board, 
 and was told that the doctor was in Bodo escorting some 
 ladies of their party. 
 
 " That's too bad," sorrowfully replied the cook. " We 
 have not anything to fetch that galoot down with, so that 
 his lordship can have some rest. It does not matter to us, 
 as we will soon get used to it. As a matter of fact, I 
 
130 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 would rather have him there than below, if he has made 
 up his mind to carry on in that unchristian manner all 
 night." 
 
 The cook made a move as if to go to the aid of the sec- 
 ond mate, but turned round and said, " Give my compli- 
 ments to Lord K and tell him we are very sorry for 
 causing all this aimoyance, and if he could send us a 
 bottle of whiskey to coax him down and give him a few 
 drops after to steady his nerves a bit, we would be ever 
 so much obliged to him." 
 
 "All right. I don't think his lordship will have any 
 objections to doing that, provided you make him cease 
 yelling." 
 
 The officer went away in his boat and no sooner had 
 he gone than the fellow ceased shouting. He started to 
 come down, but the cook ran up the rigging, meeting him 
 half way. " Go back, you fool, and shout harder than 
 ever. You'll spoil everything and prevent me from get- 
 ting a little medicine for the second mate, whom you 
 have nearly killed, and will swing for yet. Go back and 
 yell. Your life depends on it." 
 
 JSTo argument on the cook's part could induce the fel- 
 low to stay, as he said his jaws would not stand for it. 
 
 " You will be sorry for this, and will have to go to 
 jail," said the cook, who went up the mast and resumed 
 the yelling. The cook proved to be a past master in the 
 art of making hideous noises. Everybody admitted that 
 the other fellow was outclassed, and the cook kept up the 
 most horrible earsplitting yells with the sole purpose of 
 hurrying the medicine along. From his elevated posi- 
 tion he had a clear view of the yacht's deck. Not seeing 
 them making any move to hurry up the medicine, or at 
 least not quick enough to suit him, he resorted to a move 
 that he had every reason to believe would bring forth the 
 desired result. Running out to the extreme end of the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 191 
 
 yardarm, he took hold of the lift with both hands, letting 
 his feet dangle as if with the intention of letting go at 
 any time. At the same time he produced the most blood- 
 curdling yells that can be imagined. This last move was 
 a master piece of strategy. At once they began falling 
 over each other to get the medicine and to preven-t the 
 seemingly desperate man from committing suicide. 
 When the boat left the yacht's side the cook grad- 
 nally worked in toward the mast, with the idea of 
 getting down in time to receive the medicine, well knowing 
 that if it fell into anybody else's hands it was good-bye 
 medicine, as far as he was concerned. 
 
 Keeping his eye on the approaching boat, he slid down 
 the gallant backstay like greased lightning, uttering sev- 
 eral howls. The supposed lunatic was dangerously near, 
 he thought. He threatened to expose him if he did not 
 run up and down the deck and give a few more yells. 
 This little talk had the desired effect on the sailor, who 
 made himself, less conspicuous, but made enough noise so 
 that nobody but the cook had a right to find fault. 
 
 The small boat from the yacht was now alongside, and 
 a sailor came up and handed the cook two bottles. He 
 could hardly believe his own eyes. 
 
 " God bless the lord," he said. " He has the heart of 
 a king, and the style of an emperor. How well he knew 
 what was wanted. Two bottles, too. Ah, I see, one for 
 internal, and the other for external use. I can hardly 
 find words to express my thanks to his lordship. You 
 can tell him I knew his grandmother, but that was long 
 before the Crimean war." 
 
 The quartermaster that brought the medicine enquired 
 about the lunatic, and the cook told him there were signs 
 of improvement already. Being possessed of wonderful 
 smelling powers he had smelled the medicine as soon as 
 the boat left the yacht's side. He then hinted that an- 
 
130 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 other bottle or two next day might be necessary. The 
 young man said that they were going away that evening 
 on a whale hunt and would not be back for a couple of 
 days. This caused the cook great anxiety, as they might 
 run shy of medicine. 
 
 The young man asked the cook if he was a Britisher. 
 " Well, I should say I am. I am a veteran of the Crimean 
 war, and my father was with Nelson at Trafalgar and 
 with Wellington at Waterloo." 
 
 " Your father must have been fond of fighting on land 
 as well as on sea. I am glad to have made your acquaint- 
 ance, cook. His lordship will now be at ease. He was 
 afraid that the poor fellow would have let himself go 
 from that fore t'gallant yard. Well, good-bye." 
 
 After the young man had gone the cook wondered where 
 would be the best place to put the bottles. He was deter- 
 mined that no one should steal them from him this time. 
 Besides, there was trouble enough on board for one day. 
 
 The supposed lunatic asked if the medicine was not for 
 his use. This roused the ire of the cook, who told him 
 that he did not see any use in wasting medicine on him, 
 as he was going to be hung, drawn, and quartered in a 
 week. There were too many eye witnesses to his hor- 
 rible deed. With this information the lunatic threatened 
 to start the shouting afresh, but the cook said he did not 
 care, as he had made arrangements with his lordship to 
 shoot him from the yacht with a Mauser rifle, that being 
 the easiest way to save the expense of a tedious trial, and 
 likewise funeral expenses, as he would naturally fall in 
 the water and no one would take the trouble to hunt for 
 his body. 
 
 This was too much for the sailor, who walked forward 
 to see how Ericson was getting along. They had him 
 stretched out on an old sail, trying to revive him by 
 pouring water on him and rubbing his hands and feet. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 139 
 
 We proposed to carry him back to his bunk, but no one 
 would assist us, saying he was better off in the open air, 
 and perhaps he was. He had a large swelling on the 
 back of his head and was breathing heavily, but still un- 
 conscious. The cook was referred to as the ship's sur- 
 geon, on account of his age and experience in many seas 
 and other lands. Every one was more or less sorry for 
 Ericson, yet said he deserved it. They were all from 
 the same place (Hoganas) and knew each other's people 
 and would have acted in the same manner if they had 
 been in the second mate's place. 
 
 The cook soon took charge of the case and issued his 
 orders in an authoritative manner. First he ordered the 
 clothes removed, then felt his pulse and heart beats. 
 
 " We must get him on his feet before Swanson gets 
 back," he said, " or there will be trouble, and we will all 
 go to jail. This is worse than murder in the eyes of the 
 law. Rub like the devil while I pour some of this pre- 
 cious fluid into him." 
 
 The cook was very careful regarding the quantity of 
 liquor that he administered. However, the mate very 
 soon showed signs of coming to, and was able at last to 
 enquire how long he had been lying there. He was in- 
 formed that he had been about an hour. 
 
 " I remembered falling off the house. I did not mean 
 to pull so hard. It was wrong of me to do so. Is that 
 poor fellow badly hurt ? " 
 
 " Hurt ! " said the cook, " not at all. He is right here, 
 and is the man that brought you to. Would you like to 
 see him? Come here, August. Ericson wants to shake 
 hands with you." 
 
 August, who had been feeling pretty blue, now came 
 forward, wreathed in smiles, and shook hands with Eric- 
 son. We assisted Ericson into his clothes, after which 
 he walked aft, still very much dazed. The cook and 
 
13* YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Jack accompanied him to his cabin, where the cook mixed 
 him a toddy, strong enough for a Western ocean bo'sun, 
 which sent him to sleep in a very short time. There were 
 no signs of the manager and Swanson returning, but the 
 yacht passed very close to the Forsette. They stopped to 
 speak to us, enquiring after the lunatic. The cook re- 
 plied that he was more docile now, thanks to the medicine, 
 which was excellent stuff, but it was a pity that he had 
 no more of it. This hint did not move the captain of 
 the yacht to send any more medicine. After they had 
 steamed away the cook told us that we would have to stick 
 to one common story, or we would have further trouble. 
 The following tale was devised by the cook as being the 
 best to tell: 
 
 Ericson fell from the top of the house. It was none 
 of our business what he was doing there. August went 
 up the fore t'gallant yard, the better to shout on account 
 of his weak voice and then took a nasty fit, which made 
 him utter such ungodly noises that they annoyed his lord- 
 ship and caused him to send over to see what was the mat- 
 ter. He felt so distressed about it that he sent some 
 medicine) which was entirely consumed by Ericson and 
 August. 
 
 But how was Axel's absence to be explained? The 
 cook swore that Axel had stolen two of his apple pies 
 when he went to relieve the man in the boat. 
 
 " What shall I say if Swanson asks about my shoe ? " 
 enquired Jack. 
 
 " You don't need to say anything about that at all. I'll 
 tell him myself," said the cook. 
 
 " All right. Then I will explaia to him what became 
 of the medicine. I found one bottle in my bunk and have 
 stowed it away where you can't find it. It has quite a 
 funny label, too." 
 
 The cook started to run and see for himself if Jack 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 135 
 
 had told the truth, but he observed me giggling. He then 
 knew that I was on to him also. 
 
 " You d — d little rascal, I know you are French, 
 but I never thought you would steal a dying man's medi- 
 cine. I was just going to give him some. Well, now. 
 Jack, I always spoke well of you. You know where the 
 shoe is, but look here, don't do anything you'll regret all 
 the rest of your days. Let the poor fellow have his med- 
 icine that I worked so hard to get him." 
 
 " Oh, he won't die to-day anyway," said Jack. " I 
 only guessed that you had put it in my bunk." 
 
 " Don't mind what I said to you. Jack ; I was only 
 fooling. I did put it there, because you were the only 
 one I would trust. Come with me and we will get that 
 blessed little shoe." 
 
VIII 
 
 IT was late that evening when Swanson and the man- 
 ager returned. On their way they noticed a boat 
 stranded on one of the islands, and found it belonged to 
 the Forsette. It puzzled Swanson, as he found nothing 
 but the oars, mast, and sails belonging to it. They took 
 it in tow and thus became delayed. When they came 
 alongside, the manager declined Swanson' s invitation to 
 come on board, but promised to come in the morning and 
 see about hiring some men to help load with ballast. The 
 cook was at the gangway when Swanson arrived, who im- 
 mediately asked for Ericson. He was informed that he 
 had met with a bad accident while celebrating the return 
 of the king and the lord, by falling from the house. 
 Swanson asked him if he had sent for a doctor. The 
 cook said, " 'No, his lordship heard of the accident and 
 sent over some medicine, which made him go to sleep." 
 Swanson then asked for an explanation regarding the 
 boat. He was then told about Axel deserting the ship, 
 taking the boat with him. 
 
 " Gee, but you must have had lots of fun to-day, cook," 
 Swanson said. " Did Axel get away with all his clothes ? " 
 
 " The greater part, I think. He had a pocket hand- 
 kerchief full or nearly so. I don't think he left much 
 behind him." 
 
 The cook then explained how Axel had been sent on 
 watch by Ericson while the rest had a nap. Swanson 
 expressed a great desire to meet him, as he would like to 
 have an explanation from him regarding some nonsense 
 he wrote home to his mother. 
 
 136 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 137 
 
 Next morning, of course, when we turned to we were 
 shorthanded on account of Axel, so I was detailed to take 
 a shovel and do a man's work. Ericson limped ahout the 
 deck, preferring to do that than remain below. The man- 
 ager came off to breakfast, and he arranged for two men 
 to come off and help until Captain Bengston returned. 
 I did not hear any more about the race, but heard that 
 if the yacht came back he would want her alongside to 
 coal. I wished she would do so as I would like to hear 
 the cook's lies. 
 
 The following day, just at dinner time, a party of 
 Laplanders and some dogs came alongside. Swanson in- 
 vited them to come on board. Among the visitors was 
 the widow, also the white dog that Jack had taken such 
 a fancy to. The first thing she asked for was Jack, not 
 even mentioning the cook. Swanson shouted for Jack, 
 who was down in the cabin setting the table. When he 
 appeared he was received with open arms, but not kissed, 
 much to his relief. Swanson told him to take the visitors 
 around a bit and to show them things they were not 
 familiar with. Evidently the widow had forgotten all 
 about the cook, because she seemed surprised to see him 
 in the galley. The cook gave her the glad hand, which 
 she reluctantly took, but the dog showed his teeth. He 
 invited them into the galley, but would not permit the dOg 
 to enter. The result was that all declined the invitation. 
 The cook was heard to comment upon the fickleness of 
 women, widows in particular. Jack was meanwhile mak- 
 ing friends with the dog, for purposes of his own. The 
 widow said he was a remarkable dog, and proudly made 
 him go through some tricks that were really worthy of a 
 circus dog. The dog walked on his hind legs, with his 
 front legs across the back of his head. The widow then 
 gave one of her shoes to one of her friends with the re- 
 quest that he hide it. After some time she let the dog 
 
138 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 know that she was shy of a shoe, and told him to get it 
 for her. He started off, but could not find it. She 
 scolded him for not bringing it, which seemed to affect 
 him greatly, as he began to whine. The next time he 
 went hunting he returned, barking and seemingly very 
 happy. The widow said he had found the shoe, but it 
 was beyond his reach, so Jack volunteered to assist him. 
 The slipper was found stowed away in an inaccessible 
 place in the fo'cs'le. The shoe was given to the dog, who 
 returned it to the widow. 
 
 Swanson and Ericson came on deck and mingled with 
 the visitors, who were enjoying themselves sightseeing. 
 Swanson ordered the cook to prepare coffee and bring out 
 the hard-tack. The cook was determined to make himself 
 solid with the widow., by his fine cooking. He shouted 
 to Jack to help him with things in the galley, but Jack 
 was too busy feeding the dog with hard-tack to pay any 
 attention to him. 
 
 The Laplanders are noted for their begging propensi- 
 ties. They have no shame in that respect, and will ask 
 for the shirt off your back, even if they know it is the 
 only one you have. Jack asked Swanson if he would 
 have any objection to buying the dog from the widow for 
 him, but the very idea of giving money to a Lap for a 
 dog made Swanson burst out laughing. Jack told him 
 what he intended doing with the dog, and what name the 
 dog was to have. This caused Swanson to burst into peal 
 after peal of laughter. 
 
 The Laplanders having seen everything worth looking 
 at, and having begged for everything they saw, including 
 the chronometer, Swanson thought it would be opportune 
 to make overtures to the widow for the dog. At this 
 moment the cook announced that lunch was ready. Swan- 
 son then told the widow how well and young she looked, 
 and how much attached his son Jack had become to the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 139 
 
 dog ; that he had asked his father to request her to present 
 it to him, as she already had so many other dogs. The 
 widow was surprised and undecided what to do. Finally 
 she said that the manager had told her that Jack was 
 a Frenchman and he couldn't talk Swedish. How did 
 he account for that? 
 
 Swanson was taken aback at this, but explained that 
 Jack was his adopted son, of whom he was as fond as 
 though he was his real child; whereas she had four sons, 
 and would therefore appreciate Jack's request for the dog, 
 to remember her by when in foreign countries. 
 
 During this conversation Jack was standing by, pet- 
 ting and fondling the dog, which had become attached to 
 him. The widow said it would be a sad blow to her to 
 part with the dog, as it was the only friend that she had 
 had since her husband died. It was the best dog in Lap- 
 land, and she could get three reindeer for it any time. 
 She said she would give him any other dog which he 
 could train. Swanson told her that his heart was on 
 this dog, and Jack wanted it to remember her by. 
 
 The cook had everything ready for the lunch, so they 
 all went forward to partake of cofFee, hard-tack, butter, 
 and salt horse, to which they all did ample justice. The 
 cook paid particular attention to the widow and insisted 
 upon her taking more sweetening in her coffee, but she 
 wanted it without sugar. Putting her hand over the cup 
 to prevent him dropping any into her cup, the cook still 
 insisted, but the dog came to her aid by taking a bite 
 at the cook's calf, and both got entangled in the ensuing 
 scrimmage, with the dog as victor. 
 
 The cook ignominiously fled into the galley, yelling 
 with pain, and swearing vengeance on all Laplanders, 
 dogs, and everything he could think of. He called me 
 to help him, and to get the bottle of arnica and the bottle 
 that his lordship sent over, or he would faint on the coal 
 
140 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 box. I told Swanson what ke wanted and he ordered me 
 to get the things for him. I asked Jack for the other 
 bottle which was in his keeping. The cook was much 
 relieved when he saw me appear with the bottles. He 
 grasped the lord's bottle first and started to drink it. I 
 warned him it was for external use only, but he said it 
 was useful also internally, in severe cases. After taking 
 several good, big drinks he asked me to rub the arnica 
 into his legs. When I suggested that he lie on his face 
 to enable me to rub his calves better, he said it was neces- 
 sary for him to lie on his back, as the medicine would act 
 better that way. 
 
 An empty lighter came alongside and the Laps began 
 to prepare for their return to camp. Swanson gave up 
 all hopes of getting the dog; but not so Jack, who took 
 out his harmonica, playing a few notes and rattling his 
 shoe to call their attention. At once the Laps became 
 excited and those who had not seen Jack before, but who 
 had heard of his performance, demanded an exhibition 
 of his skill. liTothing would satisfy Jack but the dog. 
 The widow tried to collect a purse among her friends, 
 but Jack would not listen to it ; it was the dog or nothing. 
 Finally it was agreed that Jack should have the dog, with 
 the understanding that if it got homesick while the 
 'Forsette was at Grotto, he should be returned to camp. 
 This arrangement being agreeable to all parties. Jack 
 struck up a clog-dance. He was determined that they 
 should have their money's worth, so went dovra. to his 
 little room and discarded his clogs, putting on slippers. 
 He then did a sand-dance, which the Laps thought the 
 most wonderful of all. 
 
 Swanson was sitting on the rail, smoking his pipe and 
 watching the dancing. He admired the tact of the boy, 
 who had carried the deal through so well, where he had 
 failed. The dancing over, the widow came to Swanson 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 141 
 
 to express her gratitude for all the kindness shown to her- 
 self and companions. She was informed that the pleas- 
 ure was ours, and that the dog would he well taken care 
 of. The widow told Jack the dog's name, but it was too 
 long to remember, so he was christened Napoleon, in the 
 presence of all the yisitors. 
 
 The name did not seem to suit the Laps. It was found 
 upon enquiry that they were all familiar with the history 
 of the great man, but disapproved of his sad end. How- 
 ever, as the dog was now Jack's, the matter rested with 
 him. After asking Swanson and Jack to come to the 
 camp and give them another dance before we sailed, they 
 bade us all " Good-bye," and even the cook, who was found 
 lying in his coal box, snoring like a hog and evidently 
 under the influence of the external medicine. 
 
 No sooner had they left than Jack shouted out the 
 good news that the dog was ours. I warned him to look 
 out for the cook, who would be sure to have a grudge 
 against the dog. Jack was confident that Nap would take 
 ample care of himself. 
 
 The work was very hard on me, as I was not strong 
 enough to do a man's work at shovelling coal. Jack saw 
 my predicament and often came into the hold to help me 
 by picking up large pieces of coal and throwing them into 
 the basket. Swanson observed him doing this and never 
 missed an opportunity to praise the boy. He said he 
 would try to find out about him when he got to England, 
 as it was a pity that a boy with such brains should be 
 allowed to run wild. One time he remarked about the 
 difference between him and Axel. 
 
 " Yes," said Captain Bengston. " And did not Axel 
 give you a fine name at home ? What did your wife say 
 about it ? " 
 
 " She thinks that every one that has lived in America 
 is a bad one and her sister is nearly as bad." 
 
142 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Bengston said his wife thought him the worst savage 
 that sailed the North Sea, hecause he did not go to church 
 twice on Sunday. 
 
 There had been a new sailor engaged to take the place 
 of Axel. He was a native of Bodo, and about twenty- 
 five years of age. He turned out to be a first class sailor 
 and an all round good fellow. 
 
 The cargo left on board was now only about fifty tons. 
 It was therefore necessary to load some ballast. To this 
 end two lighters were borrowed from the manager for 
 the purpose of loading her with rocks. This work was 
 cleaner and far more agreeable than unloading coal. 
 During our stay at Grotto Captain Bengston heard from 
 the owners that he was to take charge of another ship on 
 his arrival in England. This was such good news to the 
 captain that every time a lighter came alongside every 
 man got a bottle of beer. The captain was anxious to 
 get away as soon as possible, on account of the early 
 closing of navigation at Archangel. By eight o'clock 
 that evening we had all the ballast on board and were sit- 
 ting around in various cliques, conversing with each other. 
 Jack and I were trying to prevent !N^ap from being home- 
 sick, and the cook was engaged in catching codfish. Jack 
 said to me that Swanson was to take command of the 
 Forsette, and Bengston of the new big vessel that the 
 owners had recently bought. Bengston told Jack that he 
 was to go with him on the new vessel, and that they would 
 likely be gone for a long time, probably to China or 
 India. " You will come, too," said Jack. I told him it 
 was impossible, as I had to prepare for my first com- 
 munion, and besides, my people were anxious to get me 
 home. Such being the case, he preferred to go with me, 
 and if Swanson would permit it, to sail with the latter. 
 I told him I had spoken to Swanson about it, and he was 
 willing that Jack should come honie with the ship, but 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 143 
 
 te was afraid that he would leave us when we got to 
 England. 
 
 This satisfied Jack that Swanson was a good friend to 
 him, so he informed me that Swanson had a letter for 
 me from Miss Betsey, as he had heard him tell Ericson 
 ahout it. Just then Swanson called me and I went aft 
 to see what was wanted. Swanson gave me a letter, 
 which he said came in the captain's envelope, and evi- 
 dently was from one of my many sweethearts in Grange- 
 mouth. He warned me to make good use of my school 
 books so that I could answer it. 
 
 Jack was all smiles when I came along with the letter. 
 He suggested that we go into his room to read the letter 
 instead of going to the fo'cs'le. The captain and his 
 mates saw us making a sneak for the room, which was 
 kept spotlessly clean by Jack. Lighting the lamp, we sat 
 on the floor and started in to business. Jack's education 
 had been neglected, consequently he was of no use to me 
 in unravelling it. It was therefore necessary to get the 
 dictionary from the fo'cs'le. On my way, it was my mis- 
 fortune to be waylaid by the cook, whose ears were marvels 
 at gathering news. " Hey there ! do you want any assist- 
 ance with that love letter of yours ? " I did not answer, 
 but ran right in for all my books, to save making another 
 trip. Coming out, he was still there, and when passing 
 he muttered about the awful ingratitude of some young- 
 sters, and the way they were brought up nowadays. 
 
 Jack was feeling a little hurt, that he, a Britisher, could 
 not read or write English, but I cheered him up by saying 
 that before we got back to grandpa we both would be able 
 to speak and read both Swedish and English, but there 
 must be no more boxing or dancing. With this assurance 
 we began our struggle with the letter, which was as fol- 
 lows: 
 
IM YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 " GEAM-QEMOirrH, July 15tli, 187Y. 
 " AiTDEEW Waxfeid Nelson, 
 " My dear friend: — 
 " (' Gee whiz, she remembers the whole name,' said 
 Jack. ' I bet she remembers me, too.') I often think of 
 yoTi and the other boy that could dance so nicely. (' What 
 did I tell you ? I'll bet she will say something about the 
 shoes, too.' ' Hold on ; you disturb me,' I said. ' All 
 right, I was only anxious to find out if she remembered me. 
 She is the first one that ever did, except you and Swan- 
 son.') Mamma and I are anxious to know if you are mak- 
 ing use of the books. Mamma says that the little English 
 boy can help you a great deal with your studies, if he is 
 friendly to you. He seemed to be such a nice little chap. 
 We often laugh at him losing his shoes, and papa laughs 
 when we talk about the fat woman on the train. Mac- 
 Dougall works for papa, but he does not swear any more. 
 Best regards to Yankee. I liked his nigger songs. Papa 
 is trying to sing one of them in the kitchen now, but he 
 can't make the fancy steps that Swanson did. I hope the 
 Forsette will come back to our place. Papa tells me to 
 ask you to bring me a Russian lacquer cup from Archangel, 
 and I will give you something else when you get back. All 
 the little boys and girls that used to visit the pitch place 
 have been asking for you. They all say you were a good 
 boy, and I say the same. Papa is writing to Capt. Bengs- 
 ton and Mr. Swanson. 
 
 " Good-bye, 
 
 " Your friend, 
 " Betsey." 
 
 " Well that's all. What do you think of it, Jack ? " 
 " I wish I could read as quick as that," said Jack. 
 " She is a nice girl to remember us like that, and she is 
 pretty, too. Do you know we got off awfully cheap with 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 14j5 
 
 Nap, and I have been thinking that we could buy Eussian 
 lacquer cups for Betsey with the money we have 
 left." 
 
 I told him the money was his. Besides, $25.00 worth 
 of Russian lacquer ware would fill the Forsetie. A cup 
 such as she wanted would not cost more than twenty-five or 
 fifty cents. And then what about the new suit of clothes he 
 intended buying in England, to wear when he and I and 
 Nap got our photos taken. 
 
 He did not know that the cups were so cheap, and 
 objected strongly to my not accepting half of the money, 
 saying he would send it to the widow to pay for the dog. 
 I told him that he had already given the widow something 
 to pay for the dog, that she would remember all her life, 
 and make his name well known throughout Lapland. 
 When he asked what it was he gave her, I said, " Kisses." 
 He made a very wry face over the matter. 
 
 " If it was not for the kissing, I would ask Swanson 
 for leave to go to the camp to-morrow evening and make 
 a few dollars more by giving a boxing exhibition." I 
 said it was a capital idea, and we could take the cook along 
 to act as referee and collect the cash. Jack became ex- 
 cited at the mention of the cook, saying he would likely 
 keep all the money, and then just see what a racket he 
 made last time. 
 
 The boxing proposition was given up, as we were all 
 anxious to get the coal out of the ship and get to sea 
 again. Our men had only been ashore once while at 
 Grotto, so Swanson let them have the boat to go over to 
 the whaling station and witness the cutting up of a whale 
 that had been captured that day. I was sorry that I did 
 not get a chance to see it. 
 
 During our stay in Grotto there were a large number 
 of whales in the harbour, but they were of a species that 
 whalemen did not care about. Consequently, I did not 
 
146 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 see a whale hunt, but the cook, from his everlasting fund 
 of adventures told us all about it. 
 
 " I remember many years ago, when boatsteerer on an 
 Aberdeen whaler, we were off the coast of Greenland after 
 bowhead. The season was nearly over before we made 
 our first haul. Everybody was thoroughly disgusted be- 
 cause we had no wages, working on ' lay,' as it is called. 
 •We were afraid that the old man would turn tail and go 
 down to St. Helena after sperm-whale, which would mean 
 another year of it. One day, at daybreak, a dozen nice, 
 big fat bowhead came along. We lowered and manned 
 the four boats, leaving the captain, cook, and the boy on 
 board to look after the ship. It was a beautiful morning, 
 vsdth a gentle breeze from nor'rd. Setting our sails, we 
 stood off on a course to head them off, and landed right 
 among them as slick as possible. The first fellow that 
 came up I let have the harpoon, good and strong. Off he 
 went like a streak of greased lightning with every inch of 
 line and going at the rate of a hundred miles an hour. 
 Yes, that was a joy-ride for you. Talk of your Flying 
 Dutchman. For real sport and rapid travelling, give me 
 a Greenland bowhead with a harpoon in him. There is 
 nothing on dry land or salt water to beat him. Just to give 
 you an idea of how fast we were going, — when I hooked 
 on thp ship was five miles away, hull down. Very soon 
 we were back to the ship again, passing close under the 
 stem, when the skipper shouted, ' How many irons have 
 you got into him ? ' and before I could answer she was 
 hull down again and nearly out of sight. I could not tell 
 all that happened during the first thousand miles or so that 
 we travelled that day. We got frostbitten on account of 
 our clothes being blown off. It was getting colder and 
 colder all the time until we thought we were crossing the 
 North Pole, when we again crossed under the stem of the 
 ship, and the skipper shouted to be careful not to catch 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 14(7 
 
 cold, as we were stripped to the bare poles. At last I got 
 the whale subdued, and gave orders to shorten in on him. 
 I gave him another harpoon, which made him sound, and 
 I finally got him to the ship's side, where we made fast 
 and got the blubber from him that night. The other boats 
 did fairly well, but their whales were a long way from' 
 the ship and had to be buoyed until the following day. 
 Ah, well, it's experience that tells in the long run." 
 
 As we were hoisting the last basket of coal that after- 
 noon the manager came on board and engaged in a whis- 
 pered conversation with the captain. They sent for Swan- 
 son and soon we could see that something mysterious was 
 on the tapis. It appeared afterward that a body had 
 been washed upon the beach, which was thought to be 
 Axel's, and the manager wanted some one to come ashore 
 and identify the body. Of course, nothing of that sort 
 could be kept a secret on board the Forsette while the cook 
 had free use of his ears. There was nothing to equal 
 them for news gathering; they should have been classed 
 as an improvement on the wireless. If some Yellow Jour- 
 nal had known of his existence, what a fortune it would 
 have made out of him as a waterfront reporter ! 
 
 Swanson had no sooner left the ship than the cook 
 called Jack into the galley, and there told him what he 
 had heard, impressing upon him that the body undoubt- 
 edly was Axel's. Poor Jack imagined he was to blame for 
 the cause of Axel's death by aiding him to escape, and 
 burst out crying. The cook was utterly unaware that Jack 
 or I had any hand in assisting Axel, otherwise I do not 
 think he would have said anything to Jack about it. 
 Jack came weeping to me in the fo'cs'le, where I was busy 
 cleaning myself of coal dust. I thought some one had 
 whipped him. When he had told me the story I asked 
 him if he had told the cook anything. He said that he 
 had not. We were all right, then. If it was Axel's body 
 
14-8 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 we could make a clean breast of it to Swanson, and if not, 
 we could keep quiet. 
 
 It was an anxious time for us until Swanson returned, 
 which was not until sunset, when he told us that it was 
 not the body of Axel, but of some unknown and older 
 person. The body could not have been in the water over 
 a couple of days. It was buried in the churchyard, with 
 Swanson and the manager as pall-bearers. 
 
 This was good news to us, but the man who worried 
 most was Swanson, as it was known he had threatened to 
 do something to Axel if he found him. 
 
 Axel was indeed not dead, but very much alive and using 
 his tongue to besmirch our characters. 
 
 The last load of coal was in the lighters, where it was 
 to remain until the yacht came up from Grotto, and thus 
 save the expense of rehandling. The manager remained 
 to supper and spent the night with the captain and mates. 
 They had a jolly night, singing and dancing. Bengston, 
 feeling well satisfied with the way things had gone and 
 the news of his promotion, sent a bottle of brandy and 
 and some beer forward to the men, which made them talk- 
 ative, especially the cook, who told a tale of tiger hunting 
 even more hair-raising than the whale hunt. 
 
 I was anxious to write home, so Jack and I sneaked off 
 to his room, where I had great diiEculty in writing, on 
 account of the noise made by the captain and his friends, 
 and also because I had to use the floor for my desk. 
 
 The letter home was an easy matter, as I wrote collec- 
 tively, thus saving time and labour. I warned them all 
 against Axel's evil tongue, and praised Jack to the skies, 
 telling them of the $25.00 he had made a present of to 
 Axel. I almost ran out of paper, telling about grandpa's 
 future dog and his wonderful tricks. Jack wanted me to 
 tell them of what new tricks he was going to teach the dog, 
 i. e., filling grandpa's pipe, etc. I told Jack he would 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 1*9 
 
 have to be very careful of what he said or wrote to the 
 old man, as he was very touchy. 
 
 Then came the letter to Betsey, which I dreaded, but 
 was determined to write. "With Jack's assistance and the 
 dictionary, I had no difficulty in finding the words that I 
 required. After it was finished I read it over and Jack 
 pronounced it first class. Jack suggested letting Swan- 
 son read it, but I could not see it that way. When I went 
 to my bunk that night I wondered what Betsey would 
 think of the letter, and if I had made good with my 
 studies, or would she think I was a blockhead. 
 
 There really was no call for me to worry over my letter. 
 I did not know Betsey then as I learned to know her after- 
 ward. She received my letter in the spirit it was written, 
 which was what I expected. I hardly ever thought of 
 my first English letter again, having every reason to 
 expect that it was consigned to the fire. But that letter 
 accidentally fell into my hands ten years afterward, in 
 San Prancisco, and Betsey told me that this same letter of 
 mine was the only one she had ever received that she 
 thought enough of to keep. 
 
 Next morning we found the yacht at anchor near by, 
 looking spick and span, alow and aloft. The men came 
 from the shore and took the lighter to the yacht. After 
 breakfast the manager took the captain with him to the 
 yacht. 
 
 Swanson sent the royal yards aloft and made things 
 ship-shape for going to sea. After breakfast I took my 
 books to the long-boat and began to study. I was making 
 more progress with an illustrated reader than I was with 
 Miss Duncan's grammar, having discarded Swedish en- 
 tirely for English. Jack, on the other hand, took up 
 Swedish with avidity, learning rapidly. !N"ap came with 
 us. He was fast losing all memory of the widow, and was 
 fond of carrying the books for us. 
 
150 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Soon the manager's boat came alongside with a note for 
 Swanson, directing him to send Jack, dressed in his best 
 clothes, over to the yacht. Swanson sent for Jack, tell- 
 ing him to wash up and dress himself as neatly as possible, 
 as he was to go to the yacht. This disturbed our studies, 
 so I went to find out from the boatboy what Jack was 
 wanted for. He said that Captain Bengston had a posi- 
 tion as deck-boy for Jack on the yacht. When I heard this 
 I became upset, not jealous over my friend's good fortune. 
 I had been instrumental in bringing him on board the 
 Forsette, and he was happy with us, far happier than he 
 had ever been in all his life. Yet here was a chance to 
 better his conditions, with pleasant associations and better 
 food. At first I thought I would influence him not to go, 
 but I cast it aside as underhanded. Then the idea came 
 to me to give Jack the loan of my new suit, so that he 
 could make a favourable impression. 
 
 Jack did not know yet what he was wanted for, so when 
 he was all dressed up and ready to go on board, Swanson 
 met him at the gangway, and shaking his hand, said 
 " Good-bye." It struck Jack as very strange. I went 
 forward to my bunk, feeling miserable. I tried to think 
 of something, but it was impossible, as the cook was telling 
 some horrible lie about a scalping affair in Canada. I 
 crawled out of my bunk again, and the cook took offence 
 at my disgusting airs. 
 
 " I don't go into huffs like you do. What is the matter 
 with you? You are trying to imitate that high lord 
 almighty, are you? Huh! he might send over another 
 bottle of medicine, as August is liable to go off any 
 time." 
 
 " Go easy, cooky," said August. " He may have given 
 the medicine to Captain Bengston, and he will bring it off 
 to us." 
 
 " If he does, you and I will never see anything of it, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 151 
 
 except, perhaps, in the shape of a dead soldier despatched 
 over the side to join the marines." 
 
 "Don't be so hard on the old man, cooky. He did 
 fairly well by us last night." 
 
 " I did not get enough to cure a nasty headache. But 
 you ought to see how fair he was to himself, the manager 
 and these two other hogs. I fairly skated all over myself 
 this morning. You ask Jack. No wonder they are 
 shanghaiing him, as they are afraid he has seen too much, 
 and will tell the owners. Poor owners, if they only knew 
 how these fellows treat their property, they would have 
 fits." 
 
 How long he kept up this tirade of his I do not know, 
 as I went up on deck, where I foimd Swanson sitting on 
 the rail. He called to me to come over beside him, and 
 asked if I had heard of Jack's good luck. I told him 
 what the boatman said to me. " Swanson said that they 
 were shorthanded on the yacht and Bengston hearing of 
 it recommended Jack, and thinks he is doing the boy a 
 good turn. So he is, in a way ; but mark my word, Jack 
 will not go there of his own free will, or I am much mis- 
 taken in Jack, and my name is not Sven Swanson." 
 
 " I see you are much worried over it, Andrew, and well 
 you need be, but he will come back. All the yachts in 
 Great Britain can't keep that boy off the old Forseite." 
 
 Feeling assured, I thanked Swanson and went forward, 
 and finding the cook still lying, went on to the fo'cs'le head, 
 where I found Herald singing. He had a magnificent 
 bass voice. I asked what he was singing, and he said it 
 was called " Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," which 
 he translated into Swedish for me. He then sang another, 
 but I did not understand one word of what he said. It 
 turned out to be French and was from some opera. Here 
 was a man able to speak in three languages and working 
 as a sailor. I was astonished. He said stern necessity 
 
ISa YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 drove him to it, but lie was waiting for a chance to get 
 something else. 
 
 The manager's boat was coming in our direction, so I 
 walked over to the gangway to see who was in the boat. 
 Sure enough, they all three were there, so I sat down 
 under the long-boat, from where I could see all that took 
 place. Swanson went to the gangway to meet Bengston, 
 who shouted out, " What do you think, Swanson, of that 
 little rascal. He refused to joia the yacht unless I paid 
 Andrew off too, and that is not the worst of it — he made 
 me look cheap beside these noblemen. Yes, he wanted 
 that dog Napoleon too. He said he wanted it for his 
 friend's grandfather, and that the dog required very spe- 
 cial care." Swanson and Ericson were hardly able to keep 
 from laughing, while Bengston was furious at Jack's re- 
 fusal, and threatened to throw him overboard or give him 
 to the Lap widow. Swanson could stand it no longer, so 
 pulled Jack toward him and said he was the best cabin- 
 boy they ever had, and if he happened to like the old For- 
 sette it did honour to us and to himself. " I did not expect 
 he would do anything else, and I told you so in my note," 
 said Swanson. 
 
 " I know you did, and I am not finding fault with you 
 or the boy. The only thing I don't like is the chance he 
 is throwing away. It was a chance in a thousand, and 
 yet he throws it away for a dog. ' l^apoleon,' indeed ! 
 Well, there is no use in saying any more about it. Look 
 here, Jack, you must not think I wanted to get rid of you- 
 I thought that you would be better off among your country- 
 men, but it seems you like your friends and the dog better 
 than anything else in the world. Therefore, bear in mind 
 that as long as I have charge of one of these old North Sea 
 packets you will always have a show with me. Now go 
 forward and tell your friend all about it." 
 
 It took Jack about two hours to tell me all the news 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 153 
 
 about his lordship. He wanted to know if I was aware 
 of what they wanted him on board for. I told him what 
 the boatman said, and how I felt at his going, but I did not 
 like in any way to interfere with his advancement, never 
 thinking that he would prefer to remain on the old ship. 
 
 Jack said, " I knew you loved me, Andrew, and for 
 that reason I did not like to part from you, and besides, 
 I have made up my mind to take Napoleon to your 
 grandpa." 
 
 This was our last evening at Grotto. The manager 
 stayed on board until quite late, and I spent an hour or 
 two with Jack in his den before going to my bunk. Next 
 morning Ericson got the men out, and Swanson gave 
 orders to man the . windlass. The pilot was already on 
 board, — the same one who brought us in. The anchor 
 was coming in at a pretty lively rate to the chantey, " We 
 are bound for the Eio Grande." 
 
 At first Jack and I were engaged stowing the chain, but 
 were afterward sent aloft to loosen all sails. 
 
 We had a hard time of it breaking out the anchor. The 
 bottom was rocky and the fluke had evidently caught 
 under a shelving rock. The manager had been observing 
 our difficulty, so came off with several stalwart hands to 
 help us. Bengston shouted for the bottle to splice the 
 main brace. Then we all pulled hard, but the chain 
 parted at the hawse and our anchor remained where it 
 was. Fortunately we had a spare one, which was after- 
 ward brought up from the hold. The manager and his 
 friends shook hands with us and wished us a good voyage. 
 The wind was light and favourable, and the pilot wanted 
 everything set that could draw, as he was anxious to get 
 out of the islands before dark. At noon we saw the 
 broad Atlantic, and the wind began to freshen up a bit, 
 making the Forsette careen over at an angle that made 
 walking difficult. 
 
164 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 As Jack had not been aloft before wMle the vessel was 
 under way, Swanson thought it would be a good oppor- 
 tunity for him to learn how to stow the main royal. He 
 was quick to grasp the situation, and I explained every- 
 thing I knew about it. He then wished to stow the fore 
 royal without my assistance. When we came down he 
 asked Ericson to be allowed to do so, but Ericson said he 
 would have to see Swanson, as the latter was more careful 
 of Jack than he was of his wife. Ericson said that when 
 !he was a boy it was oftener a kick from a heavy sea-boot 
 than kind words that he received. But then he did not 
 have the intelligence that Jack had. He went aft and 
 told the mate, who came forward and asked Jack if he 
 could do it alone, and Jack said " Yes." "All right 
 then ; but take your time to it, and be careful." 
 
 Jack ran up the fore rigging like an old hand. He 
 rested a moment on the crosstrees, and looked down to see 
 if anybody took notice of him. Seeing Swanson on the 
 poop talking to the pilot, he stowed the royal in a seaman- 
 like manner, and then slid down the royal backstay after 
 the style of the cook when he took the part of the lunatic. 
 •Without waiting for Swanson to congratulate him, he ran 
 up on the forecastle head to find out how his work com- 
 pared with the main royal. He evidently found it satis- 
 factory, because he turned a somersault and started in on 
 a clog dance, when his movements were arrested by Nap, 
 who came running on three legs. 
 
 Jack examined the paw and found it bleeding a little. 
 Remembering the arnica bottle, he went to the galley for 
 it and appropriated it. There was very little left, but it 
 was all used on the paw. Going to the poop to get some 
 more, Swanson met him and asked what the matter was. 
 Jack told him it was for l^ap. It turned out that the 
 pilot had accidentally stepped on the paw. There was no 
 more arnica on board, so Swanson told Jack to fetch the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 165 
 
 cook, as he wanted to find out about what he had done with 
 all the arnica. The cook was in the lazaret, breaking 
 open a barrel of salt beef. He was told the mate wanted 
 him. 
 
 " What for ? " asked the cook. " To splice the main 
 brace ? That's three times hand running. Must be some- 
 thing wrong about this." 
 
 " No, it's about the arnica bottle. He is angry about 
 it." 
 
 " Is that so ? He would be angry if he had to do this 
 kind of work. He would be d — d sick, same as I am. 
 Tell him I'll come as soon as I can. One barrel of sauer- 
 kraut has exploded on me and raised hell in general. I 
 have my doubt of the salt pork, and don't like the looka 
 or the smell." 
 
 I was at the wheel when Jack reported the conditions 
 in the steward's department, causing every one to burst 
 out laughing. 
 
 It was hard work all that day, beating up against the 
 wind. The vessel being light, she made a lot of leeway, 
 causing us to " 'bout ship " every ten minutes or so. Our 
 running gear was all hemp rope, which burned our hands, 
 and glad indeed were we all when the pilot left us. 
 
 It was midnight before everything was made secure, 
 and the watches set. Swanson sent the, second mate and 
 his watch below, but picked the new man. Herald, for his 
 watch. I was glad of this, because I had come to the 
 conclusion that Herald was a scholar and a gentleman, 
 and I intended to make use of him in teaching me English. 
 
 It was my first trick at the wheel — 12 to 2 — which 
 I found to be very hard work, on account of carrying too 
 much sail aft, making it very heavy on the helm. Several 
 times Swanson had to assist me, as it was beyond my 
 strength. At four bells. Herald relieved me, when I ran 
 
156 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 forward and threw myself down on a coil of rope, where I 
 fell sound asleep until the watch was relieved. 
 
 It took us just three weeks from the day we left Grotto 
 to the day we doubled ITorth Cape, and during those 
 weeks we experienced all sorts of weather ; but we did con- 
 siderable work outside of the regular routine. The rig- 
 ging was tarred, new lanyards rove off, spars scraped down 
 and oiled, all of which gave us little time for our studies. 
 The men grumbled when the officers were out of hearing, 
 but this was the common practice among vessels trading 
 in the Baltic or North Sea. 
 
 One evening Jack called me into his den to show me 
 something of importance. I found him stretched on the 
 floor writing in a book with a lead pencil. " What have 
 you got ? " I asked. He showed me the book covered with 
 a lot of dots and scratches, which were incomprehensible 
 to me. " Don't you know what it is ? " he said. " I 
 don't expect you can read it, because it is written in 
 Trench. This is my diary given to me by Swanson, who 
 asked me to write down every day anything of importance 
 that occurs on board. He says it will be useful to me in 
 the future." 
 
 He then told me that he had begun it on the day Tve 
 first met at the pitch boiling place. I became interested 
 at once and asked for an outline of what he had written. 
 All our conversations, the cook's terrible stories and lies, 
 the fights and quarrels on board ship, all about the dog and 
 everything he could think of were all jotted down. " I 
 have shown it to Herald, and he says there- are a lot of 
 faults in it, mainly in the spelling, but he will correct 
 them for me." 
 
IX 
 
 ONE evening, becalmed close by a little island, the 
 foremast hands, including myself, Jack, and the 
 cook, were sitting on the gallant fo'cs'le, watching some 
 belugas gambolling not a great distance off. 
 
 One of the seamen (Otto), who was generally called the 
 carpenter because he was handy with the tools, came from 
 the wheel and informed us that Bengston and Swanson 
 were almost at daggers' points over some little trivial mat- 
 ter in regard to finding the ship's position by stars. Swan- 
 son having stated that he preferred, and had more reliance, 
 in a position obtained by stars under favourable conditions 
 than he had from a position by sights of the sun. Beng- 
 ston, on the other hand, would have nothing to do with 
 the stars, even under the very best of conditions, except 
 the Polaris, which at times he had found useful. 
 
 Herald being the only one who knew anything about 
 navigation, backed up Swanson, and the cook, who claimed 
 to know something of navigation, took the captain's stand. 
 The argument got very heated and the cook went on to 
 explain how he and another fellow, who was no use what- 
 soever, had sailed, as well as navigated, a dismasted vessel 
 from Cape Horn to Montevideo, and this without any 
 instruments at all, except what the cook invented himself, 
 viz., a sextant made from a big beef bone, which could be 
 seen any day in the Eoyal Museum in London. Herald 
 asked him to show us greenhorns how he held the sextant 
 when he took an observation, which he proceeded to do by 
 violently pulling Otto's long German pipe out of his mouth, 
 
 thereby injuring a tooth and made Otto swear. The cook, 
 
 157 
 
158 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 holding the pipe as if in the act of sweeping the horizon, 
 shouted, " This is the way it should he done, but you won't 
 find Swanson or that old boat-hook skipper Bengston doing 
 it that way, and what is more, you will find very few 
 navigators, even the best of them, who know how to use 
 the sextant properly." 
 
 At eight bells it was my wheel, and when I came aft I 
 found Bengston and Swanson discoursing of the telephone, 
 just then becoming of general use. Some friend of Beng- 
 ston's had vsTitten and told him that he had one of those 
 machines installed in his office in Grangemouth, and that 
 it was the first one in use in Great Britain. Swanson said, 
 " You will find that these machines your friend mentions 
 have been in use in America for'some time, and were at the 
 exposition in Philadelphia last year." 
 
 " All right, all right," said Bengston, " everything is 
 America with you. Next you will tell me that the Amer- 
 icans discovered America, too, and that old Leif Ericson 
 was not a Norseman, but an American. 
 
 " It has always been a puzzle to me," went on Bengston, 
 " that you who worship the Americans could come back 
 and settle among us again. I could hardly remember you 
 when you came back, although we are slightly related. 
 Let me see, it was in seventy you came back, wasn't it ? " 
 Swanson admitted it was. " Well, you and I are the same 
 age, and I well remember the day you ran away from your 
 father. It was an awful beating he gave you that day, 
 and he was drunk as a lord when he did it. You were 
 only nine years old then, and so was I. It was in 1839 ; 
 see how I remember ? " 
 
 " Yes, I know you have a fine memory, but you seem 
 to forget, at least you don't mention that it was only on 
 account of your wife and her sister — my wife — that I 
 didn't go back again. You know I only came to see the 
 old place once more. It has a certain amount of attrac- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 159 
 
 tion for me, and besides, I wanted to put a few flowers on 
 the old man's grave, as well as erecting a stone on it." 
 
 " That you did, and it was the wonder of the town that 
 you did. It's the finest stone there, and you deserve great 
 credit for it," said Bengston. " But how about your wife 
 in America ? You never told me much about her. Did 
 you tell your wife everything ? " 
 
 " I did, but there isn't much to be said about it. She 
 is dead and *hat is the end of it. I did all a man could 
 do for his wife, and I was sorry when she died, but to tell 
 the candid truth, I didn't feel half as bad about her death 
 as I did when I found out my old father had died." 
 
 " Well, that seems strange," said Bengston, " but then 
 you are altogether a queer fellow in some respects. When 
 my wife informed me that you were going to marry Anna 
 I almost fainted, and wrote her to try to stop it, as I 
 didn't think you two would be able to get along, Aima 
 being so old-fashioned in many ways, and you just the 
 opposite." 
 
 " Yes, that's a fact. Anna told me you wrote some- 
 thing of that sort, but I don't blame you for it. It was 
 your duty, in a way, and you did what you thought was 
 right. However, it turned out all right, and I only wish 
 my former wife had liked me half as well as Anna does. 
 If she had, I wouldn't have all these grey hairs on my 
 head." 
 
 " That's very sad," said Bengston, " but she wasn't bad, 
 was she ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of," replied Swanson, " but there 
 was no love in her ; that's about it, or if there was, I never 
 was able to locate it. I married her just after the Civil 
 War. She had been a hospital nurse down at Key West, 
 and it was there I first met her. I was in the U. S. Navy, 
 ^and she took care of me a few days, I being sick with 
 fever, and I also had a slight wound. When the war was 
 
160 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 over I joined the merchant service again, and having my 
 eye on the nurse, I made use of some references I had 
 from the navy, and had no trouble in getting positions in 
 the steamships running on the coast. The pay was good, 
 and we decided to marry. I say ' we,' because I want 
 you to understand that I took care to make her acquainted 
 with how I was fixed financially and otherwise. 
 
 " Well, we married and went to housekeeping," he con- 
 tinued, " I having rented a little cottage in'Hoboken. I 
 was at that time first officer on a passenger steamer run- 
 ning from New York to the Isthmus of Panama, and there 
 I met and got acquainted with many fine people, who 
 sometimes would invite my wife and me to call at their 
 homes. Now of course, I didn't have a great amount of 
 polish. That is not to be expected from a fellow who has 
 been roughing it all his life; at the same time that's no 
 excuse for not acting the part of a gentleman, and I know 
 for a certainty that these very people who were kind 
 enough to invite me to sit at their table, knew pretty near 
 who they were inviting. In short, I was nobody's fool, 
 and what I lacked in polish I more than made up in other 
 ways. 
 
 " Such being the case, was there any reason why my 
 wife should not accept the invitation? I was always 
 asked to bring her, and she knew it would have made me 
 happy, but she always declined, giving reasons which at 
 times were most galling. Sometimes it would be her 
 clothes that were at fault, — not the latest in fashion. 
 Then again she was afraid that I would say something that 
 was not exactly so, and she would be so ashamed ; in other 
 words, she always had to keep her weather-eye on me, for 
 fear I should make a break and that was very trying for 
 her. In short, she wanted and required a little recreation, 
 and that was out of the question if she had to travel Avith 
 her husband. She had any amount of friends of her own 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 161 
 
 ■who would come and go, and sometimes stay until the 
 small hours of the morning. I didn't like that, and on one 
 occasion I forgot myself to the extent of throwing the lot 
 of them out through doors and windows. But that didn't 
 improve matters any; if anything, it became worse. She 
 accused me of having no manners, and after a while it 
 seemed as if I was not wanted except when I brought 
 home my pay, when she would perhaps crack a smile, and 
 by way of being sociable she would ask if that was all. 
 
 " Well, I stood it all as best I could, but it was hard 
 lines. I tried everything in my power to make her com- 
 fortable. I gave up smoking and deprived myself of a 
 glass of beer, so as to be able to give her every dollar I 
 made, barring a little I had to have to pay for my washing 
 and clothes to wear; but all to no purpose, as far as making 
 my existence a little more homelike. In this manner we 
 drifted apart further and further, until something hap- 
 pened that finally put an end to our miserable domestic 
 troubles. 
 
 " It was on a Sunday morning, and I was on my way 
 to Hoboken to turn over my little pay to my wife, 
 when I met her and some of her friends at the Barclay 
 street ferry. She appeared to be happy to see me, and 
 asked me to join them, as they were going over to Staten 
 Island on a picnic. I gave some excuse, well knowing 
 that I would be in the way. I did give her my money, 
 though, not wishing to appear dissatisfied with the way 
 she treated me. She thanked me for it, something she had 
 not done for some time, and she even went so far as to 
 say she would like to give me a kiss, which of course was 
 out of the question considering that we were on the street. 
 Altogether she acted strange — at least it struck me that 
 way, or perhaps it was only my fancy, considering what 
 happened just after we parted. However, I have always 
 felt better about the affair on account of having parted 
 
162 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 friends, because it turned out to be the last time we ever 
 saw one another. 
 
 " She and her friends took a West street car and I, 
 having no particular place to go, strolled down along 
 West street toward Castle Garden. Arriving at Battery- 
 Park, I met a friend and we sat down for a chat. How 
 long we sat there I can't remember now, but my friend 
 remarked that I was absent-minded, and I was about to 
 tell him something about having met my wife, when we 
 were almost hurled out of our seats by a fearful explosion 
 that took place in the neighbourhood. 
 
 " People started to run toward the ferry-landing, shout- 
 ing that the Staten Island ferry-boat had blown up. My 
 friend and I joined the crowd, but upon arriving at the 
 ferry we could proceed no further, owing to the fact that 
 the police were there in force, preventing the crowd from 
 boarding what had once been a ferry-boat. 
 
 " The boat, loaded with pleasure seekers, my wife and 
 her friends among them, was blown into the hereafter 
 just as they were ready to start. The cause of it will 
 never be known, as everybody in authority was killed, to- 
 gether with nearly all the passengers, human limbs scat- 
 tered all over the neighbourhood, and also their belongings. 
 I went to the morgue the next day to try to identify any- 
 thing having belonged to my wife, and there found her 
 purse, the only thing I could recognise. The money I had 
 given her in the morning was in the purse, but I refused 
 to take it back, why, I can't say. I felt so queer about it, 
 I did not even go back to the house in Hoboken, for I 
 looked upon it as haunted, and made arrangements with 
 the landlord, who was an honest man and felt sorry for 
 me, to dispose of everything, which he did and returned 
 me the money." 
 
 I had become so interested in Mr. Swanson's tale that I 
 forgot all about the steering, and the first thing I knew, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 163 
 
 up she came in the wind, the royals and gallant sails mak- 
 ing a great racket. Swanson let a yell out of him that 
 fairly frightened me out of my boots, at the same time 
 lending me a hand to put the helm hard up to prevent her 
 from being caught aback. I felt decidedly ill at ease be- 
 cause the old Forsette proved to be very stubborn on this 
 occasion and wouldn't pay off. It became necessary for 
 Swanson to order the foreyards aback, after which she 
 paid off. Swanson gave me a scolding for being so care- 
 less, and I promised not to let it occur again. 
 
 The trip to Archangel proved to be a long and tedious 
 one. We were three weeks getting to the North Oape, 
 and in that time we encountered all sorts of weather, from 
 a gale of the worst kind to a dead calm. 
 
 I well remember my first gale at sea. For two days we 
 were hove to under a storm, forestaysail and a trysail set 
 on the main. She lay there like a duck, not shipping a 
 drop of water. The wheel was lashed down the greater 
 part of the time, because she made no headway, but her 
 leeway was considerable, and it worried Captain Bengston 
 a good deal, because the high mountains were in full view 
 on the lee side. 
 
 One evening, after eight bells, all hands were called on 
 deck to wear ship. Jack and I had never seen that evolu- 
 tion before, so of course we became intensely interested. 
 It was blowing a fresh NW gale at the time, and the sea 
 was running very high. Orders were given to brail in 
 the trysail and to set taut on the weather forestaysail sheet. 
 That order executed, the old ship commenced to fall off, 
 until she had the sea and wind abeam, when she refused to 
 go any further. The staysail sheet was slacked off until 
 the sail bellowed out like a balloon, but no use. There 
 she lay, and the rolling that she did is beyond description. 
 Swanson suggested to the captain that we set the lower 
 foretopsail to get her off before the wind, but Bengston, 
 
164 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 being afraid that the topsail •wouldn't stand being sheeted 
 home in that gale, was for hoisting a jib, and accordingly 
 Swanson ordered me out to loose the jib. 
 
 I had no sooner got the gasket off the jib than the sheet 
 was hauled taut, and some of the hands hoisting away at 
 the same time, up went the jib with a roar, and the ship 
 started to pay off until she got the wind on the quarter. 
 Then owing to the bad condition of the stay, it carried 
 away with a snap and off to leeward went the jib like a 
 thousand butterflies. Luckily the old ship did not broach 
 to again. She paid off before the wind and we squared 
 in our yards and finally we braced up on the port braces 
 and brought her to again on the starboard tack, by means 
 of a tarpaulin that we unrolled in the mizzen rigging. 
 
 While lying in the trough of the sea, before we got the 
 jib on her, the ballast, consisting principally of roimd 
 stones, shifted, thus giving all hands a couple of hours 
 hard work trimming the stones over to the other side. 
 And in addition, Swanson, as an extra precaution, made 
 us put in some shifting boards to prevent future occur- 
 rences of that sort. 
 
 Having secured the ballast, the watch off duty went 
 below, while the watch on deck was put to work to set up 
 a temporary stay and also to bend another jib. Herald, 
 our new sailor, proved to be a first class seaman, and be- 
 tween Swanson and himself, assisted by me and another 
 greenhorn, we had the stay up and another jib bent before 
 the watch was up. 
 
 Having finished the job, we all went into the galley to 
 get a cup of hot coffee. Mr. Swanson, seeing that we had 
 no bread and butter, told me to go aft with him, and to 
 use his expression, " I will dig you up some," he handed 
 me a big dish full of fine pilot-house bread and a big chunk 
 of good butter, which I took forward to the boys, and we 
 enjoyed the repast immensely. Swanson came into the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 165 
 
 galley and had a biscuit and a cup of coffee. It was 
 something out of the ordinary for him to mingle with 
 the men, but he was tired and used up. The poor fellow, 
 like the rest of us, stood very much in need of something 
 to brace him up. 
 
 The following day the wind came out from the south- 
 'erd, which made it fair for us. We lost no time getting 
 on the canvas, but owing to the still heavy northerly swell, 
 Captain Bengston would not allow Swanson to set the gal- 
 lant sails, as she was continually putting the bows under, 
 and he was afraid that something would come down by the 
 run. 
 
 I was at the wheel that morning and overheard the con- 
 versation between them. Swanson allowed that if we 
 didn't press on while we had a chance, we ran the risk of 
 being frozen in at Archangel, " and if we are," he said, 
 " you stand a show of losing your chance of getting the new 
 command." 
 
 " I don't care if I lose twenty commands by not getting 
 there quick enough," replied the skipper, " I am not 
 going to lose the one I have by acting the Flying Dutch- 
 man ; that sort of sailing is very well in your Flying Scuds 
 and Young Americas, where they don't care if they lose a 
 watch of sailors overboard so long as they have some 
 devilish deed to brag about when they get out to San 
 Francisco." 
 
 Swanson didn't say anything more about the gallant 
 sails. I guess he thought the old man was in the right, 
 and as the wind kept on increasing from the south'erd and 
 the northerly swell gradually went down by mutual con- 
 sent, they had everything set and drawing along toward 
 noon. 
 
 This southerly wind lasted until we sighted North Cape. 
 There for several days we had light variable winds and 
 several spells of calm. We had lots of company; I re- 
 
166 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 member one day I counted twenty vessels becalmed within 
 a radius of ten miles. While we were in this plight we 
 did a lot of fishing. Cod was plentiful, and we also har- 
 pooned several blackfish, but their meat was not very tasty. 
 
 The harpoon with line attached was always in readiness 
 on the fo'cs'le head, and our cook, who prided himself on 
 being a first class hand in the whaling business, would 
 frequently walk up on the fo'cs'le, pick up the harpoon 
 and examine it with a critical eye ; then he would dart it 
 out at sea in a salf-satisfied manner to illustrate how it is 
 done, and wind up by telling us how happy he would be if 
 by chance a beluga (white whale) would come near enough 
 to enable him to show us the real thing. One day he 
 got what he had been looking for, and it nearly cost him 
 his life. We were within a few miles of the Cape, be- 
 calmed, and it was a fine, sunny day. I was on the fore- 
 topsail yard making up a gasket that had come adrift. 
 While so doing I counted the vessels becalmed all around 
 us, some of them quite near, — in fact I could read their 
 names. The whales were unusually plentiful also, espe- 
 cially the belugas, and I thought, what a chance this is for 
 the cook. 
 
 The cook's thoughts must have run in a similar strain, 
 because he came out of his galley with a move on as though 
 something unusual was to take place. At first I thought 
 that the word had been passed around that the main brace 
 was to be spliced, and that the cook had received orders 
 to dig out the bottle, which he always did on such occa- 
 sions, but when I saw that he directed his movements to- 
 ward the fo'cs'le head I knew that something else was on 
 his mind, and I knew when I saw him pick up the harpoon 
 and survey it critically that I was in for a treat. Being 
 on the foretopsail yard, I had a most excellent opportunity 
 to observe his actions ; in fact I was the only member of the 
 watch who saw it, the others being occupied elsewhere, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 167 
 
 and Mr. Swanson was busy watching the sun for a merid- 
 ian altitude. 
 
 The dog, Napoleon, observing the cook's unusual rapid 
 movements, undoubtedly thought that he was up to some 
 mischief for his benefit (he had never forgotten the intro- 
 duction at Grotto) and thought it worth while watching 
 him, and with that object in view he skipped up on the 
 fo'cs'le head and took a seat at a respectful distance. The 
 cook, observing him, cast his evil eye on him, but made no 
 further demonstration except to point the harpoon at 
 Nap, who seemed to totally disregard the cook's action. 
 Evidently he had as poor an opinion of the cook's ability 
 with the harpoon as the rest of the crew. Getting some- 
 what angry at the dog's insinuating silent contempt, he 
 turned his back on him and with longing eyes gazed upon 
 a school of lazy belugas slowly approaching the vessel. 
 
 He held the harpoon in the customary fashion, which 
 he had so often proclaimed to be the proper way, but on 
 this occasion, and as evidence to show that he never in- 
 tended or expected to strike a beluga when darting the 
 harpoon, I vfii] state that he stood with both his feet upon 
 the line that was flaked down on the deck ready to run out 
 without fouling. The beluga broke water not fifty feet 
 away from the bow of the vessel and the cook let fly the 
 harpoon in a most careless, matter-of-fact way, but with 
 the astonishing result of landing right in the back of the 
 whale. From my lofty position I could see that the har- 
 poon buried itself very deep, and it must have been very 
 painful to the whale, because he started off at a speed that 
 made the line smoke as it passed out. 
 
 I never saw a more astonished man than our brave cook. 
 He stood there as though rooted to the deck, regardless of 
 the line flying about his ears and legs. Finally, realising 
 what a dangerous position he was in, he proceeded to extri- 
 cate himself by kicking and throwing his arms about like 
 
168 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 a mad man, and at times uttering most uneartlily yells. 
 Things began to look real serious for the cook, and I slid 
 down a backstay, thinkiag of rendering some assistance to 
 the poor cook, but when I arrived on the scene, things had 
 changed for the worse. 
 
 IsTapoleon, being a sensitive dog, took offence at the 
 cook's carryings on and proceeded to attack the poor man's 
 legs. This complicated matters for the cook, and in an 
 unguarded moment a wicked bight of the line ensnared 
 the cook's legs, as well as the dog's neck, and over the star- 
 board bow they went like lightning, in the wake of the 
 speedy beluga. 
 
 Swanson, aroused by the awful yelling of the cook, ar- 
 rived on the scene, and with his customary presence of 
 mind, he cut the line, the end having been belayed to a 
 ringbolt on deck. It was fortunate that he thought of 
 doing this, as the line was nearly out, and if the whale 
 had brought up on the line, undoubtedly man and dog 
 would have been torn to pieces. This unusual racket 
 brought Captain Bengston, as well as the watch below, on 
 deck. Orders were given to get a boat in the water. The 
 sea was perfectly smooth, and as there wasn't a breath of 
 air stirring, nothing could be done with the vessel toward 
 directing her to our unfortunate cook and dog. 
 
 ■We had a small dingy hanging in the davits aft, and 
 under Swanson'r direction we very soon had it ia the 
 water. Captain Bengston, who had been observing the 
 whale's movements with the binoculars, informed Ericson, 
 who was in charge of the dingy, just as we shoved off, that 
 the cook evidently had cut the line, as he could see the two 
 unfortunates swimming toward the ship. This was good 
 news, and we struck out with a will toward a dark object 
 in plain view. The whale had been very considerate in- 
 deed ; instead of keeping on a straight course, he confined 
 himself to traverse sailing, with the result that when he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 169 
 
 got rid of his tow he was not more than a quarter of a 
 mile away from the ship. 
 
 As we approached the objects, we saw to our great satis- 
 faction that they both were alive. Nap started to bark 
 in a feeble sort of way, and the cook, with both of his 
 hands resting on the dog's hind quarters, and by flapping 
 his elbows and kicking with his feet, managed to keep 
 afloat, and at the same time not endangering the strength 
 of the dog, who on this occasion certainly was the saviour 
 of his life. 
 
 The soft-hearted Ericson grabbed the cook by the neck 
 and the small of the back, and with one jerk lifted the 
 cook into the dingy and landed him not very softly — 
 more like a side of beef — in the bottom of the boat. He 
 also told the cook that he deserved to drown for being so 
 foolish as to lose a brand-new coil of rope and the only 
 harpoon in the ship. 
 
 I treated Nap a little differently, and he appreciated it 
 by insisting on licking my hands and ears as we pulled 
 back to the ship. As we got near to the ship, Jack, 
 who was standing beside the captain on the poop, shouted 
 out, " Nap." The dog pricked up his ears and jumped 
 overboard and swam to the ship. Jack slipped down and 
 put a rope around him and hauled him on board before we 
 had the cook safely landed. 
 
 The cook, poor fellow, was in a bad shape, awful bruises 
 everywhere. He couldn't speak for hours after we got 
 him on board. He made signs that he required medicine 
 inwardly, and he did not appeal in vain. The captain 
 poured it down very freely indeed so much so that the 
 cook did not come to for twenty-four hours. After such a 
 long, refreshing sleep he felt much better, but it was days 
 before the cook was fit to do duty again. 
 
 Captain Bengston and Swanson, in fact everybody in 
 the ship, recognised the bravery and great presence of mind 
 
170 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 of the cook, who, under such desperate circumstances suc- 
 ceeded in drawing the knife and cutting the rope, thereby 
 saving his own life as well as the dog's, and as a matter 
 of course, Jack and I began to appreciate his bloodcurd- 
 ling tales, thinking that perhaps after all there was some 
 truth in them. The cook never liked to talk about this 
 little experience with the whale, and he blamed me, who 
 had been the only witness, for putting a wrong construc- 
 tion on the whole thing. 
 
 " In the first place I never intended to drive the har- 
 poon home as hard as I did," said the cook, " but when I 
 saw my mistake, and knowing what a measly lot I had to 
 deal with, such as Bengston and Yankee Swanson, who 
 would never quit growling about having lost the line and 
 the harpoon, I decided to recover it, if possible, and with 
 that intention in view, I jumped overboard and mounted 
 Mr. Beluga, and if it hadn't been for that dog, who at- 
 tacked me in the rear I should have succeeded in getting 
 the line and harpoon back, as I had the harpoon nearly 
 pulled out of him when he sounded. 
 
 " Of course after he soimded," went on the cook, " it 
 was out of the question to recover the harpoon, so I drew 
 the knife and cut the line, and intended bringing it back 
 to the ship, but seeing the miserable Napoleon on the point 
 of passing in his cheeks, I thought I would better give him 
 a lift, as it is bad luck to let a sea dog or a black cat drown. 
 I therefore turned the line over to Davy Jones and saved 
 the miserable brute, that really was the cause of all the 
 trouble." 
 
 The following day, after the whaling episode, the For- 
 sette still drifting about vnth. a little catspaw now and 
 again, we came very near to a little homeward bound from 
 Archangel. Captain Bengston thought it a good idea to 
 lower a boat and despatch Mr. Swanson over to the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 171 
 
 stranger and try to buy or borrow some liniment for the 
 cook's and the dog's use. 
 
 Swanson took Jack and me along as boat pullers. The 
 vessel's name was Sea Lark, London, and she was bound 
 for Grangemouth. A hand threw us a line as we got 
 alongside, and Swanson scrambled up hand over hand like 
 an acrobat. Swanson told us to shove off and lay on the 
 oars until wanted, but after a few minutes he ordered us 
 to come alongside again and to pass the painter on board. 
 That done he beckoned me to come on board, which I did 
 in the manner of Swanson. 
 
 I found Swanson and the captain of the brig engaged 
 in conversation, and heard Swanson tell the captain to ask 
 me a few questions so that he could inform the Duncans 
 at Grangemouth what use I had made of the schoolbooks 
 they had so kindly given me. I felt a little uneasy about 
 the matter. It was sprung so suddenly that I was afraid 
 I would make a mess of it by not being able to do justice 
 to my hard studying and to Swanson's patience with me. 
 However, the captain plied me with a lot of questions and 
 I felt fine when he told me that I had answered them all 
 correctly, and that he would give a good account of me to 
 the Duncans, especially Betsey. Swanson, being in a good 
 humour, started to relate to the captain the experience 
 Betsey and I had with the cook, and at this he laughed 
 heartily, and then Swanson wound up by asking him not to 
 forget to inform everybody in Grangemouth about the 
 cook's latest adventure in the whaling business. Having 
 received a bottle of arnica from the captain, we shoved off 
 and returned to the old Forsette. 
 
 A little breeze sprung up from the westward, and we 
 squared away before it, dipping our ensign to the Sea 
 Lark as we parted company. The cook being out of com- 
 mission for the time being, it became necessary to detail 
 
172 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 somebody to attend to the cooking. Our crew being small 
 in the first place, and still further curtailed by having 
 Jack and I in place of men, made it a hardship for the 
 rest of the crew when anybody happened to get out of 
 commission. True, it was something that very seldom 
 occurred on board the Forsettej we could trust Swanson 
 and Ericson to see that there was no loafing. It was not 
 like some British vessels I have known, where they make 
 it a point to have one or two men on each watch laid up 
 every day for a whole round voyage to China and back; 
 in fact, they took turn about at it, as regularly as they re- 
 lieved the wheel and the lookout. Swanson had been too 
 long in America to stand for anything as raw as that, and 
 his right-hand bower, Ericson, had been converted to Swan- 
 son's way of thinking to such a degree that it was a hard 
 matter to decide who of the two was the most Yankeefied. 
 
 Anyway, I was at the wheel when the old man held a 
 counsel of war with his two mates regarding making some 
 arrangement about the cooking, until the cook should be 
 able to resume his duties. Swanson spoke up and said 
 that, as far as getting something to eat was concerned, 
 Herald, who was the best and handiest man forward, no 
 doubt would make the best cook, but then again that would 
 be a serious drawback, as the sailorising would suffer 
 through it, as he was the only man forward who was worth 
 anything. Captain Bengston argued that Swanson was 
 not using good sense when he thought of making Herald 
 cook, as he considered that cooking and eating were only 
 minor affairs anyhow on board a vessel, and that he thought 
 that we should be able to get along with most anything for 
 a cook until we got into port. 
 
 Ericson did not concur vdth either of his superiors ; he 
 did not see anything seriously wrong with the cook, and 
 was for putting him to work at once; in fact, he thought 
 that the cook was shamming. " I know for a fact that he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 173 
 
 is not so badly off as I was when I broke my back at 
 Grotto," said Ericson, " and I only laid up one day." 
 
 Bengston and Swanson wouldn't stand for anything as 
 cruel as that. " I am no doctor," said Bengston, " and 
 therefore don't know how badly hurt the cook is, but this 
 I know, that the man should be allowed to take a few days 
 rest after such an exciting whaleback ride as he had." 
 
 " Well," said Swanson, " the only way out of it that I 
 can see will be to make Jack, cook and the dog his assistant. 
 That ought to be satisfactory all around, as it appears that 
 it is only a minor affair, anyhow, whether we get anything 
 to eat or not." 
 
 Ericson chipped in and volunteered the information 
 that if the cook was only half as good a man as the dog 
 he would have been to work long ago, and no need for all 
 this talk. 
 
 Jack was down in the cabin putting things in order 
 when Bengston shouted to him to come up to take part in 
 the conference. When asked by the captain if he thought 
 he would be able to take charge in the galley until the cook 
 got better, he said that he would be willing to try, and 
 would do his best to give satisfaction. 
 
 Bengston, by way of giving Jack fatherly advice, told 
 him to interview the cook and get pointers from him as 
 soon as the cook was able to talk a little better, which Jack 
 promised to faithfully do. 
 
 And so, this all important matter being settled, Jack 
 went forward and started the fire under the pea soup 
 kettle. 
 
 The weather remained fine for several days, but we 
 made very poor progress. We had light, variable winds 
 and smooth sea, and not a bit of drift ice could be seen 
 anywhere. I wondered why it should be so difficult to 
 get to the IsTorth Pole ; is looked to me as if by shaping a 
 course true north, it wouldn't take long to get there, »« 
 
174 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 there was no sign of any obstacles, that we could see, al- 
 though we were as far as 74 degrees north. 
 
 Ericson informed me one day that he had made a 
 cruise to Spitzbergen one summer, which is in the eighties 
 north, and still they had encountered very little ice. He 
 also related a very interesting tale about a polar-bear hunt 
 he had been a party to while at Spitzbergen. 
 
 Ericson was a fellow who had had a great deal of ex- 
 perience, but mostly in northern waters, and through ignor- 
 ance or prejudice he disliked to converse with people who 
 were not posted on his favourite subjects, such as polar- 
 bears, icebergs, and Eskimos. 
 
 Bengston and Swanson on the other hand preferred to 
 talk of the tropics, and many a trick at the wheel has 
 passed away only too quickly, listening to interesting tales 
 of what they had seen and experienced in far away coun- 
 tries. I remember one evening, Swanson was relating to 
 the captain of being a sailor on a little American vessel 
 that brought the first load of railroad iron down to the 
 Isthmus of Panama when the Americans first started to 
 build the railroad there in the early fifties. He also de- 
 scribed the old fortifications at Puerto Bello and at the 
 mouth of the Chagres Eiver, and it was most interesting to 
 listen to him. A few years afterward I visited the Isth- 
 mus, and remembering Swanson's account of the different 
 places, I found that he had been most accurate in his 
 account of it. 
 
 The cook improved a little every day, slowly but surely. 
 I used to call on him twice a day and rub him down with 
 arnica. He always criticised Swanson for being so shorir 
 sighted and mean as to not get a little stuff on the brig 
 that could be used on the inside as he would have improved 
 much quicker. " I wish I had a little of that I got from 
 the lord at Grotto for Ericson when he broke his back," he 
 would say. " But what can you expect from the likes of 
 
YANKEE SWANSON HS 
 
 them ? Arnica, indeed ! It makes me worse when I think 
 of it. Arnica is no use except for blistered feet and 
 chafed legs. It is used in the army a great deal, mostly 
 in the cavalry. I wonder if that iceberg Ericson thinks 
 I have been out horseback riding. I wish he had been 
 with me in place of your friend Napoleon when I was 
 trying to jerk out that old harpoon that I will never hear 
 the last of. I wouldn't have wasted any strength trying 
 to save him, as I did for your friend, but that dog is worth 
 more to you and me than ten icebergs like Ericson." 
 
 I noticed that the cook and the dog were getting along 
 much better than formerly. I guess they both realised 
 that they had been in a pretty bad fix together, and that it 
 was from mutual assistance that they were alive. 
 
 Jack did fairly well, in the galley; everybody seemed 
 better satisfied with the food than when the cook held 
 sway. Herald, the handy man, gave him some valuable 
 pointers, and at odd times he used to help the boy to clean 
 up the place. In the evenings Herald, Jack, and I would 
 sit in the lee of the long-boat, conversing in English, and 
 sometimes in Swedish, the latter language always pre- 
 ferred by Jack, as he still had his mind on going home to 
 Sweden on the old Forsette. 
 
 At last, one month out from Grotto we made Archangel 
 light. If the wind had remained fair after we sighted 
 the light we would have arrived in the evening, but bad 
 luck still pursued us; the wind came out from the south, 
 which was dead against us. This was not the worst of it, 
 either, as we soon found out. Captain Bengston, to save 
 expenses, and time, decided a couple of days prior to our 
 arrival at Archangel to throw the greater part of the bal- 
 last overboard, taking it for granted that the light breeze 
 and fair wind we then had would bring us into port. 
 Swanson objected, saying that if the wind came out from 
 the south'erd she would not stand up close hauled on the 
 
176 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 wind with the gallant sails on her. They used some strong 
 language about the matter and compromised by discharg- 
 ing about half of the ballast. 
 
 When the wind changed to the south'erd, which it did 
 very suddenly, we were going along with everything set, 
 and as the wind had been fair and right after us since dis- 
 charging the ballast, nobody had any idea of how cranky 
 the old craft really was. 
 
 Immediately we were cau|ht aback Swanson sang out 
 to clew up the royals and the gallantsails, which was a wise 
 move and saved us from capsizing then and there. 
 
 The ship having gathered stern way and the head sails 
 being set, she commenced to pay off. Bengston shouted 
 to Swanson to man the port braces, which was done with 
 alacrity, and as the yards came around, the vessel careened 
 over to such a degree that the little ballast we still had on 
 board shifted. Everything was confusion, caused by the 
 roar of the wind and the flapping of torn canvas, as orders 
 could not be heard. 
 
 The cook, who had not put foot on deck since his famous 
 ride, got a move on that would have been a credit to a 
 healthy and a much younger man than he, and without 
 waiting for orders he let go the foretopsail halyards and 
 let fly fore tack and sheet. Swanson was white with rage, 
 too angry to say anything to the captain just then, even if 
 he had had a chance to do so, but here was work to be done 
 and plenty of it. 
 
 ■We took in the spanker, and as the headsails did not 
 blow away in the squall, we succeeded in getting the For- 
 sette off before the wind, and once more headed on a course 
 for the North Pole. 
 
 She now righted herself while before the wind until 
 she had about a ten degree list, and we furled the sails, or 
 at least what was left of them, after which all hands, 
 except the cook and the dog, went below to trim ballast. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 177 
 
 That done, we were called aft to splice the main brace, and 
 the cook, thinking, that he had done enough to deserve a 
 little consideration, hung hack, licking his chops, hut in 
 such a conspicuous position that he could not fail to he 
 seen by the captain, who took pity on him and finally 
 shouted to him to come along before it was all gone. 
 
 The southerly wind did not last but a couple of hours. 
 It seemed as if it was all done to teach the old skipper a 
 lesson to be more careful in the future. It came out again 
 from the nor'rd and we squared away for Archangel once 
 more, but under very easy canvas. 
 
 At about noon the following day we anchored at a place 
 called Solombola, the port of Archangel. The port authori- 
 ties came off to receive the vessel, after which, with the 
 assistance of a side-wheel tug, we went to a wharf, where 
 we were to take on our cargo. Before going to the wharf 
 the Custom House officers detailed for duty on our vessel 
 instructed Captain Bengston that no fire would be allowed 
 on the ship while at the wharf. This was a source of an- 
 noyance to Captain Bengston, because he doubted if Jack 
 would be able to manage the cooking on shore. He was 
 so small and not much of a scrapper, and Bengston knew 
 that the other cooks would take advantage of this and rob 
 him of the grub. The cook claimed he had taken a relapse 
 of the worst kind through overstraining himself when he 
 saved the vessel from capsizing, and if Captain Bengston 
 insisted upon him doing any work until he had fully re- 
 covered his health, he would be obliged to sue the owners 
 for damages, and he felt positively sure " that if his case 
 was brought before a Court of Admiralty in England he 
 would be awarded the value of the Forsette and the Vic- 
 toria cross also for gallantry. Yankee Swanson mustn't 
 think he is dealing with a common Swede when he is doing 
 business with this guy. I have been around a bit myself 
 and no mistake about it. I guess they are a little sore 
 
178 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 just now, because the boy, although he is doing remarkably 
 well, I must say, for a T'rogeater, can't mix up the luxuries 
 as I used to do. But I am glad of it; perhaps they will 
 appreciate my ability as a cook in the future. But no, 
 that would be expecting too much from the likes of them. 
 They have no gratitude. Sorry I didn't let the old tub 
 turn turtle; that would have ended it. I could always 
 have saved myself by swimming. We were only about 
 twenty miles from shore, by my reckoning, which I always 
 find is about ten miles nearer the mark than where that 
 old boat-hook, Captain Bengston, puts her. Anyhow, the 
 distance from shore, a few miles more or less, wouldn't 
 matter much with me, as we were in a place where the 
 belugas were as thick as flies, and if you know the ropes it 
 is an easy mater to get a ride when they are around." 
 
 This little talk was meant for my benefit only, while 
 I was rubbing him down. There was very little left in 
 the bottle, and the cook suggested that I keep what was 
 left for Nap, who he said stood in more need of it than 
 he. " I will try to get a little medicine from shore the 
 first chance I get," he said, " something for the inside 
 that will fix me up double-quick. The trouble is, though, 
 I have no ready cash, and I am sure that ungrateful boat- 
 hook navigator Bengston would rather give me poison 
 than money. As for the fellows in the fo'cs'le, I wouldn't 
 waste breath asking them for anything, ungrateful lot; 
 and me saving the lot of them. That's what you get for 
 being accommodating. Of course I don't want you to 
 feel offended at what I am saying about these fellows, 
 because no harm is meant as regards yourself and little 
 Frenchy. God forbid that. You boys are altogether 
 not in their class. Another thing, I don't want you to 
 repeat what I am putting you wise to as regards the 
 after-guard, especially so while I am in this condition. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 179 
 
 It would be an easy matter for them now, considering 
 the shape I am in, to do away with me altogether, and it 
 wouldn't be beyond them, believe me. Yankee Swan- 
 son is an old hand at that game, and he knows it; there- 
 fore you can see what a chance I have to get a little medi- 
 cine to help me out. I have been thinking the matter 
 over the whole day, and the only way out of it that I 
 can see would be for you and Jack to help me out of my 
 troubles by making me a present of a dollar or two, or 
 whatever the price of a bottle of good stuff happens to 
 be at this place. It wouldn't be such an awful thing for 
 you boys to do it, anyway. I remember when I was a 
 boy I used to do little favours without being asked, 
 and I can't remember that I ever have been the loser 
 on that account. It seems so natural and becoming for 
 young people to do them little things that you always ex- 
 pect it." 
 
 I felt sorry for the old man, that he should have gone 
 to so much trouble to ask a little favour in this round 
 about way, but he told me that it was no trouble at all; 
 it was natural for him to be polite; he was a gentleman 
 born, and there was no other way out of it than to act as 
 one, and that was the main reason that Swanson did not 
 like him. 
 
 I told the cook that I would call on him in the even- 
 ing to give him another rub-down, and in the meantime 
 I would interview Jack in regard to getting him a bottle 
 of medicine. 
 
 He thanked me profusely and predicted that there was 
 a great future in store for Jack and me, especially if we 
 should happen to go in for the cooking business, which he 
 could see we were cut out for. 
 
 My friend Jack was a success as a dog trainer. From 
 the moment he became the owner of Nap he devoted all 
 
180 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 his spare time toward teaching him, except such time as 
 he was required to learn Swedish — one hour every day 
 — and Herald was the teacher. 
 
 Our fuel stores, wood and coal, were kept in a place 
 under the poop-deck. A little hatch, large enough for 
 a man to squeeze through, led down to it, and Jack con- 
 ceived the idea that ^fTap could be made useful in helping 
 him out with his work, which was considerably more now 
 since he had been promoted to cook. A few lessons was 
 all that was needed to give Nap a correct idea of what 
 was required of him. He seemed to enjoy this new oc- 
 cupation as a wood and coal carrier, coming along the 
 deck with a piece of wood in his mouth, his ears sticking 
 up straight, and his cute roguish little eyes bespeaking 
 fun and contentment to overflowing. It was a pleasure 
 to watch him, and if any member of the crew interfered 
 with him at work, he took it as an insult and would shy 
 quickly to one side with a growl, plainly meaning, " Tou 
 have no sense," and if interference continued he wouldn't 
 hesitate a moment, but would drop the wood and hook 
 on to the seat of his pants, which on several occasions 
 made such interference very destructive as well as painful. 
 It was of no use for any member of the crew to com- 
 plain of the dog's viciousness, as they were pleased to 
 call it; when any damage was done, Nap had powerful 
 backing in Swanson and Ericson. Nap took his meals in 
 the cabin and was welcome to take his little afternoon 
 nap in the captain's bunk if he felt that way, but ap- 
 parently Nap did not believe in too much familiarity. 
 He was rather an independent dog, and Jack was the 
 only one who was really what we could call on familiar 
 terms with him, and they were as thick as thieves. Nap 
 would not allow any one to enter the galley without a 
 growl as a protest, unless Jack intimated to the dog that 
 such a fellow was all right. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 181 
 
 Herald, the handy man, was a very thoughtful fellow, 
 as well as heing of an inventive turn of mind. Mr. Swan- 
 son had a great deal of respect for him, because Herald 
 had on several occasions made suggestions to Swanson re- 
 garding changes or alterations in the running gear, and 
 Swanson as a rule acted upon them, with good results. 
 
 One day Herald was watching the dog transporting a 
 pile of wood, piece by piece, to the galley, and it struck 
 him that the dog was doing too much running for the 
 amount of work he accomplished, and that improvements 
 could be made in the transportation business. Inter- 
 viewing Swanson about the matter, he suggested that a 
 cart should be constructed, as well as a harness made for 
 Nap, which would to a great extent facilitate matters for 
 the dog, not so much on board the ship, but at Archangel, 
 where, as Herald explained to Swanson, the cooking 
 would have to be done on shore a long way from the ship, 
 and a cart and dog would be the very thing wanted for 
 bringing the cooking utensils back and forth. Swanson 
 laughed and fell right in line with Herald's proposition, 
 and that very day Herald, who was as handy with car- 
 penters' tools as he was with a marlinespike, commenced 
 making the cart. Swanson undertook the harness-mak- 
 ing, and between the two they kept it a profound secret, 
 and not even Jack, the most interested party of all, knew 
 what was being done, until everything was complete, even 
 to the painting, which was a work of art, and the lettering 
 in bold type, Forsette, on one side, and " Jack Le Fevre 
 and !N"ap " on the other side of the cart. 
 
 I wish I could describe Jack's looks and feelings when 
 Swanson and Herald brought forth their handiwork and 
 presented him with it. He was a sight brimful of thank- 
 fulness and gratitude. He could find no words to express 
 what he felt; he only asked that the training of Nap to 
 the cart be left to him and he would vouch for complete 
 
182 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 success. And to further impress his two friends of how 
 satisfied he felt about it, he spoke to Nap and made a 
 motion that he wanted his whistle, which the dog, by 
 jumping up on the coal box and standing on his hind feet, 
 produced from a little shelf, where our former cook used 
 to keep his pipe. The boy struck up one of Swanson's 
 favourite break-downs, which brought forth a satisfied 
 grin on old Swanson's face. I could see that Swanson 
 was almost tempted to take a turn at the dancing, but he 
 refrained from doing so, thinking, I believe, that such 
 action on his part would lower the dignity becoming an 
 officer of the Forsette. 
 
 Very little training was required to break Nap to har- 
 ness ; evidently it was nothing strange to him, and he must 
 have been in the transportation business in Lapland before 
 he became a member of our crew. At any rate, he took 
 to it, as the saying goes, " Like a duck to water," and be- 
 fore we arrived at Archangel he was a past master at 
 loading and unloading the cart and pulling it back and 
 forth wherever Jack directed him. 
 
 I have already mentioned that with the assistance of a 
 tug we moored the vessel to a wharf, but not in the usual 
 way, — one side to the wharf. In this case, and under 
 the direction of a pilot we put her bow up agaiast the 
 wharf, and by means of a kedge anchor carried out aft, she 
 remained fixed in that position, which enabled us to make 
 use of the bowports in loading the vessel with lumber. 
 
 Archangel is a very busy port during the summer 
 months, and as for its shipping, it ranks vdth the highest 
 in Europe. The exportations are mostly lumber and 
 grain, but a great deal of other products as well, such as 
 linseed and hemp, are exported from Archangel. These 
 products are brought to Archangel on immense barges 
 from the south of Russia, a distance of something over a 
 thousand miles. The river Dwina is the medium by 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 183 
 
 which this large traffic is carried on. It is the Mississippi 
 of Russia, and strange to say, the large barges that I 
 have mentioned, are built to last for the trip to Archangel 
 only, and upon arrival there and after having delivered 
 their cargoes the barges are broken up and disposed of for 
 firewood. It does not seem natural that business could be 
 carried on profitably in that crude way, but taking into 
 consideration the great distance, the strong current in the 
 Dwina always running one way, toward the Arctic, and 
 the cheap labour and flimsy construction of the barges, 
 I myself believe that my statement is right ; if not, I have 
 not willingly made a misstatement, because I am only re- 
 peating what Mr. Smirenough, the Custom House officer, 
 told me. 
 
 Archangel, the city, is situated about four or five miles 
 further up the bay, or the delta, of the Dwina, from where 
 the port named Solombola lies. It is not much of a city 
 as cities go. The only conspicuous thing that I saw there 
 was an immense church with a gilded dome. I was told 
 that the church was most beautiful inside, but I did not 
 venture in, although I had a fine opportunity to do so, as 
 it was Sunday when Jack and I visited the town, and 
 there was a constant going and coming of people to and 
 from the church. The principal reason we did not enter 
 was that nearly every one who did was under the influence 
 of ill-smelling liquor called vodka; and besides, the great 
 majority of the worshippers were such a bewhiskered lot 
 that Jack and I concluded it was not safe to mingle with 
 them. 
 
 Herald, who had been to Archangel before in another 
 vessel, advised us not to go to town, but we, boylike, were 
 anxious to see this strange place, and beside we wanted 
 to make some purchases for Miss Betsey Duncan, and we 
 had promised to help the cook out with a bottle of vodka. 
 
 We had no difficulty in finding stores. They were very 
 
184 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 plentiful, and kept principally by Jews. We had a fel- 
 low along with us from Solombola who spoke a little Eng- 
 lish, and acted as our guide. This was very fortunate, 
 because the Jews asked fabulous prices for everything we 
 wanted to buy, and the guide always reduced it one-half, 
 but afterward we found out that he wanted the difference 
 as his share and we had to give it to him too, for when 
 we started to kick about it he got ugly and threatened to 
 have us banished to Siberia. 
 
 Having finished our purchases, including the medicine, 
 we started for the ship. We were hungry and wished to 
 spend another dollar on something to eat, but everything 
 seemed so dirty that we lost all appetite, and considering 
 the fact that we would have to spend as much more on our 
 honest guide for his trouble to dine with us — that or go to 
 Siberia for life — it must be conceded that we were wise 
 in not lingering very long at Archangel. 
 
 The only respectable feature about Archangel that I 
 noticed was the fact that they had a good plank road the 
 whole way from Solombola to Archangel. Consequently 
 walking was good and Jack and I took our time, just 
 sauntering along. After having covered about half the 
 distance our guide remarked that it was a long time be- 
 tween drinks. Jack pointed to a pool of dirty water in 
 the tundra and asked him to help himself. He evidently 
 did not like my friend's invitation. In fact, he became 
 very angry and finding that Siberia had no terror for 
 such sailormen as Jack and I, he decided to despatch us 
 to another place where the climatic conditions were much 
 worse than Siberia, and as different as night from day, if 
 we did not hand over the bottle. 
 
 Our guide was a big fellow, and had whiskers all over 
 his face, which made him look very fierce. Jack, who 
 carried the bottle, gave me an enquiring look, and at the 
 same time both of us surveyed the tundras in quest of 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 185 
 
 rocks or something equally handy to charge him with. 
 He judged from our looks that we undoubtedly were con- 
 templating something desperate, and decided to begin hos- 
 tilities at once, so made a grab for the bottle. Jack shied 
 to one side, and the guide missed him and in so doing 
 he stepped off the plank walk and sank kneedeep in the 
 tundra. Seeing that our guide had difficulty in extri- 
 cating himself, Jack and I started off on a comfortable 
 run toward Solombola, pursued by our bulky guide, who 
 after having got rid of a lot of mire, developed a speed 
 that was very discouraging for us. 
 
 The enemy was gaining on us gradually, and both Jack 
 and myself were thinking about Siberia and the other 
 place too, when the unexpected happened. In the dis- 
 tance, on the plank road and about half a mile away, we 
 observed a large man sauntering along toward us, and we 
 also discovered that he had a dog for a companion. We 
 increased our speed to the full limit in the expectation of 
 coming up with the stranger in time to tell him of our 
 troubles before the guide should have time to attack 
 us. 
 
 The stranger was still a long way off, and the guide was 
 so close on our heels that we could hear and almost feel 
 his breath on our backs, when the dog, who turned out to 
 be no other than Napoleon, came rushing by us at almost 
 lightning speed, and without giving us any greeting what- 
 soever, attacked our bulky guide, in a very ferocious man- 
 ner. 
 
 Considering the hard running of the guide and the 
 fierce attack of the dog, credit should be given to the 
 guide for endurance. He did kick and strike out in grand 
 style to ward off Nap's needle-pointed teeth, and with 
 some success in the beginning; in fact he got in one or 
 two kicks that made Nap wince, but that was only mo- 
 mentary, and made Nap, who was full of ginger, all the 
 
186 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 madder. Nap soon discovered that it was of little use to 
 attack him on the legs, on account of his thick cowhide 
 hoots, so made a running leap and got the guide by the 
 throat and hung on there like grim death. The guide 
 hollered for help, but his voice was very feeble. Jack 
 and I started to call off Nap, but he would not listen to 
 reason, and it was a lucky thing for the guide that help 
 was near at hand in the shape of Eric Ericson, our second 
 mate, who had all he could do to pacify Nap by hitting 
 the dog with a walking stick. 
 
 The guide was now perfectly harmless. His hands 
 and throat were badly torn, and as for clothes, he had none 
 left worthy of the name. The boots were there, badly 
 marked, and taking it all in all, he was a sorrowful sight 
 to behold. Ericson, before we had a chance to explain 
 matters, said that the dog ought to be killed at once, but 
 after he got the facts of the case he changed his opinion 
 in favour of Nap. Our guide tried to put himself on 
 record as being a highly respectable workingman and 
 meant no harm. In other words, our little foot race that 
 had come so abruptly to an end, was only fun as far as 
 he was concerned, and he intended to be recompensed in 
 some way for the injuries received and the loss of his 
 clothes. 
 
 Ericson made it plain to him that if such was the case 
 there would have to be a change in the programme, as he 
 was no believer in half measures, and proposed to let the 
 dog finish the job so neatly begun, and with that object 
 in view, Ericson commenced to pet Nap and pointed a 
 finger toward the guide, which made Nap's hair stand on 
 end, a sure sign that he was ready and vsdlling for another 
 go. The guide, seeing this, would stand for no more talk- 
 ing and turned his back to us and started to walk toward 
 Solombola. 
 
 Ericson, being a soft-hearted man, and wanting to avoid 
 
YANKEE SWANSON IST 
 
 any more trouble, did not approve of the guide going in 
 that direction — Solombola was only about half a mile 
 away. He figured that he would go and make a com- 
 plaint to the police office. Ericson therefore told the 
 guide that he would prefer him to go back to Archangel 
 and if he did not get a move on at once he would let Nap 
 show him the way, as well as the speed he would like to 
 see him travel at. The guide looked about a bit, as if in 
 expectation of assistance, but seeing none, he thought he 
 had better make the best of an already nasty piece of 
 business, and started off toward Archangel. 
 
 Ericson and we boys waited a while to see if the fellow 
 would carry out instructions, and finding that he halted, 
 perhaps from fatigue, Ericson let Nap loose, and he pur- 
 sued him out of sight entirely and returned with the 
 remainder of our guide's wardrobe in his mouth. 
 
 Thanks to Nap and Ericson, our enemy became a thing 
 of the past, and we never saw or heard from him again. 
 He had evidently had enough of Nap. 
 
 Our cook when told about the little adventure, appeared 
 to be a very much surprised man, and said that appear- 
 ances are as a rule very deceiving. He had made our 
 guide's acquaintance at the cook-house, and had been im- 
 pressed with his gentlemanly manners and language, and 
 for that reason he had told us to make use of him as our 
 guide. 
 
 The cook was a happy man when we made him a present 
 of the medicine, and he improved wonderfully while it 
 lasted — at least his temperament did ; new lies were in- 
 vented and old ones improved upon until it came to such 
 a pass that we could hardly recognise them, and when we 
 called his attention to the fact that it differed considerably 
 from what he had told us before, he went into explana- 
 tions, sometimes long and tedious ones, of how deceptive 
 a sailorman's language is to beginners like ourselves. In 
 
188 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 short, the lies were the same, only that he worded them 
 differently this time. 
 
 On account of giving a meagre description of Archan- 
 gel, of what I saw there, and of our little adventure, I 
 am ahead of my story, because we had been in port two 
 weeks before Jack and I made our excursion to Archangel. 
 I left off where we had moored the Forsette bow on to the 
 wharf, and where the cook had intimated to me that there 
 would be trouble if the captain had the gall to ask him to 
 resume his duties. Captain Bengston did not ask the 
 cook ; he never bothered himself with such trifles. Swan- 
 son always took it upon himself to do the asking, and the 
 result was always satisfactory from. Bengston's point of 
 view. 
 
 The cook resumed his duties on the morning following 
 the day of our arrival, but Swanson made it easy for him 
 in this respect that the cook was to remain at the cook-house 
 all day, attending to the cooking, while Jack and l^Tapoleon 
 were detailed to do the transporting of stores, fuel, pre- 
 pared and unprepared food to and from ship. On these 
 conditions only, the cook told me afterward, he consented 
 to go to work. The damage suit, as well as the Victoria 
 cross affair, would have to wait until we got back to 
 England. 
 
 I have stated before that the port was full of vessels 
 and of many nationalities. Imagine, therefore, a cook- 
 house very narrow, but of immense length, built on the 
 tundra about a half a mile from the shipping. A narrow 
 plank walk, so narrow that the cooks had to walk in single 
 file, led up to it. At certain distances along the plank 
 walk the cooks had for convenience constructed little plat- 
 forms on which a cook, loaded dovsm with supplies, could 
 take a stand while a fellow coming in the opposite direc- 
 tion passed. This arrangement made a rule of the road 
 necessary, and it was understood that a cook homeward 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 189 
 
 bound witli a cargo of prepared food had the right of 
 way. 
 
 A story went around that many a cook and any amount 
 of good pea soup and salt horse had been listed as over- 
 due, and others again as given up for lost entirely, caused 
 by collisions of cooks on this road. 
 
 I could not keep from laughing, although it was a mat- 
 ter of moment with my little friend, when Mr. Swanson 
 very solemnly told the boy about the difficulties he would( 
 be expected to guard against. 
 
 " Be very careful you don't get the wagon off the plank 
 walk," cautioned Swanson, " or you will go the way the 
 other cooks did, overdue or missing, while this warm 
 weather lasts. The tundra is very soft and bad, and you 
 will have to be extra careful, but we will have frost in a 
 day or two, and it won't be necessary to use the plank road 
 at all then ; all plain sailing right over the tundra. And 
 if any of the other cooks get gay with you, let Napoleon 
 loose on them, and I guess they will get enough of it." 
 
 Jack said that he thought that the wagon was too wide 
 for the road. " In that case Herald will have to alter 
 it," said Swanson. " Bring it out and see, so we will be 
 in shape for to-morrow." 
 
 After a while l^ap, in harness to the cart, and Jack 
 guiding the outfit, were seen making for the road through 
 the lumber yards. Every one who happened to see the 
 outfit appeared to admire it. Some of the cooks thought 
 it the very thing for the place and wished they had a dog 
 and cart like it. 
 
 As yet they knew nothing about the dog, but some of 
 them were cut out to make his acquaintance in various 
 ways — some very disagreeable ways too — before we left 
 Archangel. 
 
 After a while Jack returned with the rig. He was 
 smiling and pronounced everything 0. K., much better 
 
190 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 than lie had expected. The road was wide enough and 
 the platforms large, sufficiently so for dog and cart. 
 
 Owing to the great distance from the ship, the cook, 
 Jack, and ISTap started from the ship at an early hour in 
 order that Jack should be able to return with the coffee 
 before turn-to time. I happened to be awake when the 
 cook made ready his pots, and I turned out, as I wanted to 
 see the caravan off for the first time. I helped Jack to 
 get the wagon on shore from a steep plank over the bow. 
 That done, we took all the necessary cooking utensils on 
 shore and started stowing them in the waggon. Then we 
 went on board and got all the stores that the cook had 
 picked out for the day's use. By careful stowing we got 
 it all on, and it was quite a respectable load for a 95-pound 
 dog like !N^ap. The cook now came on shore and took in 
 the situation at a glance, whereupon he gave me a piece 
 of rope and told me to lash the load down securely. Siz- 
 ing up the load, the cook remarked that it must weigh 
 more than a hundred pounds, and if Nap got along with 
 it all right he intended that Nap should make an extra 
 trip in the morning and in the evening to fetch him to 
 and from his work. 
 
 Jack thought that it would be too much work for Nap, 
 and that he would break down under the cook's weight, 
 but the cook pooh-poohed that, and remarked that if he 
 thought it was too much, no harm would be done if Jack 
 pushed a little on the wagon behind. Jack became angry 
 and said that the dog belonged to him and that he would 
 not stand for the cook riding unless Swanson gave orders 
 to that effect, as he (Swanson) had given him orders to 
 be careful with dog and wagon. 
 
 " All right then," said the cook, " let us be off." And 
 the caravan started for the cook-house. 
 
 Everything went along all right, and in due time Jack 
 was back with the coffee. Swanson was out on deck when 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 191 
 
 Jack arrived, and they were conversing for some little 
 time. Jack mentioned that the cook had proposed riding 
 back and forth like a gentleman cook. 
 
 Having finished our coffee, Ericson sang out, " Turn 
 to." All hands, including Mr. Svs^anson, went below in 
 the hold and started to level out the rock ballast which we 
 did not throw overboard, and to get the hold ready to 
 receive lumber. That done, the port lashings were taken 
 off and by means of a battering ram we drove out the bow 
 port. 
 
 By noon we were all ready for business, and after we 
 had had our dinner and a smoke all hands were called aft 
 to splice the main brace, Captain Bengston himself 
 handling the bottle, pouring out great big drinks into a 
 small glass. The splicing finished, Captain Bengston ex- 
 plained that, while the loading was going on, the main 
 brace would be spliced three times a day, and oftener if 
 he saw that the work went on in a way that would warrant 
 such an enormous expense. 
 
 " It is this way, boys," went on the skipper, throwing 
 out his chest and taking a twist in his moustache, " to-day 
 is the first of September, and on the twentieth of this 
 month navigation practically closes at this place. Now, 
 if the cargo is not on board by then we either will have 
 to sail without a full load or else run the chance of getting 
 frozen in and remain here until next June. Therefore, 
 boys, it is my wish that you all pitch in and do your 
 living best to help me out, and you won't lose anything 
 by it." Herald was the only one who spoke up, and 
 what he said was not much, but to the point. He said 
 that he could only speak for himself, but he felt sure 
 that everybody was as anxious to get away as the captain 
 was. 
 
 (Swanson, not having had much experience at stowing 
 lumber, detailed Ericson to boss the stowing on the port 
 
192 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 side, while Herald had the honour to boss the job on the 
 starboard side. With the Russians on the dock we had 
 nothing to do, they having their own foreman. 
 
 Swanson spent the greater part of his time on the dock 
 with the Russians, giving them instructions regarding the 
 different sizes of lumber wanted at different times. They 
 were an ignorant, stupid lot, and so well supplied with 
 vermin that it was dangerous to get near them. They 
 were continually scratching, and every now and then 
 they would knock off altogether, sit down, and do some 
 killing. This was very annoying to Swanson, who was 
 out there among the Russians with the sole purpose of 
 keeping our men well supplied with lumber. He spoke to 
 their foreman about it in a friendly way, not wishing to 
 get on bad terms with them, as they proved to be a stub- 
 bom lot, but the foreman explained that there was no 
 remedy for it that he knew of ; scratching was a necessary 
 evil in Russia, and some killing had to be resorted to at 
 times, otherwise work would stop altogether. 
 
 Anyhow, taking into consideration these unavoidable 
 stoppages, the work went on very satisfactorily indeed; in 
 fact, after a day or two, Bengston discontinued the splicing 
 of the main brace at regular intervals, and sent the bottle 
 down in the hold in Ericson's care, with instructions to 
 splice away when deemed necessary. 
 
 Our fresh meat allowance was increased considerably, 
 and many other things we never dreamt of seeing on 
 board the Forsette came forth as if by magic. Every one 
 was happy and contented, except the cook, who allowed 
 that he had never seen such waste, and could not under- 
 stand what had got into the old man all of a sudden. 
 
 There was quite a little rivalry between Ericson and 
 Herald regarding good stowage and the amount of lum- 
 ber that had passed through their ports when the day's 
 work was over, and to settle the matter fairly, Swanson 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 198 
 
 made a clinometer, marked ojff into degrees, which he 
 hung Tip on the hatch combing where everybody could 
 view it. By noting the list of the vessel in the morning 
 and likewise in the evening, it gave us a pretty fair idea 
 which port had received the most lumber. Ericson felt 
 very badly about it if the vessel happened to be listed 
 to starboard when the day's work was over, but Herald 
 did not seem to care a great deal which side had the ad- 
 vantage; in fact, he made it appear as though he was 
 better satisfied when Ericson had the best of it — this on 
 account of Ericson being an officer, I think. 
 
 Two days after our arrival at Solombola two vessels ar- 
 rived and were berthed one on each side of the Forsette. 
 It was during the noon hour when they docked, and we 
 had a good opportunity to observe the difference in offi- 
 cers and crews of the two vessels; also the difference in 
 discipline, as well as their method of performing a piece 
 of work under similar conditions. 
 
 Swanson had often told me that there were no vessels 
 afloat where work was carried on with such alacrity as on 
 board American ships, and from what I observed on this 
 occasion, what Swanson had told me was undoubtedly 
 true. 
 
 The names of the vessels were Glengarry, London, and 
 Progress, 'New York. Both of them were to load lumber 
 for Melbourne, Australia. The Progress was moored to 
 the wharf, her sails unbent, tagged and stowed away, ropes 
 coiled up snug and decks swept down before the Olen- 
 garry was anywhere near made fast. It seemed to me as 
 though there was neither head nor tail to anything on 
 board this ship. Everything appeared to be run with-, 
 out any end in view, and Swanson called my attention to 
 it, shaking his head as he remarked, " I should like to see 
 those limejuice guys on board the Progress for a little 
 while ; I think they would get a different move on them- 
 
194. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 selves there." One fellow in particular on the Olengarry 
 attracted my attention, and as I will have something to 
 relate about him bye and bye, I shall try to describe 
 him. 
 
 This individual was of medium height and very broad- 
 shouldered. The left shoulder appeared to be elevated to 
 the level of the butt of the ear, and gave him a rakish, 
 slouchy appearance. His face was not very handsome 
 at its best, I thought. It was disfigured with ugly scars, 
 and his nose had at some time or other been nearly knocked 
 into his head ; at any rate, all that remained of what had 
 at one time been called a nose was a little growth that 
 reminded me of an overgrown wart with two black specks 
 in the centre. His eyes were merely long slits and almost 
 covered with bushy eyebrows ; while the mouth ran nearly 
 across his face, one side of it elevated on an angle that 
 corresponded with the rake of the shoulders. His legs 
 were short and slightly bent, but of immense thickness, 
 and the feet were correspondingly large. And to cap it 
 all, he continually wore a leering, contemptible grin that 
 gave one the impression of being in company with some- 
 thing unearthly. 
 
 The Glengarry had a line on the wharf, and they were 
 heaving on it with the capstan. As they approached the 
 Forsette, the second officer, a nice looking young fellow, 
 sang out, " Break away there, Irish, and look out for the 
 cork fender." Irish, the human monster I have tried to 
 describe, pulled out the capstan bar, on which he was 
 heaving, threw it down with great force at the feet of 
 the second officer, and shouted loud enough for every one 
 on board our vessel to hear, " What in H — ^1 is the matter 
 with you? Don't you see there are two square heads 
 over on that scow with cork fenders ? IGet on to yourself 
 and don't make a show." He was alluding to Jack and 
 me, who were standing on the rail, watching them. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 195 
 
 The second officer said no more, but he must have felt 
 very ill at ease from such a call dov?n. He sent, one of 
 the boys to attend the fender, while Irish picked up the 
 capstan bar and started to sing, " Blow, boys, Blow for 
 California; there is plenty of gold, so I have been told, 
 on the banks of the Sacramento." 
 
 In the evening, our day's work over, and the Glen- 
 garry finally at rest and in position for taking on cargo, 
 we had a visit from several members of her crew, and 
 amongst them was Irish. He loitered about a bit, making 
 sarcastic remarks about our vessel, and finally walked up 
 on the poop, where he found Mr. Swanson resting his 
 elbow on the house, smoking his evening pipe. " Hello, 
 Matey," said Irish. " Put it there," stretching out his 
 hand. Swanson looked him square in the eye, but did 
 not offer his hand. " All right," said Irish, " it don't 
 matter, anyhow. I know who you are, Yankee Swanson, 
 and I only wanted to pay my respects on account of us 
 having been shipmates many years ago on the Flying 
 Scud." 
 
 " Is that so ? " asked Swanson. " Well, if we were 
 shipmates on the Flymg Scud you must have been a very 
 small kid then, as I can't place you now. And beside, 
 from your actions and your behaviour toward your officers 
 to-day, it makes me believe that you are a liar of the 
 worst kind, because we brought up kids on the Flying 
 Scud to become sailors, and it can plainly be seen that 
 you are not one." 
 
 Irish was very much taken aback and started to give 
 some back talk, but Swanson cut him short by putting the 
 pipe away and asking him to get off the poop as quick as 
 possible. 
 
 I think Irish concluded that he was not talking to the 
 second officer of the Olengarry, for he did not have to be 
 asked a second time, but took himself off forward, where 
 
196 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 he stumbled foul of our cook, and the two engaged in a 
 spirited conversation. It appeared from the conversation 
 that the cook had already given Irish the rough outlines 
 of every member of our crew, and undoubtedly Swanson 
 had come in for a large portion of the cook's wicked slan- 
 der. 
 
 Irish, who formerly had been a professional prize 
 fighter in Liverpool, among the lower set, held a reputa- 
 tion of being one of the best all round fighters in that 
 great port, and having been told by our cook that Swan- 
 son was no slouch himself with the mittens, he had con- 
 cluded to strike up an acquaintance, with the idea in view 
 of comparing notes, thinking, I suppose, that his looks 
 alone would entitle him to a decent reception. 
 
 Having been received in this, what he called shabby 
 manner, he became very angry and swore that he would 
 take it out of Swanson on the first opportunity that of- 
 fered itself. " I will give you a chance to judge what 
 sort of a fighter Yankee Swanson is," he said to the cook. 
 " He don't remember me now, he doesn't, but he will 
 before I am through with him. I was a boy on the 
 'Plying Scud a round voyage to San Francisco when he 
 was third or second mate, and as near as I can remember 
 he wasn't much then, although he was in his prime, a big, 
 overgrown, double-headed Swede." 
 
 Swanson overheard what the fellow was saying, and 
 decided to put a stop to it at once. He was a man who 
 did not believe in much talk and long arguments; quick - 
 action and plenty of steam was his motto. 
 
 Captain Bengston came out of the cabin just as Swan- 
 son was in the act of taking ofF his coat and rolling up his 
 sleeves, and noticing that Swanson was angry, he enquired 
 the cause of it. The captain tried to persuade him not 
 to take any notice of it. " He will go away by and 
 by," said Bengston, " and I vnll ask the captain and the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 197 
 
 officers not to let that brute come on board of our vessel 
 again." 
 
 " Little good that would do," replied Swanson. " Did 
 you hear how that dog-face abused the whole lot of them, 
 captain and all, when they were mooring their vessel this 
 afternoon ? " Bengston admitted that he did. " Well," 
 said Swanson, " and you think that if any one of that 
 bunch should ask that Mick to stop abusing me he would 
 stop? I tell you he will get a d — ^n sight worse, and 
 there will be no living with him, either on board of the 
 Glenga/rry or here. Now is the time to take the fight out 
 of him for keeps, and I think I can do it." 
 
 A number of sailors from the Glengarry and Progress, 
 besides our own men, including the cook, were assembled, 
 and formed a semi-circle about the hero of many fights, 
 when Swanson came forward. Swanson started in by 
 driving them all to one side, shouting, " Get out of here, 
 all of you who don't belong here." 
 
 The men seeing that there was trouble in store for 
 somebody, edged away to a respectable distance. 
 
 Swanson turned to Irish, who was sitting on a spare 
 topmast, and said, " Get up, you dog, and defend your- 
 self if you don't want to be killed where you are sitting." 
 
 " I will get up when I am good and ready," replied 
 Irish, " and what is more, no white-washed Tank can 
 make me do it." 
 
 Swanson hit him an awful blow on the side of the face 
 with the flat of the hand, and Irish fell from his sitting 
 position to the deck. 
 
 " If you won't come up, I can at least make you go 
 down," shouted Swanson, as he stood looking down on 
 the fallen Irishman. 
 
 But Irish did not remain very long in that position. 
 He got on his feet and demanded to know if he was to 
 get a square deal. " That all depends on yourself," said 
 
198 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Swanson. " If you will stop talking and get up and 
 figkt, it will be square enough. I understand you are 
 anxious to renew an old acquaintance." Irish started in 
 with a lot of abuse and mean language while taking off 
 his coat, but Swanson paid no attention to him. He stood 
 there as still as a statue, with his arms folded across his 
 chest. 
 
 Finally Irish shouted, " Put up your dukes, Yank, and 
 take your medicine like a man." 
 
 " I am ready, Irish, fetch it along," replied Swanson. 
 
 Of course, this fight was not fought by rounds. It 
 was more after the fashion of a continuous performance 
 from start to finish. It was what the sporting man would 
 call a gruelling mill, such a one as two fierce bulldogs 
 would put up. The fight lasted ten minutes, and during 
 that time Irish was knocked down a dozen times. His 
 face was beaten to a pulp and both his eyes were closed, 
 but still on he came as if hungering for more punishment. 
 He was a bulldog out and out, and none could deny that 
 he was game, but he lacked the finer points and was at 
 Swanson's mercy from start to finish. It was admitted 
 all around that Swanson could have finished him almost 
 at any time, but he seemed to take delight in hammering 
 away at the brute, which was undoubtedly due to the fact 
 that Irish continually kept up abusing Swanson in lan- 
 guage unmentionable. 
 
 The captain and officers from the American vessel came 
 on board, as well as the officers and the whole crew from 
 the Glengarry, when the fight began, and were witnesses 
 of a performance they all admitted to be the most grue- 
 some sight they had ever seen. 
 
 The Irishman kept up fighting until he was totally 
 blind, and even then, helpless as he was, he swore and 
 abused Swanson, who finally hit him in some tender spot 
 that put him to sleep. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 199 
 
 Jack and I did not see tlie fight at the finish, it was 
 too much for us. We lingered until we saw that Swan- 
 son was master of the situation, and with that our interest 
 was at an end. We went aft and sat down in Jack's den, 
 where we found poor Nap doubled up in a sound sleep, 
 tired after a hard day's work on the plank road. 
 
 After a little while we heard a lot of people running 
 up on the poop. It was Swanson and the officers from 
 the different vessels, who had witnessed the fight. Thej 
 all entered the cabin until it was packed full. Bengston 
 took out the bottle and all hands drank to Swanson's 
 health, long life and prosperity. Congratulations were 
 heaped upon the hard-fisted hero, but he accepted them' 
 with a frown, as much as to say, " Huh, that fellow was 
 dead easy. Why haven't you fellows attended to his case 
 before ? " The first officer of the Olengarry, an old kind- 
 hearted Englishman, told Swanson of the misery he and 
 the whole crew had been in since they had left Liver- 
 pool, with that brute riding roughshod over everybody. 
 " Well," said Swanson, " I feel sorry for you, old man, 
 but it is all over with now. The fight is pretty well 
 taken out of him, and let me tell you, Mr. Mate," went 
 on Swanson, " I have been sizing up your crew to-day, 
 and I am satisfied that you have several young fellows 
 in your crew that can lick the stuffing out of that brute 
 any time. The trouble is, his awful looks have fright- 
 ened them a bit, but they will find out that his appearance 
 won't be quite so fierce in the future. I did my best to 
 polish it up a bit, and I think I was fairly successful." 
 
 The mate shook Swanson's hand and said that he would 
 never forget him. " But, say, friend, how in all the 
 world did you do it ? Ton are not a strong looking man 
 and not by any means a young man, and still you had no 
 great trouble in knocking out that ugly brute, Irish. 
 That's a wonder. It took Jem Mace twenty rounds to 
 
200 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 polish him off, and Mace was in his prime at the 
 time." 
 
 " Well, it is like this," said Swanson. " I don't like 
 fighting, and never fight unless it is forced on me, hut 
 when it comes to such a pass that I have to do it, I always 
 polish them up in such a shape that they don't come 
 around and hother me again looking for more, and I 
 have found that policy to be good logic, as you will see 
 in this case with Mr. Irish. He won't trouble me or any- 
 body else while at this place. After you get away from 
 here he might get fresh again, and then he should be taken 
 in hand and a few finishing touches applied that would 
 put him to sleep for good, I have in my time seen men 
 as bad as him — not quite so ugly looking — and always 
 succeeded in bringing them around to be very reasonable. 
 
 " Of course," went on Swanson, " Irish may be an 
 exception to the general rule, and if he should like to have 
 another go after he gets round a bit, I shall be delighted 
 to take him on once more." 
 
 " Well," said the old mate, " I am tickled the way 
 things stand at present. I don't think he will do a man's 
 work while we are here, and perhaps it will be best to 
 send him to the hospital and leave him behind, as the 
 captain and I are determined upon getting rid of him 
 at any price. Anyhow, I am ever so much obliged to 
 you, Mr. Swanson, for what you have done. I will now 
 bid you all good night and see about getting that ugly 
 carcass on board the Glengarry" and with that the visit- 
 ors left the cabin. 
 
 It is really surprising what an amount of popularity 
 and esteem a person will derive from some action into 
 which, you might say, one has been forced, as in the case 
 I have just related. Swanson did not want to fight; it 
 was forced on to him by the fellow Irish and his foul 
 language. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 201 
 
 The news of this fight spread like wildfire through the 
 shipping at Solombola, and then on to Archangel, and so 
 on all over the "world, and as it was passed along, it was 
 of course greatly exaggerated until it was no more the 
 fight I have described than night is like day. 
 
 Years afterward, when I was mate on an American 
 vessel, a fellow shipmate related this fight to me, not 
 knowing that I had been an eyewitness to it. The only 
 thing about the whole narrative that was correct was the 
 fact that he had the names of -the two combatants and 
 the two vessels correct, and by that one fact only I knew 
 what he was trying to tell me. Part of the story was 
 this, that Swanson gouged out Irish's eyes and that Irish 
 bit off Swanson's ears. 
 
 Our cook did a great deal toward spreading the news 
 broadcast, and he did not forget to profit by it himself, 
 to a certain extent. Situated, as the cook was, away from 
 the ship the whole day and associating with cooks from 
 every ship in the harbour, he had the opportunity of his 
 life to concoct any story, no > matter how ridiculous, with- 
 out fear of being contradicted. The only member of 
 our crew who visited the cook-house was Jack, and the 
 cook had great confidence in the boy, because he made it 
 a point not to meddle with the cook's lies. 
 
 One day when Jack arrived at the cook-house, the cook 
 was in the act of relating his experience with the beluga 
 on the trip out. According to his story, he recovered the 
 harpoon and line and intended to put both these articles 
 on exhibition when he got to England, and expected to 
 realise a great amount of money on them, i^sides, he was 
 confident that the Board of Trade would present him 
 with a gold medal for having saved the ship from cap- 
 sizing, as well as for telling the captain and the mate 
 what to do when in a bad fix. " It is no use talking, 
 that fellow Swanson is a fairly good boxer, but he has 
 
203 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 me to thank for his best points, and he knows it," said the 
 cook, as he refilled the pipe. "But as for being what 
 you would call a first class sailorman, never! I myself 
 could give him cards and spades when it comes to handling 
 a vessel in a breeze of wind as we had on the way over. 
 He deserves great credit, though," he continued, taking 
 a long pull at the pipe. " The way he handled that guy 
 Irish, I doubt if I could have done any better myself, 
 but he was a long time doing it. He is all for show, that 
 Yankee Swanson is. He could just as well have finished 
 that fellow up in half the time, and there was no need of 
 marking him up so that his mother wiU never be able to 
 recognise him again. I went over on board the Qlevr 
 garry last night to see how the poor fellow was getting 
 along, and dear me, it was a sight that brought tears to 
 my eyes, and I am not overly soft-hearted, at that. He 
 asked me for a little soup, Irish did, and I was only too 
 glad to bring him some, as it is the only thing he will 
 ever be able to chew for the remainder of his life; he 
 ain't got a single tooth left, except a few that Ericson 
 found on the deck the morning after the fight and sent 
 over to Irish, and told him to keep them for souvenirs. 
 That was cruel to do that, but what can you expect of a 
 Mongolian like Ericson, and now Swanson, I see, has 
 started to give him boxing lessons. Well, the Lord save 
 us if that fellow Ericson ever gets on to the ropes in the 
 manly art of self-defence, there will be no living with 
 him, because he is as strong as an elephant, and we have 
 seen some of his cruelties. Look how he treated poor, 
 harmless August in Grotto. Wasn't he going to pull the 
 poor fellow down off the gallant yard ? " 
 
 Jack told me this and a lot more of what the cook had 
 been saying, and I advised him not to mention it to any- 
 body, as I was afraid that Swanson would hear of it and 
 
YANKEE SWANSON SOS 
 
 I felt sure that Swanson at some time or other would 
 forget himself and perhaps give the old cook a heating. 
 
 Slocume was the name of the captain on the Progress. 
 He and his wife and two children were on board, and 
 also a good looking young woman, a relative of the cap- 
 tain's wife. 
 
 The cook of the Progress was a big, good-natured negro, 
 whose name was Sambo. Jack had a great knack for 
 making friends, owing to his happy disposition, and also 
 to the fact that he was always willing to lend a hand 
 when he saw it was needed. 
 
 One morning Jack was on his way to the cook-house to 
 fetch the breakfast, and having nothing to bring out that 
 morning, he thought he would take a ride, as the wagon 
 was empty, and besides he was anxious to find out how 
 Nap was going to take it, whether he would object or take 
 it as an honour. ]!^apoleon must have looked upon it 
 from the latter point of view, and started off at a pretty 
 good gait. They had not travelled very far when they 
 overhauled Sambo making poor time under a full load 
 of pots and pans, besides some stores. Jack stopped the 
 turnout and volunteered to bring Sambo's gear to the 
 cook-house. Sambo was overjoyed at the offer, and from 
 that moment Jack and Sambo were on the most intimate 
 terms. 
 
 As they walked along. Sambo informed Jack that the 
 ladies on board the Progress did their ovm cooking, as 
 did the captain and the officers, in the cabin, on an oil 
 stove. It was against the rules of the port, Sambo ex- 
 plained, but Captain Slocume had an eye to business, 
 and had overcome this little difficulty by greasing up the 
 Custom House officer. 
 
 Sambo then commenced to make Jack acquainted with 
 the conditions in general on board the Progress. 
 
204. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Captain Slocume and his family were the finest peo- 
 ple in the land, Sambo said, and the officers were fairly 
 good also ; but as for the crew they were mostly foreigners 
 and poor white trash of the worst kind. 
 
 Jack noticed that Sambo brought along such stuff as 
 ham and bacon, and having been informed that the ladies 
 did their own cooking, he naturally wondered who it 
 could be for, and on being informed that it was for the 
 crew he could hardly believe that Sambo was telling the 
 truth. 
 
 "Why, boy alive," exclaimed Sambo, when he saw 
 Jack doubting him, "that's nothing. If it wasn't for 
 the distance I have to fetch the stuff, I should have the 
 eggs along with the ham. If you would be so kind as 
 to give this here nigger a lift every morning, I will prom- 
 ise you all the ham and eggs you and your friend, the 
 other boy, can stow away." 
 
 Jack's mouth watered at the thought of Sambo's lib- 
 eral promise, and he told Sambo he would give him a 
 lift every time he was not otherwise engaged. He then 
 started to tell Sambo about the sterling qualities of 
 !N"apoleon, and enlarged upon the fact that the dog never 
 forgot kindness and never forgave a mean trick, such as 
 our cook used to play on him. He informed Jack that he 
 had heard a great deal about Nap from our cook, who, 
 it seemed, had taken all the credit for training him to such 
 an efficient state, and Jack, not wishing to have our cook 
 caught red-handed at lying, told Sambo that the cook had 
 had considerable to do with it. 
 
 " That mate on your ship must be a hard man," said 
 Sambo. " Does he beat you up much ? " Jack in- 
 formed him that Swanson was the best man in the world, 
 and that he never beat anybody except when he had to. 
 " But he always makes a good job of it when he gets 
 started," Jack informed him. 
 
t 
 YANKEE SWANSON 206 
 
 " Yes, I saw that ; but I think he done it too well this 
 time. That fellow Irish is going to die, sure; all his 
 ribs are broken. What did you say that mate's name is, 
 boy? Swanson? That's strange. Swanson, Swanson; 
 I wonder if that can be the same man," said Sambo 
 thoughtfully. 
 
 " Do you know him ? " enquired Jack, 
 
 " No, boy. I don't know him ; but it's like this : In 
 the evening, after the fight, when I was setting things 
 right in the cabin, I heard the captain and the officers 
 talking about this fight, and the captain said that he never 
 saw but one man that could fight like that mate of yours, 
 and that was a mate on an American ship called the Fly- 
 ing 8cvd, many years ago, and if I remember right, he 
 said his name was Swanson, or something very much 
 like it." 
 
 Jack told Sambo he knew Swanson had sailed on such 
 a ship, but in what capacity he could not say. Sambo 
 shook his head as though in deep thought, and said he 
 would tell his captain about this strange coincidence. 
 
 They had arrived at the cook-house. Our cook stowed 
 the breakfast away in the wagon and Jack and !N^ap were 
 treated to some ham and bread by Sambo before they 
 started back for headquarters. 
 
 The manager at the lumber yard at which we loaded 
 was a gentlemanly-looking fellow, not of the bewhiskered 
 type, and spoke English well. The captains of the dif- 
 ferent vessels loading at his yard were allowed to gather 
 firewood about the yard, sufficient for use at the cook- 
 house, but it was understood that they were to caution their 
 cooks or boys who were sent to gather it that no large 
 pieces of lumber were allowed to be classed as firewood; 
 only such stuff as ends of planks about a foot long and 
 under would be allowed to be taken away. 
 
 This extra work fell to the lot of Jack and Nap, and 
 
206 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 between that and the transporting of the food from the 
 cook-house it made their day's work complete indeed. 
 
 Jack was a shrewd little fellow, and had a great faculty 
 for maktag friends; even among the bewhiskered yard- 
 hands he was at home. Having received his orders from 
 Swanson regarding the wood gathering, he cheerfully 
 summoned his friend Nap and started out among the 
 lumber piles. Having transported one wagonload out 
 to the cook-house, which was sufficient for the cook's use 
 for the day, Jack, who had an eye for business, always 
 brought something back from the cook-house wherewith to 
 treat the hungry yard labourers. At other times, if he 
 noticed they required a little cheering up he would extract 
 the tin whistle from his inside pocket, strike up a jig or 
 a sand-dance, and go through with some almost impossible 
 steps that would make a dead man laugh. 
 
 If the foreman should come along and catch the men 
 loafing in that manner he would growl a little, but that 
 did not prevent him from enjoying the fun as well as any 
 of the rest, especially so when Jack would take the har- 
 ness off Nap and make him do any number of tricks. 
 
 After having treated the foreman to a small piece of 
 chewing tobacco that Jack had begged from some fellow 
 at the cook-house, and by various other ways managed to 
 get the foreman into a good humour, Jack would not 
 forget to remind him of a nice little pile of wood that he 
 would like to be allowed to take on board the ship. The 
 foreman could not think of such a thing; in fact he was 
 surprised that the boy would dare suggest anything of the 
 kind ; at the same time Jack was given to understand that 
 if he saw his way clear to get him something to eat next 
 time he went to the cook-house he would be blind for the 
 remainder of the day. 
 
 Bengston was rubbing his hands with joy when he saw 
 the boy fetching all these fine pieces of wood, and ia the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 207 
 
 coTiTse of a few days Jack had the long-boat full and 
 preparations were made to stow the forepeak full also. 
 " That means money for you and me when we get to 
 England," remarked Bengston one day when he met Jack 
 and Nap in the yard with the wagon loaded with choice 
 pieces; Jack pushing behind and poor Nap pulling with 
 head bent down, panting. 
 
 The cooks and boys from the other vessels out wood 
 hunting were jealous of the success of Jack, and one day 
 a fellow, a little bolder than the rest of the cooks, proceeded 
 to help himself to some choice pieces from Jack's wagon. 
 Jack protested, but the fellow, a big German cook, only 
 laughed and said that Jack was joking. He took all that 
 was in the wagon and started off toward the ship. Jack 
 turned Nap loose and asked him to stop thief, which l^ap 
 proceeded to carry out in his customary way, by attacking 
 the cook in the legs. The German let out a yell that 
 could be heard all over the lumber yard, dropped the 
 wood and succeeded in finding a refuge on a high lumber 
 pile, from which place he lustily shouted for help. The 
 Eussian lumber jacks were enjoying the sport immensely, 
 while Nap sat down on his haunches by the lumber pile, 
 and by loud barking challenged the Dutchman to come 
 down off his perch. 
 
 The first mate on the German vessel, who heard the 
 cook's signal of distress, very promptly armed himseK 
 with a stick and went to the rescue. After having ascer- 
 tained the cause of the cook's dilemma, he proceeded to 
 give the poor cook a fearful tongue lashing for being so 
 cowardly; in fact he accused him of disgracing the whole 
 German nation by climbing that lumber pile and calling 
 for help. In his rage he threw the stick at the cook and 
 swore that if he did not come down at once he would come 
 up there and throw him down. Then turning on Nap, 
 who was sitting in the same place, very harmless-looking, 
 
a08 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 he launched out with a swift kick, which Nap very neatly 
 sidestepped and hooked on to the calf of the mate's leg. 
 
 If the mate's howling was an indication of pain, he 
 must have suffered terribly. The cook's shouting was 
 nothing in comparison with the mate's unearthly yells. 
 The whole lumber yard was astir; Russians and dirty 
 sailors of all nations came running from all directions 
 and concentrated at the lumber pile, on top of which were 
 two big Dutchmen, brandishing their fists at one another 
 and calling names that wouldn't look well in print. 
 
 Below was l^apoleon, barking and looking at the new- 
 comers with pleading eyes, as if asking for assistance to 
 get up and settle the Dutchmen on the lumber pile. He 
 kept running about, trying to find some place suitable to 
 enable him to ascend, but no stranger cared to interfere. 
 
 The crew of the German vessel was there to a man, 
 and they seemed to enjoy the situation of their mate and 
 the cook with much gusto. 
 
 The manager of the yard, finding that the work all 
 around had ceased, demanded an explanation from the 
 foreman, and seemed very much put out about it, but after 
 the foreman had thoroughly explained the situation, of 
 how the big Dutchman had deliberately robbed the boy, 
 who was well liked about the yard, he also joined in the 
 merrymaking. 
 
 Finally Jack went away and took the wagon to where 
 the cook had dropped the wood, and after he had it on 
 board he called Nap and put him in harness, after which 
 they went about their business as though nothing had hap- 
 pened. 
 
 The crowd lingered until the two Dutchmen were as- 
 sured that the road was clear of dogs. Then they came 
 down, very shamefaced indeed, and made a beeline for 
 their vessel without bandying any more words; this un- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 209 
 
 doubtedly due to the fact that their clothes were in an 
 awful condition. 
 
 This little episode was the talk of the place while we 
 were there, and Jack and Nap received notoriety that was 
 only second to Yankee Swanson and Irish. The German 
 captain, on the other hand, was loath to put up with the 
 notoriety they received as their share, and protested to 
 the manager, stating that in his opinion Jack and Nap 
 should be debarred from doing business in the yard. The 
 manager explained that such a proposition was out of 
 order entirely, inasmuch as every cook in port would pro- 
 test against a ruling like that. He said it was a well- 
 known fact that Nap not only did his own ship's work, 
 but that he assisted the other ship cooks in transporting 
 fuel to the cook-house. 
 
 " Well," allowed the captain, " if such is the case, they 
 should at least be compelled to have a man along with the 
 dog, who could stop him from chewing up innocent peo- 
 ple." 
 
 The manager was losing his patience, and remarked, 
 sarcastically, that the captain was out of order again. 
 " What good would a man be with a dog that bears the 
 name of Napoleon? Answer me that question. Not the 
 kind you have on your ship, anyhow. My foreman in- 
 forms me that your cook and the mate were not the least 
 frightened until they heard that the dog's name was 
 Napoleon ; when they found that out they both made for 
 the tall pines, and would have been there yet if the boy 
 had not taken pity on them." 
 
 This was treading on corns, indeed, but the manager 
 stood his ground in fine style and wound up by telling 
 the captain that the boy was a Frenchman, the dog's name 
 was Napoleon, and the boss in the yard was a Russian, 
 and as long as things remained in that state he would not 
 
210 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 debar Napoleon from the yard if every Dutchman in 
 creation took to the lumber piles. 
 
 Having settled this question, the manager turned on his 
 heel and walked toward his office. Seeing Jack hard at 
 work, picking up pieces of lumber, he stopped and chatted 
 for a minute, telling the boy that he could consider him- 
 self a privileged character in the yard, which meant that 
 he was at liberty to pick up pieces two feet long, or, in 
 fact, anything that was not stacked up ready to be shipped. 
 He then patted Nap on the head, while the dog wagged 
 his tail in a friendly way, evidently sizing up the manager 
 as being one of the right sort and one that he would like 
 to be on friendly terms with. 
 
 Old man Eengston and his mates roared with laughter 
 in the evening when Jack related this, his latest adven- 
 ture. The boy was a mimic of no mean order, and imi- 
 tated the two Germans to perfection. After he had 
 finished his stunt aft he came forward where the audience, 
 consisting of three ships' crews, were anxious to have the 
 performance gone over once more for their benefit. 
 
 When Jack had finished we all felt as if we had actually 
 seen the whole thing in reality. The fun and laughter it 
 created was immense, and we wound up by going in a 
 body down alongside of the German ship, ejrpecting to 
 get a view of the principals, but in this we failed. We 
 were told they had gone out of commission. 
 
 The work in loading went on satisfactorily in every 
 respect. It was a stand-off between us and the Progress 
 as to who were doing the best work; the Glengarry was 
 out of the race altogether. The Russian wharf-hands 
 claimed that the Forsette was in the lead, and Ericson's 
 head could be seen in the port every now and again, shout- 
 ing for more lumber. 
 
 One day Swanson, who was out on the wharf among 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 211 
 
 the Eussians, shouted out my name ; he wanted to see me. 
 I crawled out through the porthole and found Swanson 
 talking to the captain of the Glengarry, who had a news- 
 paper in his hand. Having surveyed me with a critical 
 eye for a moment, he remarked to Swanson, " Well, I 
 declare. la that his brother? Likely looking chap, 
 that." Then to Swanson, " Does the hoy read English ? " 
 Swanson having answered in the affirmative, the captain 
 handed me the newspaper, saying as he did so, " Here, 
 hoy, take that, and you wiU find something there that will 
 interest you." Thanking the captain, I took the paper 
 and intended to go back to my work, but Swanson said, 
 " Never mind, Andrew, it is near noon. Go on board to 
 Jack's den, and take your time about it." 
 
 I had no trouble to find something that interested me 
 very much indeed. On the front page was a picture of 
 a vessel, and also one of two men, one of which I recog- 
 nised as my brother. The article gave an account of the 
 German barque Flora, long overdue and listed as missing. 
 She had arrived at Falmouth in charge of the first officer 
 of the Swedish barque Concordia and a sailor of the same 
 vessel. The Flora was an iron vessel of 1500 tons reg- 
 ister, bound from Batavia to Falmouth for orders, her 
 cargo consisting of coffee and spices. Soon after having 
 left Batavia the dreaded disease beri-beri made its ap- 
 pearance among the crew, from which they gradually 
 succumbed, until when off the Madeira Island only three 
 members of the crew were alive, and they were not able 
 to do any work. 
 
 It was at Madeira that the Concordia seeing the Flora's 
 distress signals, hove to, lowered a boat and sent the first 
 officer on board of her to find out what was the matter. 
 Having ascertained the terrible state of affairs on board, 
 he came back and reported, whereupon the captain of the 
 
2ia YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Concordia called for volunteers to sail the Flora into 
 some convenient port, or best of all, Fabnouth, the port 
 she was bound to, if possible. 
 
 The first officer, my brother, and another sailor were 
 accepted out of the crew, they having seemed willing to 
 undertake the job. First of all, the greater part of the 
 Concordia's crew were sent on board the Flora to clean 
 her out thoroughly. Fumigation had to be resorted to, 
 because several bodies were found in the fo'cs'le in a 
 horrible condition. The poor fellows that were still alive, 
 through weakness had been unable to throw them over- 
 board. That done, a fresh suit of sails had to be bent; 
 those that were still on the yards were mere rags and 
 perfectly useless. 
 
 It took the Concordia's crew three days to put the Flora 
 into such shape that the first officer considered he stood a 
 chance in a thousand to bring the vessel into Falmouth, 
 
 Then the article went on to describe the passage which 
 was full of stirring events. The three seamen who had 
 been alive died shortly after the prize-crew had taken 
 charge, and the other seaman — not my brother — died 
 at the hospital in Falmouth. 
 
 The whole British Empire lauded the piece of bravery 
 and perseverance of the officer and the sailor who had 
 succeeded so nobly, and it was universally hoped that their 
 reward would be liberal and in keeping with the stand 
 always taken by old England, " Fair play and survival 
 of the fittest." 
 
 This was in short what the article contained. I read 
 it over several times for fear of having missed something, 
 and during the noon hour I took the paper to Mr. Swan- 
 son, to whom I read it again, he saying that I understood 
 it all. 
 
 "What do you think of all that, boy?" asked Swan- 
 son. "Ain't that great, hey? Tour big brother will 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 213 
 
 now be a rich man. Considering the valuable cargo of 
 /the Flora, and she is almost a new vessel, he will get 
 nothing short of five thousand pounds, and the mate will 
 get double that ; anyway, that will he left to the courts of 
 England, and you can gamble on it, he will get all that 
 is coming to him when anything is left with them. 
 
 " That is one thing about England that everybody must 
 admire, and that is their fairness; everybody there is 
 equal, in the eyes of the law. However, we will soon 
 hear all about it, I expect. The mail is due from St. 
 Petersburg to-morrow, and we ought to have letters from 
 home then. But look here, boy," continued Swanson, " I 
 was just thinking of that old Waterloo grandfather of 
 yours. Won't he be the proud guardsman when he hears 
 the good news ? I remember when I was a little boy and 
 before my father drove me away from home, how your 
 grandpa and some other fellows round our place, who had 
 served in the Napoleonic wars, would fix themselves up in 
 their old uniforms and go to church on the fifth of May 
 to mourn for the hero who died in exile at St. Helena. 
 
 " We boys, through ignorance, used to think these old 
 fellows were ridiculous, and poked all sorts of fun at 
 their ragged old uniforms, but as a rule we sidestepped 
 and got away." 
 
 The noon hour being up, we turned to, and during the 
 afternoon Ericson and the men who had by this time 
 heard all about the affair were discoursing it in all man- 
 ners and ways. They all knew my brother and were 
 happy on account of his good fortune. 
 
 In the evening the cook called me into his galley and 
 gave me a private audience. He told me he felt as happy 
 about my brother's good luck as if it had been himself 
 who had fallen heir to it all. " I always liked your 
 brother while he was here, almost as well as I like you, 
 and many a fine point I put him next to, you bet, and 
 
214 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 nothing would suit me better than to meet him in Eng- 
 land when we get back, so that I could personally congrat- 
 ulate him, and I am sure that he would be only too glad 
 to remember me and what I have done for him, by giving 
 me the glad hand and something more substantial besides. 
 Tou can tell him that when you write. He will be pleased 
 to hear that I am still one of the boys," I told him that 
 I would let him know all about it at the first opportunity. 
 
 Sambo, the jolly old darky, was as good as his word. 
 By that I mean that Jack had his ham and eggs every 
 morning, and in the evenings when Jack, Nap and I vis- 
 ited the Progress he always had a good feed for us. Like 
 all darkies, he was fond of music and dancing, and could 
 do considerable in that line himself. Having finished our 
 supper, Jack would take out the tin whistle and strike 
 up a hoe-down, and old Sambo would immediately get a 
 move on himself by twisting his body into all sorts of 
 shapes, which were comical. At other times he would 
 take up the banjo, on which instrument he would play 
 the accompaniments and sing a number of old plantation 
 songs, his favourite one being " Where the Sweet Mag- 
 nolia Grows." 
 
 Jack and I enjoyed our little visits to Sambo im- 
 mensely. It was a welcome change from the usual sailor 
 talk we heard so much. Sambo had been a slave and had 
 been bom on a plantation in South Carolina. IVom 
 what he told us, the slaves were not subjected to such 
 harsh treatment as I had been made to believe from 
 reading books. In fact, Sambo thought that many ne- 
 groes in the Southern States were much worse off now than 
 before they were freed. 
 
 I asked Sambo if he had told the captain about the 
 fact that Swanson had been a member of the crew of the 
 clipper Flying Scud, and he informed me that he had not 
 
UNDER FULL SAIL. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 215 
 
 had a chance, because the captain had been away from 
 the ship a couple of days, but that he would tell him as 
 soon as he returned. I informed Sambo that I had told 
 Swansoi; of what the captain had remarked in Sambo's 
 hearing, the night of the fight, and that Swanson had said 
 that he could not remember any one by the name of Slo- 
 cume on the Flying Scvd, but as it was loiig ago he might 
 have forgotten it. 
 
 " I think he is the man, all right," said Sambo. 
 " Captain Slocume has a fine memory, particularly if it 
 happens to fasten itself on a fight. He is very smart 
 himself with his fists, I can tell you. I have been with 
 him ten years and in that time I have never seen his 
 memory fail him but once, and that was under most 
 peculiar circumstances. This is how it happened: 
 
 " One day a sailor gave the captain a lot of slack, and 
 Captain Slocume pitched in and gave him a most power- 
 ful licking. The sailor got a great deal more than he 
 had been looking for; in fact he had to go to his bunk 
 for several days. The captain did not know that the 
 fellow was off duty. You must understand that Captain 
 Slocume is not a fellow that is mooching around all the 
 time, like some captains I have been with. Slocume is a 
 fine man and likes to see everything go along smooth, and 
 as long as it does, you will never hear an angry word 
 from him. Anyhow, when the fellow was fit for duty, 
 the mate sent him aft to take the wheel. Captain Slo- 
 cume came on deck a little while after the fellow had 
 relieved the wheel and seeing the fellow there, said to the 
 mate, ' When did we ship that stranger ? ' ' That's not 
 a stranger, Cap.,' answered the mate ; ' that's the Eussian 
 chap that shaved off his whiskers.' Now that's the only 
 time, all these years that I have knovsTi Captain Slocume, 
 that he allowed his memory to go back on him like that, 
 
216 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 and to tell the truth, I can't blame him any because the 
 fellow had changed in appearance something awful; his 
 mother would have had the same trouble, I think." 
 
 When he finished his story we said " Good-bye." ilTap 
 was impatient for a run in the lumber yard. " Be sure 
 and come for your ham and eggs to-morrow before you 
 take the wood to the cook-house. Jack," shouted Sambo, 
 as we ran down the gangplank. 
 
 The Russian calendar is full of holidays, and we had 
 several during our stay at Archangel. It happened to be 
 a holiday the day we received our mail from home. This 
 was fortunate, because it took me the whole day to wade 
 through all my letters. Everybody had something to 
 write this time, and it was mostly all good. I therefore 
 felt fine, and thought what a happy boy I woidd be and 
 what a grand reception I should get when this cruise was 
 happily over, and the good old Forsette at anchor in our 
 little harbour. 
 
 In my letters home from Scotland and Norway I had 
 written something about all of my shipmates, but never 
 said anything but what was good, as I had no reason to 
 do otherwise; especially so about the captain and Swan- 
 son, who treated me with the greatest consideration, and 
 whom I always had praised to the sky. 
 
 The first letter I opened was from my mother, which 
 commenced with her kind, motherly advice to be good to 
 those in authority. She was very much distressed be- 
 cause that scoundrel Axel had returned home and had 
 called at the farm, accompanied by his mother. He had 
 given a terrible account of me and everything else on 
 board the Forsette, especially so of Swanson and the 
 French boy, who were leading me astray altogether, and 
 Axel's mother had advised, by all means, to get me back 
 as soon as possible ; otherwise I would be lost for all time 
 to come. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 217 
 
 " And, then," my mother's letter contimied, " I have to 
 tell you the worst yet. Your grandfather happened to 
 come in when Axel was telling me all these awful things, 
 and after he had listened to him for a little while he 
 opened the door and pushed the women out in the yard. 
 After that, and without saying another word, he took that 
 big Axel and put him across his knee, same as I used to 
 do with you when you were little, and gave him the worst 
 licking I ever saw or heard tell of. The poor boy prayed 
 for mercy, but the old man said that he had none to 
 spare while his walking stick lasted. I don't know what 
 would have happened if it had not been for your father, 
 who heard the boy's cry and came hurrying in to see 
 what was up. But even at that it was almost too late, 
 because when your father arrived the stick had broken. I 
 am awful sorry for the poor boy. He hasn't been to see 
 us since, and w€ have been told that he is still in bed. 
 When you write to grandpa don't mention anything about 
 it unless he should say something about it himself. I 
 think he is sorry for what he has done, and he does not 
 want you to know about it, because he likes you the best 
 of all. Poor old man, he can't help it; those cruel spells 
 of his come on once in a great while. It's the way he 
 was brought up; you know he was so many years with 
 Napoleon, and you have read of what an awful bad man 
 he was." 
 
 After that lot she commenced to tell me about my 
 brother and the terrible hardship he had gone through, 
 sailing the ship to England, and of how kindly the Eng- 
 lish people had treated them. Also, brother had prom- 
 ised to buy back the farm if things turned out as well 
 as he expected, 
 
 Einally mother concluded by saying that she did not 
 believe a word of what Axel had told, but still it seemed 
 awful to whip him so terribly. 
 
gl8 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 My sisters' letters were practically a repetition of 
 brother's adventure and of how happy they all were on 
 his own account, as well as from the fact that he had 
 promised to help father to buy back the old farm ■^- that 
 part of it he had been forced to dispose of. 
 
 My letters from Norway had been full of interest to 
 them, they told me. That boat race, especially, must have 
 been very exciting. But what seemed to interest the girls 
 most of all was that pretty Frenchman and the dog, whom 
 I had described most minutely. Grandpa, they said, was 
 overjoyed at the prospect of getting such a fine dog as 
 Napoleon appeared to be; and as for the boy himself, he 
 intended to adopt him if he turned out to be a fine hand at 
 turning the grindstone. 
 
 I now opened grandpa's letter. I always left that for 
 the last, because I found it the most interesting of all. I 
 understood the old man thoroughly, better than any of 
 my brothers or sisters, better than my father, I think, and 
 grandpa was aware of that. 
 
 Being such an old man — I might say in his second 
 childhood — he was apt to switch off on military and 
 campaign matters on all occasions, which became tedious to 
 them as they had no particulor love for his hero, Napoleon. 
 This lack of appreciation of great deeds, on their part, the 
 old man took as a direct insult. He would walk away, 
 deeply injured and swearing that none of them would ever 
 amount to anything, except I, who had plenty of brains, 
 and besides was a dandy at the grindstone. 
 
 Next to me, my mother stood highest in his estimation. 
 He was continually pottering around — what he called 
 helping her — but very often more in her way than any- 
 thing else, and if the girls were taking it easy when he 
 dropped in on them, they came in for a scolding that 
 always ended with him wondering what the world was 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 219 
 
 coming to, anyway ; great big lazy girls sitting down read- 
 ing books while their poor mother was working herself 
 almost to death. 
 
 The old man began his letter with, " Headquarters, 
 September 1st, 1877," and after having thanked me for 
 the letter from Norway, which had been very interesting, 
 he started to let me know how lucky it was that he had 
 received that letter a few days before that rascal Axel 
 arrived. 
 
 " The day after he arrived he came out to the farm, just 
 to make a friendly call. Your mother happened to be all 
 alone in the house at the time, and he filled her up with a 
 lot of lies, the likes I never heard before. I couldn't 
 begin to tell you all he said, so I will just mention the 
 nice parts of it. That mate Swanson is a murderer, 
 he told her, and they tried to hang him once in San Fran- 
 cisco, but the rope broke and he ran away after having 
 killed the hangman — lucky man wasn't he ? Then he 
 said that the French boy stole all his money and that you 
 stole all his clothes. I hope they are well. Ericson's 
 mother is in bed sick, because Axel told her that Ericson 
 tried to starve him to death in a pigsty. What a pity he 
 got out of the pigsty. Your mother told me all this with 
 tears in her eyes. Then I took out your long letter that I 
 had received a few days before and read it to her and 
 showed him up for the liar he is. I told your mother 
 that I would like to hear the boy tell that story over again, 
 because it was so interesting, and to please me your mother 
 sent your little brother — he ain't much on the grindstone 
 — in to the village and asked Mrs. Petterson and her son 
 Axel to come out the next day and take a cup of tea with 
 grandpa. 
 
 " The next day they arrived at headquarters right on 
 time. Your little brother came and told me of it. I was 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 in a good humour at the time, had just finished my after- 
 noon pipe, and I also had read a chapter or two in the 
 Holy Bible. 
 
 " When I came in they had already started in to drink 
 their coffee, and between each mouthful they were lying 
 worse than two Prussian hussars. After having listened 
 to them a bit, I told the old woman I had heard enough, 
 and taking her by the arm, I escorted her out in the back- 
 yard, and told my dog Blucher to entertain her while I 
 polished up Axel. 
 
 " If the boy had had any sense he could easily have run 
 away, but he is as big a hog as a liar, and he couldn't 
 make up his mind to run away while there was anything 
 left on your mother's table. 
 
 " When I came back he had everything pretty well out 
 of sight except the crockery, and I guess he would have 
 taken that too if I had left him in peace. I took the 
 fellow by the neck and stood him up on the floor, and I 
 said, in your mother's hearing, ' Now will you take back 
 all you have said about my boy and everybody else on 
 board of the Forsette ? ' He didn't answer me ; I guess he 
 thought that I am too old to do him any harm ; you must 
 know I am past ninety and not nearly as spry as at Water- 
 loo, but I soon made him think that he had fallen in with 
 the Philistines. Of all the unearthly yelling I ever heard, 
 this was the worst, but I didn't let up on him until he had 
 confessed that every word he had told your mother was a 
 lie. Your father was out in the barn when all this 
 occurred. He thought the house was on fire and came 
 running in to see about it. 
 
 " I was then in the act of putting the finishing touches 
 on the lad. Your father told me that the boy had had 
 enough and to let up on him, but I cut him short by 
 politely telling him that if there was to be interference he 
 would get some too. Of course I didn't mean that ; I was 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 221 
 
 a little angry and you will have to make some allowance 
 for that; besides I could never stand for children talking 
 back to their parents, and he is old enough to know better. 
 
 " The very next day Mrs. Petterson took her son Axel 
 down to our pastor and made a lot of complaints against 
 me. The boy took off his shirt and showed the pastor 
 what damage I had done. It must have been considerable 
 by all accounts, and was the colour of a rainbow. The 
 pastor is a fine man, but I don't like to be interfered with 
 when I attend to my own business; at the same time I 
 didn't like to say anything to hurt his feelings when he 
 called. I therefore just showed him your letter, which 
 he read right through and when he had finished he con- 
 gratulated me for having done so well for a man of my 
 years, and told me that if the boy called on him again he 
 would put a few finishing touches on him that he wouldn't 
 forget in a hurry. 
 
 " That French boy, Le Fevre, seems to be a smart fel- 
 low. Ask him if he is any relation to Marshal Le Fevre. 
 I served under him at Danzig, and found him a good man, 
 and I would like to see that boy. Bring him along if he 
 wants to come. He can stay with me and your grand- 
 mother and will be in nobody's way. Perhaps he will be 
 handy at the grindstone. The tools are in a pretty bad 
 shape just now. I tell you why I want him to come, but 
 this is between ourselves. Don't tell your father about it ; 
 if you do, he will make fun of me. I am not sure of my 
 French any longer, and I want to find out how much I do 
 know, because I intend to make a trip to France in a 
 couple of years or so to see the Emperor's grave. I have 
 not seen it now since we buried him, and that was in 
 1840. 
 
 " Of course your mother has told you all about your 
 brother, so it would only be wasting paper for me to say 
 any more, but it was a grand deed, I think. It must have 
 
223 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 been, when the Englishmen say so, because they know a 
 good sailor when they see him, and it is fair play with 
 them, although I can't say I am in love with them. We 
 had them licked at Waterloo; Wellington himself said 
 that; but still they won. 
 
 " I now want to warn you against the Eussians, and 
 finish for this time. Don't ever go near them if you can 
 help it; rich or poor, they are all lousy. A Russian 
 gentleman has more lice than my old dog Blucher has 
 fleas, so you know how bad they must be. It was really 
 lice that destroyed the Grande Armee, but don't say any- 
 thing about that; it sounds bad, and I don't want it to be 
 generally known. Tou see, after they burnt up Moscow 
 we ran shy of clothes and had to pick up anything we 
 could get hold of, and that was the result. 
 
 " My best regards to your friend Swanson and the boy. 
 Take fine care of the dog, and be sure to bring him home, 
 because Blucher will soon pass in his checks. 
 " Your loving grandpa, 
 
 " Nils Hanson." 
 
 While I was reading grandpa's letter I laughed a great 
 deal ; it was so original. He wrote just as he was wont to 
 relate things when I was with him, seated in some place, 
 listening to his marvellous tales. 
 
 Having concluded, Jack wanted to know what all the 
 fun was about, I handed him grandpa's letter and told 
 him that it contained an invitation for him to come home 
 to Sweden to stay as long as he liked, provided he was 
 handy at the grindstone. 
 
 I also told him about Axel's arrival, and his treachery. 
 " But," I said, " this -will be good practice ; you read it 
 yourself, or let Herald help you. I shan't disturb you." 
 And leaving Jack to his task, I left and went on board 
 the Progress to visit my friend Sambo. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Sambo had a fine feed for me. He told me that he had 
 not been to the cook-house at all that day, having done all 
 the cooking in the cabin, for the crew included; this on 
 account of Slocume having company on board. He also 
 told me that the captain had greased up the custom officer 
 a little more and given him a good meal besides. 
 
 After a while Sambo said he was in the right about our 
 mate Swanson. " He is the man all right, and he is in 
 the cabin now with the rest of the company. I knew all 
 along that Slocume couldn't be mistaken, for he has a 
 splendid memory." I told Sambo I was glad to hear it 
 and hoped they would be good friends. " Yes, indeed, 
 said Sambo, " they are good friends. Slocume is a fine 
 man, and he has a soft spot for anybody that can fight." 
 
 In the evenings, after our day's work was done we used 
 to have a great deal of fun. The crews from the different 
 vessels would gather in the lumber yard, and there we had 
 wrestling and boxing matches, and wound up with dancing 
 and music, both instrumental and vocal. The Germans 
 as a rule were the best musicians, but their instruments 
 consisted mostly of accordions. One fellow, boatswain on 
 a German ship, was the owner of an instrument that had 
 six rows of keys. He was really an expert on that instru- 
 ment, and played classical pieces as well as dance music. 
 
 When it came to dancing, my friend Jack was much 
 sought after, and it was generally admitted that he was 
 the champion of the step-dancers, although some of the 
 English and Scots apprentice boys from the different Brit- 
 ish vessels were very good also. 
 
 The German boatswain did not know any of Jack's 
 fancy pieces, but he was extremely smart at picking them 
 up. Jack would play them once or twice on the tin 
 whistle carefully, after which the boatswain would rattle 
 it off on the accordion as easily as though he had known 
 them a long time. 
 
ZM YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 The young English apprentices were very nice, well be- 
 haved boys, mostly gentlemen's sons. I became very 
 friendly with some of them and years afterward I had the 
 pleasure of meeting several of them as masters of large 
 steamships, and we found it a great pleasure to talk about 
 old times at Archangel. 
 
 I remember on one occasion in particular. It was in 
 1898, during the Spanish-American war, I met one of the 
 apprentice boys of the Glengarry. It was in Panama 
 we met. I was then first officer of a Pacific Mail steamer, 
 the Costa Rica, and we took our steamer alongside of an 
 English sailing vessel to receive fuel from her. The cap- 
 tain of this vessel was my former apprentice boy acquaint- 
 ance, and the strange part of it was that this man recog- 
 nised me at once, twenty-one years after we had met, and 
 then only for a brief five or six weeks' time. I have 
 always prided myself upon a good memory, but this man's 
 memory was something out of the ordinary. He reminded 
 me of things that I had said and done, and which I had 
 forgotten all about ; but they soon came back to me as plain 
 as anything, after he had pricked up my memory a little. 
 We spent about a week together there at Panama, and 
 every evening it was the same thing over again, one con- 
 tinual round of pleasure talking over the old times at 
 Archangel. I had to give him an account of Yankee 
 Swanson, who he was pleased to know was still alive, and 
 then living in New York, where he was doing watchman's 
 duty in the Van Husen Co.'s watching establishment. He 
 had heard all about our terrible passage to England, and 
 had often wondered what had become of my friend Le 
 Fevre and me. Our cook, he told me, was the greatest 
 liar he had ever met ; in fact, he told me he was known in 
 every port in Great Britain as being the champion liar 
 twenty years ago. I made enquiries about that hard 
 citizen Irish, and the captain informed me that Irish 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 never got hard again after Yankee Swanson once made 
 him soft. He had left the Glengarry in Australia and the 
 captain had never heard from him since. 
 
 One day the captain said to me, " Come on board and 
 have lunch. I want to show you something that will re- 
 mind you of Russia." After we had finished our lunch 
 the captain took out a sketchbook, a very large volume 
 which he told me he had sketched in since the first voyage 
 he had made at sea. " Look through that and I think you 
 will find something that will interest you." As every 
 sketch was dated, I had no difficulty in finding what I 
 thought would be of interest to me. 187Y was in the 
 beginning of the book, and there I found myself and Jack 
 step^dancing in the lumber yard ; also Jack, Nap and the 
 cook on the plank road to the cook-house. There was 
 Yankee Swanson dancing around Irish, delivering sledge 
 hammer blows. Even the two Dutchmen on top of the 
 lumber pile, and Napoleon, very hostile-looking below, 
 very lifelike indeed, were there. He also had a sketch 
 of the old Forsetie with her deekload of lumber piled as 
 high as the railing. It certainly did remind me of old 
 times, and I made the captain an offer of buying them. 
 He would not hear of it, but promised to resketch those 
 that were of interest to me and mail them to me from his 
 next port. This was equally satisfactory, and I received 
 the sketches some time afterward from San Francisco. 
 
 One day, just at the noon hour, we had come up from 
 the hold to eat our dinner, and as yet. Jack, who had, up 
 to that time, been most punctual, had not arrived with 
 the victuals. Everybody wondered the reason of it, and 
 Swanson told me to go and find out, thinking that there 
 had been a collision of some kind or another on the narrow 
 plank road. 
 
 I went on shore, walked through the lumber yard and 
 out on the road. I had not gone far when I saw that 
 
aae Yankee swanson 
 
 something unusual had happened. There were Sambo 
 and Jack loaded down with cooking utensils, coming along 
 the road, with Nap and the wagon in the rear. This was 
 something unusual, indeed. There was also a Russian 
 behind, pushing on the wagon. As I approached the cara- 
 van I saw that the wagon was loaded with cooks, very 
 badly used up cooks at that. 
 
 It appeared that there had been a general row at the 
 cook-house. Some cook had stolen ham and bacon from 
 Sambo's stores, and our cook accused the German cook, of 
 lumber pile fame, of having taken them. The German be- 
 came very much offended at that, and knocked our cook 
 down with a copper sauce pan. The cook of the Glen- 
 garry, being friendly with our cook, retaliated on the 
 German with a soup kettle, with the result that the Ger- 
 man went down and out. This brought on a general en- 
 gagement. Our cook, who always classed himself a Brit- 
 isher when the occasion suited, rallied all the British 
 cooks. Kettles and pans, as well as firewood, came in 
 general use. The Germans somewhat outnumbered the 
 British, who were of necessity obliged to retreat out of the 
 cook-house. 
 
 Once out on the plank road, numbers did not count to 
 such disadvantage for the Britishers as in the cook-house, 
 because only two cooks could face one another on the plank 
 road. 
 
 One big Scotchman, stronger than any of the rest, took 
 a stand on the road and defied the enemy to come on. 
 After a council of war they decided to charge, and on they 
 came in single file to dispose of the Scot. The Scotchman 
 stood his ground in fine style until five Dutch cooks were 
 wallowing in the mire up to their elbows. 
 
 In the meantime the soldiers had been ordered out to 
 put down the riot. They were led by a petty ofiicer who, 
 seeing that the cooks were armed with all sorts of deadly 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 implements, from a soup kettle to a red hot poker, ordered 
 the soldiers to charge and use the butt end of the guns. 
 This was by all accounts uncalled for, because the cooks 
 did not resist the soldiers, in fact they all laid down their 
 arms when the soldiers appeared on the scene, but the 
 brutal soldiery took pleasure in beating up the poor cooks. 
 Some of them were very badly hurt. 
 
 Sambo was the only one of the cooks whom the soldiers 
 did not molest; this on account of his having given them 
 a feed once in a while when they were on duty in the 
 lumber yard. 
 
 Jack and his rig had just come on the scene when the 
 fight was over, so for that reason they were not molested 
 at all. 
 
 The officer and his band of cut-throats went into the 
 cook-house and ate up everything in sight, and if it had 
 not been for Sambo, whose stuff was not molested, we 
 would have been without anything to eat for that dinner; 
 but Sambo, who was friendly with Jack and our cook, 
 divided with them and we got sufficient to go around. 
 
 The cook of the Glengarry had an ankle sprained and 
 could not walk. Sambo and Jack pulled him out of the 
 mire with some difficulty and piled him into the dog 
 wagon. Our cook said that he would have to ride too, 
 because he felt so dizzy that he was afraid he would step 
 off the road and get tangled up in the tundra. Accord- 
 ingly he was piled in also and in that state I met them 
 on the road. Rescuing parties were sent out from the 
 other vessels to gather in their wounded, and many a sailor 
 went hungry that day all on account of this fight. 
 
 Our cook's injuries were not serious at all — at least 
 Swanson told him they were not. He told Swanson that 
 he would require a couple of day's rest to get over the 
 dizziness, but Swanson said it was a mistake, that the 
 rest would only make it worse, and so after having re- 
 
2^ YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ceived a little medicine, inwardly, from Captain Beng- 
 ston's bottle, he resumed his duties at the cook-house that 
 very afternoon, and he had the honour of being the only 
 cook out of the bunch that took part in that fight who did. 
 
 The hold being nearly full, we could not use the bow- 
 ports any longer, and for that reason we unmoored and 
 took the vessel starboard side to the wharf, to finish filling 
 up through the hatches and to put on the deckload. 
 
 The weather had been quite nice the whole time we had 
 been at work, but now the last days of September it com- 
 menced to rain, which made it very uncomfortable. The 
 tundra was in a fearful state, and even the lumber yard, 
 which was covered with planks, was such that the slush 
 and dirty water squirted all over one when walking on it. 
 
 Jack and If ap were exempt from doing any more wood 
 gathering, except what would be needed at the cook-housa 
 One reason of this was that Jack had everything nearly all 
 filled up with wood, enough to last our cook until we got 
 back to Sweden. 
 
 After the deckload was on, we ram out a kedge anchor 
 and warped the vessel out to midstream, there to remain a 
 few days to get everything in ship-shape to make a winter 
 passage, which we expected to be a long one. 
 
 Hemp cordage was very cheap in Russia, and Captain 
 Bengston laid in a good supply of hemp rope. We rove 
 off new braces throughout, and made new tacks and sheets 
 for the courses; besides, if any part of the running rig- 
 ging did not look just right, Swanson had it renewed. 
 
 The foretop gallant mast was a little decayed under 
 the eyes of the rigging. Swanson sent it down and a 
 spare one we had on deck was sent up. Ericson was a 
 cracker-jack at stowing lumber, and Swanson left the stow- 
 ing of the deckload, as well as the securing of it to him en- 
 tirely. He made a splendid job of it, and when it was fin- 
 ished it was as level as the deck itself. Captain Bengston 
 
YANKEE SWANSON ^29 
 
 had gone up to Archangel to finish up his business and to 
 clear the ship for Newport, England. He intended to re- 
 main in town until Swanson notified him that everything 
 was in order for going to sea. This Swanson did, but 
 Bengston telegraphed back that we would not sail for three 
 or four days yet because the stores that he had ordered for 
 the voyage could not be got before that time, and besides, 
 he expected to hear from the owners of the vessel before he 
 sailed. 
 
 Having this extra time on his hands and everything 
 ready for sea, Swanson put us to work to clean up the 
 fo'cs'le, galley, and the cabin. In fact, every place in the 
 old craft was thoroughly scrubbed out, Swanson inspecting 
 it himself, and if not to his liking we had to go over it 
 again. 
 
 Sambo had made Jack a present of a bale of hay, which 
 we now made good use of and restuffed our mattresses 
 with it. Jack fixed up the den and decorated the walls 
 with pictures. I also hung up my pictures in the den. I 
 had several, among them one of grandpa in uniform taken 
 many years back. Besides my pictures I also kept my 
 heirlooms and good clothes in Jack's den, and it was a 
 lucky thing I did, as we shall see a little later on. 
 
 The cooking was now done on board vessel, and the 
 cook was glad of it. He told me he had never been so 
 disgusted with anything in his life as he was with the 
 cooking arrangements at that port. 
 
 " Why, man alive," he would say, " I haven't been able 
 to get a drink during the whole time I have been up at 
 that dirty hole working like a nigger and scrapping like 
 a Turk every day, and no one ever said as much as thank 
 you to me, and now I find out that the old man has been 
 keeping open house and that fellow Ericson has had full 
 charge of the bottle. Well, if that ain't enough, to drive 
 a fellow to drink if he could get it, I don't know, I know 
 
230 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 I would if anybody was to tempt me, but no fear of any- 
 body asking me to take a drink. That fellow Ericson has 
 been guzzling up the whole lot while I have been away. I 
 looked in the storeroom to-day and found that there are 
 six cases empty, good stuff, too, mind you — gin — and 
 me not getting a smell. Well, I suppose it is all right, 
 but you will find there will be no more splicing the main 
 brace on the way home, not after reefing topsails. They 
 will miss it then, and no mistake, and you will find that 
 we will have lots of reefing before we get to Newport, if 
 we ever get there. You and Jack will both be sailors 
 before we get to old England, believe me." 
 
 One evening, just before supper, we lowered the dingy, 
 and Jack and I put Swanson over on the Progress, he 
 having been invited to take supper with Captain Slocume 
 and his wife. Swanson told us to make the boat fast and 
 to come up, as he intended to stay a long time. We were 
 glad of that, because we knew that Sambo would have 
 something for us also, much better than we could get on 
 board the Forsette. Sambo received us with open arms 
 and told us we would have a supper after they were 
 through in the cabin. 
 
 Sambo had a fire in the galley that evening, and I asked 
 him if he was not afraid of getting into trouble through it 
 He told me there was no danger, because he had just 
 finished greasing up the custom house officer with a bottle 
 of Jamaica rum, very powerful stuff, and that the officer 
 had dropped off to sleep, and most likely would not wake 
 up before morning. I asked Sambo if he could not make 
 me a present of a little of that stuff, just enough for one 
 small drink for our cook, who was feeling real blue that 
 evening. He said he would do so with pleasure, but he 
 said he did not think rum would be sufficiently powerful 
 to suit our cook. He had tried him on it before, and the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 231 
 
 cook had said that it would do for marines, but not for a 
 genuine first-class cook. " But," said Sambo, " I have a 
 little of that Eussian stuff aft in my cabin, and I will let 
 you have a bottle of that. Your cook is very fond of it. 
 I have been in the habit of giving him a bottle a day of 
 that stuff, because of his kindness of allowing Jack to 
 fetch my cooking utensils and the wood." 
 
 Jack laughed, and looked at me as much as to say, " Are 
 you on — " How dry our cook must have been ; just one 
 little bottle a day. No wonder he complained so bitterly 
 about the treatment he had received from the cooks, but 
 he didn't say anything about the way Sambo had treated 
 him. Sometimes he would remark that the nigger was 
 the only decent fellow at the cook-house, and that he had 
 gone to some trouble toward helping him out with certain 
 luxuries that the nigger didn't know much about, but as 
 yet he, even he, hadn't said turkey, and he thougth that 
 was a little mean. 
 
 It was now supper-time in the cabin and Sambo went aft 
 to wait on the table. He said it would be an hour or more 
 before he could give us anything, so told us to go and see 
 our friends on the English ship and have a good time. 
 " Take that dog iN'ap along with you," he said, " I am 
 afraid to be left alone with him, although as yet he has 
 never snapped at me, but I'm not going to run any chances 
 of getting used up like them two Dutchmen." Then tak- 
 ing out a piece of meat, Nap was treated to it, and Sambo, 
 overcome with the ridiculous situation of the two Dutch- 
 men on the lumber pile, burst out in a laugh that could 
 easily have been heard on board the Glengarry. 
 
 The apprentice boys were glad to see us. They were 
 having their supper when we arrived, and a very poor one 
 at that; not even as good as on board the Forsette; tea and 
 hard-tack, no butter and no meat. They asked us to join 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 them, but we excused ourselves, telling them we had an 
 invitation to supper from Sambo. The poor boys' mouths 
 almost ran water when they heard of our luck. 
 
 They had a nice place all to themselves, with a locker 
 for each boy, also a desk used by the boys for navigating 
 on. They took pleasure in showing us their navigation 
 work they had done on the trip out. It was very inter- 
 esting to us, although we knew nothing about it, of course. 
 In a way they had much better times of it than we had, 
 and they seemed to think that we were awfully abused 
 with hard work, and wondered how we could stand it at 
 aU. 
 
 Irish, the fallen champion, had commenced to do a 
 little work again after the Forsetie had hauled out on the 
 stream. He had been too ashamed of himself to show up 
 while there was a chance for Swanson to get a look at him. 
 Jack and I were anxious to see him, but he knew that we 
 were on board and would not give us the satisfaction, 
 thinking that we would tell Swanson of his looks. 
 
 The boys said that he was a different man altogether, 
 and if he ever got fresh again it was understood among 
 themselves that they were going to tackle him and finish 
 him up for good. 
 
 One boy asked me if Swanson ever beat up anybody as 
 bad as Irish, and I told him how he sent MacDougall to the 
 hospital at Grangemouth, MacDougall being classed the 
 best scrapper in Scotland at that. They looked at me in 
 wonderment, and shook their heads in a manner as if 
 doubting what I said, but Jack backed me up in the asser- 
 tion and said that he had been an eyewitness to it, as well 
 as I. 
 
 Our cook had informed the cook on the Olengarrif that 
 when we got to England he intended to make an honest 
 pound or two out of all the trouble and time he had spent 
 the last three months teaching Jack and me how to step- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 dance and box. He also had said that we were not very 
 smart at picking up things, and that he had had a lot more 
 trouble with us than he had had with the dog Nap, who 
 really was a wonder in the dog line, and that an English 
 lord with whom he was well acquainted had offered him 
 fifty pounds for the dog. The lord wanted him very badly, 
 indeed, as he intended to make King Oscar a present of 
 the dog. He also had a harpoon that he intended to 
 exhibit in England; in short, between the boys, the dog, 
 and the harpoon, he had a snap and no mistake. 
 
 We informed the boys that it was all lies the cook had 
 told ; that he had not had a thing to do with training the 
 dog, nor with teaching us how to dance or box, and by way 
 of having something to say, we commenced to relate a 
 number of things that had happened between the dog and 
 the cook, which the boys thought were real funny, and 
 they laughed heartily. 
 
 We shook hands and said good-bye and hoped we would 
 meet again in some other part of the world, which we did 
 many years afterward, some of us, and under different 
 circumstances. 
 
 We had stayed rather longer than we had expected to. 
 Sambo had our supper ready when we came on board, and 
 it was a- feast pure and simple for us. We wound up with 
 a piece of hot mince pie and a cup of coffee. 
 
 It was near midnight when Swanson shouted to us to get 
 into the boat. He had had a good time, I think, because 
 he was in a good humour and chatted with us as we rowed 
 on board. We dropped the boat astern and took ourselves 
 off to our bunks. Even that seemed a treat almost as good 
 as Sambo's feast, because everything was clean and the 
 scent of the fresh hay in the mattresses added a certain 
 amount of comfort to our rest. 
 
 The following morning the weather was bitter cold, and 
 thin ice covered the harbour. It also snowed a little. 
 
SS4 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 As everything was ready to go to sea at a moment's 
 notice, Swanson gave us the day off. We got busy and 
 spent the day mending clothes and darning stockings. 
 
 Herald, the handy man, who was always on the look- 
 out for some improvement, rigged up a little stove in the 
 fo'cs'le, which proved to be a bonanza during the passage 
 to England, because, thanks to Jack, we were well supplied 
 with fuel and could keep our clothes dry without having 
 to ask the cook for that great favour. 
 
 The 5th of October was a fine, clear day, but very cold. 
 Captain Bengston having settled his accounts, came on 
 board in the morning. The stores that he had bought 
 came alongside on a lighter, and we got busy taking them 
 on board. 
 
 At noon, the same old tugboat that had brought us in 
 came to take us out, and we manned the windlass, all 
 hands and the cook. Having hove in to a short scope, we 
 passed the hawser to the tug, which steamed out ahead of 
 us and put a little strain on it. Manning the windlass 
 again, we broke out the anchor and made a signal to the 
 tug to go ahead. As we gathered headway we dipped our 
 ensign to the Olengarry and Progress, who responded, their 
 apprentice boys cheering and waving us good-bye, and old 
 Sambo on the Progress did likewise, wishing us a happy 
 voyage. 
 
 We set our fore and aft sails to help the tug along, 
 after which we catted and fished the anchor, and were off 
 for old England once more, leaving no regrets after us, 
 except the apprentice boys on the Glengarry and old 
 Sambo. 
 
 The wind was northerly, a moderate breeze. Having 
 stowed the anchor we set the lower and upper topsails and 
 braced up sharp. The tug made a prearranged signal, 
 and cast off the hawser. It tooted us good-bye and went 
 back to Solombola. We set all our sails and in a little 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 235 
 
 while we were going along at a pretty good clip, and better 
 still, the wind hauling gradually to the eastward enabled 
 us to lay our course. 
 
 The decks having been cleared up and all running gear 
 coiled down in shipshape, all hands were called aft to get 
 a big drink out of the small glass, after which the watches 
 were set; Bengston explaining that he was well satisfied 
 with the work we had done at Archangel, and furthermore, 
 that henceforth it would be watch and watch for the 
 voyage to England and home. " If everything goes well," 
 said the skipper, " we will be home and in winter quarters 
 by Christmas. But," he concluded, " we have a long, hard 
 road to travel between now and then." 
 
 The wind continued to be fair for several days and we 
 made fine progress; ten knots per hour was our average 
 speed for several days. 
 
 A week out from Archangel we were up to the I^orth 
 Cape and up to that time everything had been in our 
 favour. Then came a change that we to a certain extent 
 expected, but never thought would last so long. It con- 
 tinued to blow from the west and SW for a whole month, 
 almost, without a let-up, and during the greater part of 
 that time we were hove to under the lower topsails and a 
 storm trysail. 
 
 I had often heard of the terrible hardships some ships' 
 crews had experienced in making a winter passage to the 
 westward across the Atlantic, or rounding the Horn in the 
 winter months, and even on board the Forsette it was a 
 daily occurrence to hear somebody relate of fearful suffer- 
 ings they had undergone in some vessel or other; but still 
 there we were on board the old Forsette in the month of 
 November, 73 degrees north, and as yet I had not seen any- 
 body suffer worth mentioning. To be sure, it was cold — 
 below zero at times — and there was no lack of snow, but 
 we had plenty of good winter clothing that kept us warm 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 while on deck, and when below we were very comfortable, 
 thanks to Herald and his little stove. 
 
 ■We got plenty to eat, such as it was, salt beef and pork, 
 pea soup, tea, coffee, and hard-tack. It was very rarely 
 that anybody got wet, because the old craft laid like a 
 duck, and what water she took over did not bother us any, 
 because the deckload was on a level with the rails. 
 
 The wheel being lashed down for days at a time dis- 
 pensed with a man at the wheel, and as for keeping a 
 lookout in that part of the world during the winter months, 
 it could just as well be dispensed with, because there are 
 no vessels going to the eastward then. 
 
 Every noon if the sea was not running too high we used 
 to wear ship. That was work, because as a rule we had 
 to get more sail on her to give steerage way, and after get- 
 ting her around on the other tack we took them off her 
 again. The sailors liked that, because after it was done, 
 as a rule the old man would shout, " Lay aft here 
 and splice the main brace," contrary to the cook's pre- 
 diction that there would be no more of that after Ericson 
 and his lumberjacks had finished up six cases of good 
 gin. 
 
 It is really strange what a sailor who has a liking for 
 strong liquor — and most of them have — will do to get 
 a little of it, more so if at sea, when it is impossible to get 
 any, unless, as in our case, the captain happens to be a 
 man of the kind who believes in treating his men to a drink 
 when they, in his opinion, are doing hard or hazardous 
 work. 
 
 The cook as a rule did not like to lend a hand on deck, 
 unless he felt sure that there was a drink in it for him, 
 and if at any time he slipped up in his calculations, the 
 old man came in for a hauling over the coals that would 
 not look well in print. If, on the other hand, he got his 
 drink, and if it happened: to be out of the big glass, he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 2m 
 
 would say that the old man was not half bad and that he 
 had sailed with men that were a d — ^n sight worse. 
 " Pity," the cook would say, " that the owners don't give 
 the old man a better vessel. He certainly is a first class 
 sailor, no one can gainsay that. That Yankee Swanson 
 will never see the day when he can handle a vessel under 
 sail like the old m,an can. As for that ungainly ice-bear 
 Ericson, I wouldn't trust him in a yawl boat on a creek ; 
 and talk about navigation, haw, haw, haw, the Lord save 
 us, it makes me laugh when I think of it. I came into 
 the cabin yesterday when my bold Eric Ericson was figur- 
 ing out the ship's position — that's what he called it. He 
 looked worried, and by way of being sociable, I asked him 
 if I could do anything for him. ' Do anything for me, 
 you old fool,' he said, ' can't you see I'm navigating. 
 Now you disturbed me and I lost run of her and will have 
 to do it all over again.' And with that he threw the paper 
 he had been figuring on away. I picked it up and looked 
 at it, first one way and then another, because it was a 
 most difficult matter to make out which end of it should 
 be up or down. I used to be a fairly good hand at figur- 
 ing myself one time, but this was too much for me. I 
 burst out laughing, and Ericson said, 'Well, what are 
 you laughing at, anyhow ? Do you think it is fun to have 
 to do all that work over again ? ' I told him there was 
 no need of doing anything of the kind ; that anybody that 
 knew the least bit about navgiation could tell by looking 
 at that paper where we were within a few miles at a 
 glance. That made him curious to know what I was 
 driving at, and he said, ' Well, where are we then ? ' I 
 answered, ' Not very far off the fishing banks on the coast 
 of Greenland.' ' Yes, that's so, but how did you figure 
 that out so quick, I have been at it the whole morning,' he 
 said. ' That's dead easy,' I replied, ' I could tell by all 
 the fish hooks you have made on the paper. If there had 
 
238 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 been a few more I could have swore that we were on the 
 banks of ITewfoundland.' " 
 
 I had seen some of Ericson's work myself, and to tell 
 the truth his figures did resemble fish hooks, and I don't 
 think Captain Bengston banked on the positions that Eric- 
 son gave him. But leaving navigation aside, Ericson was 
 a good seaman and well qualified to fill the position he 
 held on the Forsette, as we shall see later on, and it would 
 not have been a safe proposition to have criticised him 
 either, in his hearing, as he was always ready to take his 
 own part; but with the cook it was different, he was an 
 old man and Ericson did not take him seriously. 
 
 The last time Jack and I visited Sambo he presented 
 us with a bottle of liquor each, which I had asked him for, 
 as I wanted to treat the cook when he had the blues, or 
 when Jack and I felt like listening to a good ridiculous 
 story to help pass away a dreary hour. 
 
 The bottles we kept stowed away in the den, and the 
 cook was under the impression that Jack was stealing the 
 stufF from the old man. This little piece of rascality the 
 cook very much approved of. Jack was, in his estimation, 
 a bright boy, and while the stuff lasted there was no limit 
 to the possibilities of that boy, provided he continued as- 
 sociating with gentlemen like himself and did not fall 
 entirely under the influence of rascals like Swanson or 
 Ericson. 
 
 Herald took great pains with Jack in teaching him our 
 language as well as English, in which he was very de- 
 ficient, owing to the fact that he had had very little school- 
 ing, but as Jack was so anxious to learn, and be- 
 sides, such a smart pupil. Herald never tired of answer- 
 ing all his questions, which were numerous enough to 
 drive an ordinary man to desperation. 
 
 One afternoon it was Swanson's watch on deck. We 
 were hove to imder lower topsails, wind blowing from the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 SW, a fresh gale. Herald, Jack and I were sitting in the 
 lee of the long-boat, intently listening to Jack relating to 
 us the story of his life. We had never heard it before in 
 full, and probably would not have heard it then if it had 
 not been for the fact that Herald absolutely refused to 
 teach or answer any more questions, unless Jack unbur- 
 dened himself of all mysteries that up to the present time 
 surrounded him. Having promised to never ask him to 
 relate it again, he began, and this is what he told us : 
 
 Jack Le Fevre was bom on the Island of Jersey, in the 
 
 town of H , where his father was a merchant in a 
 
 small way. His father's business took him over to France 
 very often and sometimes also to England, and on several 
 occasions he had taken his wife and only son along too. 
 Jack told of how happy they then were and of all the 
 pretty presents he used to receive from his father, and of 
 all the pretty clothes he had to wear. 
 
 Jack was still a very small boy when the French-Prus- 
 sian war broke out. His father, although a British sub- 
 ject, sympathised with the French, sold out his business 
 at a loss and joined the French army. 
 
 The mother heard from her husband three or four times 
 after he had left home, the last time from Sudan, when 
 he told her that they expected to fight a battle the follow- 
 ing day. The battle was fought, and as everybody knows, 
 the French lost. 
 
 The mother, not receiving any further news from her 
 husband, naturally thought that he was either killed or 
 else so seriously wounded that he could not communicate 
 with her, and decided to go to France to find out what 
 she could about her husband. 
 
 To raise the necessary cash for the journey, she sold 
 what little she had left of their belongings and put her 
 little son, then about seven years of age, in care of a poor 
 relative of the father. 
 
S40 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Madame Le Fevre embarked in a fishing boat and 
 landed at a place in France, from where she wrote that 
 she would start for Sudan the following day. Arriving 
 at that place, she found the Germans in charge, and al- 
 though they treated her kindly, they could not give her any 
 information concerning her husband. 
 
 Being thoroughly disheartened over the failure of not 
 finding her husband at Sudan, she decided to make her way 
 on foot to Paris. It was the only way she could travel 
 now, because her money was all gone. 
 
 After great trouble and starvation she arrived at Paris, 
 only to find the Germans surrounding the whole city, and 
 they refused to allow her to enter. 
 
 Thinking that she had done everything that a wife could 
 possibly do under such circumstances she decided it would 
 be best to return to her home, and started on foot for the 
 coast. She fell sick on the way and was taken care of by 
 a farmer's wife, from which place she wrote a few lines 
 to the relative in charge of the boy, relating her awful 
 predicament, and asking him as a favour to send her a few 
 shillings to enable her to get back to the Island of Jersey. 
 The relative, being a poor man, and worse still, a very 
 bad one, refused to send her anything, and to further 
 humiliate her, he wrote and advised her to stay where she 
 was; that he, being poor, was sufficiently hainpered with 
 the boy, without being expected to take care of her also; 
 and furthermore, if she did come back he would not allow 
 her inside of his house, because she did not deserve it, 
 having run away after her fool husband, who was an out- 
 and-out crank and deserved everything that he got, being 
 such a fool to go away to fight for a country he did not 
 belong to. This letter arrived at the farmhouse, where 
 Jack's mother was slowly recovering from her fatigue. 
 She opened the letter with joy, thinking that the much 
 longed for paltry shillings Would be there, which would 
 
YANKEE SWANSON Ml 
 
 enable her to return to her loving little son in Jersey ; and 
 besides, she was anxious to recompense the poor farmer's 
 wife for all the trouble she had caused her. 
 
 Poor Madame Le Fevre, the blow was too much for her. 
 She had been able to endure starvation and insults of the 
 grossest kind from the German soldiery, but what was that 
 in comparison with what she was receiving now from her 
 husband's relatives. She quietly laid her weary head on 
 the straw pillow, the letter fell from her hand, and with- 
 out a moan she died. 
 
 The poor farmer's wife being an ignorant woman and 
 not able to read, took the letter to the priest. The godly 
 man shed tears and so did the poor woman after the priest 
 had made her acquainted with the contents of the letter. 
 The neighbours, through the priest, were made acquainted 
 with the circumstances under which Mr. and Mrs. Le 
 Fevre had given up their lives in the cause of the father- 
 land, and the consequences were that Mrs. Le Fevre had 
 a respectable funeral and was laid to rest in the village 
 churchyard. 
 
 The good priest wrote a long letter to the mayor of 
 
 H , giving him a detailed account of the suffering and 
 
 death of Madame Le Fevre. He also wrote that Madame 
 Le Fevre had not been able to find out whether her hus- 
 band was dead or alive, and asking if he would on his own 
 account try to find out something definite from the general 
 in command at Sudan. 
 
 Aftpr some time the mayor received a letter from the 
 priest informing him that Le Fevre had not been killed 
 at Sudan, but that he had on the day before the battle 
 been taken a prisoner of war while out with some officers 
 reconnoitring. The prisoners were brought to head- 
 quarters of the German general, who plied them with ques- 
 tions regarding the condition of affairs at Sudan, after 
 which they were searched and papers found on Le Fevre 
 
24® YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 whicS proved without a doubt that he was a British sub- 
 ject ; in fact, Le Fevre did not deny it. This was a most 
 serious offence and the German general informed him that 
 his case would be classed as spying, and that he would be 
 shot the following day. 
 
 The general must have changed his mind about shoot- 
 ing him, however, because the following day Le Fevre and 
 numerous other prisoners were placed under guard and 
 transported to a fortress in Germany. The good priest 
 advised the mayor to bestir himself a bit to get the British 
 war office to intercede in Le Fevre's behalf, and also to 
 speak to the man in whose care Jack was, and have him 
 send his relative in prison in Germany a little money, of 
 which he undoubtedly stood in great need. 
 
 The mayor of H was a fat, lazy man and very 
 
 narrow-minded. He could not see that it would do any 
 good to trouble the British government about anything as 
 small as that. Just one man, and at that, a fellow who 
 had no more sense than to sell out his business, leave his 
 wife and child to be taken care of by other people, and 
 then like a fool go away and fight for a country to which 
 he did not belong. " l^o, indeed," thought the mayor. 
 " "What a fool I would make of myself to get disliked by 
 the government for anything like that, and besides what 
 good could it possibly do? The Germans have a perfect 
 right to shoot him. A fool like that ought to be shot. 
 Those are my sentiments. However, I will certainly go 
 and speak to that man who takes care of the boy and have 
 him send Le Fevre a few pounds. He won't lose any- 
 thing by that, because he can take it out of the boy by 
 putting him to work. I myself will see to it that the boy 
 gets something to do if he ain't working already. That 
 will be better than to bother the whole British Empire." 
 
 The mayor put the priest's letter in his inside pocket 
 
YANKEE SWANSON a48 
 
 and strolled down to where this man lived, with the 
 object of extorting a few pounds for the benefit of the 
 prisoner in Germany, 
 
 Jack's caretaker was a man who did not stand very well 
 in the community. He had the reputation of being mean 
 and cruel, and on several occasions had been known to 
 beat his wife and children. Ostensibly he was a fisher- 
 man, but people said that the fishing he did was perfectly 
 harmless in comparison with the smuggling he did be- 
 tween France and the Channel Islands. Sometimes after 
 having been away on a smuggling expedition which lasted 
 three or four days, he would bring back a few fish which 
 he made his wife and children peddle about town, but that 
 was only a blind and calculated to stop other people from 
 prying into his private affairs. 
 
 On the day the mayor called to see him about the little 
 money matter, the fisherman had just arrived from a long 
 cruise. The wife informed the mayor that her husband 
 was very tired and had gone to sleep in the basement, and 
 that she would be afraid to disturb his slumbers until she 
 came back from town, where she and little Jack were then 
 ready to go to peddle off some fish. The mayor told the 
 woman that he had come on very important business, and 
 that he would not be put off with such fiimsy excuses as 
 that, and furthermore, if she was afraid to arouse him, he 
 as mayor of the town would take it upon himself to call 
 him out. 
 
 The woman seemed very much agitated about the stand 
 the mayor took in this matter and after considerable hum- 
 ming and hawing she told Jack in a whisper to go down 
 and see if her husband had gone asleep. The fisherman 
 had forgotten to lock the door and was rudely disturbed 
 by Jack's entering, who found his protector sitting down 
 to a small table stacking up money. Being of a fierce 
 
244 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 temper, he jumped up with blood in his eye, and in so 
 doing he upset the table and gold and silver were scattered 
 in all directions. Crazed with anger at seeing his hoarded 
 pile scattered in that manner, he started to beat the little 
 boy most unmercifully. 
 
 The woman, hearing the outcry of the boy, held her 
 breath in holy horror, but was too frightened to go down 
 to protect the boy. His crying became weaker and weaker 
 until finally it ceased altogether, and a loud thud was 
 heard as if something was thrown violently against the 
 wall. The woman fainted and the cowardly mayor, who a 
 few moments before had expressed his intention of going 
 down in the basement, opened the door and shouted in 
 French and English, " Murder, help, fire," and everything 
 else he could think of. 
 
 The brute in the basement, hearing the shouting, took 
 fright and locked the door. That done, he began gather- 
 ing up his scattered money, and while in the act of doing 
 this the mayor with a dozen stalwart hands — not cowards 
 like himself — were loudly beating down the door, which 
 the brute refused to open. 
 
 The door beaten down, the sight that confronted the 
 mayor was horrible indeed. Jack was apparently dead, a 
 little heap in the comer, besmeared with blood. 
 
 The brute, seeing the mayor, who had the reputation of 
 being extremely severe on the criminal element in town, 
 facing him with so many strong men at his back fell on 
 his knees begging for mercy and shivering like a cur dog 
 that he was. 
 
 The mayor put on an air of authority and demanded 
 first of all to know who all that gold money belonged to 
 that he saw scattered over the floor. The fisherman's ex- 
 cuse for having so much money in his possession was this, 
 that he was a very poor man and had always tried to lay 
 by a little for a rainy day. The mayor pooh-poohed that 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 245 
 
 and remarked that it looked as though there was money 
 enough to last the brute if it rained every day for the re- 
 mainder of his life. 
 
 The -woman had by this time sauntered down, and 
 wanted to enter the basement, but the mayor held her back 
 and told her that she was under arrest. The boy was 
 picked up, lifeless, apparently, and carried to a hospital, 
 where upon examination of his injuries, it was found that 
 three ribs were broken, besides numerous bruises about 
 the face and body. 
 
 The fisherman and his wife were carted off to jail. 
 Their two children, a boy and a girl, 16 and 14 years of 
 age, respectively, who were away in other parts of the 
 island disposing of smuggled goods (this came to light 
 afterward) were apprehended also and run in, but were 
 kept separated from each other and also from their 
 parents. 
 
 The naayor, who also was chief of police, had a thorough 
 search made of the house, and smuggled goods amounting 
 to a great deal of money were found and seized. 
 
 For several months Jack hovered between life and death, 
 during which time nothing was done toward bringing the 
 fisherman to trial. This delay was necessary because in 
 case of death the fisherman would have to face the indict- 
 ment of murder. However, after months of suspense, the 
 doctors announced that Jack would recover, although it 
 would be a long time yet before he could leave the bed. 
 
 The mayor now decided upon bringing the fisherman 
 to trial for having smuggled goods in his possession and 
 for defrauding the government. 
 
 The case attracted more than usual attention throughout 
 the British islands, and the fisherman from some unknown 
 source had obtained two of the very best lawyers in Lon- 
 don to defend him. Evidence was produced that impli- 
 cated a number of people in good standing in England as 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 well as in the Ohaimel Islands. The fisherman -when put 
 on the stand made a statement that threw the mayor into 
 a fit. He claimed that the mayor was the chief beneficiary 
 of the illegal handling of smuggled goods, and the fisher- 
 man's wife and children backed up the assertion, stating 
 under oath that they had on numerous occasions brought 
 him and his wife smuggled goods but that they never 
 paid for them. The fisherman also claimed that Le 
 Fevre, Jack's father, had always been the chief mover in 
 the smuggling ring, and that the mayor had an object in 
 view in not taking steps toward bringing Le Fevre back 
 from Germany, and instead, had forwarded money to Le 
 Fevre and given him instructions to make use of it in 
 getting away to the United States after having been set 
 free — the French-Prussian war having come to an end. 
 
 This evidence was genuine and had been obtained by 
 the fisherman's lawyers through the British consuls in 
 Germany, and also from the general in charge at the fort- 
 ress where Le Fevre was a prisoner of war. 
 
 It was proved beyond a doubt that the mayor was as 
 deep in the mire as the fisherman was. He lost his posi- 
 tion and was arrested on charges brought against him simi- 
 lar to those he had preferred against the fisherman. Both 
 of them were convicted and sentenced to ten years' hard 
 labour. 
 
 Le Fevre, who had been made acquainted with con- 
 ditions at home, elected to remain away, well knowing 
 that the indictments for defrauding the government would 
 be staring him in the face if he ever returned. 
 
 Jack was ten years of age when he was turned out of the 
 hospital as being cured. During the time he had been 
 there he had received some instruction from the sisters 
 of charity. They had taught him to read and write in 
 the French language. Of English he knew nothing, ex- 
 cept that he could speak in a way. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 247 
 
 Practically speaking, he was now an orphan and had to 
 shift for himself, and as he was stunted of growth and not 
 strong, it was a hard ptoposition to get anything to do. 
 The authorities at the hospital gave him permission to go 
 to the hospital for his food, and a bed was put aside for 
 him until he obtained something to do. Having no money 
 and no friends, he was not in a position to go anywhere 
 outside the immediate neighbourhood. 
 
 The fisherman's wife and children made themselves 
 very busy putting obstacles in his way by telling the people 
 that Jack was a boy not to be trusted ; that he had acted 
 the spy on the poor fisherman, as his father had been 
 a spy for the Germans while in the French army, and that 
 his father was really the cause of the French having lost 
 the battle of Sudan, by giving away the whole situation 
 to the Germans, and that was the reason why the Germans 
 had spared his life and deported him to the United States, 
 where all scoundrels went sooner or later. 
 
 This was indeed hard lines for a boy ten years of age. 
 Whenever he made his appearance at a house, asking for 
 something to do, they would send their children out to 
 throw stones at him, calling him the spy and other wicked 
 names, until finally it came to such a pass that the boy was 
 afraid to show himself and took recourse to hiding during 
 the day, while at night he would sneak out like a common 
 criminal and beg for something to eat from sailors and 
 low characters that frequented the waterfront. 
 
 One night the boy ventured out from his hiding place 
 and took himself off toward the harbour. He had not gone 
 far when he came face to face with the fisherman's boy. 
 Jack, well knowing that he was in for a licking, started to 
 run, pursued by the other boy. The fisherman's son being 
 the stronger and swifter on foot was rapidly overtaking 
 Jack, when a guardian angel in the shape of a drunken 
 sailor came staggering along the street. Jack, nearly 
 
a48 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 exhausted, threw himself into the arms of the sailor, the 
 while imploring help. 
 
 The sailor, who turned out to be an Englishman, was 
 not appealed to in vain. He took Jack under his wing 
 and sent the other boy about his business by means of a 
 swift kick that made the boy howl. Having disposed of 
 the enemy, the sailor commenced asking questions, and 
 hearing that Jack was homeless as well as friendless, and 
 had had nothing to eat for several days, he decided to act 
 at once, and in true sailor style took the boy into a public 
 house and ordered half-and-half for two. 
 
 The public house was kept by a Frenchman, who had to 
 some extent been implicated with the fisherman in the 
 smuggling business; in fact, he had taken the stand in 
 behalf of the latter. Seeing the boy enter his place, he 
 came out from behind the bar and would have done bodily 
 harm to the youngster if the sailor had not interfered with 
 a well directed blow in the jaw that sent the saloon keeper 
 down on his back. The place was well patronised by sail- 
 ors at the time, some of them more or less drunk. The 
 majority of them were British. 
 
 The public house keeper after a while got on his feet 
 again and demanded an explanation of this sudden attack, 
 inasmuch as he had not done anything to warrant any- 
 thing of the kind. He merely wanted to keep his place 
 clear of spies that would get everybody in trouble, they as 
 well as himself. The sailors having heard the public house 
 keeper's story, waved him aside and asked Jack what he 
 had to say for himself. Jack told such a straightforward 
 story of how everybody in the place persecuted him; how 
 he could not venture out during the day to beg for some- 
 thing to eat, and of how much he wished he could get a 
 chance to get away to England in some vessel, where he 
 thought he would be able to get something to do. 
 
 By the time Jack had finished his story every British 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 jack tar in the place was bent upon doing violence of some 
 sort to prevent the cruelties practised upon the boy, and 
 by way of illustrating to the public house keeper of what 
 would happen to him if he did not set them up double 
 quick for all hands and the boy, they commenced to smash 
 up furniture of various kinds and now and again let drive 
 something at the shelves that made great havoc among the 
 bottles. 
 
 The poor man was at his wits' ends what to do. To 
 shout for help was out of the question, as he well knew hia 
 place of business would be out of commission long before 
 anything of the sort could arrive. He therefore made the 
 best of a bad business and asked them to help themselves, 
 which they did by instructing Jack to go behind the bar 
 and pass out bottles which they might call for. Having 
 laid in a liberal supply, all that they could conveniently 
 carry in their pockets, and having left instructions with 
 the Frenchman that if he squealed th^ would call again 
 in larger force, they took themselves off to their various 
 coasting vessels, singing as they rolled along, " Rule Brit- 
 tania." 
 
 The guardian angel was the mate of a coasting vessel 
 that plied between Southampton and the Channel 
 Islands. He instructed Jack to come along, saying that 
 he would give him a chance to get to England. The ves- 
 sel was at anchor in the harbour ready to sail in the morn- 
 ing. The mate hailed the vessel and a small boat came 
 off and brought them on board. The mate took Jack 
 down to his room. He hunted up a few dirty rags which 
 he threw down on the floor and told Jack to make himself 
 comfortable. That done, he threw himself into his bunk, 
 boots and all, and was soon sound asleep. 
 
 Jack, unable to sleep on account of the hunger gnawing 
 in his stomach, went out on deck, where he found a young 
 fellow standing anchor watch. After having answered 
 
250 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 some questions from the watchman as to how he came to 
 be on board the vessel, Jack, just dying of hunger, asked 
 him if he could give him a piece of bread. 
 
 The young man seemed kindly disposed toward Jack 
 and took him into the galley, where he supplied him with 
 a liberal amount of coffee and some hard-tack. 
 
 When he finished his meal he thanked the watchman and 
 went back to the rags and very soon fell asleep. When he 
 woke up the following morning the vessel was out at sea 
 on her way to Southampton, where they arrived in a 
 couple of days. On their arrival the mate took his pro- 
 tege on shore and got him installed as a waiter in a sailors' 
 boarding-house, kept by a retired coasting captain. His 
 salary was to be nil until the old skipper , could find out 
 how much the boy would be worth. The house had a lot 
 of guests just about the time Jack got there. Some of 
 them, being homeward bound, were liberal with their 
 money, and having heard of Jack's awful ordeal they sub- 
 scribed toward getting the boy a few clothes. 
 
 Next door to the boarding-house was a cheap theatre 
 patronised principally by sailors and servant girls. It 
 was a free and easy place, and between acts it was custom- 
 ary for anybody that could do a little stunt of some sort, 
 such as step-dancing or singing, to get up and do it. The 
 manager was pleased when anybody did so, because it was 
 profitable business, these little side stunts. The home- 
 ward-bounders as a rule called for a round of drinks if the 
 actor did or said something that appealed to their taste. 
 
 It was at this place that Jack got an infatuation for 
 dancing and he also took up the tin whistle and harmonica. 
 Sometimes when at work around the boarding-house, and 
 when he thought nobody saw him he would practise a 
 little all by himself. And after a while when in the 
 evenings the sailors would have a little jollification 
 amongst themselves. Jack as a rule was called upon to do 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 2^1 
 
 something, and -wihen he finished it was the unanimous 
 opinion among the sailors that the hoy was a wonder as a 
 step-dancer. 
 
 Once the word had been passed around that the boy was 
 a step-dancer, he could never visit the theatre without being 
 called upon to do a little stunt. The manager himself 
 would insist upon it, and to his credit it should be said 
 that he very often passed around the hat and took up a col- 
 lection for the boy. 
 
 jack very often met sailors from coasting vessels that 
 came from his place. They would drop into the board- 
 ing-house, which also was a public house, for a drink or a 
 chat, but Jack avoided them as much as he could, always 
 afraid that they would say something about his being a 
 spy or something disagreeable about his father. 
 
 The old sea captain who ran the boarding-house was a 
 kind old fellow, and treated the boy fairly well, although 
 during the two years the boy worked at his place he never 
 offered him any set wages, notwithstanding the fact that 
 the boy had to do a lot of work, early and late. His work 
 was principally that of a chamber-maid during the day, 
 and in the evenings when the barroom was well crowded 
 with sailors he had to assist the old sea dog with serving 
 out drinks. 
 
 If the homeward-bounders — the old man was always 
 very partial toward them — wanted a little music. Jack 
 had to furnish the same on the tin whistle or harmonica, 
 and the same with the dancing ; Jack was the boy who had 
 to do a fancy step-dance. It was all business with the old 
 man ; the sailors would set up the drinks. 
 
 As a rule a sailor when he has money is very free with 
 it; in fact, it seems as if he was anxious to get clear of it 
 in the shortest possible way, and as the easiest of all ways 
 to do that is to patronise the boarding-house keeper, that's 
 where he will stay until it is all gone, and think himself 
 
a52 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 very well treated indeed provided the boarding-liouse mas- 
 ter don't give him knockout drops and rob him outright of 
 everything he has the first day he is in the house, vrhich is 
 done very often. Jack's employer was what the sailors 
 would call a good man. He did not rob them, but their 
 money was his just the same. He had a way about him 
 that made the sailors think that it was out of pure charity 
 that he kept a boarding-house at all, and that he was ever- 
 lastingly losing what little money he had managed to save 
 up for a rainy day. 
 
 At times when Jack had finished entertaining the crowd 
 with a dance, or a tune on the whistle, somebody would of 
 course set them up for all hands. The old man would 
 hold up both his hands in holy horror and beg them not to 
 do such a thing ; that if they insisted upon doing that every 
 time he asked the boy to entertain them a bit he felt as if it 
 would be his duty to stop it altogether. He would much 
 rather see them give the little lad a shilling or two, because 
 he was an orphan and a good boy, and as he was losing 
 money every day he was not in a fix to give the boy any- 
 thing outside of a good home, plenty to eat, and very little 
 work. Therefore, if anybody in the crowd felt that they 
 had anything to spare he would much rather they gave it 
 to the boy than to spend it on liquor, although a little drop 
 of it among friends could never do any harm. 
 
 This little talk from the old man went a long way to- 
 ward helping out the boy to get money to buy clothes ; in 
 other words, that is how he paid the boy's wages. 
 
 Some evenings if the sailors limbered up good. Jack 
 would get as much as ten shillings. That was considered 
 extra good, and the old man's wife, who had Jack's welfare 
 at heart almost as much as the old man himself, would call 
 on the boy after he had gone to bed and relieve him of 
 half of it. She told Jack that it almost broke her heart 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 253 
 
 to do it, but she couldn't help it. Her husband had told, 
 her that too much money at one time would spoil him alto- 
 gether, and that the old man had made up his mind to help 
 him all he could. 
 
 In this manner, one year after another dragged along. 
 It was an existence for Jack and no more. He was anx- 
 ious to learn, but what could he learn in the midst of such 
 surroundings ? 
 
 However, a change came for the better. The old sea 
 dog died and the old woman sold out the place and retired 
 from active life to live in luxury for the remainder of her 
 days. 
 
 The boarding-house out of existence proved to be a 
 death blow to the little theatre next door, and the manager 
 shut up the place to look for a better location in some 
 other toAvn. 
 
 Jack was now left to shift for himself. He was not 
 much better off than he was when he landed at South- 
 ampton several years before, except that he had some 
 experience and he was older. He packed his little grip 
 and struck out for the interior. He stopped at the country 
 places and made a few pennies now and again by enter- 
 taining the country folks with a little music and a step- 
 dance. He always managed to get something to eat, 
 because he made himself useful in different ways ; and be- 
 sides, his happy disposition and good nature and the fact 
 that he never complained made him a general favourite 
 among the country people. 
 
 On his tramp through England he got along fine. It 
 was a picnic all through, something he had never had 
 before, but the picnic was at an end the very day he crossed 
 the Scottish boundary. The country people were not so 
 liberal there, and poor Jack decided to try the big towns 
 once more. 
 
£54 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 The first town of any size he struck was Grangemouth, 
 and I was the first person on Scottish soil that gave him 
 the glad hand. 
 
 Eight bells struck. Jack had finished his story and we 
 went to our bunks. 
 
 It was on a Sunday morning, and we were five weeks out 
 from Archangel, and during that time we had seen the 
 sun or stars on very rare occasions, and for the last ten 
 or twelve days not at all. Consequently the ship's posi- 
 tion was, you might say, mere guess work, because the ves- 
 sel being hove-to a great deal of that time — sometimes 
 under bare poles entirely, except a tarpaulin unrolled in 
 the mizzen rigging — it was, as any experienced navigator 
 knows, next to impossible to determine the ship's position 
 under those conditions, within any degree of certainty. 
 
 After having rounded l^orth Cape, Captain Bengston 
 intended to shape his courses, weather and conditions per- 
 mitting, to bring his, command between the Faroe and 
 Shetland Islands; then when far enough to the westward, 
 to steer about south and to pass through the north channel 
 which separates Ireland and Scotland. 
 
 Eengston and Swanson had many an argument over 
 that same question. Swanson thought it would be best, 
 considering the time of the year, to take the Forsette 
 through the IN'orth Sea and then through the English Chan- 
 nel, as we could expect better weather, although the dis- 
 tance would be much longer. 
 
 Bengston was not opposed to Swanson's scheme and 
 probably would have taken that route if we had not en- 
 countered so much southerly and SW wind. His only 
 argument against it was that the English Channel is one 
 of the most dangerous sheets of water in the world to navi- 
 gate, owiag to the great amount of shipping there, and 
 also the currents that run very swift and irregular. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 255 
 
 However, Bengston stuck to Ha original intentions, and 
 on this Sunday morning he pricked her off on the chart as 
 being somewhere between those two groups of islands I 
 have just mentioned. The wind was then and had been 
 for several days prior, SW. It had been blowing quite 
 fresh during the night, and we were going along close 
 hauled on the port tack, heading about WNW under reefed 
 topsails, reefed foresail, spanker and forestaysail. The 
 old craft made fine weather of it, but she barely steered, 
 owing to a tremendous high 'KW swell. 
 
 It was my trick at the wheel from eight to ten that fore- 
 noon watch. It was Swanson's watch, but Bengston was 
 on deck himself, being anxious about the weather, and 
 worse still, not being sure of his position. 
 
 Bengston remarked to Swanson that he wished to good- 
 ness it would clear up a bit so he could find out where we 
 were. 
 
 " So do I," said Swanson, " but it doesn't look much 
 like clearing, although I think we will have a change of 
 wind soon." 
 
 At about nine o'clock it fell dead calm and started a 
 drizzling rain; in fact, it became quite thick. Bengston 
 said that if there were any vessels around we ought to 
 blow our fog horn. Swanson reached into the companion- 
 way and took out the horn, and handing it to Herald, he 
 told him to go forward and blow a blast every minute. 
 
 The very first blast Herald blew, Bengston fairly 
 jumped out of his seaboots. He turned white and looked 
 at Swanson inquiringly. " Echo, I guess, don't you ? 
 That's what it sounded like. But where in the world can 
 it come from ? " Herald blew another blast, and there it 
 was again, very plain indeed. Said Swanson, "We can't 
 be more than a mile off, if we are that, by the sound of 
 it." 
 
 " Oome down below, Swanson," said Bengston. " We 
 
256 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ■will take a look at the chart. It is just possible we have 
 been set to the south'erd." 
 
 They did not remain long below, and when they came 
 on deck they went off by themselves and spoke in whis- 
 pers almost. Herald kept blowing the horn, and to judge 
 by the echo, it did not sound any plainer. 
 
 Bengston remarked, " If we don't get some wind soon 
 we are in a bad fix, because this NW swell will soon put 
 us ashore." Then to Swanson, " Get the lead line out 
 and see if we are in soundings. If we are where we 
 guess, there will be hundreds of fathoms of water and 
 anchoring will be out of the question." 
 
 Swanson sang out to the watch to come aft and sent 
 Jack to rouse the watch below. The lead was cast and 
 200 fathoms of line with it, but no bottom. " Just what 
 I thought, Swanson, we are in for it if we don't get 
 wind." 
 
 Swanson said nothing, but I thought that he looked 
 worried. About ten o'clock there was a break in the sky 
 to the north' erd and the wind sprang up from that direc- 
 tion, light at first, but gradually increasing to a gale. 
 The wind ceased, the dirty sky skimmed off like magic, 
 and there we were, islands and headlands all around us, 
 and rocks innumerable, it seemed. The one which re- 
 bounded the echo was about half a mile away. Alto- 
 gether it was a most forbidding sight. 
 
 Bengston and his two mates held a hurried consultation, 
 and orders began to fly thick and fast. The cook came 
 out of the galley and took in the situation at a glance. He 
 was a sailor all right, and could see we were in a pretty 
 bad box, and felt that his help would be called into 
 requisite. He therefore slammed the door to with a bang 
 and said something about what we could expect when we 
 were fools enough to sail with a boat-hook navigator. 
 
 We shook out the reefs from the topsails and the foresail 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 257 
 
 and set them, and stood off on the port tack, the outside 
 headland being fully two points on our port bow — not a 
 very bright prospect. 
 
 The bay, or inlet, we were in was, I should think, about 
 five miles wide, and we were, when we discovered our 
 dilemma, about three miles inside of the headlands. The 
 course out was north, and the wind, now blowing a living 
 gale, blew from that direction. Besides, there was the 
 high WW swell I have mentioned before. 
 
 Could any vessel be placed in a worse position? I 
 think not; and, bear in mind, it was ten o'clock in the 
 morning and hardly daylight. At half past two it would 
 be dark. 
 
 The Forsette was now under as much sail as she could 
 with any safety carry, and she was going along at an 
 eight-knot gait. In a little while we were over on the 
 east shore. Everything was ready for about ship, all 
 hands at their respective stations. Bengston took the 
 wheel himself, ran her off a point or so to get her good 
 and full, being afraid that she would miss stays. She 
 came up in the wind very well indeed, and we swung the 
 mainyards, but that was as far as she would go, owing 
 to the heavy swell on the port bow. This was an awful 
 calamity. We had to swing the mainyards again and 
 wear her to get her on the starboard tack, the rocks being 
 too close on board to make another attempt at going about. 
 We lost fully a mile on this operation, and we could ill 
 afford it. 
 
 After we got her around on the starboard tack, Bengston 
 said to Swanson, " That was a bad one. We will have to 
 do better than that or we might as well give it up at 
 once. Get more sail on her, set the jib and mainstay- 
 sail," which accordingly was done. 
 
 With these additional sails we made better time, and 
 in about half an hour we were over on the west shore 
 
268 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 and about ship. Bengston still at the wheel, ran well in 
 under the rocks, where the swell did not affect us so 
 much, and she came around in fine style without losing 
 any headway to speak of. 
 
 " That's better," shouted Bengston, in high glee. " If 
 we can do as well over on the other shore, I think we will 
 do it after all before it gets dark." 
 
 " I think so, too," said Swanson. " But if I were you 
 I would make short tacks. It seems to me that the cur- 
 rent is setting us in over on the other shore, and besides 
 the swell is much heavier there." 
 
 " All right, Swanson, I will try. Oh, if only the wind 
 would haul a point or so, and if we could only carry the 
 gallantsails, I think we would clear that west headland by 
 making three or four more tacks." 
 
 " I don't think it would be advisable to set the gallant- 
 sails yet, captain," said Swanson. " We run the risk of 
 getting dismasted. Better wait for the final show-down 
 when we are well up to the Cape and thuik that we can 
 clear it. I see it is going to be squally, too; snow, I sup- 
 pose." 
 
 We went about again when half way across the inlet, 
 without any hitch to it, and we felt greatly relieved. We 
 now had the Cape only about half a point on the weather 
 bow. 
 
 Swanson sent Herald and me up on the fore and main 
 top gallantyards to start the gaskets so it would not take 
 much time to get them adrift when wanted, the top gal- 
 lantsails having been furled for weeks. While up doing 
 that, a heavy snow squall struck us and she careened over 
 to a dangerous angle, we thought. However, no order 
 was given to start anything, Bengston being anxious to 
 make every inch he could. 
 
 We had no time to eat our dinner; in fact, there was 
 nothing to eat, the cook's station being to handle the main 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 259 
 
 bowline and main staysail sheet when going about, and 
 the beat he could do for us was to keep the coffee hot, of 
 which we consumed great quantities. The old cook was 
 the most cheerful member of the whole crew, I think, 
 although he realised the awful position we were in, as 
 much as anybody else. Once, after having come about 
 under the west headland, and seeing that we had not 
 gained an inch, he remarked to Ericson, who had proposed 
 to Swanson that we construct a raft for emergency, in 
 case we did not clear the headland by nightfall, " Tou 
 talk about making a raft; a fine scheme, indeed. If we 
 don't do any better on the next tack I will propose we 
 fill our pockets with good Grangemouth coal, and if that 
 don't suit I will break up the old grindstone and give each 
 man a little souvenir to take along to Fiddler's 
 Green." 
 
 Ericson did not relish that sort of joking just then, and 
 retorted, " That's all very fine for you. I suppose you 
 would take the harpoon yourself and hook on to one of 
 your many friends about here." The cook said he would 
 not do that, for he was never known to desert a shipmate, 
 and besides he was very fond of company and did not 
 care about riding alone. " Last time I took a trip of 
 that sort I had Napoleon along; it was better than noth- 
 ing." 
 
 At two o'clock in the afternoon we tacked right under 
 the headland, and it looked as though we could have 
 cleared it if we had kept going. Bengston, poor fellow, 
 was still at the wheel, having been there constantly since 
 we discovered our dilemma. He had not had anything 
 to eat during all that time. He was in his shirt sleeves, 
 and I could notice the steam escaping through his clothes, 
 notwithstanding the cold, which was fierce, especially so 
 during the snow squalls. He chewed a great deal of 
 tobacco, and his face was besmeared with the juice, which 
 
260 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 made him look so fierce that it gave me a shiver to look 
 at him. It was evident that he was going through an 
 ordeal that only falls to the lot of a sailor or a soldier, and 
 on very rare occasions at that. 
 
 Swanson passed the word for all hands to come aft 
 Seeing us all on the poop, Bengston beckoned Swanson 
 to take the wheel. Having done so, Bengston tried to 
 talk, but finding that we could not hear what he had 
 to say, owing to the fierce blasts of the wind, he sat down 
 on deck and we all followed suit. 
 
 Bengston was not an orator ; he said but very few words, 
 but what he did say was something that very few, I think, 
 could say better and more to the point, under similar cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 He began by telling us that he was a surprised man to 
 find that the vessel was in this position. It was not slack 
 navigation. He had done Ms best to keep run of her, and 
 so had Swanson and Ericson. But the fact remaiaed she 
 was there, as we all could see. 
 
 " Well," he proceeded, " the next thing is to get her 
 out of here. I myself have made use of my knowledge 
 and experience as a sailor the best I know how ; but as yet 
 I am sorry to say I have not accomplished much, and to 
 tell the plain truth — I don't Uke'to hide anything — we 
 are no better off than when we started this morning. In 
 half an hour's time it will be dark and we will be no bet- 
 ter off than a blind man on the streets of London with no 
 one to guide him. We have one more card to play, and I 
 have instructed Swanson to carry it out. If that faUs we 
 are gone; nothing can save us. The old long-boat of ours 
 could not live in the sea we are having, and as for making 
 a raft, you are liberty to make one, but I for one wouldn't 
 make use of it. It would only be prolonging the misery, 
 and I have no fancy for that" 
 
 " That's what I say, too," chipped in the cook. " I 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 261 
 
 mucL. prefer a grindstone ; it is handier, and less work for 
 one thing." 
 
 " !N"o-w, as for what I propose to do — our last card," 
 continued the captain. " I intend to make a long leg on 
 this tack we are on now. Bear in mind it will be our 
 last one if we don't clear the headland, and that is the 
 point, to clear the headland. If we can do that, our trou- 
 bles are over, because it is fine, clear water on the other 
 side of it, and we can square away to our hearts' content. 
 
 " Just now when we went about it looked as if by hav- 
 ing kept going, we would have cleared it by perhaps a few 
 yards. In fact I know we would; but that's not what I 
 was most afraid of ; it's the backwash from that headland 
 that I'm afraid of when we pass it so close. 
 
 " Boys," went on Bengston, " I have spent my life 
 among the rocks and breakers on this very coast, and be- 
 lieve me I know something about it, and I am not one 
 that likes squealing, but in this case I consider it is my 
 duty to speak and to let you know how I stand and feel 
 about it." 
 
 Bengston had finished. He got up and relieved the 
 wheel. Swanson told Jack to go forward and try to fetch 
 him a hot cup of coffee. The sailors all went to their 
 respective stations. I was left there alone with Bengston, 
 who was now occupied with the steering. 
 
 I sat for a moment longer thinking, I don't know about 
 what. I wanted to get up and found I was wabbly in 
 the legs. I looked about in consternation, afraid some- 
 body would notice me. I was ashamed of myself and 
 tried to find some excuse for my funny feeling in the legs, 
 but could not discover any. Youth, nearly fourteen years 
 old, how about that ? 'No, that was not it. 
 
 Jack ran forward like Napoleon. He did not seem to 
 have that wabbly feeling. There he was now, coming 
 back with the coffee for Swanson. He was of my own 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 age. I was aroused from these horrible thoughts by 
 Bengston, who, I observed, gave me a look. " Come here, 
 boy," he said. " Go down in my cabin and get me a 
 fresh piece of tobacco." I got on my legs as if in a blue 
 maze, but the wind caught me and sent me on all fours, 
 down the companionway. I bruised my arm in the fall, 
 but I felt no pain; evidently I was too far gone for that, 
 and forgot what I had come down for. 
 
 I instinctively walked into Jack's den. It was mine 
 as much as his, almost, although I did not sleep there, but 
 my books and letters from home were there. I com- 
 menced to grope about me as if looking for something, 
 although I had no idea what I was looking for. I was 
 dazed, to say the least. After a few seconds of more 
 thinking, I found that I had my mother's letters in my 
 hand. I kissed them and fell on my knees at my friend's 
 bunk, and offered up a little prayer that mother had taught 
 me. After that I felt much better, and I remembered 
 what Bengston had sent me down to get. I got up, and 
 in so doing I came face to face with grandpa's picture on 
 the wall. I almost fainted away when I saw it, and a 
 thought struck me that he was aware of my feeling that 
 had now luckily passed. There he was, looking me square 
 in the eye, as if he knew my innermost thoughts. One 
 thought after the other flashed through my mind, and 
 every tale he had related to me appeared as if I had been 
 there myself. Berezina River, Leipzig, the campaign of 
 1814, and Waterloo ; I fancied I saw him march up to the 
 immovable British squares as cool as if on dress parade. 
 And here was I, his favourite boy, with wabbly legs and 
 sinking heart, afraid to be seen, although I was surrounded 
 by a crew of Vikings as free from fear, apparently, as any 
 that ever sailed salt water. 
 
 I heard Swanson's terrible voice, " Eeady about," and 
 grabbed a plug of tobacco off the captain's table, ran up 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 269 
 
 the steps as lively as ever, handed it to the old man, and 
 took my station at the spanker sheet. 
 
 " Hard-a-lee," shouted the old man, and up she came 
 in the vsrind as if the old ship knew vs^hat was wanted of 
 her. She came around without losing her headway. 
 Bengston chuckled to himself, and took another chew of 
 tobacco. " That beats your Flying Scud and Davy 
 Crockets to a standstill," shouted Bengston, as Swanson 
 came aft. 
 
 I felt like myself again. My fear was apparently 
 gone, and I laughed to myself when I thought of the cook's 
 grindstone proposition. 
 
 It was now dark, but we could still see the headland. 
 Bengston remarked that the wind had hauled a little, and 
 pointing toward the Cape, he said, " We are now pointing 
 fully one point and a half higher than the Cape, allowing 
 a point and a quarter for leeway, we should clear it by at 
 least one-eighth of a mile. 
 
 " Now look here, Swanson," he continued, " for fear 
 that she won't do that — I mean she might make more 
 leeway than I'm allowing — I want you to have the top 
 gallantsails ready to be set at a moment's notice. It is 
 desperate, I know, but it might be the saving of all of us, 
 and besides, if we've got to go on the rocks, it will do 
 nobody any harm to sail the tophamper off her first." 
 " It is a wise move, I think, to do just as you say, and I 
 will have it ready for you, depend on that," said Swanson. 
 
 Swanson came up to Jack and me. Both of us were 
 hanging on to the weather rail. He squatted down under 
 the rail, and pulled us after him to get a little lee so 
 we could hear what he was saying. He spoke to us as a 
 father would do to his sons, and the substance of what he 
 said was this: 
 
 " I want you two boys to go up on the gallantyards, 
 one on each top, and take the yardarm gaskets off, or cut 
 
a64. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 them off, which ever you find the handier. Then get the 
 bunt-gasket in such shape that you can let it go without 
 any hitch when I give one blast on the foghorn. That 
 done, come down as quick as the God Almighty will let 
 you. Understand ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, I understand," we both answered. 
 
 " All right, then get ; but remember, don't let go until 
 you hear the blast; your lives depend on it." 
 
 It was hard work to get up on the gallantyard in that 
 breeze. I fairly got pasted to the ratlines and coidd 
 hardly extricate myself. Jack got there, too. I could 
 not see him, but I heard the canvas flappiag, so I knew he 
 was there. 
 
 A snow squall struck us just as we heard the blast of 
 the horn. I had my knife on the gasket and cut it. 
 Jack did the same, and down we went on the backstay. 
 
 When we got down the sails were already sheeted 
 home and they were mastheading them. It was done as 
 if by magic. Every one knew that their lives depended 
 on their quick action. 
 
 I have never seen such sailing since that, to me, mem- 
 orable day; nor do I wish to ever see anything like it 
 again as regards sailing, and I have my doubts if anybody 
 outside of the crew of the Forsette ever saw such sailing, 
 except for unfortunates like ourselves who had happraied 
 to be placed in similar circumstances. 
 
 Swanson, who had spent the greater part of his life in 
 vessels noted for fast sailing, told us that day that he 
 never thought any vessel, however strong, could have stood 
 up to such carrying on, close hauled on the wind, without 
 getting dismasted. He also threw his arms about his 
 brother-in-law's neck and swore that Bengston was the 
 greatest sailing master he had ever sailed with, barring 
 none. 
 
 The gallantsails being set, there was nothing further 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 265 
 
 to do, except to pick out the safest and most protected 
 place to find a little shelter from being swept overboard 
 by the heavy seas she was continually taking on. Our 
 high deckload was a great help to us, or to the vessel 
 rather, because the water had no place to lodge and ran 
 off at once. 
 
 On the other hand, the deckload was no protection from 
 the wind, and the snow was falling so thickly that it was 
 impossible to see anything at all. Swanson gave orders 
 for all hands to come aft on the poop, where we could be 
 of mutual protection to one another. Accordingly we all 
 squatted down on the weather side and stretched a couple 
 of life lines, to which we clung, silently awaiting our 
 fate. 
 
 Swanson took his stand on the lee side of the wheel to 
 assist Bengston in case he needed it. They also had life 
 lines on. 
 
 After a while we heard Bengston remark that we would 
 soon be clear or else done for. He said he could feel the 
 action of the backwash. He had no sooner said it than 
 a tremendous wall of water came from the lee side and 
 overwhelmed the vessel. She became entirely submerged, 
 for how long I cannot tell; it seemed an eternity. I 
 finally got my breath and found myself in the pump well 
 — a square place amidships, formed by the deckload being 
 stowed on each side of the wheels. I heard a tremendous 
 noise, caused by the flapping of canvas, which proved to 
 be the spanker blowing away. I was in a quandary as to 
 what to do, and made an attempt to get up from the prison 
 I was in. I had not reached the deckload, however, 
 before there was a shock and another deluge that 
 sent me down to where I had been, and then I knew no 
 more. 
 
 When I came to I was lying on my back with my head 
 resting on a piece of wood, and the dog licking my face. 
 
266 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Poor dog, he was as badly off as I. He had a nasty gash 
 on his shoulder, and was hopping about on three legs. 
 
 It took me some little time to realise what had hap- 
 pened. Where I lay I could see the stars, and the sky 
 seemed beautifully clear. The old Forsette seemed to be 
 sliding along quite easily. I tried to get up, Nap wagging 
 his tail as if that was what he wanted me to do, I tried 
 to make use of some steps in the deckload, purposely 
 stowed to make egress easy, but found I could not move 
 my legs. I commenced shouting and Nap joined me by 
 giving a few sharp mournful barks. No one came to as- 
 sist us, and I thought all hands must be dead. It did not 
 seem possible that they could not hear me, the way I 
 shouted. I rested my head again on the piece of wood, 
 and poor Nap cuddled down by me, with his head on my 
 arm, looking at me with such sad, pleading eyes. 
 
 I must have had a refreshing sleep, because when I 
 opened my eyes it was daylight, and I felt much better. 
 The deck I was resting on was dry and my body was 
 warm, caused, no doubt, by Nap cuddling up to me with 
 his Laplandish pelt. 
 
 I renewed the shouting, and Nap took up the barking 
 anew. After a while something almost human, it seemed 
 to me, appeared above us. It turned out to be our cook 
 disguised past recognition. 
 
 " Who is that ? Come down and help me up ; I can't 
 walk," I said. 
 
 "Who is that?" repeated the cook. "Well, if that 
 don't take the cake." Then to himself. "Who do you 
 think it could be but your friend and saviour, the only one 
 out of the whole bunch, outside of Yankee Swanson, that 
 hasn't got broken bones or gone to the Fiddler's Green, 
 Ah, boy, I tell you I knew what I was talking about when 
 I proposed grindstones. Brimstone, and plenty of it, 
 would have been preferable to the mess we are in now. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 2&7 
 
 As for getting anything to eat, the Lord help us. The 
 galley is kindling-wood and the stores soaked with salt 
 water. But stay where you are, boy, I will go and re- 
 port to Swanson that another craft that we had put down 
 for Fiddler's Green has turned up." 
 
 After a few minutes Swanson came. The cook then 
 bent a rope around my body and hoisted me up. Nap 
 started to howl and bark ; he also wanted to be taken up, 
 but the cook said that he was all right where he was. He 
 had nothing for him to eat, and besides, he intended to 
 despatch him after he had things straightened up and 
 convert him into beefsteaks and soup. 
 
 Swanson turned on the cook and said, " Never mind so 
 much talk now; you take the dog out of there," and ac- 
 cordingly Nap was given a lift. 
 
 They carried me aft and sat me down on the poop. I 
 started to look about a bit, and the devastation I saw was 
 past belief. The deckload forward, what was left of it, 
 was standing on end. The fo'cs'le head and the forward 
 housegalley were completely demolished. The fore hatch 
 was stove in and tons of water had gone below, but the 
 after house was saved to some extent. Evidently the two 
 backwash seas that did all this damage had struck us 
 heavier forward than aft. Aloft, things did not look 
 much better. The two top gallant masts were gone, and 
 everything belonging to them. Likewise the jib-boom 
 and the spanker boom, and of course the sails, as well. 
 The two upper and lower topsails were the only sails that 
 were saved out of the whole suit. 
 
 The deckload going adrift was the cause of losing the 
 two courses, owing to the fact that the tacks and sheets 
 were belayed to cleats lashed on to the deckload. 
 
 August, the fellow who took the part of a lunatic in 
 Norway, John, the sailor we shipped at Grangemouth, and 
 one old sailor from our place (H6ganas)j who had sailed 
 
268 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 with Bengston a long time, were lost, or, as the cook called 
 it, "gone to the Fiddler's Green," wherever that is. 
 Every one else was more or less injured. Captain 
 Bengston had his two ankles badly sprained and was un- 
 able to walk, and he also had an ugly gash across his 
 forehead. Ericson, who was at the wheel when Swimson 
 sat me down on the poop, was injured inwardly and was 
 spitting blood. Herald, our handy man, and the two 
 remaining seamen were also hurt more or less, but they 
 were able to assist Swanson and the cook to some extent 
 toward getting things into some sort of shipshape. 
 
 Swanson and the cook were the only two members of 
 the crew who were uninjured outside of bruises and 
 scratches and swellings, of which the cook had any amount. 
 
 Nap was really the cause of saving Jack and one of the 
 seamen. They had been washed forward and jammed up 
 in the deckload, where, no doubt, they would have been 
 killed but for the barking of the dog, which brought Swan- 
 son and the cook to their rescue. 
 
 Poor little Jack, he was lying down on the cabin floor, 
 and when he saw me being carried down he smiled in his 
 sweet way and burst out crying like a little child. Nap 
 was lying close by him, licking his bruised paw, and old 
 man Bengston was sitting in his easy chair, his ankles 
 swelled up to enormous proportions. The tobacco juice 
 of yesterday was still on his face, and he had the appear- 
 ance of a man ninety years of age. " Well, Andrew," he 
 said, " don't you wish you were home with grandpa, turn- 
 ing the grindstone; or do you think a sailor^s life is what 
 it is cracked up to be ? " 
 
 Swanson laid me down on the table and took off my 
 clothes. That done, he began to feel me aU over for 
 broken bones, but he found none. The stiffness of my 
 limbs was due to the long exposure in icy salt water. I 
 had been in the pump well something like eighteen hours. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 269 
 
 " You will be as fit as a fiddle in a couple of days," 
 said the cook. Then to Swanson, "We will nib him 
 down a bit and throw a stiff jolt into him out of the small 
 glass. Then he will go to sleep and wake up as well as 
 ever. And Jack, too ; nothing at all the matter with him ; 
 just a few bruises like I have myself. A little stiffening 
 on the inside will do the job. Remember when Ericson 
 broke his back, and the way I fixed him up, all with a 
 little stuff I borrowed from that measly lord that never 
 said as much as ' thank you ' for knowing his grand- 
 mother." 
 
 Swanson had to laugh at the cook's continuous tirade, 
 and turned on his heel and went on deck while the cook 
 did as he said he would — threw a jolt into me. 
 
 Jack's den was converted into a galley. Herald, 
 bruised and badly off as he was, went to work and cut a 
 hole in the cabin deck. Then he fitted a stovepipe and 
 also constructed a provisional range. It was primitive, 
 of course, but it answered the purpose, and provided us 
 with hot coffee, of which we stood so much in need. 
 
 The cook, as usual, had exaggerated greatly in regard 
 to the stores. Upon investigation, Swanson found that 
 we were not so badly off in that respect. One watertank 
 bolted on to the deck and lumber stowed on each side of 
 it was intact, so we were not in immediate want of fresh 
 water, and besides, everything aloft was covered with 
 snow, which could have been made use of in an emergency. 
 
 Swanson and the cook worked like beavers. It is mar- 
 vellous what a lot of work two able bodied men can do 
 when put to a real test. Swanson's opinion of the cook, 
 which up to the time of the disaster had been at low ebb, 
 now took a turn for the better. And no wonder; every- 
 thing depended on them to pull us through. After the 
 two big seas had submerged the vessel there was not a 
 man left on the poop where we had all been asseffibledj 
 
270 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 except the captain, mate, and cook, and they of course 
 thought that we all had gone to Fiddler's Green. 
 
 Eengston and Swanson both claimed that they saw the 
 headland through the snow squall between the first and 
 second sea, and knew positively that we were clear of it 
 after the second sea had boarded us, and knew that 
 spars and rigging could not last much longer, especially 
 so in this particular case, where the top gallantsails and 
 the outer jib had been set with the sole object in view of 
 driving the vessel to windward of the headland. And 
 now being clear of the headland, it was of as much impor- 
 tance to get the sails off her again and to get her before 
 the wind as, prior to passing the headland, it had been 
 to get the sails on her as regards the saving of the 
 vessel. 
 
 Having recovered their breath, the three men mtmaged 
 to get the helm hard up, but owing to the fact that the 
 vessel was so evenly balanced with fore and aft sails (this 
 with the great object in view of not retarding her speed 
 by carrying the rudder at a large angle) she would not 
 pay off. Bengston let go the spanker sheet. Boom, gaff, 
 and sail went over the side, and she started to pay off 
 slowly. But, on account of the jib sheets coming adrift, 
 owing to the fact that the gallant fo'cs'le was stove in, she 
 began to come up to the wind again, and seeing this, 
 Swanson crawled on hands and knees and cut away main 
 tack and sheet, which had the desired effect of getting her 
 off before the wind. 
 
 The strange part of it was this, that while on the wind 
 in that gale we did not part, as the sailor says, a rope- 
 yam. The top gallant masts did not go by the board 
 until she was off before the wind. 
 
 The old man did not know he had sprained ankles un- 
 til she was before the wind. He had been worked up to 
 such a pitch that pain did not bother him. But now that 
 
YANKEE SWANSON SfTl 
 
 lie felt that he had done all that a human could do toward 
 saving life and property, he squatted down on deck for a 
 brief moment, and when he tried to get up he found that 
 he was unable to do so. However, Bengston would not 
 give up while there was anything he thought he could do. 
 He seated himself by the wheel and managed to steer 
 her while Swanson and the cook, who were the only ones 
 in sight, squared the yards. 
 
 Having got her off before the wind, Swanson and the 
 cook cut away the wreckage. The top gallant masts were 
 still towing alongside. That done, they lowered the two 
 upper topsails and stowed them in a fashion so they 
 would not blow away. 
 
 When they came down from aloft Bengston told them 
 that he thought he had heard the dog barking forward, 
 and asked them to investigate, whereupon they went for- 
 ward, and among the deckload, which was helter-skelter 
 forward of the mainmast, they found Ericson, Herald, 
 Jack, and the dog. After considerable hard work they 
 managed to get the men aft in the cabin and revived them 
 the best way they knew how. 
 
 Nap was missing again just after having been rescued, 
 and Swanson thought he had gone overboard, but instead 
 of that he evidently must have scented where I was lo- 
 cated and fallen down in the pump well, which was 
 almost covered over with planks scattered about in all di- 
 rections. 
 
 It was midnight before Swanson and the cook had 
 things in such shape that they could assist Bengston below 
 to his chair. They made him as comfortable as the cir- 
 cumstances permitted. Swanson took the wheel and the 
 cook commenced hunting for something to eat. 
 
 The vessel was now running before a northerly gale 
 under the two lower topsails, and w6 were out of all dan- 
 ger for the time being, at least, because we had any amount 
 
372 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 of sea room, it being the Faroe Islands we had juat 
 cleared by such a narrow margin. 
 
 The cook, having found some hard-tack and a piece of 
 salt pork, lined up alongside of Swanson at the wheel, 
 and there the two of them remained throughout the night, 
 steering and eating by turns. Swanson told us afterward 
 that the cook throughout that night never let up lying for 
 one single moment; he told one ridiculous, blood-curdling 
 tale after another, and Swanson said that he had never 
 enjoyed it as much as he did that night. 
 
 When daylight came on, the cook went down in the 
 cabin to take a look at the sick ones. Bengston asked the 
 cook how things looked. " Fine, fine," answered the cook. 
 " She is sliding along like an old shoe under the lower 
 topsails, and everything is shipshape, except that three 
 men and the boy and the dog are at Fiddler's Green." 
 
 " The dog," exclaimed Bengston in surprise. " But 
 he was here last night." 
 
 " So he was," said the cook. " But after he discovered 
 that Frenchy was past fixing up, and the other fellow had 
 gone to Fiddler's Green, I guess he thought there was 
 nothing left for him to do but to go back to Lapland, 
 and he was a wise Nap, and no mistake. I was figuring 
 on making a little stew and barley broth out of him for 
 the sick folks, as soon as I could fibad a place to make a 
 fire; but he must have smelt a nigger in the wood-pile 
 and stole a march on me." 
 
 Old man Bengston and Herald could not keep from 
 laughing, but Jack, hearing that Nap and I were among 
 the missing, broke out weeping. " Don't cry," inter- 
 rupted the cook, " for the dog, anyhow. What could you 
 expect from a dog that has a name like that. I knew the 
 minute you insisted upon naming him Napoleon he would 
 do something desperate some day. He took after his 
 namesake a great deal, and no mistake." 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 273 
 
 Ericson said he felt well enough to go up to relieve 
 Swanson, and asked the cook to assist him. " I think 
 so, too," said the cook. " You are not nearly as bad as 
 you were in Norway, the time you broke your back. If 
 I had a little of that stuff I borrowed from that lord I 
 would fix you up in a couple of days, but I guess there 
 ain't anything of that sort on board, and it is not to be 
 wondered at, either, the way you and the rest of them 
 went at it in Archangel. It was a shame, and I said so 
 at the time. Might have left a little for a rainy day like 
 this. I have never seen any one make a meal of things 
 like you did of that gin, six cases, and no mistake." 
 
 Ericson looked daggers at the cook, but he felt too ill 
 to answer back, and started to get out on deck, the cook 
 assisting him. Swanson, poor fellow, was glad to be re- 
 lieved, and he told the cook that the dog was barking 
 somewhere. Swanson sent the cook to take a look and 
 see where the dog could be, and that was the time 
 that Ifap and I were discovered buried in the pump 
 well. 
 
 Herald, assisting the cook, brought a lot of stores into 
 the cabin, and after considerable trouble with the tem- 
 porary stove, which nearly finished us up for good, owing 
 to the fact that the smoke would not pass out, the wind 
 being so strong, he had the pea soup going, and that 
 evening we all had a fairly good meal. 
 
 We also got our clothes dried, and taking it all in all 
 we considered ourselves well off under the circumstances. 
 Swanson and the cook worked very hard, and before dark 
 they had the greater part of the deckload that was adrift, 
 jettisoned. 
 
 After supper Swanson came below to hold a consulta- 
 tion with the captain in regard to what would be best to 
 do for the safety of the vessel and what remained of the 
 cr6w. There could be no secret about this, because we 
 
274 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 were all down in the cabin, except Ericson who was at 
 the wheel. Swanson explained to the old man just how 
 things were, and informed him that we had three feet of 
 water in the hold, and that it made the vessel very slug- 
 gish, and he had an idea that if we hauled her up to the 
 wind she would list over to a dangerous angle. Bengston 
 told him that he could feel where he was sitting that she 
 had a lot of water in her, but that there was no immediate 
 danger from that source, inasmuch as we had all sorts of 
 sea room and could keep before it, no matter from what 
 direction the wind should happen to come. Swanson told 
 him that with the small amount of canvas we carried the 
 vessel was not making over four knots per hour, and if 
 the wind increased he thought that he and the cook would 
 be able to take one of the topsails off her. " The vessel 
 is as tight as a bottle," said Swanson. " The water we 
 have in her all came through the fore hatch, which is 
 bursted, and I was thinking if we could keep her going 
 as she does now, we are all right. We will all be on our 
 legs again in a few days, and then we will get the water 
 out of her, and after that I think we will be able to 
 straighten up things a bit and get another suit of sails 
 bent. Tbat done, there is no reason, that I can see, why 
 we shouldn't be able to bring her to our destination, al- 
 though we are shorthanded." 
 
 " You are talking like a man," said Bengston. " I 
 would rather die than abandon the old ship after all this 
 trouble. The ship is insured to her full value at Lloyds, 
 and if we bring her in — it will be a feather in our hats. 
 They will re-rig her and build new houses on her; put 
 her in first class order again, and they will come off cheap, 
 at that. Besides, I am sure they will recompense the 
 crew and officers for the loss of their clothes. I have 
 dealt with the Lloyds before and know what I'm talking 
 about." 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 275 
 
 Bengston turned to the cook and Herald and asked 
 them if they understood what he expected of them. The 
 cook answered that he never for a moment thought that 
 anybody would have an idea of giving up a vessel as 
 seaworthy as the Forsette; that he and another man — 
 the fellow was no use at all — had once sailed a dismasted 
 vessel from Cape Horn to Montevideo, and the owners 
 never as much as asked them to take a drink. But then, 
 the vessel was not insured. 
 
 " I do hope the Lloyds will do something in the clothes 
 line," he continued. " I ain't got a thing except what 
 I got on now, and you can see for yourself it is nothing 
 but old canvas I have tied about me. If any of my old 
 friends in Newport see me in this rig they will swear that 
 it is Robinson Crusoe or the Czar of Russia you have 
 brought as a passenger from Archangel." 
 
 Herald said that he thought he would be all right to 
 do some work very soon. He was satisfied that it was 
 only bruises and a certain amount of stiffness that both- 
 ered him. " Of course it is," chipped in the cook. " If 
 we could get a little hot stuff for the inside we would 
 limber up at once. But I wouldn't advise letting Ericson 
 have charge of the bottle. He is too radical and no mis- 
 take, when it comes to handling a bottle, believe me." 
 
 The wind continued to blow from the north and the 
 IsTW. At times it moderated some, but for the greater 
 part of a week it was a fresh gale. During that week we 
 were going along under the two topsails. The steering 
 and other necessary work required was done by Swanson, 
 Ericson, and the cook. Herald did the little cooking that 
 could be done on our makeshift stove. Jack and I were 
 improving fast. But the old man's feet seemed to get 
 worse and he suffered terrible pains. We had no medi- 
 cine on board that seemed to help him any, but he found 
 some relief when he kept his feet in hot water. 
 
276 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 It was the following Sunday morning after our mishap 
 that we all mustered on deck. It was a fine, clear morn- 
 ing, but very cold. We carried the old man up on deck 
 in his chair, and rigged him up in such a position that 
 he could steer the ship. 
 
 We then manned the pump and continued pumping the 
 whole day. At nightfall when we were ready to drop 
 from exhaustion, she commenced to suck. It was a wel- 
 come sign, and we threw ourselves down on deck for a 
 good rest. Having rested a few minutes, Swanson told 
 us to try her once more and that would be the last. So 
 we went at it once more, but she started sucking almost 
 at once, which meant that she was dry, " almost as dry 
 as we are," said the cook. And we all started laughing, 
 Swanson included. 
 
 We all went aft, feeling tired, but happy. Bengston 
 told the cook to dig out the bottle and the big glass. 
 Everybody had a drink and those that wanted more had 
 two, after which we threw ourselves down on the deck for 
 a rest. Bengston said that he was feeling better than 
 he had felt any time since the disaster, and when Swanson 
 offered to relieve him at the wheel he would not hear of 
 it until we had had our supper. 
 
 Jack had been exempt from the pumping and was in- 
 stalled as cook. He was weaker than any of us, but as 
 cheerful as ever; no fault to find with anything, and con- 
 sidering what he had to cook he simply did wonders. We 
 all sat down and filled up on salt meat and black coffee. 
 The bread we could not stomach, as it was saturated with 
 salt water. 
 
 After supper Swanson arranged that it would be two 
 hours apiece at the wheel during the night, with orders 
 to call him if it should be necessary. Everybody else 
 except the helmsman would sleep in. 
 
 Swanson tied a piece of rope to his feet when he laid 
 
YANKEE SWANSON ^77 
 
 down, and told us to pull away on it if we wanted him 
 for anything. 
 
 It was my turn at the wheel from midnight until two 
 o'clock, and it was a most beautiful night and perfectly 
 cloudless. I was steering right before thtf wind, making 
 about a south course. Jack, whose turn it would be next, 
 came out long before I intended to run down to call him. 
 He said he had been very restless and could not sleep. 
 He stood alongside of me, and after a while he asked me 
 if I had been at all scared during the storm. I enquired 
 why he asked, and he held back for a moment, as if he 
 did not care to tell me. Finally he said he was curious 
 to know because he had been very much frightened him- 
 self and was afraid that he was a little coward. After 
 I had told him of how I felt that afternoon he felt much 
 better and said that he thought that he could now get 
 some sleep, and after having thrown his arms about me 
 and telling me that I was his best friend, he skipped down 
 and was soon sound asleep. 
 
 As I did not feel very sleepy myself, having had a 
 good sleep the first part of the night, I did not call my 
 friend until his watch was more than half over. When 
 he came up to relieve me his faithful friend Nap came 
 along also. Nap had fully recovered from the tough 
 knocking about he had received, but he had lost a lot of 
 flesh, more than any of us, owing to the fact that his chief 
 diet, bread, we had none of, it all having been ruined by 
 salt water. 
 
 Jack patted the dog on the head, and said, " Poor Nap, 
 Swanson has told me that we will make land to-morrow 
 and if we meet any vessels we will board them and buy 
 some bread for you." Nap wagged his tail and pricked 
 up his ears as if it was good news and threw himself down 
 at the feet of the boy. I left them and went down and 
 turned into Jack's bunk. 
 
a78 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Jack called Swanson at five o'clock and when he came 
 on deck he brought his sextant along and took some obser- 
 vations of the north star. He left the boy at the wheel 
 while he worked them out, and when he had finished he 
 took the wheel and told Jack to run up on the topsailyard 
 and take a good look aU around for a light. 
 
 Jack ran up and after a few minutes he reported ai 
 light right ahead. Swanson shouted to him to come down, 
 and turning the wheel over to the boy, Swanson went 
 down to consult the captain. 
 
 The light we made was the Butt of Lewis, on the 
 Hebrides Island. Swanson roused out all hands, and we 
 braced up on the port braces and brought the wind in a 
 couple points on the starboard quarter. Jack and I were 
 sent up to cast loose the upper topsails. We also set 
 another jib and the main staysail. 
 
 We missed our three sailors we had lost a great deal, 
 but never as much as now, when it came to mastheading 
 the topsails. We had to clap the handy Billy on to the 
 halyards several times before we got them up. 
 
 By daylight, or about nine o'clock, we had everything 
 set that was bent, and we were going along at a fairly 
 good gait, with land five or six miles off on the port side. 
 
 Swanson and the cook had done wonders since our 
 mishap. They had practically, without any assistance, 
 bent a number of sails and put the headgear in such shape 
 that we could make use of the forestaysail and a jib. The 
 courses were not as yet bent, but now having made the 
 land and knowing to a certainty where we were, it was 
 necessary to get them bent. Accordingly after we had 
 had some coffee, we got out the course from under the 
 half-deck and sent them aloft, and by noon they were 
 bent and furled. Bengston did not wish Swanson to 
 set them yet, being afraid that we would not be able to 
 take them in if it should come on to blow during the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 879 
 
 night. " We have a good way to go yet before we get 
 to the north channel," explained Bengston, " and I don't 
 like to enter narrow waters until I'm able to walk and 
 the boys are a little stronger. If it comes to worse we 
 can go outside of Ireland; plenty of sea room there, and 
 we are in no hurry. The main thing is to get the ship 
 safely to Newport. We will sight plenty of vessels in 
 a day or two, and we can easily put the dingy over and 
 kedge a few stores." 
 
 In the evening the weather put on a threatening ap- 
 pearance. We took in the lighter sails and snugged her 
 dovm for the night. As it was necessary now to keep 
 lookout on account of the shipping we expected to meet, 
 Swanson set regular sea watches again. Swanson, Jack, 
 and I made up the port watch ; Ericson, cook, and Herald, 
 starboard watch. 
 
 During our watch that night we met three sailing 
 vessels and one small steamer. Swanson said he wished 
 it had been daylight; he would have signalled one or the 
 other of them and we would have borrowed some stores. 
 
 The next day we met a little English brig. We ran up 
 a distress signal and backed our mainyards. The brig 
 hove to, and our little dingy, which had remained in the 
 davits practically undamaged, was lowered, and Swanson, 
 cook, and Jack rowed over to the Englishman. They 
 remained there a long time, at least Bengston thought 
 they did, and he was nervous about it. When they did 
 return they brought bread and other good things, for 
 which the Englishman refused to take any money. 
 
 The cause of their staying so long, and perhaps also 
 the cause for the unexpected liberality of the English 
 captain was this : Our cook and the captain of the brig 
 had been shipmates some years ago on a coasting vessel. 
 The Englishman had then been mate, and from what 
 Swanson told Bengston, there must have been considerable 
 
280 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 rivalry between the two on board the same vessel, as evi- 
 dently the captain of the brig was as great a talker as our 
 cook, and was well up in telling funny stories too. Jack 
 told me that our cook and the captain embraced one an- 
 other as if they had been looking for each other for years 
 and then suddenly, after having given up all hopes of 
 ever seeing one another again, they met. However that 
 might be, their acquaiatanceship was certainly a godsend 
 to us, inasmuch as our cook was not bashful in asking for 
 things, and he even got some medicine for the old man's 
 feet, and last, but not least, he received a bottle of Scotch 
 whiskey. 
 
 When everything they had received was stowed away 
 in the boat Swanson and the skipper shook hands, the 
 skipper wishing him a pleasant voyage. As they pulled 
 away, the skipper shouted, " Good-bye, cook, and God 
 bless you. I shall always remember you as the most 
 cheerful liar in the whole British Empire." The cook 
 stopped rowing, took off an old piece of canvas that an- 
 swered for headgear, bowed his old head very low, and 
 answered, " Don't be over generous with your compli- 
 ments, captain, I shall always take off my hat to you as 
 the recognised champion liar on the coast." 
 
 Having hoisted the boat we all got busy getting some- 
 thing to eat. The Englishman had given us a bucket full 
 of potatoes, and the cook made up a good lobscouse. Be- 
 fore we started to eat, the cook treated to whiskey, but it 
 was noticed that he hunted up the small glass. Ericson 
 objected to that, and said that it was no use unless a man 
 got enough so that he could at least feel it. The cook 
 took offence at that, and asked him to bear in mind that 
 it was whiskey he was treating to and not. sandpaper gin, 
 which had the faculty of scratching the whole way down. 
 Anyhow, we got our stomachs full and everybody became 
 cheerful once more; even the old man thought that he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 281 
 
 was feeling better, and as tte weather had a promising 
 look, we set every sail we had and squared off to pass 
 through the north channel between England and Ireland. 
 
 We were two months out from Archangel the morning 
 we entered the north channel. We passed close to the 
 Irish coast, Fair Head Lighthouse about four miles off. 
 Shipping of all kinds was plentiful. The wind was fair 
 and the prospect of not getting into any more trouble 
 was good. 
 
 The following day the wind came out from the south- 
 ward with rainy weather. This meant more hardship, 
 because we had to be continually on deck, as we went 
 about every two hours or so. As the wind was not too 
 strong and the current seemed to be in our favour, we 
 made a pretty good progress, and late one afternoon we 
 came to anchor about a mile from shore on the NW coast 
 of the Isle of Man. Everybody being thoroughly played 
 out and the prospect of a gale springing up from the 
 southward, Bengston thought it best to come to anchor 
 while we had a chance, and to recuperate a little, as we 
 would not be able to do much anyhow in a southerly 
 gale. 
 
 It was an awful job to get the anchors over the bow, 
 owing to the fact that they had been stowed on the gallant 
 fo'cs'le, which, having caved in altogether, the anchors 
 had to be lifted up over the bulwarks. But where there 
 is a will there is a way, and we did it. The anchor down 
 and the sails furled after a fashion, we turned in and 
 slept the sleep of the just. In the morning it started to 
 blow from the southward and increased to a fresh gale by 
 nightfall. We were well sheltered where we were an- 
 chored, because the wind was off the land. A great many 
 vessels came in and anchored during that day, evidently 
 expecting it was going to be real bad weather. 
 
 The Isle of Man has a pretty appearance from the sea, 
 
282 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 and it is pretty on shore too, as I found out when going 
 ashore a few days later. 
 
 In the evening after we had anchored, a fishing boat 
 came alongside and we bought some fish. They promised 
 to come back the next day to bring us off some stores and 
 also to take on shore some mail, Bengston being anxious 
 to notify the owner and the consignee of the cargo that 
 we were all right and at anchor off the Isle of Man. 
 
 Owing to the strong wind, no boats came out the next 
 day. Several more vessels came in and anchored, one of 
 them a British barque we had been with at Archangel. 
 She also showed traces of a hard passage, her jib boom 
 gone and bulwarks stove in, and she had also lost two men 
 on the trip over. 
 
 The following day it was still blowing hard. A boat 
 came out and called at several of the British vessels, and 
 Swanson hailed it just as it passed under our stern. The 
 boat came alongside and Bengston gave the boatman a 
 couple of telegrams that he wished forwarded, and also a 
 letter asking permission to be allowed to send a boat on 
 shore when the weather moderated, as he wanted to con- 
 sult a doctor and also buy a few stores. The boatman 
 went away and during the day a signal by means of the 
 code flags was run up on shore, notifying Bengston that 
 permission had been granted. 
 
 Bengston told Swanson to go ashore as soon as he 
 thought it was safe to do so, in the small dingy, and ac- 
 cordingly we got the boat ready and Swanson detailed 
 the cook and me to be boat pullers. The wind continued 
 to blow from the southward, and it was several days be- 
 fore Swanson deemed it safe to launch the little boat. 
 We landed on the beach and dragged the dingy up clear 
 of the water. The town was a couple of miles away 
 from where we landed, and Swanson started off on foot 
 toward the town. He had not gone very far when he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 283 
 
 came back and said that walking was bad and proposed 
 that we walk up to a place that looked like a farmhouse 
 and there engage a horse. Having arrived at the place, 
 a man and a dog met us, and Sifranson remarked that he 
 was glad we had not brought Nap with us, as the dog 
 seemed to be savage. 
 
 Swanson introduced himself, after which he enquired 
 if he could hire a horse to take him to tovm. The price 
 the farmer asked was very reasonable, and by hiring two, 
 he gave Swanson to understand, it would be cheaper still. 
 Under those conditions Swanson thought it would be to 
 his advantage to hire two and take the cook along, as he 
 intended to buy a few things in town. 
 
 The farmer said that as a rule he did not like to rent 
 out his horses to sailors, as he had invariably found them 
 to be poor riders, but Swanson assured him that he had 
 been a farmer himself at one time, and although he had 
 not ridden for years, he felt sure that he was able to 
 manage them. 
 
 The cook thought he would go him one better and told 
 the farmer that he had served in the British cavalry in the 
 Crimean war, and felt sure that he could manage any 
 camel they had on the Isle of Man. 
 
 Giving me instructions to keep an eye on the dingy and 
 to stay around the farmhouse until they came back, the 
 two cavalrymen mounted and were off. I could ride 
 horseback myself a little, and the moment the cook got on 
 his horse I could tell that he had never been on one before. 
 Swanson, on the other hand, seemed at home. 
 
 The cook remarked that the saddle was not of the kind 
 he was used to, but he thought it would do after he had got 
 used to it a bit. As they started off, the dog commenced 
 barking and snapping at the heels of the cook's horse, 
 causing it to shy a little to one side, and down came the 
 cook with a thud that must have been very painful. 
 
284 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 The fanner laughed and advised the cook not to try it 
 again, but he would not stand for it and mounted afresh, 
 remarking that he used to ride camels, but had not ridden 
 any since he was in the Indian Mutiny. 
 
 The farmer chased the dog away, and the cook started 
 off at a brisk trot, Swanson being some distance in the 
 lead. 
 
 The farmer asked me to come into the house. He told 
 me to take a seat and informed his wife and two pretty 
 daughters who I was. They seemed to be interested, and 
 asked me questions. I gave them a detailed accoimt of 
 our terrible voyage, and showed my bruises on arms and 
 legs, and worst of all, my hands, which were badly swollen, 
 with great big cracks in the finger joints which caused 
 them to bleed when I tried to straighten out my fingers. 
 The mother sympathised with me and gave me some oint- 
 ment to take with me. 
 
 At dinner I was asked to take a seat at the table, and 
 enjoyed it very much, not having had such a meal since 
 my friend Sambo treated me in Archangel. 
 
 Having told them about the loss of most of our clothes, 
 they made me up a little bundle which I opened on board 
 ship and found five pairs of ladies' stockings. 
 
 In the afternoon I went with the daughters down in 
 the basement and assisted them in stowing away a lot of 
 potatoes, which was their winter supply, I suppose. They 
 were very chatty, and I warmed up a bit and related lots 
 of things, mostly about Jack and Nap, and what a lot of 
 fun it was to be a sailor. 
 
 As I had a number of Russian cups that I had intended 
 to send to Grangemouth, I thought I could spare a few 
 of them, and I promised to send them something real 
 pretty the next day if I had the opportunity. 
 
 Late in the afternoon the cavalrymen returned, the 
 cook having fallen off no less than six times. He swore 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 285 
 
 that he would never go riding a camel again if they made 
 him a present of it. 
 
 The farmer asked them to take a drink before they went 
 on board, which they accepted, the cook remarking that 
 the stuff was first class, but that the glass was not quite 
 up to the standard. 
 
 We said " Good-bye " all around, and went down to 
 the beach and launched the boat. 
 
 We were not long getting off to the vessel, because we 
 had fair wind, and besides the weather had somewhat 
 moderated. As we came alongside every one was there 
 to meet us. Nap was barking and scratching at the gang- 
 way, anxious to get us on board. 
 
 Having dropped the boat astern, I went off with Jack 
 and gave him a detailed account of my day's outing. He 
 laughed immoderately when I told about the cook falling 
 off the horse, but he promised not to say anything about it 
 to the other men tmless Swanson or the cook himself felt 
 like saying something about it, because everybody had a 
 great deal more respect for the cook of late, on account 
 of the way he had acted during and after the storm. 
 
 Swanson had brought some medicine for Bengston, as 
 well as for the rest of the crew, who stood in need of it, 
 and the ointment the farmer's wife had given me I let 
 everybody use, and we found it was fine stuff. 
 
 During the night the wind came out from the north. 
 The anchor watch having instructions to call Swanson in 
 case of any change in the weather, I, whose watch it was 
 when the change occurred, went down and roused him 
 out. He came and took a look at it, after which he went 
 down to consult the captain about getting under way. 
 
 Some of the vessels at anchor were already engaged in 
 heaving ii^ on their cables when Swanson told me to go 
 below and rouse all hands. When they were on deck 
 Swanson gave orders to hoist the dingy while Jack and 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 I were sent aloft to loose the topsails. When we came 
 down the dingy was secured, and all hands manned the 
 windlass. While heaving away no one had taken any no- 
 tice of what the other vessels anchored near by us were 
 doing, and the first thing we knew a small barque, her 
 foretopsails aback, drifted down and was almost on top 
 of our vessel before anybody knew anything about it ! 
 
 Swanson seeing what was going to happen, sang out, 
 " Avast heaving," and gave orders to pay out chain. By 
 so doing, we just avoided being run down; as it was, the 
 other vessel's stem scraped our starboard side the whole 
 length and carried away her outriggers. It was pitch 
 dark and we could not see anybody on board of her, but 
 somebody, presumably the captain or the mate, com- 
 menced to abuse us in language unmentionable, stating 
 that it was our fault; that we were in their way for 
 manoeuvring. Swanson responded by throwing an iron 
 belaying pin on board that made somebody howl, and 
 more would have followed the first one if the pins could 
 have been got at handy. 
 
 After the excitement had subsided a little we manned 
 the vsdudlass again, hove short, and sheeted home the top- 
 sails. We stood off on the starboard tack under the two 
 lower topsails, until we had the anchor up and secured, 
 after which we set everything that would draw and 
 squared away before the wind. 
 
 When daylight came on we were abreast of the Calf of 
 Man Light before a fresh northerly breeze, and with the 
 prospect in view of making the entrance of the Bristol 
 Channel the following evening, where Bengston thought 
 we would be able to get a tug to hook on to us and take 
 us to Newport. 
 
 It had been extremely hard work to get the anchor up 
 and secured and all the sails set, shortha:nded as we were 
 and none of us feeling as yet extra well. However, we 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 287 
 
 were all very glad to be away, knowing that we would 
 have some rest once at Newport, because Bengston fuUy 
 expected that we would be there a couple of months dis- 
 charging and refitting. Ericson and Herald would have 
 to be sent to the hospital, as they were not improving like 
 the rest of us. Ericson was continually spitting blood, 
 and Herald complained of a nasty pain in his chest. 
 
 The weather continued fine and the wind fresh, and we 
 made about ten knots per hour and the following evening 
 we were off Lundy Island Light. We got a pilot on 
 board, and after some wrangling about the price with a 
 tugboat that hailed us, the pilot gave orders to take in 
 everything, and to the tugboat to pass his hawser on board. 
 
 We towed all that night and the next day about eight 
 o'clock in the morning we dropped our anchor in the 
 roads just outside of Newport. The quarantine officer 
 and the custom house officials came on board and expressed 
 their surprise at our having arrived at all when they saw 
 the condition of the crew as well as the vessel. 
 
 The quarantine officer, who seemed to be a fine gentle- 
 man, told Captain Bengston to send the sick people who 
 wanted to go to the hospital on shore in his steam launch, 
 and he would see to it that they were properly treated. 
 Captain Bengston thanked him for this consideration, but 
 objected on the grounds that he wanted to get on shore 
 himself first and send some decent clothes on board for 
 the men before allowing them to go on shore. He did 
 not like them to appear in the condition they were in, not 
 having had a change of clothing since the day our trou- 
 bles commenced. 
 
 The doctor persuaded him not to bother with that, in- 
 asmuch as the men would receive clean clothes at the 
 hospital, that being the rule of the institution. 
 
 Accordingly Ericson and Herald left with the doctor. 
 Bengston, with the assistance of Swanson and the cook, 
 
288 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 also went on the boat, Bengston being anxious to see the 
 Swedish consul, and to make a protest in regard to the 
 loss of deck cargo and damage to ship and crew, as well 
 as the loss of three seamen. 
 
 Swanson, cook, Jack, and I, and two seamen were all 
 that were left of the crew. We had had a cup of coffee 
 in the morning, but as yet no breakfast. Swanson went 
 off by himself and lit his pipe, while cook. Jack, and I 
 squatted down on the deckload, making believe we took 
 pleasure in admiring the shipping and other things about 
 us. It is very hard to admire anything when a fellow's 
 stomach is empty. I have found that out on several oc- 
 casions, but on none as much as on this particular one. 
 
 Captain Bengston had promised to send a lot of stores 
 on board to us just as soon as he reached the town, and 
 that is what we were waiting for now. Neither the cook 
 nor any one of us boys would go and light the fire until the 
 shipchandler's boat would come in sight with the much 
 longed for luxuries. Swanson was as anxious about it as 
 any of us. He smoked one pipe after another, the while 
 looking toward Newport. And poor Nap, he was but a 
 shadow of his former self. I doubt if he would have 
 taken any notice even of the two Dutchmen on a lumber 
 pile. 
 
 It was twelve o'clock when the boat came alongside 
 with the stores. Nap was aware of it before any of us, 
 and he started to hold his nose high, his nostrils working 
 like a pair of bellows, finally starting to howl and to run 
 about the deckload like one beset. 
 
 We had waited a long time, it seemed, but now, by 
 looking at all the good things in the boat, it seemed as if 
 it had been worth while. 
 
 The boatmen told Swanson that the captain had told 
 the shipchandler to send ,out everything that he thought 
 would be good for sailors who had not had anything to 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 eat for a month. I shan't itemize what we got, but will 
 say that there was full and plenty of everything, and 
 cook and we boys got busy for fair. 
 
 The boatman brought a letter for Swanson from the 
 captain telling him that he would not be back for a couple 
 of days and that our mail from home would be sent out 
 the next morning in the shipchandler's boat. There was 
 also a bottle of whiskey for Swanson from the shipchan- 
 dler, which the boatman delivered with instructions that 
 Swanson should treat the boys. That done, the boat 
 shoved off to board another vessel. 
 
 Jack and I were peeling potatoes and onions while the 
 cook cut up steaks. Swanson came down in the cabin 
 and told us to hurry up, as he was afraid he would faint. 
 He hunted up a corkscrew and the cook almost fainted 
 when he heard the joyful sound of a cork being extracted. 
 He turned around and could hardly believe his eyes when 
 he saw Swanson with a bottle in one hand and the big 
 glass in the other. 
 
 " Cook," said Swanson, " I have here a bottle of Three 
 Star Hennessy brandy, which the shipchandler sent off 
 to treat the crew with, and as you and I are all that is 
 left — not counting the boys of the crew — who are able 
 to take a drink, I wish to say before we do drink at all, 
 that I consider it an honour to clink glasses with an old 
 man who has proved himself to be as good a sailor as you 
 are and, I am not ashamed to add, as good a seaman as I 
 ever have been shipmate with, when it comes to a real 
 test of pluck and endurance. I wish the whole crew 
 were here to bear witness to what I am saying, because 
 there is no doubt in my mind that if it had not been for 
 you we would all have gone to the Fiddler's Green in- 
 stead of being safe at anchor off this port. I don't want 
 you to get the swell-head because I have said this; it is 
 nothing but the truth, but for fear that you should think 
 
290 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 I am throwing bouquets at you, I will conclude by saying 
 that you are without any exception the worst sea cook and 
 handiest man for spoiling good grub that I ever knew." 
 
 The cook responded by saying that he felt fine to know 
 that he (Swanson), who everybody recognised as a first 
 class seaman, thought so highly of his seamanship. As 
 for Swanson's opinion of his cooking, that was altogether 
 too flattering, and he was a little afraid that Swanson 
 inhaled the odour of the choice steak he was just then 
 putting on the frying pan, and being overcome by it, made 
 use of a statement that could only come from somebody 
 who was entirely ignorant of good cooking, such as he 
 expected a Yankee sailor would be. 
 
 " Well, all right, cook," said Swanson. " I won't argue 
 the point with you. I know that you would get the best 
 of me every time when it comes to telling lies or arguing, 
 but believe me, what I said is true as the gospel, and we 
 will say no more about it," and with that they clinked 
 their glasses and drank. 
 
 The cook smacked his lips and remarked that it was 
 great stuff and what a pity it was that there was so little 
 of it. Then a thought struck him that it would not be 
 out of the way to take another small one, and to let us boys 
 join them, as we had proved ourselves to be pretty good 
 sailors, and that he and Swanson both should consider it 
 an honour to take a drink with two such cracker jacks as 
 we were. But Swanson did not approve of it. He said 
 the stuff was too strong for the likes of us, and that when 
 we got on shore where we could get something milder than 
 brandy we would all take something together. 
 
 " Quite right," said the cook. " But that doesn't hinder 
 you and me from drinking to their long health and pros- 
 perity. It will do the boys as much good as if they had 
 drank it themselves. They are good boys, and as long 
 as they can't drink, there is no harm in a couple of old 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 291 
 
 sea dogs like you and me doing it for them. How about 
 that?" 
 
 " All right, then," said Swanson. " Only I'm afraid 
 that you will spoil all the good things we have got to eat 
 if you take another drink. However, I will give you 
 another one." And with that he poured out a stiff one 
 for the cook, which he swallowed down without saying 
 as much as " ah," only remarking that it was like mother's 
 milk. 
 
 ■We sat down to a good meal and nobody said anything 
 more about bad cooking. I think it tasted better than 
 anything I had ever eaten before, and so did Jack. 
 
 The cook had made up a great big dishful of good stuff 
 for Ifap, and he went at it as only a thoroughly starved- 
 out dog can eat. If any one looked at him while he was 
 eating he would snarl and show his teeth as if afraid 
 somebody would take it away from him. 
 
 When we had finished our dinner Nap had already 
 gone away and turned in to Jack's bunk, where we found 
 him reposing with his nose to the wall, looking very much 
 like a stuffed pig. Jack spoke to him and rolled him 
 over on his back, but he did not seem to like such familiar- 
 ity just then. He had a frown on his face as if in pain 
 and wanted to be left alone. 
 
 We helped the cook to clear away the table, after which 
 Swanson and the cook went to their bunks, while Jack 
 and I went up on deck and squatted down alongside of the 
 house, wondering what would be on t;he programme next, 
 whether we would be towed into dock on the following 
 morning or would have to remain outside for some time. 
 
 I was anxious to get my letters from home and to hear 
 from my brother, who must have received his money by 
 this time if he was to get any at all. 
 
 Our little scheme of getting home by Christmas was 
 now out of the question entirely. It was now the seventh 
 
YANKEE SWANSOls 
 
 of December, and as Bengston fully expected that we 
 would be at this place two months it would be in the latter 
 part of February before we could possibly get home. I 
 had so often related to my friend the jolly times we were 
 in the habit of having at home during Christmas and New 
 Year's, and of all the good things we had to eat, and this 
 had BO worked upon the poor boy that I really think he 
 felt the disappointment more than I did. " Oh, well," 
 he would say, " you will get a letter from grandpa to- 
 morrow, and then you will be happy. I wish I knew 
 where my father is, if he is alive. I shall try to find him 
 some day. Bengston has promised me that he will make 
 enquiries while we are in England, but now that the old 
 man is so sick, I guess he can't do much." 
 
 Jack then brought out the tin whistle. He had not 
 touched it since before the gale. He tried to run oflF the 
 scales and found that his fingers were so stiff that he could 
 not do it. He seemed very much surprised and putting 
 the whistle away commenced to shake his legs as if afraid 
 they would be in a similar condition. Such was not the 
 case, however ; evidently they were as limber as ever. He 
 asked me to take a hand in the dancing, but I reminded 
 him that Swanson was asleep and if he should happen to 
 wake up on account of the noise we were making, he would 
 not like it. 
 
 It was almost dark when Swanson came on deck. He 
 asked us if any boats had been alongside, and I told him 
 no, but that some had been over to the other vessels at 
 anchor. 
 
 " Have you boys had any sleep this afternoon ? " asked 
 Swanson. Having answered in the negative, he said, 
 " Well, why didn't you ? You will have to stand anchor 
 watch to-night, and mind the riding-light don't go out on 
 us. Some steamer might run us down like the one at the 
 Isle of Man." 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Jack and I did not mind the anchor watch. It was a 
 pleasure in comparison with the hardship we had just 
 gone through. 
 
 After supper, which was equally as good as the dinner, 
 we sat down to the table in the cabin and looked through 
 some newspapers that the boatman had given Swanson. I 
 could read the English language much better than Jack, on 
 account of the fact that I continually studied, whereas 
 Jack was bent upon learning Swedish, and spent his spare 
 time getting information from Herald in that language. 
 
 Jack had now been with us a little over four months, 
 and it is no exaggeration to say that as far as speaking is 
 concerned, a person would almost take him to be a native 
 of that country. It seemed a mania with him to speak in 
 that language. Even when Swanson spoke to him in Eng- 
 lish, Jack would answer in Swedish, which made the mate 
 laugh at times, and he swore that the boy would never be 
 anything but a Swede unless something should happen 
 while we were at Newport that would separate us two 
 boys. 
 
 We did not stand any anchor watch that night after all. 
 It was a fine moonlight night, and Swanson said we could 
 turn in, but Nap, who had been asleep all the afternoon, 
 was turned out of doors by Swanson and told to make 
 lots of noise if any boats came alongside. 
 
 The next day the Swedish consul and the agent of the 
 insurance company came on board, a tugboat having 
 brought them alongside. After having talked to Swanson 
 a little while we were all called down in the cabin and our 
 depositions taken in regard to the gale which had done all 
 the damage to the vessel, the loss of the three seamen, and 
 the jettisoning of part of the deck cargo. After our 
 statements had been read over to us we were told to hold 
 up our right hand and swear that it was the truth. Then 
 we signed it and the thing was over. The consul informed 
 
29* YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 Swanson that Captain Bengston had been taken very sick 
 after he got ashore, and had been sent to a hospital; and 
 furthermore, that he expected the Forsette wotdd have to 
 be towed to a place called Bridgewater to discharge her 
 cargo, and if so, the repairs would be done at that place. 
 A proper survey would be held on the vessel after the 
 cargo was discharged, and if the hull was badly damaged 
 most likely the vessel would be condemned and the crew 
 that had been shipped in Sweden would get free transpor- 
 tation home. 
 
 After our visitors had gone, Swanson told us what they 
 had said. I had become so interested in what Swanson 
 told me that I had not noticed my friend's disappearance. 
 I looked around and could see neither him nor the dog. 
 The cook came out of the cabin and I asked bim if he knew 
 where Jack went. He answered, " Down in the den play- 
 ing with the dog. Where else would he be ? " The door 
 to the den, as a rule, was left open, and it surprised me to 
 find it closed. I opened the door softly and found my 
 friend and Is^ap in the bunk, embracing one another, the 
 boy crying as if his heart was completely broken, and the 
 dog whining as if something was radically wrong. I said 
 nothing at first, for the simple reason that I could not 
 trust myseK to open my mouth, well knowing if I had I 
 too would have cried. As it was, I felt a big lump rising 
 in my throat, but I controlled myself until Jack came to 
 a bit, and seeing me sitting in the den he jumped up and 
 again began crying, at the same time throwing his arms 
 about my neck and shouting loud enough, in Swedish, for 
 Swanson to hear, " My dear friend, my dear friend. If 
 they condemn the Forsette I can never go to Sweden with 
 you, and we will never meet again, and what will become 
 of me and poor itfapoleon." 
 
 Swanson then opened the door and saw the situation and 
 was very much touched. I noticed a tear roll down his 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 295 
 
 cheek, and I know he was aware of it himself, hard citizen 
 that he was. He took the boy by the hand and led him 
 into his cabin, where he questioned him about his sorrow 
 and told him that it did not matter what happened to the 
 old ship. Jack should go to Sweden with me somehow or 
 another, even if he had to foot the expenses himself. 
 
 This little talk of Swanson's had a wonderful effect on 
 Jack, and a little while after this heart-breaking scene 
 Jack was doing a fancy clog-dance on the deckload, and 
 the cook remarked that the Frenchman had gone clean 
 crazy, and that it would perhaps be as well to get rid of 
 him at Newport before he developed more violent symp- 
 toms. He had known several almost similar cases before, 
 he told Swanson. " Look at that fellow August that went 
 to the Fiddler's Green here the other day. Well, you 
 didn't see him that day; you were on shore when he was 
 took bad. But I had the devil's own time to straighten 
 him out, and if it hadn't been for a little medicine I 
 borrowed from the English yacht I don't know what 
 would have happened." 
 
 Of course the cook did not mean what he suggested 
 about Jack. He liked the boy as well as he was capable 
 of liking anybody, and would have been the very first to 
 resent any injury done the boy. 
 
 The shipchandler's boat came off with more grub and 
 also brought our mail from home. Swanson received a few 
 lines from Bengston, telling him that he was a very sick 
 man at the hospital. Herald had developed symptoms of 
 pneumonia and the doctors feared for his life. Ericson 
 also was in a bad shape, still spitting blood, but they were 
 all well taken care of. If orders came for the vessel to 
 go to Bridgewater, Swanson was to take charge as if he 
 was the master of the ship, Bengston not expecting to be 
 able to be about for a long time. 
 
 I received several letters from home. My folks were 
 
296 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 all well and happy. They had received my letters from 
 Archangel and enjoyed them immensely, especially what I 
 had written ahout Jack and the dog. Brother had arrived 
 home none the worse from his experience, and he had re- 
 ceived £2,000 as his share for bringing the vessel to 
 England. He had straightened up father's affairs, and 
 everything was as of old, happiness to overflowing. They 
 fully expected that the Forsette would be home by Christ- 
 mas and were making preparations accordingly to have a 
 rattliug good time. Grandpa was making any amount of 
 alterations in his house so as to receive his adopted son 
 Le Fevre and the dog Napoleon in befitting style. Old 
 Blucher had passed iu his checks on the day their letters 
 were written, and grandpa felt very blue, having expressed 
 himself at the dog's funeral that he did not think it would 
 be long before he would follow suit. Axel, my enemy, 
 had gone off to sea again. He did not linger long in the 
 village after he was able to get around a bit from the 
 whaling he had received from grandpa. 
 
 We remained at anchor off Newport a whole week, and 
 it was a week of recuperation, of which we stood very 
 much in need. Still, time hung heavy, as we were 
 anxious to get on shore to have a little recreation, and be- 
 sides, we wanted to see our shipmates at the hospital, 
 especially Herald, who had been like a brother to Jack 
 and me. 
 
 It was on a Sunday morning that a tugboat came along- 
 side and brought instructions from the captain and the 
 Swedish consul to Mr. Swanson to have the vessel towed 
 to Bridgewater. A half dozen sailors came on board 
 to assist in heaving up anchor, the tugboat captain 
 having told Swanson that they were under his in- 
 structions until the vessel was moored to his satisfaction 
 at Bridgewater. 
 
 After having our breakfast, we manned the windlass. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 290f 
 
 The tide was running at its full strength, which caused a 
 great strain to come on the chain, and consequently made 
 heaving very slow. Swanson asked the tugboat captain 
 to pass his hawser on board and take a little strain on it 
 so as to facilitate matters in heaving. The tugboat man 
 was very nasty about it, and said that he had been sent out 
 to tow the old tub into port, and if Swanson was not able to 
 get the anchor up without the assistance of the tugboat he 
 would go back to Newport. 
 
 Swanson said no more, but just then he saw that the 
 fellow was under the influence of liquor. We manned 
 the windlass again, but made no progress ; in fact we lost 
 several links time and again when the vessel would take 
 a sheer and the chain would come across the stem. 
 
 Swanson became very angry, and sang out, " Avast 
 heaving," and told the tugboat man he would not heave 
 until the tide slacked up a bit, whereupon the tugboat man 
 started to use bad language and threatened to leave. 
 Swanson now thoroughly aroused, told him to go if he felt 
 like it, and furthermore, that he would not make use of 
 him or his tugboat on any consideration, if the Forsette 
 never got to Bridgewater. He told the sailors who had 
 been assisting us to go on board the tug as he had no 
 further use for them. The captain objected and refused 
 to let them on board again, saying that they had been sent 
 to heave up the anchor, and if they did not heave it up he 
 would see to it that they did not get any pay. The 
 sailors looked at Swanson as if they wanted instructions, 
 and one fellow remarked that the tide had already slacked 
 up a little and thought we could heave. The tugboat 
 captain, seeing that Swanson was a little undecided about 
 what to do, burst out laughing, . as if it was a great joke, 
 at the same time making a few nasty remarks about Swan- 
 son and his crew. 
 
 Swanson had had enough of it. He never was much at 
 
298 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 bandyiBg words, except for the fun of it, and then only 
 with friends. He shouted out to the tugboat man that if 
 he would come on board he would thrash him within an 
 inch of his life in two minutes. 
 
 It appeared as though the tugboat man had been looking 
 for something of that sort from the beginning, because the 
 challenge was accepted at once. He took off his coat and 
 came out of the pilot house, the while rolling up his sleeves. 
 Swanson noticed that the fellow was a cripple; he halted 
 a little, but at the same time seemed very active. 
 
 Swanson, upon seeing this, excused himself, and be^ed 
 his pardon, saying that he would not fight a cripple on 
 any consideration. This remark Swanson really meant, 
 and would have been willing to apologise, but the tugboat 
 man took it as an insult and became furious. He walked 
 on board and came up on the poop, where Swanson was 
 then standing, and brandished his fist imder Swanson's 
 nose, calling him any number of vile names. Swanson 
 just asked him to go back on board of his craft, as he 
 wanted nothing further from him, but the fellow would 
 not listen to reason, thinking, I suppose, that Swanson 
 was afraid of him. 
 
 Finally he called Swanson a damned coward and hit 
 him on the face with the flat of his hand. This was much 
 more than Swanson could stand. He jimiped back a few 
 feet and cautioned the fellow to be on his guard, and so 
 began the worst fight between two men I have ever seen. 
 It was much more of a fight than the one between Irish 
 and Swanson at Archangel, for the reason Ibat Swanson 
 did not have it all his own way, by any means, this time. 
 The tugboat man was a scrapper and no mistake. He 
 was as lively as Swanson, and if it had not been for the 
 fact that he had been drinking, it is hard to tell how it 
 would have finished. 
 
 Some allowance should of course be made for the con- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 299 
 
 dition Swanson was in. He and the cook had practically 
 sailed the ship for a month on very little to eat, so that it 
 ■was little wonder that he did not show up as well as I had 
 seen him in other fights. However, Swanson came out on 
 top. The tughoat man sang out that he had had enough 
 and wanted to shake hands with Swanson, hut he was so 
 feeble he could not stand up. Blood was all over the 
 poop, and their faces and hands were besmeared with it so 
 that it would have been impossible to recognise either of 
 them. 
 
 Swanson sent the cook down to bring the bottle and he 
 treated everybody while it lasted. 
 
 The tugboat captain was carried on board the tug and 
 the crew washed and fixed him up the best they could. 
 
 Swanson, after having washed and put on sticking 
 plaster here and there did not look so very bad, but he had 
 a nasty black eye and a swollen nose which did not im- 
 prove his looks any. 
 
 While Swanson was fixing up, the mate of the tugboat 
 came on board and asked Swanson if he really meant not 
 to make use of the tug. Swanson said that he would be 
 glad to get the use of her provided they would be reason- 
 able and assist him to get the anchor up, which he con- 
 sidered was nothing more than right, inasmuch as the 
 ship had to pay for the services of the boat. The mat6, 
 who seemed to be a decent young man, told Swanson tti^ 
 the captain was out of the way for the time being arid"ffi& 
 he would answer for doing the right thing by '§waiMS. 
 And also, if anything more was said about the. figSi'^ife 
 would be fair to Swanson in that respect,^ aHd^^^'I^o^Yn 
 who was to blame for it. 
 
 The tug gave us the hawser. WeTiikrai'^d^tl?i>''^n'(5fMs 
 again, and in about an hour we,''wefe^^fi "^OTr'^'^iy to 
 Bridgewater. Wind and tide l^|^WlAl» Q^^Wmafe 
 poor headway, and in the evM&i^W''ffi^^d"fflg^»or 
 
300 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 at a place called Burnliam, there to remain until the tide 
 turned in our favour. 
 
 At midnight we were called out to man the windlass 
 for getting under way once more, but as the wind was 
 blowing very fresh and there was a heavy rain fall- 
 ing, the tugboat mate said he would not start before morn- 
 ing. 
 
 At daylight the weather had moderated and we hove 
 to. The scenery along the river up to Bridgewater was 
 very pretty. Although it was December, everything was 
 green and Jack and I would have enjoyed it all immensely 
 if it had not been for the fact that the nasly fight we had 
 had on board cast a sort of gloom over the whole situation. 
 We were afraid to ask any questions of Swanson. He 
 seemed so angry and was continually feeling his nose 
 which, to judge by its size, must have been very sore. 
 
 This was the first time I ever heard the cook take Swan- 
 son's part, and I was somewhat surprised at it. He said 
 that he felt very bad that the fight turned out as it did. 
 He would have liked to have seen the tugboat man killed 
 outright, as he justly deserved such a fate, and if he was 
 only a few years younger he would take on the tugboat 
 man himself after he had recovered a bit. 
 
 I told the cook that I thought the fellow would have 
 been too much for him, even if he was twenty years 
 younger, but the cook laughed and said, " Don't you fool 
 yourself, boy. I am sixty and past now, but look at the 
 way I polished up a cook-house full of cooks at Arch- 
 angel." 
 
 Late in the evening we were moored to a stone quay in 
 the dock at Bridgewater. The man who had assisted us 
 went back to the tugboat. 
 
 As no fire was allowed on board of the vessel, we had to 
 go ashore to get something to eat. 
 
 Swanson engaged an old man to be night watchman 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 301 
 
 while the vessel was in port, and after having given him 
 some instructions, Swanson told us to come along. 
 
 It felt good to be on dry land again. Nap thoroughly 
 enjoyed it. He ran a long way ahead of us and then 
 came back, barking as if he wanted to hurry us along. 
 
 The cook volunteered the information that he knew of 
 a fine eating-house kept by an Irish woman, who was a 
 former sweetheart of his. " If she is stiU doing business 
 that AviU be the place to go for a square meal, and her 
 corned-beef and cabbage can't be beat," said the cook. 
 
THE waterfront streets at Bridgewater were similar in 
 appearance to other seaport towns in England : ware- 
 houses, public houses, and eating-houses, with here and 
 there a free and easy place that catered especially to the 
 sailors and dock labourers, were in evidence. 
 
 I was surprised at the great number of drunken people 
 — women and children, as well as men staggering along 
 the street. I got used to all that before we left Bridge- 
 water; so much so that I did not think anything of it. 
 
 The cook made enquiries about his old sweetheart, and 
 was told she was in business in another part of the town, 
 too far to walk for the sake of getting something to 
 eat. 
 
 Swanson caught sight of a place which took his fancy, 
 from its clean appearance on the exterior, and told us to 
 come along. We entered and found it to be public house 
 and restaurant combined. Swanson asked to see the pro- 
 prietor and was shown into a private room. The place 
 was almost packed with sailors and dock labourers, the 
 majority of which were sitting dovrai at little tables, play- 
 ing cards and, of course, drinking ale. 
 
 In one corner of the place was a little platform raised 
 about three feet above the floor, and on which sat a fellow 
 who played the accordion. The tune he played sounded 
 very familiar to me; I had heard it often before among 
 the lumber piles at Archangel, and I tried to look through 
 the tobacco smoke to see if I could recognise the player. 
 He turned out to be our friend, the boatswain of the Grer- 
 man vessel, who used to amuse us at Archangel. The 
 
 302 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 303 
 
 vessel he was on had made a very quick passage from Arch- 
 angel to Bridgewater, where she had discharged her cargo 
 and left several weeks before. If it had not been for Nap 
 I don't think the boatswain would have recognised me 
 that evening, because he was a little under the influence 
 of liquor, and besides, the smoke was dense, which made 
 it difficult to see through. 
 
 Nap's curiosity was aroused by the music; perhaps he 
 thought he had heard it before. He walked up to the 
 platform, put his forepaws on the edge of it, and looked 
 the musician square in the face. The music stopped all 
 of a sudden, very much to the annoyance of a sailor and 
 a young lady who were dancing to the strain of " The Blue 
 Danube." 
 
 " Main Gott im Hiromel," said the boatswain, " that 
 is Napoleon, or I'm a liar." He came down off the plat- 
 form, took a look around the place, but his bleary eyes 
 were slow in detecting us. He finally got his eyes on the 
 cook, who was lined up at the bar with some newly found 
 old shipmates, to whom he was relating his late terrible 
 experiences. Judging from the way the musician em- 
 braced the cook, it seemed as if they were friends of long 
 standing. Having had a, round of drinks or two at the 
 musician's expense, the cook brought the musician to 
 where we were standing, and we met with the same sincere 
 welcome the cook had received. Nothing would do but 
 that we be introduced to the whole house. The musician 
 enlarged upon the fact that we two. Jack and I, were the 
 two best step-dancers he had ever seen, and that Jack was 
 a musician of no mean order, on the tin whistle. 
 
 The treating became general. Nothing seemed too 
 good for us, and Swanson, whose reputation as a scrapper, 
 had preceded us to Bridgewater, thanks to the musician 
 and the crew of the German vessel, was looked upon as a 
 wonder, and everybody was anxious to see him come out 
 
304) YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 from the private apartment of the proprietor, with whom 
 he was still in conference. 
 
 When Swanson and the proprietor came out, the cook 
 and the two seamen of ours were in such a shape that they 
 did not care much for anything to eat. However, Swan- 
 son explained that he had made arrangements with the 
 proprietor that in the future we were to take our meals at 
 this place, three times a day, and that he would be paid 
 for it whether we ate there or not. 
 
 The musician, who had seen Swanson at Archangel on 
 numerous occasions, approached Swanson, and after hav- 
 ing introduced himself Swanson remembered him and 
 they shook hands. The proprietor called for a round of 
 drinks for the whole house, in which Swanson, out of good 
 fellowship, had to join, very much against his will. 
 
 The scrap with Irish became a general topic, as did the 
 fight with the tugboat man, and Swanson was a happy 
 man when he finally made his escape. 
 
 Jack and I went in and had our supper, which was 
 none too good, and having finished, we intended to take a 
 walk about the place, which was not very big, and then 
 go on board and have a good sleep. 
 
 When we went out into the barroom the cook and the 
 musician grabbed hold of us and insisted upon our giving 
 the crowd a treat to a dance. We made all sorts of ex- 
 cuses, but they would not stand for any, and we were 
 politely told that if we wanted to get along among British 
 seamen we simply had to hold our end up or else not 
 patronise the place, which we would find would be very 
 uncomfortable indeed. I was for making a break for the 
 door, but Jack persuaded me not to, as we would have to 
 come there again to get our grub, and they would make it 
 disagreeable for us. 
 
 Having consented to dance, the musician took his chair 
 off the platform, where it was unanimously decided the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 305 
 
 stunt should be performed. The musician seated himself 
 directly below us and struck up a tune which Jack had 
 taught him at Solombola. The audience approved of 
 it, as it was very popular in England just about that 
 time. 
 
 Jack then announced that we were ready, and the musi- 
 cian went to it, and so did Jack and I. The platform 
 being only about six feet square, we did not have much 
 room to do any fancy steps, so confined ourselves entirely 
 to keeping perfect time, but dancing in the same place, 
 something after the fashion of the statue-dance. When 
 the musician stopped playing we could not hear ourselves 
 for the roar that arose from the audience; every one was 
 thoroughly satisfied ; such perfect dancing they had never 
 seen before among sailormen. Round after round of 
 drinks was called for, and as Jack and I did not drink, 
 one of the ladies of the house passed around my hat and 
 collected fifteen shillings, which she turned over to us with 
 the understanding that we were to give them one more 
 dance and then we would be allowed to go sightseeing. 
 Our success was entirely unexpected, as far as money was 
 concerned, and of course we danced another one, but this 
 time on the floor where we had a chance to do a little side 
 kicking, and turn a few somersaults, which greatly de- 
 lighted the audience. Then followed more rounds of 
 drinks, and the proprietor and his wife presented us with- 
 half a crown apiece in appreciation of the evening's enter- 
 tainment, which must have netted them a tidy little sum, 
 to judge from the number of drinks they sold. 
 
 We were happy to get out of the place. It was simply 
 reeking with the odour of stale beer and Scotch whiskey, 
 and this, combined with strong tobacco smoke, made the 
 place unbearable, especially so for step-dancing which any 
 dancer knows is quite a little work in itself. 
 
 The cook followed us out and struck us for the loan of 
 
306 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 a few shillings, which he would return with interest as 
 soon as he could get some money from Swanson, who was 
 to all intents and purposes master of the Forsette for the 
 time being. 
 
 Being anxious to get clear of him and not to have him 
 following us, I gave him five shillings which he said was 
 little enough, considering all the trouble and care we had 
 been to him during the voyage when we were laid up with 
 broken bones and cracked skulls, to say nothing about all 
 the fine points he had given us in the manly art of self- 
 defence, by which we could now make a great deal of 
 money if we would consent to go a box or two in the public 
 house after having done a little step-dance. 
 
 Dismissing the cook. Jack and I took a walk which 
 brought us into a business street. We took in all the shop 
 windows and wound up by spending the greater part of 
 our earnings in buying ourselves each a nice suit of un- 
 derwear. 
 
 On our way back to the ship we passed a music hall and 
 we thought of taking it in, but as they objected to letting 
 ^Napoleon enter we went into a coffee place instead, where 
 we treated l^ap, as well as ourselves, after which we went 
 on board and had a fine sleep. 
 
 The following morning a big gang of labourers came on 
 board and started discharging our cargo. Having no crew 
 except Jack and me besides the two seamen — who, by 
 the way, did not turn up, having fallen by the wayside, as 
 had the cook, in the public house, — we were exempt from 
 having anything to do with the cargo. Swanson engaged 
 a responsible man to look out for the vessel during the 
 day, and giving Jack and me instructions as to what he 
 wanted us to do he took the train to Newport to consult 
 the captain and also to call on the other sick members 
 in the hospital. 
 
 The longshoremen were mostly young men, and Jack 
 
YANKEE SWANSON SOT 
 
 and I very soon became on friendly terms witli them. 
 One fellow was quite a dog fancier, and took a great deal 
 of interest in Napoleon. He proposed to match his bull- 
 dog, named Wellington, against Nap, the stakes to be one 
 pound a side. Jack would not hear of it, as he did not 
 like to see animals hurt, and beside he considered that 
 now since Blucher was dead, grandpa was the rightful 
 owner of the dog. 
 
 One day this man brought the bulldog down to the ship. 
 He was about the size of Nap but looked much stronger. 
 He tied the dog to a ringbolt on deck and went down in 
 the hold to handle lumber. Jack and I were busy down 
 in the cabin and were not aware of the stranger being on 
 board, but Nap, who was asleep in the den, undoubtedly 
 smelt the stranger and went on deck to see about it. We 
 were aroused by a most horrible noise of dogs snarling 
 and growling, and when we arrived on deck the fight was 
 on in full earnest. Jack and I attempted to get in and 
 stop it, but the men, who had assembled in full force, held 
 us back, and while the fight progressed they shouted and 
 gave odds first on Nap and then on the Duke, just as their 
 fancy led them to believe one dog was getting the better 
 of the other. After a while it seemed as if Nap was 
 getting the upper hand of the Duke, and one fellow re- 
 marked, " It looks as if it was about 4 o'clock at Water- 
 loo, and it is time for Blucher to make his appearance or 
 it wUl be all off with Wellington." " Blucher is dead," 
 shouted Jack, " and Nap will win." " If he does," shouted 
 another longshoreman, " you shall have your pound. I 
 have three pounds on Nap to win." " Go it. Nap " ; 
 " Go it, Duke," shouted the men as if fairly crazed with 
 excitement. 
 
 The dogs now had one another by the throat, and Nap 
 appeared to be the stronger. He was walking backward, 
 dragging the Duke slowly, step by step, along the deck 
 
308 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 toward the after hatch, which was open, and the hatch 
 combing only six inches high. 
 
 The owner of Wellington was for calling off the fight 
 at this stage of the game, and it looked as if it was going 
 to develop into a general engagement between the men, 
 but luckily calmer thoughts prevailed, and the dogs were 
 allowed to fight it out to a finish. We did not have long 
 to wait for the finish, either. Wellington seemed to divine 
 what Nap was up to and struggled hard to prevent Nap 
 from dragging him along, but it was in vain ; his strength 
 was gone and Nap undoubtedly was aware of it. They 
 were now at the hatch combing, and were still snarling as 
 if challenging one another to let go their hold for one 
 brief moment, which would give one or the other an 
 advantage. 
 
 Every one was on the qui vive as to what would happen 
 next, when to our surprise Nap mustered every ounce of 
 strength left him, and with one throw threw the Duke of 
 Wellington, with a broken neck, down in the hatch. I 
 never saw a more excited lot of men. They swore, 
 laughed, and joshed one another as though it were the 
 grandest thing ever happened. Wellington was the best 
 scrapper in Bridgewater, and had never been whipped 
 before, and there he was, dead from a broken neck, killed 
 by Napoleon, an entire stranger of doubtful pedigree. 
 This was indeed sad, but fair play is the order of the day 
 in old England, and Nap was hailed as the champion all- 
 around fighter in Bridgewater. 
 
 Nap was a pitiful sight. Hardly an inch of his body 
 that was not injured by Wellington's teeth. We immedi- 
 ately got some hot water from shore and washed him, after 
 which we applied arnica in abundance, and in about a 
 week he was as well as ever, barring several places minus 
 hair. We took care that he had no more fights while at 
 Bridgewater, but Jack had several tempting offers to sell 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 309 
 
 Lim. One man in particular asked Jack to name his 
 price and he would pay it, but Jack answered that money 
 would not buy a dog that had the brains and fighting 
 ability of his Nap. 
 
 Swanson was away from the ship three days, and when 
 he returned the cargo was out. He gave us the news that 
 Captain Bengston was a very sick man, and that Ericson 
 was not expected to live but a few days more. Herald 
 was improving slowly, but as yet was not able to join the 
 vessel. Our two sailors had not been near the ship since 
 the first evening we arrived at Bridgewater, and Swanson 
 said that as soon as they showed up he would pay them 
 off, as he had no further use for them ; and besides, it was 
 only an extra expense to keep the crew by, as there really 
 would be nothing for them to do until the ship had been 
 repaired and ready to go to sea. The insurance agent 
 came on board with a gang of men and took the ship out of 
 the dock and put her on the gridiron, there to examine 
 her bottom. When the tide receded, it left her dry, and a 
 gang of ship carpenters went to work and examined her 
 thoroughly. They pronounced her sound in every way. 
 No bolts or knees had started, although she had been sub- 
 jected to an awful strain. She was built of oak through- 
 out. 
 
 Upon examining the lower masts, it was found that 
 all three were sprung under the mast coats. The agent 
 scratched his head, this was a little more than he had 
 expected. It practically called for everything new above 
 the deck. New forward deck house and gallant fo'cs'les 
 were other items, and the after house would also have to 
 be repaired. 
 
 At high water we brought the Forsette back in the dock 
 and moored her in a place where we were going to have 
 the refitting done, if it should be decided to do so. The 
 agent seemed to think that it would be cheaper for the 
 
310 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 insurance company not to do it, on account of the lower 
 masts having been damaged. 
 
 It was now Christmas, and as yet the insurance people 
 had not decided what they would do. 
 
 We bad an easy time of it. The cook. Jack, and I had 
 very little to do. We took our three meals regularly at 
 the restaurant, and during the evenings we did a little 
 stunt of dancing or boxing, for which we were very hand- 
 somely paid. Jack put Nap through a number of tricks 
 which added to the attraction of the public house, and 
 taking it all in all we were happy and had a splendid time. 
 
 Our cook had found his former sweetheart — she was 
 now a widow — and it looked as if they were gradually 
 drifting together again, and on the point of becoming one. 
 Every time after a prolonged visit the cook would tell us 
 about some new fine point in the widow he had only then 
 discovered, and could not make out why he had not dis- 
 covered it before. 
 
 < Christmas day the cook invited Jack and me to go with 
 him to the widow's to take dinner. We took !N"ap along, 
 because the cook wanted to show her to what a perfect 
 state he had trained that dog. Jack and I each had on 
 new clothes, hats, and shoes, all bought with the money 
 we had made doing our little stunts at the public house, 
 and the cook was equally well rigged, having invested in 
 a new suit, with the idea of making a good impression on 
 the widow. 
 
 She lived in a little cottage with a garden in front, on 
 the outskirts of the town. As it was Christmas, nothing 
 was in bloom, but from the appearance of things in general 
 everything seemed to be well kept, and I thought the 
 garden must be beautiful in the summer time. 
 
 The widow came to greet us, and I was not a little sur- 
 prised to behold a woman of about forty years of age and 
 quite good-looking. She made us welcome in a way that 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 311 
 
 bespoke a certain amount of refinement, and it struck me 
 at once as being strange that this fine motherly woman 
 could possibly fall in love with a scalawag like the cook. 
 She took us into the parlour and bade us be seated. Every- 
 thing was as clean and neat as scrubbing and dusting could 
 make it. 
 
 After having asked about our health and how we felt 
 after our terrible passage, she remarked how fortunate we 
 were to have had a man on board like Mr. Johnson (the 
 cook), who had saved the ship and all from total destruc- 
 tion. The cook winked at me, as much as to say, " Don't 
 give me away." 
 
 She went on to say that Mr. Johnson was a most re- 
 markable man, and when she first knew him, twenty years 
 ago, he was an extremely handsome fellow, and that all 
 the prettiest girls in Liverpool had been crazy after him. 
 " Yes, and in London, too," chipped in Mr. Johnson. 
 " In London, too," repeated the widow, with special stress 
 on it, as though she wanted Jack and me to get thoroughly 
 acquainted with what an awful lady-kiUer Mr. Johnson 
 had formerly been. But now, she took ^he trouble to 
 inform us, after years of experience he had come to his 
 senses and was a little more amenable to reason, and she 
 thought that after such a terrible voyage as we had had 
 from Eussia he ought to be satisfied to settle down and 
 get married, which she had found was, after all, the height 
 of bliss and the only way to live. The cook said that for 
 the present he had made up his mind to stay on shore, 
 provided he could get something suitable to do, but he 
 expected he would have a hard time to get anything be- 
 cause he was getting old, and he particularly noticed that 
 the ladies were not as fond of him as they were formerly. 
 
 The conversation dragged on in this manner for some 
 time, and Jack and I wished that a change would take 
 place. The widow commenced busying herself with set- 
 
312 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ting the table, and the cook went out into the kitchen; 
 as he opened the door the odour of roast turkey penetrated 
 to where we were sitting. Jack looked at me and winked, 
 which meant that by the smell of things our visit would 
 be fully what the cook had cracked it up to be. 
 
 Nap and the widow got along fine. She treated him to 
 some small crackers, and patting him on the head, said, 
 " Lucky dog, you ; if Mr. Johnson hadn't been such a 
 good-natured fellow you would have been drowned when 
 you jumped overboard after that big whale off the 
 Cape." 
 
 The widow gave us some illustrated books to look at 
 while she left us for a little while. She said she would 
 go out in the kitchen and assist Mr. Johnson with the 
 turkey and some other luxuries. Evidently they were 
 more at home by themselves. The cook seemed to be do- 
 ing the most of the talking, and every now and then we 
 thought we heard the smacking of lips, which might have 
 been caused by tasting of the luxuries, but perhaps by 
 something else. 
 
 After dinner Jack put the dog through a lot of stunts 
 which the widow admired veiy much, and expressed her 
 desire to be the owner of a dog like Nap. The cook said 
 if he remained on shore it would be one of the first things 
 he would attend to, to train her dog to do everything a 
 human could do, except eat with a knife and fork — he 
 wouldn't vouch for that — then he would make her a 
 present of the dog. 
 
 Thanking the widow for her excellent dinner, which 
 she said was entirely due to Mr. Johnson's splendid cook- 
 ing, we said " Good-bye," and took a stroll through the 
 town and a long way out into the country. 
 
 One day a little note came to Swanson from Captain 
 Bengston, asking him to send me to Newport by the first 
 train. The cause of this was that Ericson wanted to have 
 
YANKEE SWANSON SIS 
 
 a talk with me before lie died, on account of my knowing 
 his mother. 
 
 The following morning I was on my way to Newport 
 and arrived there some time during the afternoon. Her- 
 ald, who had permission to walk out for a while during 
 the day, was at the depot to meet me. 
 
 We first went to call on Captain Bengston, who was in 
 a room hy himself. He was evidently glad to see me, and 
 said that I had grown fat and strong-looking since he saw 
 me last. I was sorry I could not say the same about him. 
 He had aged a great deal and told me his feet and legs 
 were getting no better. He also said that he expected he 
 would have to go home soon as a passenger on a steamer, 
 and that Swanson would in all probability be appointed 
 master of the Forsette. Then having asked me a few 
 questions about my folks as to their health, I said " Good- 
 bye." He told me to hurry up to see poor Ericson, whom 
 they expected would die any moment. 
 
 One of the nurses took me to the ward where Ericson 
 was. I had been surprised at the captain's appearance, 
 but it was nothing to what now came before my vision. 
 Ericson was but a shadow of his former self. A fellow 
 was sitting in a chair by the head of the bed and every 
 now and then he would hold a cup to Ericson's mouth, into 
 which Ericson would expectorate blood. 
 
 Ericson recognised me at once. A smile spread over 
 his face, and he held out his hand, once so powerful and 
 now so withered as to be almost transparent. The fellow 
 who was sitting on the chair got up and asked me to be 
 seated. 
 
 Ericson made a short cut of it and started in by telling 
 me that he expected to die any moment. " When you get 
 home I want you to tell my mother that I am thinking of 
 her, first, last, and all the time, and try to persuade her 
 that nothing that scamp Axel has told her is true. I had 
 
314* YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 a letter from her a few days ago. You can read it your- 
 self if you like," handing me the letter, " in which she 
 says that Axel told her that I was a murderer, and now 
 when she hears that we have lost so many men overboard 
 she will think that I threw them over. Of course, you 
 know, Andrew, I am not an angel, but when you see 
 mother tell her the truth about me ; that will be bad enough 
 and I will die in peace." 
 
 He was now taken with a bad spell of coughing, and the 
 nurse put the cup to his mouth. Having recovered him- 
 self a bit he started asking questions about the ship, which 
 still seemed to interest him. He told me that the tugboat 
 captain whom Swanson had had trouble with had occupied 
 a bed next to him for several days, and that he was in 
 awful shape when he arrived. I told Ericson the circum- 
 stances of the fight, and also about the cook and his latest 
 love affair which seemed as if it was going to be some- 
 thing. 
 
 When I was ready to go, Ericson whispered to me, 
 "Have you noticed anything familiar about this fellow 
 that takes care of me ? " I had hardly looked at the fel- 
 low, so I told Ericson I would take a look at him before I 
 left. " I wish you would look at him now before you 
 go," he said, " so you can tell me your opinion as to 
 whether you think you have ever seen him before." 
 
 The nurse had been away attending to some other pa- 
 tient in the ward, and as he came toward us I took a good 
 look at him, but could not think of any one he looked like, 
 and I told Ericson so. 
 
 " That's very strange," said Ericson. " It must be my 
 fancy only, now that I'm so near passing in my checks, 
 but don't go away until you have heard him speak ; maybe 
 that will give you an idea." The nurse came up and 
 asked Ericson how he felt, and several other questions, 
 but it reminded me of nothing I had heard before. As I 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 815 
 
 took Ericson's hand to shake it for the last time, he said, 
 " I sent for you to see you about my mother, for one thing ; 
 but I also wanted you to see this fellow, thinking that you 
 could help me to solve this riddle. I know he looks like 
 somebody I have very much at heart, but I can't tell now 
 who it is." 
 
 On my way back to Bridgewater I thought of this 
 strange idea of Ericson's but came no nearer toward form- 
 ing an idea of what it could all mean than when I was at 
 the hospital. I was very sorry I had not asked Ericson 
 if he had questioned the fellow as to who he was, and I 
 thought of writing to Ericson the next day to do so. But 
 the next day Ericson died, and I gave up all further 
 thought about the nurse, never expecting for a moment 
 that there was anything else in it but just Ericson's strange 
 fancy. 
 
 I gave Swanson an account of my visit to Newport, and 
 of my interview with the captain and Ericson. He 
 seemed very much impressed with what Ericson had told 
 me about the nurse, whom he had himself spoken to on 
 several occasions when he had visited Ericson at the hos- 
 pital. 
 
 " I remember the fellow well," said Swanson, " and I 
 didn't see anything in particular out of the ordinary about 
 him. He wore a black beard that covered the biggest part 
 of the face. If it had not been for that perhaps you could 
 have been able to imagine him looking like some one you 
 have seen before, but I think it was all imagination on 
 Ericson's part." 
 
 I did not tell my friend Jack anything about this nurse, 
 or what Ericson had asked me to unravel in connection 
 with this strange imagination of his, which Swanson and 
 I thought it was. That in itself was strange, because I 
 always told him everything I heard. My only excuse for 
 not telling him I attribute to the fact that he was so very 
 
316 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 easily touched, and would invariably start crying; which 
 he did when I told him about Ericson's looks and how 
 resigned he was to die. Jack was a great hand for asking 
 questions, and if I had told him when I came back from 
 my visit about this nurse and of Ericson's imagination, 
 the boy, without any doubt, would have asked the man's 
 name. If I could then have answered that his name was 
 Le Fevre, it would have solved Ericson's strange imagina- 
 tion and saved the boy many sleepless nights and much 
 expense in years to come when he set out in search of his 
 father. 
 
 The nurse at the hospital was Jack's father, and was 
 formerly boss of the smuggling gang in the Channel 
 Islands. 
 
 As this story is supposed to be an account of my first 
 voyage to sea only, I shall say nothing more about Jack's 
 father, as it would require another book to do so; but I 
 fancy it would not be out of place to make a few remarks 
 about the strangeness of the occurrence as a whole. 
 
 I have related the boy's story as told by himself. From 
 it the reader gets a knowledge of the mother's sad death 
 and the father's underhanded transactions and disappear- 
 ance. Then the boy, when on the point of being starved 
 to death, is rescued by a stranger, a foreigner to whom he 
 could not even make his wants known. This stranger was 
 a boy of about his own age and learned to love him as 
 well as any human can love another. The boy is fed, 
 clothed, and taken care of much better than ever before, 
 except when as a child with his mother. In short, these 
 rough strangers treat him well and try their best to make 
 a man of him. 
 
 Then comes disaster. One-third of the crew is drowned 
 and others are injured to such an extent that they are taken 
 to a hospital, where one died, and while there they are 
 cared for by this boy's father, these very men who had 
 
THE COOK ON HIS WEDDING DAY. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON ai7 
 
 done everything for the hoy that he had so cruelly aban- 
 doned. 
 
 I think John Fleming Wilson or Jack London could 
 make a readable novel, vrith this true story of Jack Le 
 Tevre as the/ subject, 
 
 New Tear's day, Captain Bengston left for London, 
 there to take a steamer for Gothenburg. He had an idea 
 he would get well sooner by going home to his wife. The 
 nurse who had taken care of Ericson went with the captain 
 and saw him on board the steamer. 
 
 Swanson received his appointment as master, and de- 
 cided to make Herald mate if he was able to leave the 
 hospital when we were ready to go to sea. 
 
 The insurance people finally decided to re-rig the For- 
 sette and accordingly one morning, just after !New Year's, 
 a gang of riggers came on board. 
 
 If the cook had been undecided what to do in regard to 
 marrying the widow, he was not slow in making up his 
 mind when he found out that Swanson was to be the future 
 master of the vessel. " That settles it," said the cook 
 when he heard the news. " Bengston was bad enough, 
 to be sure." As for being cook and steward with Yankee 
 Swanson it was out of the question. " I wouldn't sail 
 with him across a duck pond, because he would never find 
 his destination unless he could feel his way with a boat- 
 hook. Anyhow, I've had enough of going to sea, and no 
 mistake. I will now try to do a little cooking on dry land, 
 and if at any time you boys should come to Bridgewater, 
 don't forget to call at John Johnson's restaurant and 
 coffee parlour, and you will be well treated, and better still 
 it won't cost you much — not you and Jack." 
 
 Jack and I called on Mr. and Mrs. Johnson several 
 times after he had. left the ship. They treated us well, 
 especially Mrs. Johnson, and seemed to be a happy couple. 
 Johnson told us one evening, in the presence of his wife, 
 
S18 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 that lie never knew what true happiness was until he got 
 married — " this time," he added, as if he suspected his 
 wife would make enquiries about the amount of happiness 
 he had experienced in his first marriage. 
 
 On the day the riggers went to work a little American 
 barque loaded with wheat from Baltimore hauled in to 
 the dock and moored just astern of us. Swanson was 
 acquainted with her captain. They had formerly been 
 shipmates, but were not good friends. The captain had 
 his wife and a son about my age and size on board. The 
 son had the title of third officer, and he seemed to fiU that 
 job very well indeed, because all that was expected of him 
 was to follow the second mate about the decks and assist 
 him in using bad language and cursing the sailors. 
 
 The second mate informed me one day that the captain 
 was very anxious to have his son put through a course of 
 training that would thoroughly fit him to become a bucko- 
 mate, and with that object in view the captain had selected 
 himself and his friend, the first mate, who held the repu- 
 tation of being the best rough-and-tumble, knock-down 
 mate out of Baltimore. I never saw either of these two 
 mates knock down anybody, so I can't vouch for their 
 ability in that particular liue; but in the art of using bad 
 language they certainly were past masters. 
 
 Her crew, all niggers, left immediately she was made 
 fast, and after a few days the captain and his wife left for 
 London, sightseeing, I suppose. The captain's name was 
 Higginson, and he had been an all-round hard mate in his 
 young days when sailing in the California clippers, where 
 he and Swanson had been shipmates. One day he came 
 on board the Forsette. I was sweeping down the decks. 
 It was late in the afternoon and the riggers were on the 
 point of knocking off for the day. 
 
 " Hey there, you, do you know where Yankee Swanson 
 is hanging out to-day ? " I knew that Swanson disliked 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 819 
 
 being called nicknames, and it wouldn't be safe to do so 
 in his bearing. I tberefore answered tbe captain that I 
 did not know of any one by that name. 
 
 "Well, that's strange. Yankee must have changed a 
 H — 1 of a lot since we were shipmates; it never used to 
 take him long to let squareheads like you know when he 
 was around." 
 
 " If you are alluding to Captain Swanson," I said, " I 
 can inform you that he has gone up town and won't be 
 back until to-morrow." 
 
 " Captain Swanson," he repeated, with a leering grin, 
 and then remarked that Captain Swanson wasn't captain 
 of much. " Well, all right, then, you tell him when he 
 comes back, that Bully Higginson has called to see him, 
 and that he has gone to London to get rid of some money. 
 Understand ? " 
 
 " I understand," I answered. 
 
 He surveyed me for a moment, with a critical eye, and 
 then remarked, as though speaking to some of the riggers 
 who were putting away their tools in a box near where he 
 was standing, " I have a little third officer on board of my 
 craft that could trim that fellow up to a nicety in about 
 two minutes. I wish I had that little squarehead with 
 me for a voyage. I think that little third officer of mine 
 would soon convert him into a good, civil boy." 
 
 " I don't think your third officer could do anything to 
 that lad," said one of the riggers. " Captain Swanson 
 might not understand how to trim up boys to your taste, 
 but he certainly knows how to teach them to handle the 
 mittens." 
 
 Seeing that the riggers were not in sympathy with him, 
 he took himself off to his vessel. I made it a point to 
 watch him ; in fact, I suspected that he was putting up a 
 job of sending his son over to lick me. I found that he 
 was in conversation with his three ugly looking mates, and 
 
320 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 every now and then while talking he pointed toward the 
 Forsette. Just about that time our old watchman came 
 on board to take charge for the night, and after having told 
 him the instructions which Swanson had given me to de- 
 liver, Jack and I left the ship in company with the riggers 
 to go to the boarding-house for our supper. 
 
 I was on very good terms with the riggers, especially so 
 with the boss. Swanson had told him to make all possible 
 use he could of Jack and me as he was anxious that we 
 should learn something of dismantling and re-rigging the 
 vessel, and it certainly was a fine chance and we bene- 
 fitted by it immensely. 
 
 When we got outside the dock gate, I looked back and 
 saw the three mates close behind us. I told Mr. Jones 
 (the rigger) that I expected they were up to some mis- 
 chief. " Let them come. I guess we are strong enough 
 to take care of them," said Mr. Jones. 
 
 Nap was with us, but some distance ahead. He was in 
 the habit of leaving us behind when we were going to our 
 meals, but we didn't mind that for we knew that he would 
 be at the house when we got there. When we arrived at 
 the public house we found Nap doing stunts, such as walk- 
 ing on his hind legs and turning somersaults, while our 
 former cook, now Mr. Johnson, restaurant keeper, was 
 occupied in telling the audience about the great amount of 
 patience and trouble it had cost him to train Nap to his 
 present state of perfection. The musician took a hand in 
 the conversation and related how Napoleon drove a whole 
 German crew on top of a lumber pile, after having chewed 
 up the cook and a mate. It was all very wonderful, and 
 Jack was called upon to put the dog through a few more 
 stunts, which were greatly appreciated, and several rounds 
 of drinks were ordered, while the proprietor rubbed his 
 hands in high glee and swore that he had offered Jack ten 
 pounds for the dog, and was seriously considering to raise 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 331 
 
 it a few pounds more in order to become the owner of such 
 a valuable animal. 
 
 " Ten pounds," said Mr. Johnson. " What do you take 
 him for? King Oscar offered the boy fifty pounds for 
 him, and that was long before I started in to train him. 
 Why, man alive, that dog can do anything except eat with 
 a knife and fork, and I would have taught him that too if 
 we hadn't lost all our table-ware in a hurricane somewhere 
 up around the North Pole." Mr. Johnson then settled 
 down with a crowd of admirers around him and started 
 to relate his and IN^ap's experience with the beluga. 
 
 The proprietor tapped me on the shoulder in a friendly 
 way and announced that supper was ready. Mr. Jones, 
 Jack and I went into the dining-room, and the proprietor 
 and his wife also sat down to the same table. 
 
 The proprietor and Mr. Jones engaged in conversation 
 at once, and by their talk I judged they were friends of 
 long standing. The proprietor asked how long it would 
 take him to finish the Forsette and how he liked the 
 skipper, 
 
 Jones said he expected to finish in about a month from 
 the time he started ; and as for the skipper, he found him 
 to be the squarest man he had ever met. He has given me 
 the use of these two boys without charging it up to me, 
 with the understanding that I teach them a few things. 
 It MAves me at least one man's pay, because they reeve off 
 all the gantlines and attend to the spun-yarn and marline 
 for the serving mallets. Altogether the boys are very use- 
 ful and well behaved lads, and I will make it right with 
 them when we have finished. 
 
 The proprietor had nothing but what was good to say 
 about Swanson, and his wife said that she had never en- 
 joyed anything as much as our little stunts at dancing and 
 boxing, all due to the splendid tact Captain Swanson 
 seemed to have in bringing up young boys. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 About this time the dessert came along and the old lady 
 was very liberal with it. Jack and I got double portions, 
 and she explained that she always made it a point to give 
 the young ones plenty. 
 
 Before we got up from the table she patted us on our 
 shoulders and told us that she had a few select friends 
 coming that evening and she had promised them a treat, 
 which was this : that Jack and I were to do a little stunt 
 with the gloves, and if we were not too tired to wind up 
 with a dance which she knew her friends would appreciate 
 and, of course, papa (her husband) would see to it that we 
 were not doing it for nothing. Having promised to do 
 our best to oblige her, Mr. Jones said he would stay be- 
 cause Swanson had told him that we were dandies with 
 the gloves and he was a bit of a sport himself. 
 
 When we went out in the dining-room we found the 
 place full of people, and among them, sitting at a table, 
 were the three Yankee mates well supplied with half-and- 
 half. The musician was pulling away at the accordion as 
 if his life depended upon the amount of noise he could 
 make, and several half drunken British sailors were danc- 
 ing, or at least trying to. 
 
 As we entered, the landlady escorted Jack and me to a 
 table where were seated two men whom I found out after- 
 ward were the proprietors of a music and dance hall. 
 They were anxious to see us dance as they were on the 
 lookout for cheap talent for their place. 
 
 Everything passed along fine. Jack and I boxed three 
 rounds and were greatly applauded. Having rested a bit, 
 the musician struck up one of our favourite dances and 
 Jack and I went to it with a will, feeling thoroughly at 
 home with the crowd which was full of fun and good- 
 nature. 
 
 The dancing having come to an end for the evening the 
 proprietor and Mr. Johnson jumped up on to the dancing 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 323 
 
 platform, each, to make a little speech. Shouting, " Hear, 
 hear," and stamping his foot, quietness was restored, and 
 the proprietor gave a brief outline of our history. Ac- 
 cording to him, we were both of us orphans and neither of 
 us knew where we originally came from. However that 
 might be the proprietor thought there could be no ques- 
 tion but that we were British of some sort, because no 
 other country in the world was known to produce boys of 
 our calibre, and it was on that account only that England 
 was all powerful everywhere. Putting all these facts to- 
 gether he thought that inasmuch as we boys had been a 
 source of entertainment to every patron of his place for a 
 long time it would not be out of place this evening, as we 
 had come up to every expectation, to be a little liberal 
 when the hat was passed around, and to start the baU roll- 
 ing he ordered his bartender to set them up for all hands. 
 
 He then introduced Mr. Johnson, as a true-blue Brit- 
 isher of the old school ; a gentleman known throughout the 
 whole Empire for his famous cooking; a survivor of the 
 Light Brigade and the Indian Mutiny; and last but not 
 least, the gentleman who so gallantly stood by the now 
 famous skipper, Yankee Swanson, and sailed the dis- 
 masted Forsette into port. 
 
 The crowd cheered as Mr. Johnson came to the front. 
 When order was restored, he began by saying that he had 
 intended to speak in behalf of the boys but as Mr. Hop- 
 kins had said practically all there was to be said in that 
 respect, he would confine himself to making a few remarks 
 of how sadly he felt that circumstances over which he had 
 no control had interfered with his purpose of bringing 
 up the two orphans, whom he loved almost as much as his 
 wife, in a Christian way. However, he felt assured that 
 what he had done was engraved on our minds to such an 
 extent that he could not but feel easy about the future, 
 and wound up by telling his audience that he had retired 
 
324. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 from the sea for good and would henceforth be counted 
 as one of them, and that he would be most happy to see 
 them at his place of business on the opening night, which 
 would take place next Saturday. 
 
 Mr. Johnson shouted drinks for all hands. Business 
 was rushing and no mistake. Having drunk to the health 
 and prosperity of Mr. Johnson, the musician struck up 
 " The Blue Danube," tables and chairs were crowded 
 to the walls, and British tars and their ladies, Mr. John- 
 son and Mrs. Hopkins, and in fact everybody who had a 
 leg to stand on, got to their feet, and as if by magic be- 
 came dancers. The dancing did not finish until the musi- 
 cian, overcome by tobacco smoke and perhaps also from 
 having indulged too freely in beer, fell off his seat on the 
 platform and rolled down on the floor among the dancers. 
 The accordion was put out of commission by Mrs. Hop^ 
 kins, who accidentally stepped on it. 
 
 Mr. Jones, the rigger, took my cap, Mrs. Hopkins took 
 Jack's, and they started to make a round among the crowd, 
 taking up a collection for the benefit of the two orphans. 
 Everybody in the place responded, ladies included, except 
 the three Yankee mates, who insulted Mrs. Hopkins by 
 demanding to know what they were expected to pay for. 
 The collection amounted to three pounds and a few shil- 
 lings, which were turned over to the orphans, with the ex- 
 ception of the extra shillings, which were put to one side 
 to pay for a round of drinks. 
 
 Mrs. Hopkins served out the drinks herself and every- 
 body was treated, except the Yankee mates, who had re- 
 fused to contribute. 
 
 Several of the British sailors were now spoiling for a 
 fight, without which no sailor's entertainment is complete. 
 They commenced casting slurs that Yankees as a rule 
 were the meanest of all sailors, and that they had no stand- 
 ing anywhere; that it ought not to be tolerated to have 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 them in their midst to partake of true British hospitality 
 when they were too mean to contribute a shilling or even 
 sixpence toward a good cause. 
 
 Mr. Johnson took the stand once more, saying that the 
 very word Yankee was offensive to him, and proposed that 
 the three mates should be expelled at once and by force 
 if necessary. The proposition was seconded at once by 
 several men laying hands on the mates, and as they showed 
 fight and refused to leave, our entertainment broke up in a 
 fight that only ended when the police interfered and took 
 the three Yankee mates off to jail. 
 
 Having thoroughly enjoyed this little entertainment, 
 Jack, ]Srap and I took ourselves off to the ship. 
 
 Jack and I were busy aloft when Swanson came back 
 to the ship next morning, and for that reason did not get 
 a chance to tell him about the entertainment at first-hand. 
 Directly he came over the rail Mr. Jones engaged him 
 in a conversation, and to judge by the way they both 
 laughed, the Yankee mates' little picnic was undoubtedly 
 the topic. 
 
 In the afternoon Mr. Jones was summoned to court 
 and had to appear as a witness against the mates. They 
 were fined five pounds apiece for battery and disturbing 
 the peace, and late that afternoon they returned to the 
 ship in a much battered condition. Jack and I met them 
 as we were going out to get our supper. We could not 
 keep from laughing at their changed appearance, at which 
 they took offence and the little fellow — so-called third 
 officer — made a pass at Jack as we met. 
 
 Nap, who saw this hostile action, immediately hooked 
 on to the little fellow's trousers, and did not let up until 
 he had him under bare poles. The other two mates 
 started to interfere, but Nap was equal to the occasion 
 and in a little while had the three bucko-mates scattered 
 and running in different directions as if their lives de- 
 
326 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 pended on speed only, amidst the laughter from the crewa 
 of the different vessels moored in the dock. 
 
 On January 5th I was to be fourteen years old, and I 
 told Swanson about it. He told me to see the rigger and 
 ask him if he could spare Jack and me, and if he could, 
 we might have the day to ourselves. The rigger was de- 
 lighted to let us go, and after breakfast we rigged up in 
 our very best intending to make a long trip out in the 
 country. As we expected to travel on foot, we took Nap 
 along for company as well as for protection. On leaving 
 the ship Swanson gave me a letter which he told me to 
 deliver at the shipchandler's where he did his business. 
 
 The shipchandler knew us well. He used to come 
 on board almost daily, and being of a jolly disposition 
 as a rule would have something to say to us boys, gen- 
 erally joshing us about our acting up town — those are 
 the words he used — and then laughing at it as if it were 
 a huge joke. 
 
 He tore the letter open, and after reading it he said, 
 " Capt. Swanson informs me that you, Jack, have a lot of 
 wood you would like to dispose of. What do you want for 
 it, and how much have you got ? " 
 
 Jack replied that about half of what he did have was 
 lost in the gale, but as yet the fore peak was full. 
 
 " All right," said the shipchandler, " I will look into 
 it, and you shall have what it is worth. Get it all on 
 deck to-morrow." 
 
 As we started to leave, the shipchandler handed me two 
 letters. One bore the postmark of Grangemouth; the 
 other one was from grandpa. I was for going back to 
 the ship to read them, but Jack thought it would afford us 
 great amusement to spend our time out in the country 
 reading them. I put the letters in my inside pocket and 
 started off on a brisk walk. It was a fine, clear day and 
 walking was good. In about half an hour's time we were 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 837 
 
 out in the country. Frogs and birds were plentiful and 
 Nap had the time of his life chasing them. 
 
 We passed many fine farms and some great old country 
 places, the walls of which were overgrown with ivy. As 
 we walked along I explained to my friend what my 
 father's place looked like, and compared certain things 
 we saw with what he would find at home. It was all very 
 fine, he thought, and expressed a wish that we would soon 
 get started on our homeward journey. 
 
 " I was just thinking about the wood busiaess," said 
 Jack. " I wonder how much he will pay me for that. 
 I have made up my mind to spend it all in buying pretty 
 things for grandpa and your sisters and the little brother," 
 calling them all by their names as if he had known them 
 his whole life. " Poor old Bengston ; half of it belongs 
 to him," remarked Jack. " I must divide with him, or 
 he will think me an ungrateful boy after all he has done 
 for me." 
 
 We walked along in silence for a long time. My friend 
 was in a brown study. I east my eye at him once in a 
 while trying to guess what he was thinking of. I knew 
 he had something on his mind he wanted to unburden 
 himself of, for I had seen him in that state many times 
 before. To break the silence and to get him in a good 
 humour again I said that we yould walk until twelve 
 o'clock, and then we would go to some farmhouse and buy 
 something to eat ; then we could start back in time to get 
 to town before dark. " All right," said Jack, and taking 
 out his tin whistle started to play the " Marseillaise " with 
 a great amount of energy. The pair of us fell into time 
 like old campaigners and kept it up until we were nearly 
 exhausted. We sighted a nice looking farm some distance 
 ahead, and as our prearranged time was almost up we 
 decided to make that place our turning point. As we 
 drew nearer. Jack remarked that things looked familiar 
 
S28 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 to him and seemed to think that he had been there before 
 on his wanderings through England. When within a 
 short distance of the farm Jack assured me that he had 
 been at the farm two days and that they had treated him 
 ^^11. He also thought we would have no trouble in get- 
 ting something to eat. 
 
 The first man we spoke to was an old fellow who was 
 engaged in breaking up old railroad ties. We lifted our 
 caps by way of saluting and asked if we could buy some- 
 thing to eat at the farm. "You are foreigners. What 
 are you doing in this part of the coimtry ? " asked the old 
 man. 
 
 Jack answered that we belonged to a foreign vessel in 
 port and had come out just to have a holiday and to see 
 the country. 
 
 The old man eyed us very keenly and said, pointing his 
 finger at Jack, " Have you not been here before ? " 
 
 Jack answered that he had. 
 
 " I thought so," said the old man. " You are the boy 
 that came to this place and danced. I'm a very old man, 
 ninety-two years of age, but my memory is as keen as 
 ever. I knew you the moment I cast my eye on you." 
 
 The old gentleman was very tall and remarkably erect 
 for a man of his years. He wore an old military-looking 
 cap, and I thought he had been a soldier in his younger 
 days. He was a most inquisitive old fellow and asked 
 all sorts of questions, until Jack and I could not keep 
 ourselves from laughing. He seemed very much inter- 
 ested in Jack and almost demanded to know where he had 
 been since the last time he saw him. Jack gave him the 
 outlines of everything that had transpired and when he 
 had finished the old man said that he believed it all. " I 
 can tell by looking you in the eye that you have told the 
 truth." 
 
 Nap walked up to the old man and smelt of his hands. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 339 
 
 He patted him on the head, and Ifap wagged his tail, 
 evidently sizing him up to be a gentleman. 
 
 Jack being a little uneasy about answering ' so many 
 questions decided to divert the old man's attention. He took 
 out his whistle, made a motion with his hand which signi- 
 fied, " Nap, get up on your hind legs." The dog did so, 
 and then Jack started to play tbe " Marseillaise," to which 
 Nap kept marching until Jack finished the whole piece. 
 
 To say the old man was surprised would not be doing 
 him justice; he was simply amazed. He forgot to ask 
 any more questions for quite a little while, and we thought 
 he had finished with us but that was a big mistake. 
 
 " What was it you called that dog, boy ? " asked the 
 old man. 
 
 " Nap, for short," answered Jack, " but his full name, 
 christian, sur, and title, is Napoleon Bonaparte, the Em- 
 peror." 
 
 " Who gave him that name, and what was the object 
 in naming a dog after that great man ? " Two questions 
 at once; that was going some, I thought, and the old man 
 was apparently getting impatient,, and he wanted quick 
 answers. 
 
 Jack told him that I had named the dog, and that my 
 reason for doing so was the fact that my grandfather had 
 served for a number of years in Napoleon's army. This 
 statement created more surprise, and the old man took 
 hold of me and made me sit down beside him on a piece 
 of wood. He took off my cap and felt of my skull like 
 a phrenologist; then, as though doubtful about something, 
 he took hold of my ears and stared me in the eyes. I felt 
 very uncomfortable and turned the colours of a rainbow. 
 Jack laughed, and Nap was a little uneasy; in fact, he 
 commenced to growl a bit and Jack took hold of his collar 
 for fear he would tackle the old man. After a while he 
 released my ears, patted me on the head, and replaced the 
 
380 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 cap. " Was your grandfather at Waterloo ? " he asked. 
 I answered in the affirmative. " Was he wounded ? " I 
 told him yes. " So was I," and taking off his cap he 
 asked me to feel his skull. I could feel a cut almost 
 across the whole head. " That's a deep one," I said, 
 " much bigger than my grandfather's." " Marshal Way 
 did that," said the old man. What saved us from any 
 further questioning for the time being was a boy and a girl 
 with school books in their hands. 
 
 They ran up to the old man, kissed him and called him 
 grandpa. He said to them, " Look here, children, this is 
 the little I^ench boy that danced for us last year. Take 
 him and his friend and Napoleon Bonaparte to the house 
 and ask your mother to give them the best she has got." 
 
 We walked off together and the old man resumed cut- 
 ting wood. The two children remembered Jack and 
 wanted to know if he would give them a dance after he 
 had had something to eat. Jack said it was late and we 
 had to be back in town by dark, but he would stretch a 
 point and try to do something. 
 
 The mother was a widow and almost as inquisitive as 
 the old man. However, she hurried up and gave us a lot 
 of stuff to eat, but while eating she continually plied us 
 with questions. When we finished I took out my purse 
 to pay but she said the old man would not stand for taking 
 anything from us, but if we liked we should be allowed to 
 make her two children a present of six pence apiece, which 
 I did, and the children thanked us. 
 
 We were anxious to be off, but it seemed a shame to 
 disappoint the children, as they expected Jack to do some- 
 thing in the way of dancing. He took out the whistle, 
 blew a little piece on it and danced, winding up by turning 
 a corkscrew somersault to their great amusement. 
 
 We said good-bye and thanked the widow for her kind- 
 ness and left. When outside we saw the old warrior 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 381 
 
 coming toward the house, but we took a short cut and 
 steered clear of him thinking that he would commence over 
 again asking questions. 
 
 We arrived in town just in time to call at Mr. Hopkins' 
 for our supper. He wanted us to do our usual stunt, but 
 we found an excuse that evening, telling him about the 
 unread mail of ours that had already been neglected a 
 whole day. 
 
 Swanson did not sleep on board, as the carpenters who 
 were repairing the after house had gone to work that 
 morning and everything was topsy-turvy. 
 
 "We were not allowed to have a lamp burning on board, 
 it being against the rules of the port, and for that reason 
 we would have been unable to peruse our mail that evening 
 if it had not been for the dock watchman, who allowed us 
 to occupy a little watchhouse where there was a lamp 
 burning. The letter from Grangemouth was from Betsey 
 Duncan. She began by saying that they (meaning the 
 whole Duncan family) had been very anxious about the 
 old Forsette, she having been overdue several weeks. 
 Then how happy they all had been when they saw in the 
 paper that the vessel had arrived at the Isle of Man. 
 Finally they had received a long letter from Swanson and 
 a little one from Bengston, wherein they were made 
 acquainted with our hardships and the gallant behaviour 
 of the cook. The captain of the Sea Lark had called at 
 their house and related how, Swanson and I had been on 
 board their vessel off the Cape, and of what good use I 
 had made of her school books. 
 
 She thanked us in a nice way for the little presents we 
 had sent her, saying that she would ever cherish them, not 
 on account of their intrinsic value, but for the fact that 
 they had come from the little pitch boiler on the bank of 
 the Firth of Forth, 
 
 She concluded by saying that undoubtedly she would 
 
Sm YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 never write to me again, and in all probability we would 
 never meet any more, because the whole Duncan family 
 were busy just then packing up getting ready to leave 
 Grangemouth forever to take passage probably to Aus- 
 tralia. Poor little Betsey, she was sorry to leave bonny 
 Scotland, but she had no idea that the world is really as 
 small as it is. 
 
 We met again, all right, about eight years afterward and 
 under most singular circumstances, but I shall say no 
 more about that at present. It would require many pages 
 to do so, and I am anxious to get to the end of my first 
 journey, or voyage rather, and it seems as though I had a 
 long road to travel yet. 
 
 I then opened grandpa's letter. While lying at anchor 
 off Newport I had written the old man a detailed account 
 of the whole passage, which also made him acquainted 
 with the funny feeling and weak heart I had experienced 
 on a certain day, and this letter I now opened was an 
 answer to it. The old man went on to say that when he 
 read my letter and came to that part relating this funny 
 feeling the letter dropped out of his hand and grandma 
 thought he had fainted away. He was most terribly dis- 
 appointed with my behaviour and was on the point of tell- 
 ing his wife to put the letter in the fire, being afraid it 
 would contain more disappointments. Happily for us 
 both he continued and found that this strange feeling had 
 only been momentary, and besides, my friend had con- 
 fessed to similar symptoms, although they had been less 
 violent with him. 
 
 The old man having finished my letter, felt much re- 
 lieved and sat down to a quiet smoke, the while thinking 
 over past occurrences, and to his horror had discovered 
 that he had been similarly affected not once but on three 
 different occasions. He now smiled at his folly, to think 
 that any young fellow, no matter of what stuff he was 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 338 
 
 made of, could stand up to a hot fire, as he called it, with- 
 out being affected in some way. " Of course everybody 
 is not affected in the same way," he said. He himself, as 
 far as legs were concerned, had been affected entirely dif- 
 ferent; it had rather acted as a stimulant to them. In 
 short, the legs absolutely refused to obey orders directed 
 from the heart, and were inclined to run away, and it had 
 been with the greatest effort on his part, and the appear- 
 ance of the Emperor, that had compelled them to remain 
 on the battlefield. 
 
 This leg question having been settled to his entire satis- 
 faction, he took up the matter of us boys coming home 
 soon. He had built a fine dog kennel which had cost him 
 a lot of labour on account of the tools being in such awful 
 condition. 
 
 It appeared my younger brother was getting worse in- 
 stead of improving, as far as handling the grindstone was 
 concerned, but he had made up his mind that Nap was 
 too good a dog to occupy Blucher's home, and for that 
 reason he had gone to work regardless of the condition of 
 the tools. 
 
 He also had gone to a lot of expense fitting up Jack's 
 room. He had got a brand-new feather bed and grandma 
 had covered the floor with her best homemade carpet. 
 
 Another item of great importance was this: He had 
 made arrangements that Jack was to go to school for two 
 years, and he wished me to inform him that the work he 
 would expect him to do would not be hard as he had sold 
 one cow and would only keep one in the future, it being 
 sufficient for the three. 
 
 The old man seemed very much surprised that I did not 
 get lousy in Russia, and expressed the opinion that the 
 Russians had taken to washing themselves of late. Such 
 things had never been heard of when he was in Moscow. 
 
 Wishing to be remembered to Mr. Swanson, he con- 
 
S&4, YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 eluded by saying that he would be looking for us not later 
 than March first. 
 
 I read this letter in a loud voice and noticed the effect 
 it had on my friend. The colour on his face was changing 
 like passing clouds. He now told me what had been on 
 his mind when we were walking along in the country that 
 day. He seemed to be in doubts if it really was a good 
 plan for him to go home with me, thioking that I perhaps 
 was promising more than the old man would stand for and 
 that at the final show-down the castles we had built would 
 tumble over like cardboard. 
 
 However, this last letter reassured him, and all doubts 
 were cast to the four winds. In the morning we turned 
 to, as usual, with the riggers. When Swanson came on 
 board Jadk informed him of what the shipchandler had 
 said about the wood. Swanson told him to get it up at 
 once, which he did, and during the day the shipchandler 
 came on board, paid for it and took it away. 
 
 Swanson took pleasure in watching Jack get his wood 
 up that day. Jack had gone on shore and engaged half 
 a dozen boys to assist him to get the wood out of the fore- 
 peak. Their pay agreed upon was two shillings apiece. 
 The fellows worked like beavers. Jack bossed the job, 
 and in the evening when he paid them off in his den he 
 gave them an extra sixpence apiece, thinking he could well 
 afford it inasmuch as the shipchandler had paid him five 
 pounds for the wood. 
 
 The little fellows were tickled with their good fortune. 
 They went away happy, saying that Jack was the best 
 boss they had ever worked for and only wished there were 
 more like him. 
 
 Jack wanted to turn over half of the proceeds of the 
 wood deal to Swanson, to be delivered to Captain Bengston 
 on our return home, but Swanson told Jack that it was 
 Eengston's order that Jack should have it all, for the 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 reason that he had sailed some time on the vessel before 
 he went on the payroll. 
 
 On the last day of January the riggers were through, 
 and the carpenters were putting the finishing touches on 
 the new! deck-houses. The Forsette looked almost like a 
 new vessel, and was in a better condition than she had been 
 since the day she left the shipyard new, some twenty-five 
 years before. 
 
 Swanson received orders to take the vessel to Cardiff to 
 take on a load of coal for Copenhagen. This was a little 
 disappointing. We had fully expected to load for our 
 place, but it did not matter much, anyhow ; it was only a 
 day's journey from Copenhagen to home, and besides, we 
 would have a chance to visit that beautiful place. 
 
 That part of it having been settled, we were all anxious 
 to get away. Jack having informed Swanson that he in- 
 tended to spend the whole five pounds in buying presents 
 for every member of my family, he told the boy that he 
 would get somebody to go with him who understood what 
 to buy. 
 
 Swanson had told the shipchandler and his wife about 
 this strange boy and all the circumstances in connection 
 with his coming on board the Forsette, and they were 
 interested and wished him all the good luck one 
 person could wish another. And so it came about that 
 one day Mrs. Shipchandler, Jack, and Napoleon went 
 out shopping. They came back late in the afternoon 
 loaded down with bundles, and Nap had on a new 
 collar. 
 
 The vessel was to be towed to Cardiff and there Swan- 
 son would ship his crew. Herald would join us as first 
 mate, having fully recovered after having been two months 
 in the hospital. 
 
 Mr. Jbhnson, our former cook, and Mrs. Johnson came 
 on board the Forsette one afternoon to pay us a friendly 
 
336 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 call as well as to bid us good-bye. Captain Swanson en- 
 tertained them ia a most friendly way, sending me out to 
 get a bottle of wine and some cake. Swanson asked the 
 cook how married life agreed with him, and the cook de- 
 clared that if he had only known what a lot of bliss and 
 happiness constituted married life he would have married 
 Mrs. Johnson twenty years ago. " Yes, sir. No more 
 salt water for this chicken," said Johnson. " I have every- 
 thing I want, and a good wife is as handy as a button on a 
 shirt," and to illustrate what he meant he embraced his 
 wife, kissed her, and puUed out a hairpin with which he 
 started to clear his ears, making an awful wry face during 
 the operation, and remarked, " See that captain, a place 
 for everything and everything in its place," and put the 
 hairpin back where he had taken it from. 
 
 Mr. Jones, the rigger, having finished up to Swanson's 
 entire satisfaction, proposed that Jack and I should have 
 a pound apiece for the assistance we had rendered. Swan- 
 son agreed to that willingly, but said he would pay us that 
 money in Copenhagen as we already had spent a good deal 
 of money at Bridgewater, and he did not approve of boys 
 being too flush with money. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins gave us a fine supper, the last 
 one we had with them, the evening before we left. They 
 said they wished there were more boys like us. "We had 
 deported ourselves so well they were real sorry we were 
 leaving. We never as much as kicked about the grub, like 
 some ungrateful sailors did. 
 
 After supper we prolonged our stay an hour or so, Jack 
 putting ITap through a series of stunts. We also danced 
 a final jig. Then came the all round handshaking, 
 after which we left and took a walk through the town 
 before going on board. 
 
 In the morning a crew of sailors came on board, and we 
 hauled the vessel down to the dock gate. At high tide 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 337 
 
 they opened the gate and we passed out in a basin where 
 the tug took hold of us. 
 
 By noon we were on our way to Cardiff, and some time 
 during the night we anchored off that port, 
 
 Swanson went on shore with the tugboat, leaving Jack 
 and me in charge, besides a watchman and Nap. 
 
 Early the following morning the tug, with Swanson and 
 a gang of men, came off to the ship. We hove up anchor 
 and proceeded in tow right in to the dock and moored 
 under the coal chute. While loading the stores came on 
 board, and Herald, who joined us just after having moored, 
 with six sailors and a cook, went to work and took charge 
 of them. 
 
 At four o'clock in the afternoon the cargo was all on 
 board, and the same tug that towed us in took us out again 
 and anchored us in the roads, some distance from the 
 town. 
 
 Swanson went on shore with the tug, giving instructions 
 to bend all sails the following morning and have everything 
 ready for going to sea in the evening if the wind should be 
 fair. 
 
 We were stiU short a second mate, men not being 
 anxious to go across the IsTorth Sea at that time of the 
 year. However, Swanson decided to stand a watch him- 
 _ self rather than delay getting away. 
 
 The sailors were all Swedes, men who had sailed in 
 English and American vessels, and some of them had not 
 been home for many years. 
 
 One feUow fifty-five years old, had been shipmate with 
 Swanson two voyages to San Francisco, and having met 
 Swanson on the street in Cardiff he struck him for a job, 
 thinking it would be a good opportunity to see his old 
 home once more, and he would also make a few shillings 
 instead of having to pay his passage. 
 
 We turned to early the following morning. Herald 
 
338 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 gave Jack and me a gantline each, whicli we rove off while 
 the men got the sails out of the locker. That done, we 
 hoisted them all up, beginning with the royals and finish- 
 ing with the courses. Then all hands laid aloft, one watch 
 on each top and bent them. All the running gear was 
 rove off new — most of it was Manila rope, soft and easy 
 to handle as compared with the Russian hemp rope we had 
 been accustomed to. 
 
 Captain Swanson had made some little alteration in the 
 cabin. The den had been enlarged considerably and two 
 bunks were fitted in so that Jack and I could have a bunk 
 each, and I would not be compelled to live forward among 
 the new men. It was very considerate of Swanson to do 
 this, because the new sailors were a rough lot and he 
 thought I would be most uncomfortable among them. 
 
 At noon We had everything aloft and bent, the running 
 gear coiled down snug and all hands were sent to dinner. 
 
 After dinner we turned to and washed her down. This 
 in itself was quite a job, because she was smothered vsdth 
 coal dust fore and aft. After that our spare spars were 
 lashed and dozens of other jobs had to be looked after be- 
 fore we could say we were ready for sea. 
 
 The last job Jack and I did was to grease down the 
 masts, and when that was finished we were through for the 
 day. We were thoroughly tired out and did not feel much 
 like taking a wash, although we stood greatly in need of it. 
 
 Herald told us that it was Swanson's orders that Jack 
 and I should eat with the cook in the cabin after the cap- 
 tain and mate had finished. Jack had, of course, done so 
 right along, but now that I had quarters there it would be 
 my privilege also. I was glad of that, as I would not be 
 subjected to a lot of questions as I otherwise would have 
 been — something that is very disagreeable to a beginner, 
 more so if he happens to be liked by the officers. 
 
 Oiir cook seemed to be a real nice fellow, but somehow or 
 
YANKEE SWANSON SS9 
 
 other my friend and I missed the old one a great deal. It 
 seemed as if we had lost something that could not be re- 
 placed, and it was not to be wondered at when we re- 
 member that we could never pass his galley door or meet 
 him on deck at any time of the day but he would button- 
 hole us, and tell a tale of some sort that would make us 
 laugh although of course it was nothing but a lot of lies. 
 
 Anchor watch was set for the night at eight o'clock : one 
 hour each. I had the first hour from eight to nine and 
 Jack was next. Herald left word to be called if there was 
 any sign of a tug coming off, but no tug came off that 
 night. 
 
 At midnight it started to blow from the westward and 
 by daylight it was a howling gale. We were called out to 
 brace up the yards, and gave her sixty fathom of chain to 
 the hawse. "We also had to steer her as if we had been 
 under weigh owing to the strong current and wind. At 
 times when the current and the wind combined took her on 
 one bow or the other she would sheer off half a dozen points 
 and bring up on the chain across the stem with such a force 
 it made the old craft quiver. 
 
 When daylight came on it was real bad weather and a 
 heavy sea was running. Several of the vessels had dragged 
 their anchors a considerable distance. We gave a little 
 more chain and put over the other bower teady to let go. 
 Herald sent us aloft to put on the chafing gear on shrouds 
 and backstays, and he kept everybody well employed 
 throughout the day. 
 
 Late in the afternoon the wind seemed to moderate a 
 little, but no tugboat came out. However, we maimed the 
 vdndlass and hove in to forty fathom at the hawse, think- 
 ing that perhaps Swanson would come off during the night 
 and give orders to get under weigh. 
 
 The wind was still from out the west the following 
 morning, but it was fine, clear weather, and it looked as if 
 
340 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 it had settled down to be fine, and the prospect looked good 
 for getting under weigh, especially so if the wind should 
 happen to change to a more favourable quarter. 
 
 Just after breakfast a tug came out from Cardiff with 
 a vessel in tow, which turned out to be the American 
 barque Frolic, Captain Bully Higginson. She anchored 
 close to the Forsette. 
 
 Herald had nothing in particular for us to do, as every- 
 thing was ready for going to sea. We were merely stand- 
 ing by and for that reason we had a splendid opportunity 
 to observe what was going on on board the Frolic. It was 
 very interesting, indeed, and gave me an idea of what I 
 could expect to get if I should ever be so unfortunate as 
 to sail on one of those knock-down and drag-out Yankee 
 packets I had heard our old cook relate so much about. I 
 found that what he had told me about them was not all 
 lies. There certainly were some knock-downs that day, 
 and I was an eyewitness to several. 
 
 The little fellow, so-called third officer, was very much 
 in evidence. Bte was on the poop alongside of the mate, 
 repeating the mate's orders to the men aloft, who were 
 bending the sails, and every order was accompanied with 
 a string of oaths that would have made a London cabman 
 blush. 
 
 Bully Higginson and wife were still on shore. I guess 
 it was prearranged that they should not come off until the 
 new crew had been put through a little training which 
 would fit them for such company as Captain Higginson and 
 wife. 
 
 The first officer of the Frolic had a grudge against Jack 
 and me on accent of the treatment they had received at the 
 public house, and also because Nap made such a show of 
 them on the dock. Between swearing and beating his men 
 that day he would now and again shake his fist at our ship 
 and curse us. He even went so far as to point a revolver at 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 341 
 
 us and bellow out several times, loud enough for us to 
 hear, that Higginson would fix Yankee Swanson in Cardiff 
 before he went to sea, full and plenty. 
 
 I was standing alongside of Herald when the American 
 mate shouted this last threat. He asked me if I under- 
 stood what he said. I told him I did, and what was more, 
 I believed that there was some truth in it ; if not, why did 
 not Swanson come off ? The weather was fijie and every- 
 thing was in readiness for going to sea. Herald shook his 
 head as if loath to believe it, he, of course, not knowing 
 anything about the mates of the vessel nor the captain. I 
 started to relate to him everything that had transpired 
 while at Bridgewater. He thought it all over seriously 
 and remarked that perhaps there was some truth in what 
 the mate had shouted to us. 
 
 Night came on again, but no tug and no Swanson, and 
 what made matters look still more as though something had 
 happened, was the fact that the wind was now fair, and it 
 would have been a fine chance to get out of the Bristol 
 Channel. 
 
 Just about noon the following day a tug came out from 
 Cardiff, and as it drew near it looked as if it was going 
 alongside the Frolic^ but suddenly the course was changed 
 and it came alongside the Forsette. Captain Swanson was 
 on the bridge with the tugboat captain, as were also two 
 police officers. Swanson looked no different than he had 
 the day he left us ; if changed at all it was for the better, 
 because he seemed quite chatty and shouted out to Herald, 
 asking him if everything was ready for heaving up. 
 Swanson climbed on board and so did the two officers. 
 After shaking hands with Herald they walked aft and went 
 into the cabin. 
 
 Mrs. Higginson made her appearance in a doorway on 
 board the tug, but nothing could be seen of her husband. 
 Our sailors, who all spoke English, got to yarning with the 
 
348 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 crew of the tug and we found out ■what had caused the 
 delay. Higginson and Swanson had met in a shipchan- 
 dler store and there, in the presence of several witnesses, 
 Higginson had insulted Swanson and demanded some 
 recompense for his mates who had been set upon by the 
 dog, Nap, and their clothes torn to pieces. Swanson re- 
 plied that the dog did not belong to him, and besides, the 
 mates had been to blame themselves; therefore, he could 
 not think of recompensing. This made Higginson very 
 angry and he commenced to call Swanson names. 
 
 Swanson, being quick to anger, hung back on this occa- 
 sion, on account of Mrs. Higginson, and tried his best to 
 keep out of trouble, but it only made Higginson more 
 abusit^e, still thinking that Swanson was afraid of him. 
 He then threatened to shoot Swanson if he did not come 
 out and fight and reached for his hip pocket. 
 
 The shipchandler and another man interfered and dis- 
 armed Higginson, after which Swanson, seeing that there 
 was no other way of getting clear of an ugly customer, 
 accepted the challenge to fight it out to a finish. They re- 
 paired to a spare storeroom, where they disrobed them- 
 selves of all superfluous clothing. 
 
 Captain Higginson was not the fighter to make any 
 sort of showing pitted against a man like Yankee Swan- 
 son. Deprived of his gun, which he undoubtedly had 
 relied on to finish Swanson, he was like a child standing 
 up to an old campaigner of Swanson's calibre. 
 
 The fight did not last long, but, short as it was, Higgin- 
 son was beyond recognition at the finish. The shipchan- 
 dler expressed his doubts as to whether he would ever come 
 to again, and a doctor was sent for. The doctor applied 
 some restoratives which fijially brought him to. 
 
 In the meantime, Mrs. Higginson having been told by 
 the shipchandler about the outcome of the fight, decided 
 to make more trouble for Swanson, and went to the Ameri- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 348 
 
 can consul, telling him her husband had been all but killed 
 by a ruffian Swede. The consul and Mrs. Higginson, ac- 
 companied by two police officers, arrived at the shipchan- 
 dler's just as the doctor had finished patching up Bully 
 Higginson. 
 
 Higginson, now able to talk, turned out to be as big a 
 liar and coward as he was a bully and poor fighter. He 
 put all the blame of the row on to Swanson, and Mrs. Hig- 
 ginson backed him up in every detail. Everybody who 
 had been an eyewitness or knew anything about the case 
 was put under arrest and marched off to jail. The Ameri- 
 can consul went bail for Higginson and wife, while the 
 shipchandler went his own and Swanson's bail. 
 
 The trial came off the following morning. Higginson 
 was fined five pounds for carrying a gun, five pounds for 
 threatening to use it, and five pounds for having caused 
 delay to the sailing of the Swedish vessel Forsette. And 
 to still more humiliate Higginson, the judge demanded that 
 he should stand good for the expense of seeing Swanson on 
 board his vessel, which was ready to sail, and accordingly, 
 two police officers were sent along on the tugboat to keep 
 peace between the captains. 
 
 Such was the story we gained from the crew of the 
 tugboat. I heard it afterward from Swanson himself, and 
 it was substantially the same, with the one exception that 
 Mrs. Higginson, after they came out of the courtroom, 
 roundly abused her husband for not having killed Swan- 
 son. 
 
 Swanson having treated the police officers, they boarded 
 the tug, wishing us a fine passage. The tug blew her 
 whistle and sheered off to deliver the much battered Hig- 
 ginson and his wife to the gentle care of his three ferocious 
 mates, who were at the gangway to receive them. 
 
 We had no time to observe what sort of reception the 
 captain received, because as soon as the tug left, Herald 
 
344. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 gave orders to man the windlass, which we did with a will, 
 thinking that the next time we made use of the anchor it 
 would be at Copenhagen, and within a few hours' journey 
 from home. Our new crew struck up the popular chantey, 
 " We are bound for the Rio Grande." The chain came in 
 at a lively rate, and presently Jack and I were told to lay 
 aloft to loose the topsails. 
 
 The ship was tiderode when we started heaving, but the 
 wind being a moderate breeze and blowing right in the 
 stern, almost counteracted the force of the tide, and in a 
 very short time we had the anchor up and down. We 
 sheeted home the lower topsails, then broke out the anchor, 
 and the old Forsette commenced to gather headway home- 
 wardbound, thank God. 
 
 We were still heaving when we passed very gracefully 
 under the Frolic's stern, Swanson steering as close as he 
 possibly could, to bid his friends a pleasant voyage and 
 exchange a few little pleasantries so dear to a sailor's heart. 
 Higginson was not in sight, but his ferocious first officer, 
 with the horseshoe moustache, and Mrs. Higginson were on 
 the poop. The crew were on the gallant fo'cs'le heaving 
 up anchor, and the tug with the police officers on board 
 were still alongside of her. 
 
 " Good-bye, Captain Higginson," shouted Swanson, and 
 to Mrs. Higginson, " Pleasant voyage and many of them. 
 How is your old man ? Remember me to him. I will tell 
 them in Copenhagen that you are coming." 
 
 The ferocious mate took out an iron belaying pin and 
 undoubtedly would have thrown it at Swanson if the 
 police officers had not been on board. The madam used 
 some very select language for Swanson's benefit, until we 
 were out of hearing; and taking it all in all, we left Car- 
 diff roads under the most unfavourable conditions, as far 
 as well wishes were concerned. 
 
 We catted our anchor and set everything that would 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 345 
 
 draw the wind, being easterly and right in the stern. The 
 following morning we were well out in the channel. 
 Lundy Island was in sight ahead. The wind was still 
 fair, but gradually drawing abeam, and it looked as if it 
 would come out from the westward soon, from the appear- 
 ance of the sky. We were in company of about a dozen 
 vessels, mostly British coasters, coal laden, but the Frolic 
 was not far astern of us with everything to the skysails 
 set, her white cotton-duck sails giving her a beautiful ap- 
 pearance and causing a contrast quite noticeable, sur- 
 rounded as she was by colliers with their dirty hempsails 
 and otherwise slipshod tophamper. 
 
 When within a few miles of Lundy Island Lighthouse 
 the wind came out from the westward all of a sudden. 
 The Forsette, as well as the rest of the vessels in the 
 immediate locality, were caught aback. We swung our 
 foreyards to put the Forsette on the starboard tack, and 
 while so doing we gathered considerable stemway and 
 came within a few yards of getting on top of the Frolic, 
 which was being manoeuvred to go on the port tack. It 
 was a lucky thing that all hands were on deck about that 
 time. It saved us from having a collision. Ey rounding 
 in the main braces quickly she commenced to gather head- 
 way and cleared the Frolic by a very narrow margin, so 
 narrow that Swanson got the full benefit of Bully Higgin- 
 son's abuse, powerfully backed up by Mrs. Higginson and 
 the three mates, who apparently had armed themselves with 
 capstanbars and other deadly weapons, and were lined up 
 on the poop ready to repel boarders. 
 
 Swanson, who had taken the wheel himself, having sent 
 the sailor away to assist in getting the yards around, nar- 
 rowly escaped a belaying pin flung at him by Higginson. 
 He had no time to retaliate, being so occupied in getting 
 the Forsette out of danger ; but when once clear, Swanson 
 seemed amused with the whole thing, and when Herald 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 came alt to report that everything was ready for about 
 ship, they commenced to talk over what had just occurred 
 and both of them burst out laughing, and it looked as if 
 they were scheming some surprise for Captain Higginson. 
 
 Swanson told me to bring out a little brass cannon we 
 had stowed away in the lazaret. It was a miniature 
 Long Tom, Captain Bengston's private property. It was 
 mounted on a wooden carriage and must have weighed 
 considerably. At any rate it weighed too much for me, 
 and Herald came down to assist me in getting it out to the 
 hatch, where we bent a rope on it, after which we hauled it 
 up and placed it on top of the cabin. Swanson came along 
 with a piece of small rope and lashed it to a couple of 
 ringbolts, allowing some slack for recoil. He then sent 
 Jack forward to get all the old rusty bolts and nails and 
 other hard material he could find, while Swanson and 
 Herald busied themselves with filling a woolen sock with 
 black powder. Herald rammed the powder home with a 
 piece of wood, after which a ball of old ropeyam was 
 rammed into the gun. Jack brought a bucket of old iron, 
 from which Swanson picked out the most suitable pieces 
 and filled the gun clean to the muzzle. A fuse and primer 
 were inserted in the fuse hole and a lanyard attached, long 
 enough so that the gun could be fired from the poop deck. 
 Swanson then brought up a rifle and two pistols, all loaded. 
 These he placed on the break of the house and within 
 handy reach. He remarked to Herald that if Bully Hig- 
 ginson and company were looking for trouble he intended 
 to give them plenty of it. " I don't intend to kill any- 
 body," said Swanson, " but if I do, it will be their own 
 fault. I will do my best to give them a scare such as they 
 have never seen before." 
 
 The crew was called aft and Swanson gave them some 
 instructions, which amounted to this, that when he gave 
 the word they were to throw anything, such as old iron and 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 3*7 ' 
 
 pieces of coal, on board the Frolic, but to avoid hitting 
 anybody outside of the captain, his wife, and three mates. 
 
 The Forsette, now being cleared for action, we went 
 about ship and stood off on the port tack in hot pursuit of 
 the enemy. 
 
 The Frolic was a poor sailer on the wind. We met her 
 after about an hour's sailing, and crossed her bow, clearing 
 her by at least a quarter of a mile. 
 
 Swanson went about again, and after having gathered 
 headway, we found ourselves about half a mile astern and 
 about a quarter of a mile to windward of the Frolic. 
 " What a fine position this is if it were real war," re- 
 marked Swanson. " We could run up and give him a 
 broadside by easing her off half a point. We could go 
 under his stern and rake him fore and aft, and we could 
 ram and board him at the same time, if we wanted to ; but 
 we will wait until he goes about and all hands are engaged 
 at the braces; then we will keep off and run under his 
 stern and give him a shower of old nails and stuff in the 
 tophamper." 
 
 As we were gaining on him, Swanson told me that I was 
 to keep her up a little and shiver the top gallantsails and 
 the royals. (I was at the wheel.) 
 
 After about an hour of this sort of sailing Higginson 
 decided to go about, and Swanson passed along the word 
 to stand by with coal and iron. He himself jumped up on 
 the house and pointed the gun so as to shoot on about a 
 thirty-degree angle. 
 
 The Frolic came up in the wind and there she hung ; in 
 other words she missed stays. This was Swanson's chance, 
 and he was not slow to take advantage of it. 
 
 " Hard a starboard," said Swanson. " Ease off the 
 spanker sheet." The Forsette fell off and headed right 
 for the Frolic. It looked as if we were going to rani her 
 amidships. 
 
348 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 As we neared the Frolic we could see and hear by the 
 language used that everything was in confusion on board. 
 We cleared her stern by about fifty feet, and as we did, 
 Swanson pulled the lanyard and sent a bucketful of nails 
 and bolts through her main, upper and lower topsails. 
 Most of the ammunition handled by the crew fell short, 
 but Swanson picked up the rifle and sent a couple of 
 bullets whistling across the poop, which gave us the extreme 
 pleasure of seeing Mr. and Mrs. Higginson and their three 
 mates stumbling over one another, seeking shelter in the 
 cabin. 
 
 It was too amusing for anything. Swanson laughed as 
 I had never seen him laugh before. He put his elbows 
 on the break of the house and buried his face between his 
 big hands as if to stifle the joy that actually seemed to 
 break him to pieces. When he came to himself again he 
 found the Frolic on the port tack, and seeing the numerous 
 holes in her topsails, he had another small fit of laughing, 
 after which he gave orders to about ship, remarking, " We 
 will try him once more to find out if he has had enough." 
 
 The Frolic had lost a lot of distance in her failure to 
 come about. We were still to windward of her, and by 
 keeping everything full we were gradually coming up on 
 her for another attack. Swanson was observing the Frolic 
 with the glasses as we were approaching, and he found that 
 Captain Higginson and company were holding a council 
 of war on the poop. I^o preparations that Swanson could 
 see were going on to renew hostilities ; in fact, it looked as 
 if they were inclined to treat for peace. 
 
 We were now within hailing distance. Swanson picked 
 up the rifle and jumped on top of the house. He shouted 
 to Captain Higginson to order non-combatants off the deck, 
 as he intended to fire his Long Tom, low this time, with 
 the intention of raking the decks fore and aft. Mrs. Hig- 
 ginson made a dive for the companionway and Higginson, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 340 
 
 assisted by his first mate, seemed in an awful hurry to get 
 the wheel hard up. The spanker sheet was slacked away, 
 the weather braces rounded in as if by magic, and the 
 gallant Frolic bore away before it as if pursued by the 
 devil himself. Swanson made a bluff at squaring away, 
 also firing off the rifie and put a couple of holes in the gal- 
 lantsails, but we very soon hauled on the wind again, being 
 anxious not to lose any distance. 
 
 It looked as if the Frolic intended to run back to Cardiff. 
 She did not haul on the wind until late in the afternoon, 
 when she was hull down, and if ever a bully shipmaster 
 got a calling down it was Higginson, and the man who did 
 it was an old shipmate of his, Yankee Swanson. 
 
 By dark we were out of the Bristol Channel. As the 
 wind hauled gradually to the northwest, we were able to 
 steer course with the wind a couple of points free. We 
 made good time and at noon the following day we rounded 
 Lands End. The wind came out from the SW and in- 
 creased to a gale with such force that by dark we were 
 running before it under reefed topsails and reefed fore- 
 sail. Both watches were kept on deck throughout that 
 night, on account of the heavy squalls that struck us every 
 little while, and besides, the shipping was very thick, 
 steamers as well as sailing vessels. 
 
 We had one very narrow call that night that I shall 
 never forget. It was eight o'clock in the evening and 
 I had just then relieved the lookout. The fellow whom I 
 relieved cautioned me to sing out as loudly as I could if I 
 sighted ■ anything and not to leave the gallant f o'cs'le to 
 report to the officer, as we had been in the habit of doing 
 before. 
 
 The forestaysail and one jib were set, although the wind 
 was dead aft; this as a precaution to prevent her from 
 broaching to, because the old Forsette steered something 
 awful when deep loaded, and took as much as three or 
 
350 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 four points on each side of the course with two men at 
 the wheel, stripped to the shirt sleeves. 
 
 The fellow whom I relieved also cautioned me to look 
 out for the jib sheet so as not to be knocked overboard by 
 it, and he started to relate something about a shipmate of 
 his who had been knocked overboard by the jib sheets under 
 exactly similar circumstances as these. 
 
 He did not have time to finish the story. I sighted a 
 red light right ahead and reported same as loud as I could 
 shout. The fellow ran aft at the same time, as a precau- 
 tion in case the captain had not understood me. It was 
 not necessary at all, for Swanson saw the light about the 
 same time I did, and he put his helm hard aport. Up 
 she came until the topsails commenced to lift when he 
 steadied her, and we just cleared the other vessel and no 
 more. It was a large, four-masted ship, and she loomed 
 up immensely in the darkness. 
 
 If the westerly wind had lasted a few hours longer than 
 it did it would have taken us out of the English Channel, 
 but no such luck. It came out from the eastward when 
 within thirty miles of Dover. A number of vessels of all 
 sizes and all rigs and nationalities were beating out through 
 the Strait of Dover, and amongst them we discovered our 
 enemy, the Frolic. We crossed her bow about a mile to 
 windward of her, and we all laughed when we saw that 
 she had two old maintopsails bent in place of those two new 
 ones Yankee Swanson had put out of commission. We 
 set our ensign by way of greeting, but Bully Higginson 
 took no notice of it. Swanson also ran up a set of signals 
 informing Higginson that he would report him upon his 
 arrival at Copenhagen. 
 
 We were two full days beating out through the Strait 
 of Dover. It was hard work and raised the mischief with 
 our hands, going about every two hours and oftener, if the 
 wind happened to haul a little either one way or the other, 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 351 
 
 and Swanson saw that it would be an advantage to get on 
 the other tack. We were all in good spirits, though, for 
 we were homewardbound, and the next lot of westerly 
 wind we got would probably take us to Copenhagen. On 
 the dog-watches Herald would point out to me on the chart 
 what progress we had made during the last twenty-four 
 hours, and it seemed awfully little to me, and I wondered 
 if we ever would get there at the rate we were going. 
 
 Jack put Wap through a little extra training every day. 
 He wanted to turn him over to grandpa as nearly perfect 
 as possible, and the latest trick of usefulness Jack had 
 taught him was this, to carry a newspaper from the cabin 
 to the galley, and vice versa, I having told him to teach 
 him that, because my father was in the habit of sending one 
 of his children down to grandpa with the newspaper after 
 he had read it himself. 
 
 The westerly wind came along in its own good time, and 
 we squared away to cross the North Sea. 
 
 One day we were becalmed for a few hours and received 
 a visit from a fishing smack. They came alongside in a 
 small boat and made us a present of a batch of fish in 
 return for a couple of plugs of tobacco and a bottle of rum, 
 which Swanson gave them. 
 
 The Forsette was well known on the North Sea, having 
 traded between Sweden and England for so many years. 
 The fishermen said they had read in the newspapers about 
 our long passage from Russia and seemed to feel sorry 
 about Bengston, whom they knew well. They stayed with 
 us until the wind started to freshen, when they said " Good- 
 bye," and wished us a quick trip home. 
 
 We carried fair wind from the time the fishermen paid 
 us a visit until we made The Skaw light. The lightship 
 was not on the station, having been taken in on account of 
 the drift ice in Kattegat, but signals from the lighthouse 
 indicated that The Sound was free from ice. This was 
 
35a YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 good news indeed. We dreaded to be held up by ice — 
 ■which is very often the case in that part of the world, and 
 at that time of the year, especially if the wind happens to 
 be southerly for any length of time, which carries the ice 
 out of the Baltic Sea into The Sound and Kattegat. 
 
 The distance from The Skaw light to Copenhagen is 
 about one hundred and twenty-five miles, and to Hoganas 
 (my home), which would be in plain view from the vessel 
 if we passed there during the daytime, the distance was 
 only ninety miles. When I told my friend Jack about it 
 he seemed a little surprised that we were so near, and 
 when I suggested that we would surely have dinner with 
 grandpa next Sunday — four days hence — he shook his 
 head as if in grave doubt about it being true. 
 
 It was noon when we rounded The Skaw light. The 
 wind fell light about that time, and it looked questionable 
 if fair weather would continue. Herald told me that he 
 expected the wind would come out from the northward, 
 and if so, all would be well. 
 
 We were having our three o'clock coffee in the afternoon 
 when a fresh breeze sprung up from the NE, the very 
 wind we wanted. All hands were roused to make sail, 
 owing to the fact that while becalmed we had clewed up the 
 royals and top gallantsails to prevent them being chafed to 
 pieces, and the headsails had also been hauled down for 
 the same reason. 
 
 The wind freshened up to a brisk breeze, and in a little 
 while we were going along with everything drawing. Her- 
 ald told me to go aft with him to cast the log, and she rolled 
 off her eleven knots strong. 
 
 It was my afternoon watch below, but I did not feel 
 sleepy at all. Jack and I had too much to talk about, and 
 I told him that if we made KuUen Light the next morning 
 he and I would have to spend the greater part of the next 
 day on the royal yards so I could make him acquainted 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 with every house, tree, church tower, and farm along the 
 coast, and last of all my father's farm and grandpa's cot- 
 tage, all in plain view from the ship. 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning we sighted KuUen Light. 
 It is a first order one, visible about twenty-five miles. I 
 roused Jack to have a look at it, and he turned out, rubbing 
 the sleep out of his eyes as he came out. Herald handed 
 him the binoculars and told him to take a good look at it. 
 
 " How far is that light from grandpa's cottage ? " asked 
 Jack. 
 
 " About seven miles," I answered. " And by noon, if 
 the wind holds out, we will be able to see it." 
 
 Jack felt like dancing a jig and would have done so if he 
 had not been afraid of disturbing Swanson, who had gone 
 to sleep. 
 
 At daylight we were abeam of Kullen Light and not 
 more than half a mile off. It was the first of March, the 
 day grandpa told me in his letter he would be looking for 
 us. We set our ensign and communicated by means of the 
 code that everything was well with us. Every one was 
 on deck, standing by, because we expected to pick up a 
 pilot off Hoganas to take us through The Sound. 
 
 I borrowed Herald's glasses, and having Swanson's per- 
 mission, my friend and I went aloft and perched ourselves 
 on the main royal yard. 
 
 We ran on a parallel course with the coast and about a 
 mile off the beach. It was not safe to go any nearer after 
 having passed the light, on account of the number of 
 shoals. However, it was near enough for our purpose. 
 
 The weather was cold, but it was a clear, beautiful day. 
 The country was covered with snow, which made villages 
 and trees much plainer. We could even see people and 
 horses on the roads. Jack was overjoyed. It was grand, 
 he told me ; the prettiest he had ever seen. 
 
 Krapperup', the country seat of Count Oyllenstjerna, 
 
354 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 was in plain view and so were the fishing villages of Molle, 
 Lerhamn and Nyhamn. 
 
 Finally, there was Hoganas and the tall spire of Wasby 
 church. About half a mile to the right from the church 
 was my father's farm. We could plainly see the dwelling 
 houses, because the leaves were off the high poplar trees, 
 one of which I have spoken of as my lookout tree, and 
 there a little to the left of the farm, also surrounded by 
 high trees, was my grandfather's cottage. I handed the 
 glasses to Jack and directed him where to look. He strad- 
 dled the royal yard and to give him free use of both hands 
 I passed the end of a gasket around him and the mast. 
 After a long while he told me he could see another little 
 house close by the cottage. I took the glasses to scrutinise 
 this new discovery, and found it to be grandpa's wood- 
 house and workshop combined, the place where he kept the 
 all-important grindstone. 
 
 Tears of joy came to my eyes. I tried to keep them 
 back, but found I could not. There was the little wood- 
 house, all right — the roof, anyhow, under which I had 
 heard the old man relate so many strange things of war and 
 hardship. I strained my eyes trying to get a glimpse of 
 the old man on the road to the farm, which I could see, but 
 it was in vain. Perhaps he had gone into the village to 
 make enquiries if the Forsette had passed, for it was the 
 first of March, and he had promised to be on the lookout 
 for us. 
 
 Having seen everything I could think of pointing out 
 to my friend, we went down to lend a hand to back the 
 mainyards. We were up abreast of Hoganas and a pilot 
 boat was coming off toward us. 
 
 The pilot's name was Malmgren, an old acquaintance of 
 mine. After he got the vessel on her course and the yards 
 trimmed as he wanted them, he beckoned to me to come 
 aft for a chat. He had plenty of news that interested me. 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 355 
 
 Grandpa, just as I expected, was in the village and had 
 given the pilot a letter for me. The old man vranted to 
 come off to the ship with the pilot, just to get a look at his 
 boys and the dog, and Malmgren had had a hard time of 
 it persuading him not to, telling him that he expected it. 
 would be rough outside. Finally the old man gave in, 
 and just wrote me a few lines. 
 
 Captain Bengston had recovered from his sickness and 
 had gone to England to take command of a new vessel. 
 
 Swanson was to remain in command of the Forsette per- 
 manently. 
 
 My elder brother was at the navigation school in Stock- 
 holm, and everybody on the farm was in the best of health 
 and anxiously waiting for my return. 
 
 I introduced my friend to the pilot, who shook his hand, 
 and said that he knew him very well indeed, my grand- 
 father having told him all about him. The pilot seemed 
 very much surprised that the boy could speak Swedish so 
 well, and said that grandpa would be a little disappointed 
 on that score, because the old man expected to talk nothing 
 but French to the boy, to make good his assertion that he 
 spoke French better than Swedish, old as he was. I said 
 it would not make a particle of difference, because if the 
 old man insisted on talking French, Jack would be only 
 too happy to accommodate him. The pilot laughed and 
 said, " Of course it won't. It is a lucky thing that the boy 
 can talk Swedish. I don't think the old man can talk any 
 French ; he has not spoken any since Waterloo, he told me 
 to-day, and Waterloo was not fought yesterday, either," 
 intimated the pilot, with a knowing grin. 
 
 I went down to the den and opened the old man's letter. 
 It was just a few lines, stating that everybody was well. 
 He had walked into Hoganas early in the morning, expect- 
 ing to get some news about the ship, and being told we were 
 outside, he proposed to come off with the pilot just to see 
 
356 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 how we boys were, but the rascally Malmgren would not 
 let him. He also told me that he had sort of made up his 
 mind to come over to Copenhagen to take us home, and if 
 he did, he would bring my little brother along, as he had 
 been a fairly good boy of late, and it' would do him good 
 to see something of the world. 
 
 Pilot Malmgren informed Swanson that the American 
 barque Frolic was lost on The Skaw three days ago, and 
 none of the crew had been saved. She ran on shore in a 
 thick snowstorm. 
 
 Although no one on the Forsette had any use for Bully 
 Higginson and company, we felt badly that they had come 
 to such an imtimely end. Swanson expressed himself as 
 being very sorry, and said that he had fully expected to 
 meet Higginson in Copenhagen, when they would have 
 patched up their differences and had a drink in honour of 
 the little sea fight off Lundy Island. 
 
 In the afternoon we anchored off Helsingborg and dipped 
 our flag to the Castle of Kronborg of Hamlet fame. Pilot 
 Malmgren left us here, it being as far as he was allowed 
 to take us. 
 
 In the morning a Danish pilot came off to the vessel, 
 and as the wind was fair, we hove up anchor and crowded 
 on every sail we had. 
 
 That afternoon we came to anchor in the Copenhagen 
 roads, off the Three Crovms Fort, in the very place where 
 the immortal ISTelson fought the fiercest of all his battles. 
 The health officer and custom house people boarded the 
 Forsette and we received pratique that afternoon, but did 
 not enter the harbour. We lowered a boat, and Jack, two 
 seamen and myself put Swanson on shore. 
 
 On arriving at the landing place, Swanson told Jack and 
 me to go along with him. He was well acquainted in 
 Copenhagen, to judge by the number of people he met and 
 shook hands with, and they all congratulated him on hav- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 367 
 
 ing made a fine winter passage, and referring to the awful 
 loss of the Frolic. 
 
 We went to a shipchandler store to which the ship's mail 
 had been addressed. While waiting for Swanson to com- 
 plete his business with the boss, a letter carrier came in 
 and delivered some mail. The shipchandler handed some 
 of it to Swanson, who after having looked it over, beckoned 
 to Jack and, held out a letter. Jack jumped up, made a 
 step or two toward Swanson as if to receive the letter, 
 turned around and looked at me with a bashful grin on his 
 face as though he had committed himself. There is no 
 telling what he would have done if Swanson had not said, 
 "Well, what is the matter with you? Don't you want 
 your mail ? " Jack took the letter, and I wish I could 
 describe the look of that boy's face as he sat down by me 
 with the letter in his hand. He gave it to me and asked 
 me to open it. 
 
 The letter was from grandpa, addressed to Ordinary 
 Seaman Jack Le Fevre, Barque Forsette. I told Jack to 
 put it in his pocket and we would open it after we got on 
 board, which he did after having read the address a few 
 times, looking at it in all manners and ways as if to make 
 sure there was no mistake about it. 
 
 Swanson was watching the boy from the corner of one 
 eye while he was handling the letter, and it must have 
 looked funny to him, because I noticed a smile on his face, 
 a smile which I had learned to know was a sure indication 
 of his friendly — I might say fatherly — feeling for that 
 poor boy. We left the shipchandler's place and Swanson 
 told us to come along. 
 
 We took the street car and our next stop was Hotel An- 
 gleterre, where Swanson found his wife sitting in an easy 
 chair reading a newspaper. Having embraced and kissed 
 and all that sort of thing so dear to a sailorman's heart and 
 their wives, Mrs. Swanson shook my hand and kissed me — 
 
358 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 she did indeed. Swanson seemed to like it. I guess lie 
 was not jealous like some sailors I have known, because he 
 told her he would not stand for her making fish of 
 one and flesh of another, meaning that she would have to 
 treat Jack in a similar manner which she did. 
 
 Swanson sent me out to get an expressman to carry Mrs. 
 Swanson's baggage down to the boat, and giving Jack and 
 me a couple of crowns apiece with instructions to be at the 
 boatlanding at six o'clock, we left Swanson and his wife 
 and went for a stroll in the city. 
 
 We roamed about the city, took a trip on a street car, 
 went in and had a square meal, and otherwise amused 
 ourselves until it was time to get back. We arrived at the 
 landing a few minutes before Swanson and his wife did, 
 and found that one of the sailors had gone up town. We 
 waited a few minutes, thinking he would get back, Swan- 
 son being a little annoyed about it. 
 
 " There he comes," said Jack, and looking in the direc- 
 tion he pointed, we saw our sailor on the arm of a police- 
 man, in a drimken condition. 
 
 " Shove off," said Swanson. " We won't take him along 
 to-night," and with that we were on our way to the For- 
 sette. 
 
 The sailor shouted for us to come back, shaking his fist 
 and threatening to do us up the first opportunity he got, 
 but the policeman put a stop to it for the time being by 
 marching him off to jail. 
 
 Mrs. Swanson had no trouble getting up the Jacob's 
 ladder when we got alongside. Nap was at the gangway 
 to receive us, wagging his tail by way of welcome. Mrs. 
 Swanson was a little afraid of him at first, having heard 
 so much about the dog through her husband's letters. 
 
 Mrs. Swanson had seen grandpa in the morning as she 
 started on her trip to Copenhagen. He wanted to come 
 along, but Mrs. Swanson persuaded him not to, telling him 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 359 
 
 that she would see to it that we got properly started for 
 home. 
 
 Having hoisted the boat and eaten our supper, Jack and 
 I busied ourselves with reading the old man's letter. It 
 turned out to be more or less of a conundrum to both of 
 us, being half French and half Swedish. The Swedish 
 part I could manage well enough, but the French portion 
 of it puzzled even Jack, who expressed the opinion that 
 the French language must have changed some since Water- 
 loo. The sum and substance of the letter was in the na- 
 ture of a hearty welcome to Jack to come and make him- 
 self at home with my grandparents as long as he liked to 
 stay, and as for the work he would expect him to do, that 
 would be a mere nothing after they once got the tools into 
 some sort of shipshape. 
 
 Jack now felt perfectly satisfied. He knew he had an- 
 other good friend in my grandfather, and would not be 
 cast adrift in a foreign land. Out came the tin whistle, 
 and Mrs. Swanson, who was of a jolly disposition, came 
 and opened our door, invited us into the cabin, and asked 
 Jack to play something real pretty. He struck up " The 
 Blue Danube," and Mrs. Swanson pushed a chair or two 
 out of the way, grabbed her husband by the hair, and made 
 him get up and trip the light fantastic with her on the 
 cabin floor of the old Forsette. 
 
 At daylight the following morning we were aroused to 
 heave up anchor. The tugboat came alongside and tied 
 up to take us in. Herald said to me before we started 
 heaving, " Well, Andrew, I guess this is the last time you 
 and I will do any heaving together, because this afternoon 
 we will all be paid off to go our different ways. It has 
 been pretty hard graft for all of us since we left Norway, 
 but now since it is all over I would not have missed it for 
 much. It has been a great experience for us all, something 
 I know I will never forget." 
 
960 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 I asked Herald why he did not remain by the vessel, 
 and he informed me he could not remain as mate, because, 
 although he knew all about navigation, he had no certifi- 
 cate, and besides, the vessel would be out of commission 
 until the navigation opened on the Baltic Sea, and that 
 would not take place for a month and a half yet. 
 
 " We might meet some other time; there is no telling," 
 I said. 
 
 " I hope so, most sincerely," said Herald. " I like both 
 you and Jack and poor N^ap, to say nothing of Swanson, 
 who I have found to be a thoroughly honest, upright good 
 man. He has been a friend to all of us, and I shall never 
 forget him." 
 
 I asked Herald what he intended to do, and he told me 
 he would pay his passage to England, and there get a ship 
 for San Francisco, where he had some friends, and in- 
 tended to settle down for good. 
 
 " And now, Andrew, I want to tell you something before 
 I forget. You remember the strange imagination Ericson 
 had about the nurse at the hospital resembling somebody 
 he knew ? " I told him I remembered. " Well," con- 
 tinued Herald, " I have found out who it is. It came to 
 me in a dream a few nights ago. It is Jack, that man 
 looked like, and I am sure the nurse was Jack's father. 
 He told me one day that he belonged to the Channel 
 Islands. Don't let Jack know what I have told you; it 
 is too late, and it couldn't possibly do any good now and 
 would only set him to worrying, but when I get to Eng- 
 land I will try to do something toward finding out, for the 
 boy's sake." 
 
 I was too much taken aback to ask for more information 
 regarding the nurse, and there was no time, either. Her- 
 ald sang out, " Heave away." The chain came in easily 
 on account of being no wind and shallow water, and early 
 in the forenoon we had the Forsette moored to a wharf 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 361 
 
 in the harbour, and a shore gang on board to start dis- 
 charging. 
 
 In the afternoon we were all paid off before the Swedish 
 consul. I had been on board of the Forsette ten months 
 less a few days, and my friend had nine months to his 
 credit. Swanson gave us ordinary seaman's pay for the 
 whole time we had been there. We had drawn hardly 
 anything. What money we had spent during the voyage 
 was money we had earned by doing a little stunt of some- 
 thing or another when an opportunity offered. 
 
 We were now ready to pack up for home, but Swanson 
 advised us not to be in too big a hurry, but to stay a couple 
 of days and see the town. Copenhagen is a fine city, 
 modern in every respect, and the inhabitants are a pleas- 
 ure loving people. We remained there a couple of days, 
 during which time we took in a few cheap shows and other- 
 wise amused ourselves strictly in accordance with the size 
 of our pocket books. 
 
 The Danish language being somewhat different from 
 Swedish, Jack did not get along as well as he had ex- 
 pected, I having told him before we arrived that I did 
 not think he would have any difficulty on that score. He, 
 therefore, seemed anxious to be off for home, and accord- 
 ingly we spent Sunday packing up. We divided all our 
 many presents, so that we would be about equally well off 
 in giving them away at home. Mrs. Swanson assisted us 
 to some extent with the presents, that is she picked out 
 what would be most appropriate for the different members 
 of the family. 
 
 On Monday we went to buy our tickets and had our bag- 
 gage sent down to the steamboat landing. The bulkiest 
 part of the outfit was the dog cart, which Jack insisted in 
 taking along. It had been stowed away in the fore peak' 
 since we left Archangel, and Herald took it apart and 
 made a package of it. Swanson tried to persuade Jack 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 to leave it behind, but he would not stand for it, giving 
 as his reason that grandfather's tools were in a bad shape 
 and it would take the old man a long time to make another 
 one. 
 
 All that remained to be done now was to say " Good- 
 bye " to our mutual old friend Swanson. This was not 
 an easy matter to do. Happy as we were to get away, 
 nevertheless, when I held out my hand to Swanson, I felt 
 a lump rising in my throat, and I had hard work to keep 
 the tears back. Poor Jack made a worse mess of it than 
 I. He tried to say something in Swedish by way of thank- 
 ing Swanson for all his kindness toward him, but broke 
 down completely and sobbed like a little baby. Mrs. 
 Swanson came to his rescue, at least she attempted to, but 
 she too started weeping. The only calm one was Yankee 
 Swanson, who said we were worse than a lot of old women, 
 and thought such sadness was entirely out of place now 
 when we should all be happy. He promised that he would 
 make us a call when he took his wife home, which would 
 be in another month or so. 
 
 " I'm bound to see for myself. Jack, how you are get- 
 ting along with the old veteran, and if you would rather 
 come back to the old Forsette when navigation opens I wiU 
 have a place for you." 
 
 Jack now made Nap hold out his paw to Swanson, and 
 he also turned a somersault as a final good-bye, and we left 
 for the steamboat landing. 
 
 Herald was at the landing to bid us farewell, and he 
 promised to write us from England. 
 
 In steaming out of the harbour we passed close by the 
 Porsette. Swanson and his wife were on the poop wav- 
 ing us good-bye until we were out of sight. 
 
 The little steamer we were on did not call at our place. 
 The nearest to our destination was Helsingborg, and there 
 we disembarked. Helsingborg is a pretty little place, sit- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 uated on the Swedish side of The Sound, and right oppo- 
 site Helsingborg is Denmark. I had been with my father 
 a couple of times to Helsingborg before, but I had no 
 friends or relatives living there, and for that reason I was 
 as much a stranger almost as my friend. 
 
 There was no railroad at that time between Helsing- 
 borg and our place, and the only way to travel was by the 
 diligence, which left every noon, taking both passengers 
 and baggage. As the diligence had left when we disem- 
 barked, we engaged a room in a hotel and stored away our 
 things, intending to start the following noon. After hav- 
 ing had something to eat we went out for a walk to pass 
 away the time, which dragged along very slowly indeed 
 now that we were so near and yet so far. 
 
 We took the main street, which was a continuation of 
 the highway on which we would have to travel to get home. 
 We met a lot of farmers who were coming to tovsTi with 
 their live stock and other produce, the next day being 
 market day. 
 
 I sized them up pretty carefully, expecting to meet 
 some one I knew from our place, thinking if I did I would 
 be good for a free ride home, for the baggage anyhow, and 
 besides, there was ISTap to take into consideration. I was 
 not certain if they would allow him on the diligence. 
 
 Presently I saw in the distance a heavy wagon coming 
 along loaded with sacks of grain. I knew the horses the 
 moment I saw them, as belonging to a near neighbour of 
 ours and a friend of my father. The farmer and his son, 
 a boy of my age, were on top of the load, and as they came 
 nearer I took off my cap and waved it at them by way of 
 recognition. The farmer did not recognise me at first, 
 owing to the fact that I had grown a great deal since he 
 last saw me, and besides I was togged out in city clothes, 
 which made some difference also I suppose. His son, 
 however, recognised me at once. We had always been 
 
364. YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 ctums, and I liad received several letters from him during 
 ™y voyage. He was glad to see me, of course, but some- 
 how or other I detected a certain coolness in both him and 
 his father that I was at a loss to understand. We chatted 
 for a while, the farmer giving me the news from home, 
 and asking a lot of questions, which I answered, but as he 
 did not volunteer to be of any service to me in regards to 
 transportation, I refrained from asking him. I felt I was 
 independent of him ia that respect. We had money, and 
 besides, if I had chosen to write to father what day I 
 was coming he would have been there with his rig to take 
 me home. I felt badly on account of Jack, though. They 
 never as much as looked at him. I had expected they 
 would have been a little friendly and sociable, or in some 
 way made him feel a little at home, but they did not. 
 Jack did not seem to take it much to heart, though. We 
 said " Good-bye " and left our two unsociable neighbours 
 and went about our husiness. 
 
 By dusk we were back in town, somewhat hungry after 
 our long walk. We looked about to find a suitable place 
 to get something to eat, and fetched up in a place on the 
 water front, which was patronised by sailors. We sat 
 down to a table and ordered our supper. A young girl 
 brought us our order, and I recognised her at once to be 
 the daughter of a poor shoemaker and a near neighbour of 
 ours. 
 
 " HeUo, Anna," I said. " How are you, and how are 
 things on the farm ? " The girl looked at me in astonish- 
 ment; she seemed really surprised. She took a seat by 
 me and after having sized me up from head to foot, as if 
 to make sure I was all there. She remarked that she 
 could hardly believe her own eyes. 
 
 " Well, what is wrong ? " I asked. 
 
 " UTothing," she answered, " only you are about twice 
 the size you were when you left, and besides you have im- 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 3G5 
 
 proved in looks a great deal; in fact, I think you are al- 
 most good looking, and when you left you were the ugliest 
 boy in Hoganas. Yes, indeed, that's true," went on the 
 girl. " Everybody said so, except your grandfather, he 
 thought you were the best looking one." 
 
 I had to laugh at the girl's outspoken remarks and Jack 
 also smiled, no doubt thinking that the girl was uncom- 
 monly cruel in her remarks about my looks. 
 
 " And is that the French boy I have heard so much 
 about from your sisters and the old grandfather ? " asked 
 the girl. 
 
 " That's him," I said. " Do you find him ugly, too? " 
 
 The girl commenced to look him over thoroughly as if 
 she was an authority on beauty. iJack felt a little em- 
 barrassed, and started to pat ifap, who was sitting down 
 on his haunches waiting for something to eat. 
 
 " Well," I said, " it takes you a long time to make up 
 your mind about him. Hurry up; we are hungry." 
 
 Anna reached over and whispered in my ear, asking if 
 Jack understood Swedish.. Understood, indeed. "Why, 
 Anna," I answered, " he can talk it a great deal better 
 than you, and write it too." 
 
 Anna took another good look at him, and then whispered 
 to me, " That's the prettiest boy I have ever seen." 
 
 " Thank you, Anna," I said. " That is real kind of 
 you to say that. Now let us eat in peace, and after we 
 are finished come and make us feel at home, and we will 
 make you a present of something real nice when you come 
 to visit us on the farm." 
 
 " All right," she said, leaving us to ourselves. But I 
 noticed her on several occasions taking long side glances at 
 Jack, which he evidently was not aware of. 
 
 Having finished our supper, Anna came to clear off the 
 table, and Jack took out his purse to pay, but Anna inter- 
 rupted him, saying she had taken the liberty to speak 
 
366 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 to the landlady about us being great friends of hers, as 
 well as neighbours, and for that reason the treat would be 
 on the house. 
 
 We made some mild objections to that, but Anna in- 
 sisted upon having her own way, otherwise she would not 
 come and speak to us any more that evening. 
 
 All the patrons having gone, Anna came and took a seat 
 by us. She had been home to see her parents a few days 
 prior to our meeting, and she had also met my sisters, 
 who had told her all about my friend and myself being 
 expected to arrive home soon. I was anxious she should 
 relate all this to my friend by way of getting him inter- 
 ested and to feel at home, and for that reason I excused 
 myself under the pretence of going out to see about the 
 diligence and to make arrangements for the next day. 
 
 I stayed away about an hour and when I came back I 
 found the landlady and three other girls besides Anna 
 being entertained by Jack. He had played several pieces 
 on the tin whistle and did some dancing, and also put 
 Nap through any amount of tricks. Everybody was as 
 happy as could be, and before we left that evening Jack 
 had related to his listeners a great part of what we had 
 gone through since he came on board the Forsette. 
 
 The following day we went back and had our break- 
 fast, having promised the kind landlady we would, with 
 the understanding that we should be allowed to pay, to 
 which she made no serious objection. 
 
 At noon we were on board the diligence, baggage and 
 Nap. The driver informed me that in case he picked up 
 passengers on the way and got crowded for room, Nap 
 would have to hike it, otherwise he would be allowed to 
 ride. I had no objection to that, well knowing that Nap 
 would be able to do a little stunt like that, the distance 
 being only about fifteen miles. 
 
 After haviag covered about half the distance, things 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 367 
 
 commenced to look familiar to me, and I got busy telling 
 my friend all about it. I explained wbat such and such, 
 a place was and who lived in it. He on the other hand 
 asked all sorts of questions, and when he saw a farm with 
 high trees around it in the distance, he would say, almost 
 gasping for breath, and seemingly much more anxious 
 than I, " That's the place, Andrew, I know it by the 
 trees." 
 
 " Not yet, Jack, not yet," I would answer. " Every 
 farm has trees here. I will tell you when we see it." 
 
 Words are vain when a person tries to express deep 
 emotions, and I have but little hope of conveying to the 
 reader of these pages the joy I felt, and on the other 
 hand, the strange feelings under which my dear friend 
 laboured when we sighted the old farm. Not the farm 
 alone, but on the road which lead from the farm and con- 
 nected with the royal road on which we were travelling, 
 was seen an old man and two little children. They came 
 hurrying along, the children running ahead, shouting to 
 the old man to make more haste, although his military 
 stride would have been a credit to a man half his age. 
 
 I did not tell Jack who they were. There was no need 
 of it. As if by instinct and from the minute description 
 I had given him of grandpa, he recognised him as if he 
 had been an old acquaintance. 
 
 The diligence reached the crossroads before the old man 
 and the children did. The diligence stopped and the first 
 one to alight was Nap, closely followed by Jack and my- 
 self. "We took our baggage off and the diligence started 
 off for Hoganas. 
 
 I immediately started on a run to meet the old man, 
 who was still some distance down the road. I noticed the 
 children now hung back of the old man as if they were 
 afraid of something. It was my changed appearance. 
 They were not quite sure whether or not it was I. 
 
 Overcome by emotion, I threw myself into the old man's 
 
368 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 arms, while the children, not knowing what to make 
 of it, stood back, bashfully, with their fingers in their 
 mouths. 
 
 The old man himself was somewhat overcome. He 
 picked me up as though I were a little baby, then held me 
 away from him at arm's length and scanned me most mi- 
 nutely as if in search of some strange change. Having 
 satisfied himself that I was all right, he let go of me, 
 which gave me a chance to receive the greetings of my 
 little sister and brother, who did not seem to like the way 
 the old man monopolised me. They had such a lot of 
 news to tell me and they were in such a hurry to relate it 
 that they contradicted one another most shamefully in 
 such important matters as whether mamma's black hen 
 hatched out eleven chickens or an even dozen the day be- 
 fore yesterday. 
 
 Grandpa enjoyed the argument with a grin on his face 
 that bespoke contentment. Every now and then he took, 
 what he was in the habit of calling, a Marengo twist in 
 the moustache, and glanced down the road, where my 
 friend was hard at work putting the dogcart together. 
 
 " Well," said grandpa, " we will have plenty of time 
 to talk by and by; but that is a mean way you are treat- 
 ing your friend, leaving him there by himself, poor little 
 stranger. I'm anxious to find out if he can understand 
 my French," and taking another Marengo twist, he gave 
 the order, " Forward march." 
 
 The dogcart was loaded with the baggage, but as yet 
 Nap was not in harness, Jack expecting that he would be 
 called upon to put him through a few stunts by way of 
 introduction. As we approached I called out, " ISTap." 
 The dog cocked up his ears, looked up at Jack as if ex- 
 pecting instructions as to what to do in this particular 
 case. Jack pointed toward us and on came Napoleon on 
 a run to meet us. Seeing me on friendly terms with the 
 strangers, Nap commenced licking their hands, a sure sign 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 369 
 
 that lie wislied to be on friendly terms also. The chil- 
 dren, as well as grandpa, thought he was the finest dog 
 they had ever seen, and then, " Look how far he has 
 travelled," remarked my little sister. " He has been to 
 Archangel, and that is almost as far as to Moscow, ain't 
 it, grandpa ? " 
 
 " I believe it is," answered the old man, not paying 
 much attention to their childish chatter just then. He 
 was sizing up my friend, who stood to attention when the 
 old man came toward him. 
 
 Grandpa addressed my friend in the French language 
 for quite a little while. The old man seemed to be at 
 ease. There was no faltering, apparently, that I could 
 notice, and the old man was elated at this his first attempt 
 at it for many years. 
 
 Jack commenced to feel at home at once^ more so after 
 the old man had told him that on the splendid recommenda- 
 tion I had given him through my letters, he would be like 
 a father to him as long as he felt like remaining at his 
 humble cottage, or until he died, which he thought would 
 be a long time hence, because he felt much better now 
 than he had for years. And besides he was only a little 
 past ninety-one. 
 
 Jack tried to express his gratitude in Swedish, but as 
 usual, the tears came to his eyes, and grandpa put a stop 
 to such foolishness — that is what he called it — by em- 
 bracing him and making my little sister and brother kiss 
 him. 
 
 We now put Nap in harness and hitched him to the 
 cart. He seemed perfectly at home, although he had not 
 been in harness since we were in Russia. Jack proposed 
 that the little ones should ride, which they thought would 
 be a capital idea, but grandpa thought it would be too 
 much of a load for the dog, and it was not until Jack had 
 explained that liTapoleon had on one occasion in Russia 
 transported two big fat cooks and any number of cooking 
 
370 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 utensils a long distance before he would consent to allow 
 the children to ride. 
 
 As we neared the farm, the whole family came out to 
 meet us. Father did not exactly approve of the way we 
 travelled. I should have written him what day I was 
 coming and he would have been in town with his rig to 
 take us home, he said. Mother was too happy to criticise, 
 and she laughed most heartily at our strange turnout. 
 She liked the looks of my friend, and received him as if 
 he had been her own son. My big sisters whispered in 
 my ear that Jack was the best looking boy they had ever 
 seen, and I was mean enough to repeat it so Jack should 
 hear it, whereupon they commenced to box my ears for 
 being so indiscreet. 
 
 Arriving at the farm, and after having liberated Nap, 
 we all went into the living-room, where a cheery fire was 
 burning in the grate. Grandma was sitting in the rocker 
 before the fire. She was very near-sighted, and did not 
 recognise me until I had my arms around her neck. 
 Tears of joy rolled down her wrinMed cheeks as she told 
 how much she had worried about me while I had been 
 away, thinking all the time that something would happen 
 to me and that she should never see me again. Grandpa 
 interrupted us by telling his wife that it was foolish to 
 carry on in that manner ; that she would only spoil me if 
 she insisted on crying all the time; at the same time I 
 thought I saw signs of a tear in the old man's eye. 
 
 At supper that evening we sat down to the very best 
 the house afforded. Jack sat between my grandfather 
 and grandmother, and he and I took turns relating our 
 experiences on sea and land. 
 
 After supper we handed out the presents. No one was 
 forgotten and what is more, everybody was satisfied with 
 what we gave. 
 
 The evening entertainment wound up by Jack playing 
 a few of his choice selections on the tin whistle, and he 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 371 
 
 and I also did a little stunt at step-dancing, to the great 
 amusement of the whole family. 
 
 It was after midnight when my grandparents, Jack 
 and Napoleon took themselves off toward their little cot- 
 tage, each carrying a bundle, and Nap running ahead with 
 a newspaper in his mouth. 
 
 The first month following our homecoming was one 
 continual round of pleasure. It was the month of March, 
 but King Frost still held sway. The lake, distant about 
 half a mile from the farm, was frozen over and just ideal 
 for skating. In the evening, especially if it was moon- 
 light, the young folks and many of the old ones would 
 assemble and skate ; sometimes we kept on up to midnight. 
 
 My friend was now thoroughly at home. He, as well 
 as the faithful Napoleon, were in evidence everywhere, 
 and better stiU, everybody liked them. No little social 
 gathering was complete without them, and grandpa got 
 his full measure of enjoyment also from the fact that his 
 adopted son w,as so well received everywhere, he having 
 on one occasion expressed some doubt as to how the coun- 
 try people would receive him, they as a rule being narrow- 
 minded. 
 
 Jack and I made any number of calls, all of a social 
 character, except one, which we made the day after our 
 arrival, when we visited Mrs. Ericson to offer our con- 
 dolence in her great loss of her son, our former second 
 mate and her only support. I shall not dwell on her sor- 
 row, which was heart-breaking when I repeated the words 
 her son had asked me to carry to her; nor upon the sweet 
 smile which spread over her wrinkled face when my friend 
 refuted the wicked charges which the scoundrel Axel had 
 spread broadcast through the village. She gave me her 
 son's last letter, which was written a few days before his 
 death, and asked me to read it to her, she explaining that 
 she had some difficulty in reading it. I did my best, but 
 I am sorry to say that I could not make anything inteUi- 
 
372 YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 gent out of it. Our former cook would most likely have 
 pronounced it all fish hooks. 
 
 One day, in company with grandpa, we paid a visit to 
 our pastor. The old man had an object in view in this 
 visit, which was this: he intended that Jack should go 
 through the same study preparatory to receiving the Holy 
 Sacrament under the pastor's supervision, which I and 
 other children of my age were then receiving. The pas- 
 tor was a little dubious if it would be a safe thing to do, 
 considering that he did not know anything about the boy, 
 and besides the boy was not a member of his flock. The 
 old man pooh-poohed such small trifles as being narrow- 
 minded, and insisted on Jack being put through and be- 
 coming a member of his flock, the same as I. " It is only 
 for the looks of things," said grandpa. " He will go to 
 Heaven without it, and you know it; and as for informa- 
 tion if you require any to put the thing through, I can 
 tell you this much, that his father died fighting for 
 France, and if you have any respect for an old warrior 
 who fought ten years in the Napoleonic ranks and on 
 several occasions under the very eye of the great master 
 himself, and this with the sole object in view of prevent- 
 ing the likes of you and I from becoming slaves to 
 bigotry and the nobility of Europe, you will surely grant 
 me this little favour." 
 
 The good pastor was a well-meaning man. He had not 
 the slightest idea of offending or showing disrespect to- 
 ward the old man whom every one in the community had 
 the greatest respect for. He told the old man that every 
 word he had just spoken was the gospel truth and that he 
 himself was an admirer of Napoleon. " But the question 
 is this," went on the pastor, " is the boy smart, and do 
 you think he is able to master all that I shall require of 
 him? You must know I can't put him through blind- 
 folded; this is no play, you know that." 
 
 " Well," said grandpa, " of course I don't know what 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 you would call play, but this little matter of putting him 
 through I don't consider of such moment anyhow. I will 
 be thankful to you if you will promise to let him start in 
 as soon as convenient. As for being smart, we will leave 
 that to Jack. I have never seen anything better at the 
 grindstone; and as for training dogs and pigeons he can't 
 be beat." 
 
 The pastor laughed most heartily at the old man's idea 
 of smartness, and promised that Jack should come with 
 me to our next meeting, which took place the following 
 afternoon. 
 
 Jack, as usual, made good, and came through with fly- 
 ing colours, after which he was enrolled as a member of 
 the community. 
 
 One evening we were all assembled in' the living-room. 
 We had what we would call a good time, some singing and 
 dancing, and Nap was doing tricks. I had then already 
 made up my mind to go to England and from there make 
 my way to the Land of the Free. As yet nothing had 
 been said as to whether Jack was to go along or not. I 
 had always refrained from asking him myself, for the 
 reason that I could read between the lines that grandpa 
 would be lonesome if Jack left, the old man being so at- 
 tached to him. However, on this evening, my mother, 
 who loved Jack almost like her own, pulled the boy to 
 her side and said, ".Jack, I'm sure you will be almost as 
 sorry as I am when Andrew leaves us." Jack looked at 
 me for a moment, then took a swift glance about the room. 
 Everybody, including grandpa, who was silently sitting in 
 a comer smoking, was wondering what the answer would 
 be. " Yes," he answered, " I vnll be very sorry, but not 
 as sorry as if I had to leave grandpa." Grandpa got on 
 his feet and kissed his boy. 
 
 I have now come to the end of my story — my first 
 voyage to sea, and six months in the bosom of my family 
 will expire before I set out again to roam the briny. In 
 
YANKEE SWANSON 
 
 the meantime we had a call from Yankee Swanson, who 
 paid us a visit before taking the old Forsetie up the Baltic 
 Sea to load lumber for Grangemouth. 
 
 We spent a very agreeable day together, talking over 
 old times. Swanson accompanied grandpa down to the 
 cottage to see the new dog house, and to pass his opinion 
 on the splendid condition of the tools, which the old man 
 said had never been better. Swanson got in the good 
 graces of the old man by saying that he had never seen 
 things in general in better shape than he found at the 
 cottage, and grandpa on the other hand gave his boy Jack 
 all the credit for it, stating that it would be almost impos- 
 sible for him to get along without the boy, and for that 
 reason asked Swanson as a favour not to advise Jack to 
 go to sea any more. Swanson replied that it would be a 
 crime to give the boy any such advice, not that he had 
 not plenty of pluck and all that sort of thing so necessary 
 for a sailor, but that he was too tender-hearted to follow 
 the sea, and besides he had plenty of brains that could be 
 put to better use on land. 
 
 The day before I left my home for a second cruise I 
 went down to grandpa's cottage to pay them a last visit. 
 I found them all in the woodshed, grandpa and Jack 
 sharpening tools and grandma brushing iN'apoleon's hair. 
 I watched them a long time through a crack in the wall, 
 and when their work was done the old man suggested that 
 Jack play something. This was immediately acted upon, 
 and grandpa's favourite, " The Marseillaise," was executed 
 with a great de»l of vim, Jack blowing and the old man 
 taking Marengo twists in his moustaches and singing : 
 
 L'gtendarf sanglant est lev6, 
 Allons, enfants de la patrie! 
 
 Le jour <ie gloire est arrive. 
 Centre noiw de la tyrannie, 
 
 Tremblez, tyrans' et vous perfldes! etc.