Caboose

“ Right heartily did our hardy crew enjoy the shelter of that quaint old haven; grouped around their cheerful, cosy forecastle, the caboose giving forth a merry, homely, social blaze, they yarned away of by-gone dangers and hair-breadth escapes, which caused the older seamen to shake their heads in grave attestation of the narrators’ truth, and the green boys to listen with open-mouthed wonder, thinking, and perchance hoping, that the day might come when they too should be enabled to relate similar wonders of maritime adventure. ”

“ E. A fishing dory has a wooden plug in its bottom near the after end that can be drawn so as to allow water to run out. To the lower end of this, extending forward along the boat’s bottom to an iron ring, is often fastened a life-line for use in case of a capsize.
F. As a rule, the Gloucester fishing skippers pride themselves upon never allowing any liquor to be carried to sea aboard their vessels.
G. Camboose or caboose. Both are used in referring to a ship’s galley, or place for cooking. Caboose is, however, the more common expression. ”

“ In the wildly rolling caboose Shirley Sumner rode with her uncle, while less than two miles ahead, the track swung in a sharp curve high up along the hillside above Mad River. Bryce knew the leading truck would never take that curve at high speed, even if the ancient rolling-stock should hold together until the curve was reached, but would shoot off at a tangent into the canyon, carrying trucks, logs, and caboose with it, rolling over and over down the hillside to the river.
“The caboose must be cut out of this runaway,” Bryce soliloquized, “and it must be cut out in a devil of a hurry. ”

“ All running rigging, including tiller ropes, was cut, sails slashed into ribbons, spars cut loose, ship’s instruments and all movable articles on which they could lay their hands were demolished, the yards were tumbled down and we could hear the main-boom swinging from side to side. They then, as appears by later developments, filled the caboose or cook’s galley, with combustibles, consisting of tar, tarred rope-yarn, oakum, etc., setting fire to the same, and lowered the dismantled mainsail so that it rested on top of the caboose. ”

“ But at every station there was something in the air that told the inhabitants there was an object as strange as a wild man from Borneo on board, and the caboose was quickly filled with a gaping crowd of men, women, and children. ”

“ To travel in such a caboose is a somewhat rough experience. The dirt is grimy and of long standing. The pictures nailed up on the boards are not of an edifying description. The railroad employees who have admitted us into their place of refuge wear dirty overalls, and eat their dinner out of tin pails all afloat with hot coffee. One of my own sex keeps me in countenance.... ”

“ If there is one thing more than another in which he excels, it is the manufacturing of that, by sailors, dearly-loved dish—“duff” or “dough”—without which British tars would go to rack and ruin, and which, being usually as solid and heavy as a leaden bullet, might give a rhinoceros an indigestion, but is satisfying and a mere trifle to the English sailor. Here, in this caboose, the doctor receives deputations, who, pannakin in hand, suggest that a little hot water would greatly facilitate the weekly operation of eradicating bristles, constitutionally of a wild boarish nature. ”

“ I went, therefore, at once to the caboose, and slid back the door, which required considerable effort; and, sure enough, there was every thing at hand that I expected, and a great deal more. The accident which lifted the deck from the hull of the ship must have happened about the middle of the forenoon; for there was the fire all ready to be lighted in the cooking-stove,—shavings, kindlings, and coal in place; and there lay the cooking utensils quite convenient. ”

“ I was indulging in the pleasure particularly enjoyable after sweltering in the close hot atmosphere of the cabin, of paddling about with bare feet on the wet deck, over which I and some of the men were heaving buckets of water, while others were lustily using holy-stones and scrubbing brushes, under the superintendence of Mr Wesbey, the first mate. The black cook was lighting his fire in the caboose, from whence a wreath of smoke ascended almost perpendicularly in the clear atmosphere. ”

“ Screens are built as a protection against wind, and a caboose stands somewhere in the centre, or according to western parlance it might be called a cabin. Sometimes the raft will be running in a fine current ”

“ We cruised round for a spell, sort of prospecting, and then we landed at a little one-horse coral island, where there wa'n't no inhabitants, but where we was pretty dead sartin there was pearl oyster banks in the lagoon. There was five of us on the schooner, a Dutchman named Rhinelander, a Coolie cook and Lazarus and Hammond and me. We put up a slab shanty on shore and went to work pearl fishing, keeping one eye out for Dutch gunboats, and always having a sago palm ready to split open so's, if we got caught, we could say we was after sago. ”

“ Every evening the surgeon, the purser, the chaplain, the major, and the old sailing-master were in the cabin, going over the chase of a certain pirate in a schooner “Centipede” away down on the Darien Coast, with Cape Garotte there under their lee, and the vultures and the sharks grinding the bones and tearing the flesh of the half of a man with the tusk gleaming out of his wiry mustache; and the padre, with his eyes staring wide open, and the crucifix, borne away by the carnivorous birds of prey. ”

“ All hands made sail and the ship headed south without any but the deck watch realizing the danger we had been in. Now the land tends more easterly, and with clearing weather we were in a safe position. Good luck had certainly been with us, and I shook the hand of Mate Wessel, whose [Pg 35] watchfulness had saved us from a watery grave. Those who have rounded Cape Horn can more than others realize our danger and narrow escape. ”

“ Tuesday, 10th.—The caboceer of this town is a friend of the caboceer of Jannah, and extremely kind and attentive. He hopes our stay may be extended to ten days, and assures us that neither we nor our people should find any want of provisions. He sent us abundance of yams, fowls, a goat and a turkey; the last a rare fowl in this country. The caboceer’s name is Toko. I have put the barometer up, and shall wait two days. Mr. Houtson better; [23] myself unwell, with head-ache, languor, and weakness; Richard much better, but still weak. ”

“ There is a certain portion of the coast line in a very attractive section [32] of Cape Cod, which shall be nameless, where all varieties of these mollusks abound, and it is difficult at times to decide which variety to pursue. The ordinary mud clam is generally sought on the especially low tides so kindly afforded by the moon at stated intervals. It is then that the tide line resembles miniature trenches—first-line defenses, if you will—so many and so persistent are the pursuers, who look for all the world as if they were digging themselves in in anticipation of a machine-gun attack. ”

“ This barge carried a small dory on the deck house. Pretty soon we saw the captain and mate unlash the boat and take it down on deck; then they went into the cabin and came out each with a suit case; these they placed in the dory; then they lowered the boat into the water and we realized that they were38 preparing to take to this frail skiff and abandon the barge. Heavens, we knew that they might as well jump into the sea at once rather than prolong the agony, that boat had no more chance to reach the shore than the men had to swim there. ”

“ Its only vegetable production is the cocoanut tree, which is of the greatest value to the natives. They build their huts of the trunks and roof them with the leaves. Their canoes are composed of numerous pieces of the wood sewn together with cocoanut fibre. The form of these canoes, which are from eighteen to twenty feet long, is curious; the shape is that of a whale-boat cut in two lengthways; one side is round, and the other perfectly flat, and they are kept upright by having an outrigger to windward which extends about ten feet from the hull. ”

“ It was treeless desolation manifest; and on our sea side, as far as the eye could reach, the water bobbed and winked with countless spars of ice.
"I will tell you at once, my friend,—we were brought to opposite an inhuman swamp on the coast of Siberia, fifty miles or more to the west of North-east Cape; and there what remained of the crew made shift to cast anchor; and for a day and night the ragged ship curtsied to the land, like a blind beggar to an empty street, and we only dozed in our corners and wondered at the silence. ”

“ The caboceer was seated on the outside of his house, surrounded by his ladies, his singing men and singing women, his drums, fifes, and gong-gongs. He is a good-looking man, about fifty years of age, and has a pleasing countenance. His house was all ready for us; and he immediately ordered us a large supply of goats, sheep, and yams; pressing us strongly to stay a day or two with him. He appeared to consider us as messengers of peace, come with blessings to his king and country. ”

“ Cabot opened to us a new source of interest and beauty. In order to begin business at once, he rode in the first caleza alone, and before he had gone far, we saw the barrel of his gun protrude on one side, and a bird fall. He had seen at Sisal, egretes, pelicans, and ducks which were rare in collections at home, and an oscillated wild turkey, which alone he thought worth the voyage to that place; and now, our attention being particularly directed to the subject, in some places the shrubs and bushes seemed brilliant with the plumage and vocal with the notes of birds. ”

“ The Cabots brought home three natives of Newfoundland, who “were clothed in beasts’ skins, and did eate raw flesh, and, spake such speach that no man could understand them; and in their demeanour like to bruite beastes.” The attempt of Cabot furnishes a clue to the object of many subsequent voyages, which were intended to have been made viâ the Arctic Seas to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. It must be remembered that it was not till 1498 that the route to the Indies viâ the Cape of Good Hope was discovered. That viâ Cape Horn, as we shall see, was discovered still later. ”

“ The Vikings, as we have seen, anticipated by centuries some of the finest models of the modern world. The hulls of Cabot, Columbus, and Cartier were broader in the beam, much bluffer in the bow, besides being full of top-hamper on the deck. Nothing is known about Cabot's vessel except that she must have been very small, probably less than fifty tons, because the crew numbered {49} only eighteen and there was no complaint of being short-handed. ”

“ The dense fog enveloped everything except the wildly rushing sea, and before daylight the following morning the little schooner was borne high upon the crest of the great white-capped waves, only the next moment to be dashed into the deep hollows of the gale-swept sea as it rushed onward towards the beach.
Her crew of sixteen men, with much difficulty and danger, clung to the rigging of the tossing vessel.
The Coast Guardsmen from Cahoons Hollow Station promptly reached the vicinity of the wave-swept boat, which soon stranded on the beach one mile north of the station. ”

“ Their canoes are about fifty feet in length, and appear to have been hollowed out of a single tree; and the pieces which form the gunwales are planks sewed on with fibres of the cocoanut and secured with pegs. These vessels are low forward, but rise abaft; and, being narrow, are fitted with an outrigger on each side to keep them steady. A raft, of greater breadth than the canoe, extends over about half the length, and upon this is fixed a shed or hut, thatched with palm leaves. ”

“ We were met about half way by the caboceer of Baffo and his principal wife, attended by a guard of honour, some of whom were armed with bows and arrows, and others with muskets, with which they kept up a constant irregular fire the whole of the way as we passed along. The caboceer and his wife were covered with ornaments, principally of cowries, fixed to leather, made of goatskin, and coloured blue and red, and about the width of the reins of a riding bridle, so that they were equipped similar to our Hussar officers’ horses. This caboceer is a very quick, active, and shrewd man ”

“ Two Savages enter a canoe,—one at the stern, who handles the oars, and the other at the bow, who, by the light of a bark torch fastened to the prow of his boat, looks around searchingly for the prey, floating gently along the shores of this great river. When he sees an Eel, he thrusts his harpoon down, without loosening his hold of it, pierces it in the manner I have described, then throws it into his canoe. There are certain ones who will take three hundred in one night, and even more, sometimes very few. ”

“ Those who are wise in Cape ways possess small canoes mounted upon two wheels, which are fastened on behind their cars, so that, when touring the ponds, they are not limited in their fishing to the shore or to the chance of finding a boat. ”

“ Every man's attention was centered on his own oar, while the skipper gazed ahead at the wave-beaten schooner grounded hard and fast upon the reef.
There was no lull in the gale. Indeed, it seemed as though the strength of the wind steadily rose. The lifeboat only crept from the shore on its course to Gull Rocks. Each yard must be fought for by the earnest crew. ”