A bunch of rope yarns

by Stanton H. King

For the past six months, Captain James O’Kane had been in command of the Wabash. During that time I had given no cause to be brought before him. There were so many men on the ship that I did not think he knew there was such a mortal as myself on his vessel. Three days before I was to enter Moody’s school, I braced up courage enough to reach the mainmast and make my request known to the officer of the deck. I think I see Captain O’Kane holding his sword in his hand walking towards me as I stood at the mast awaiting his coming.

“What is it, King?” I meekly replied I wanted my discharge and told him my heart’s desire. “Good fellow, good fellow,” was his answer. “To be sure, you can have it. Make out an application and I will approve it and send it to the commandant for his approval.” I did as he told me and my discharge was granted me. It was the best bit of parchment I had ever received, for on it was marked “Obedience, excellent.” I have it framed and as I write I can see it before me.

The day came for me to take my bag and hammock and leave the dear old sea to begin a different life. Just as I was going over the gangway, Captain O’Kane came on deck from his cabin. Seeing me he sent his orderly to say he wanted me. The attitude of this kind man towards me was more than I expected. He held out his hand for me to shake, and held mine while he said, “When you come to Boston come aboard and see me. I want to hear good things of you.”

I suppose twenty miles was the farthest I had ever travelled inland. Now I was on the train bound to the backwoods of Massachusetts, more than one hundred miles from salt water. That evening when the train stopped at Mount Hermon station, I was stupefied. About fifty young students were at the depot, shouting and screaming their school yells. It seemed to me as though the inmates of a lunatic asylum had escaped.

There were other men on the train bound for Hermon, but I must have seemed easy to them. I had no sooner stepped from the train when they lifted me into a sleigh and insisted on my staying there. They then took hold of a long rope attached to the sleigh, and, yelling and shouting, they hauled me along a path through the woods leading to the school buildings. This was my first sleighride, and one that I will always remember. There was a quick turn in the road, and we were travelling at such a speed that in turning the bend the sleigh capsized and dashed me to my neck in the snow. The sleigh was righted, but on no account would I get into it again. The students knew I was the expected sailor and tried to use all kinds of nautical terms for my benefit. I at last reached the principal’s office and was enrolled a student of Hermon.

I had only the necessary $50 for the half-year’s tuition. I required textbooks and civilians clothes. To obtain these I worked on the farm sawing wood during my spare moments for eight cents an hour. Every student was compelled to work two hours each day. Some were in the kitchen, others were on the farm. I liked the farm life. It was something new to me. One day the superintendent of the farm sent me to drive the ox team. He gave me my lesson. With whip in hand I started. It was “Whoa, haw, gee, get up.” I forgot just when to say whoa, and haw and gee, so the oxen took full control. I had steered many a kicking stubborn ship, and could keep the worst of them near her course, but could not steer this yoke of oxen. We might have kept going on and on; as it was, they hauled the wagon so that a pine tree came between it and the wheel, which checked their progress.

Any poor student who wanted to earn a little money could always find employment on the farm. The day came when, in need of clothing and necessary articles, I became depressed and low spirited. It took so much time to learn my lessons that I had but little to give to the woodsaw. One afternoon a letter was handed to me. Shall I say that I walked into the woods and had a good cry after reading it? I did. I kneeled in the snow and thanked God for the message that envelope contained. It was a sheet of paper, on which was written “For our old shipmate, Stanton H. King, to help him through school.” Under this were thirty-one names of my shipmates on the Wabash. Pinned to the bottom of the names was a post office order for $28. This was a boom. Although I needed the money badly, my greatest joy was in the satisfaction of knowing my shipmates thought kindly of me, and remembered me in this way. Never have I received a gift which gave me such real happiness as this did.

The summer arrived and many of the students were preparing to start for their homes as soon as the school closed. I did not know what I should do. It was necessary for me to earn enough money to pay my way along through the summer months, and to have a balance of $100 for the coming year’s tuition.

The week before the term closed, a book agent visited the school, and before he left I was on his list as an agent for him during the summer. As soon as the examinations were over, I started to cover the territory. I called at several houses and found a cold reception at every door. The third morning I knocked on the door of a country house. A woman greeted me with, “I don’t want anything” and shut the door. I felt annoyed to be treated in this way and discouraged. I knocked again and continued knocking till the door reopened. Believing myself a failure as a book agent, I cast my prospectus and outfit at the woman’s feet and walked away.

By a brook in this country place I met a man who was leaning over a small bridge. He had a fishing-rod in his hand. I watched him haul up a little fish, which seemed to afford him lots of fun. I ventured to ask what pleasure he derived from such child’s play, for to me the pleasure of fishing was to have a fish on a line whose strength would almost tug me overboard. We soon became acquainted, and after telling him a few of my deep-sea fishing experiences, he informed me that he was the Congregational minister of the village. He invited me to dine with him, and had me promise I would relate some sea experiences to his church people that night. It was prayer-meeting night. It had been rumored that a sailor was to tell sea stories after the meeting. That night I was surprised to find the vestry of this country church filled with people. When my time came to begin I warmed up to the occasion, and made a good hit. They gave me splendid attention and I talked for an hour and a half. At the close the minister told my audience that I was a poor student and asked for a liberal collection for me. I was given $17.81 and a new field to plough. This good minister enjoyed my stories and gave me letters to other ministers. I told sea stories in four other towns. My eyes began to trouble me and I was forced to make sail for Boston for treatment. I called at the Boston Baptist Bethel and offered my services for my board, so that I could visit the Eye and Ear Infirmary. I worked in this field for three weeks.