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As Told to M.H.A. by Jahn Eriolson, derelict at city mission.
12-6-39.
Erickson Recalls windJammer DM.
Anyone could tell from the cut of his clothes and the
gnarled, seawater -hardened hands that he is an old ',canvas
man“ of the old school When ",iron men sailed wooden ships".
Down and out and on the beach as the old familiar sailors'
saying goes, he nevertheless hopes to some day get another
berth and again do his trick at the wheel or go aloft to
furl sail.
Speaking with an aceant that leaves no doubt about his
nationality, his sky blue eyes.dhaded by =many heavy brows
and lashes twinkling with fire as he remembered a humorous
incident and then to suddenly dim, with tears not so far
away as more tragic events were recalled, be told of days it
early childhood and seafaring days in the prime of life.
"I was born 68 years ago, in Norway, not far from the
coast but I dont know what city or town it was in. My father
WWI a seaman and nether had to more so many times from one
place to another that I dont remember what place it was. But
that don't matter anyhow. I remember when was about six
years old of going to school and the winter days were bad.
Snow often covered the low houses and one time Mother and
me had. to dig a tunnel from the front door to the main road
the matt had drifted go ugu. Those were the good old days,
28013
2.
Erickson Recalls windjammer Days, Cont'd.
for after school all the boys and girls would go skating and
sleighridlng just as soon as our lessons were done. Mother
died when I was 13 years old and then I went to live with
Tvr uncle who also was a sailor. He took me aboard the
schooner be worked on and the captain gave me a job as cabin
boy. mr job was to wash the dishes, sweep the cabin-
they call them mess rooms nae- bring the grub fraa the
galley to the table and be a general monkey that means
do anything that anybody told me."
Some of the sailors were good bat sometimes when I
did not do things quick enough I got many a kick in the pants
or a slap along side of the head. But bad it good at that.
plenty to eat, a good place to sleep and no school to
worry about."
"We sailed along the Norwegian coast and down to Hamburg,
Bremertafen and other ports on the German coast. A couple of
tripe we made to Holland —that place where they used to wear
wooden shoes and big wide breeches. In the meantime Ives
learning to be a real sailor, could tell all the points of the
coupe's and tie all the knots they use aboard a ship. 1211
never forget the first time the mate gave me a marlin spike
and told me to splice a rope. I jabbed that marlin spite
3.
Eriokson Recalls windjammer reys, contld.
into the rope so hard the it wont clean through and into my
lag. O'yes, I got the scar yet.
When I was about twenty I signed an as able-bodied
seaman on one of the five masted sdhooners owned by the
Biokmers of Germany and we made one trip to India, China,
Japan and the Itch Rant Indies. we brought back a big load
of wood used to build ships,(teaMwood) tea and spices, coconuts
and a lot of other stuff. I still got a Chinese cabinet, about
so big and so wide and that high (approx 10 z 5 z 10 inches)
that I bought from a Chink in Shanghai for a German dollar."
(Worth about 75 oents in those days)
"I have seen many countries and sailed nearly every sea
and I could tell you plenty 'yarns that you would hardly believe.
One time, back about 1895, we were going down to London in a
barkentins and whamairewere in the Borth Sea off the coast
of Ragland, a bad store come up. The waves got so high and
the weather was so dirty that the sea swept over the ship from
stem to stern all the time. One of the sailors =watch was
washed overboard by one wave and the next wave throw him back
an deck but it irate his leg and I had to do dmilde shift.
That storm was so bad that even the mate got seasick. Was I
ever shipwrecked? NO, that I never went through."
4.
Erickson Recalls windjammer Days, Canted.
In 1900 I deserted ship in Pernambuco and got another
skip to New York where I it and went to the Seamans Mission
near the Battery. I got a job as laborer in one of the ship.
yards and settled down to live a gaiet life. I made money and
saved money and when I was 32 I got married. My wife was a
Nortke like me and the worked as a servant girl for a rich
family. They wrens a fine wedding and =my presents but
Hilda Only lived a few years after our wedding for the died
when oar baby was to be borne since that time I have been
sailing and bumming all over the world, taking any. kind Of
work ashore to make a fey cents so I can buy something to
eat and smoking tobacco. Sometimes I make enough to keep
myself for a few days but when jobs are scarce then I have to
came to the mission to get something to eat."
Miter() do I sleep? Sometimes in a freight car near the
dotks, sometimes an a dock and sametimes just outside any place.
14, I don't mind the cold weather I'm used to its,'
wfoulanaw, the steamers knocked the old sailing ships
out of business and an old timer like me can't get a job on a
steamship they want yaang fellows. That is all right too
bowline they don't have to be sailors nowadays, :List a bunch
of clerks and a few janitors. What do I mean by janitors?
Those fellows that clean up the stewards on big ships and
the dockhands an smaller boats. There ain't a sailor in a
dosen of them, fellows nowadays.*
5.
Eriokson Recalls windjammer Days, Conttd.
"SomedAy I will get another job on an old tinewindjanmer
and then be happy again."
(Mote that no attempt bas been made to set down the exact
language and dialect used it is almost *possible to
transcribe the prenounciation of wards as spoken ay those
from the north of Ramo-especially so the Stavanger-
(ldrweglanDenidh-Swedigh) *brogue,.
I. E. AMIN 12t09/