SKETCHES FROM LIFE

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 16, 14 October 1907, Page 5

SKETCHES FROM LIFE

« " •A.NIGHT ON THE WHARVES. • SOME PHASES OP CARGO-SHIFTING. The - winches'are snarling and ratchetting in cither end of the,deep-son liner; tlioropes , tighten ; and tumble through the pnlleys to the strain; and out of the mouth of the . hold .the merchandise of the northern world looms up, swaying in dangerous bulk, and ', is dostorously lifted over the side to the hands and trucks below on the landing ■ atego._ . . , '■ . ' . ...■'. It is nine o'clock and a clear night. , Across the harbour-pool, just stirred by a breath of wind,, there are sentinel lights along the water-front of Oriental Hay, their orange shadows pendant' in tht water below. Doad ahead is the star on Somes's Island ;'to the left, lights green and red. And hero, on. the .weigntworn, wheel-worn floor of the wharf, , under tlio benisqn of. molting areglobes,' complaining machines'and husky men .ire hot and busy transhipping cargv>. The. man at ;tho winch liandlq is. truly the dpus in machina, imperturbable', watchful, and swift to his work. Muffled to the ears in an' all-r>p.cnmni>'ssin<» oilskin, his hand on tho. lever, ho waits the signal. At r. thrill whistle ho strikes,' wheels raco, a rope strains,' lifting,' and the hold gives up an instalment ol its charge reluctantly. Noiso- ; -lossly,' surely, a long- yollow arm shifts, swinging its ponderous burden dangling over , the side, —n hiigo fishing rod with, its capture. A deep voice calls warningly ami in guidance, wheels' clatter , once more, strong hands unonuplc rope or chain, and the- trucks aro rolling and creaking hollowly into the slieds near by..'.' \ ■ .' " Strong ; men are these who must handle deftly such loads of all kinds nntl all conditions. And not only physical bulk is necessary ;■ he must call on a . stout heart ■ who would take his turn, hour after hour, oftentimes deep into oarly morning, with the seasoned' cargo-shifters. ■ Thick shoulders, :.the back swelled and rounded, between tho shoulder-blades, heavy neck, arms toughened with toil, to which-are 'attached tense, bronzed-hands ;■•■ such-form the only fit equipment, for these men of burden. For instance, creaking under the strain, the winch throws a bundle of iron bars full clear.-of'the-hatchway, coaxes it' round, and desposits it steadily to the truck 'beneath.; : The ordinary layman cannot approximate the weight; hut the protestations of the vehicle as the bundle is wheeled away to tho dumping-'ground bespeak elo- : quently a grioyous load.' Further,,a bulky piano case-drops down, for transport,.." is gently manoeuvred -upon tho barrow, and, steadied on either hand, the lot-is heft for-' ■ff.ird to its resting-place. ."Again and again the. weight-lifting progresses, and the toilorj of the wharves labour on to earn their daily ■ or-'.nightly bread. •.'■" .. ~ ; , SomowWc in the: city at our'backs tho olpck strikes ten, and .tho toilers are going ti ..their • top.. Trucks,' truoks',- trucks, crowding from .all comers, jostling goodnftturcdly lrackTrard',' , and forward: undorthe i da-ngliiiK slings without stop,, not-to inepm- . mode .'.-.the diligent winches or , keep them waiting. Hero'and thoro, their. keen sight 'searching the labels,. their hands gripping notebook," and, pencils. which scribble , cryptographs, officers: and .check-clerks rush from the.shed to the ship'-s side;.and back again,, expediting the work ..of transfer; ,for if.mid- ; night sees them,riot in bed,- then—.:' And out of. tlie maw'of the sleeping liner the sliiigs dip and reveal their' capture; , and the supply scorns inexhaustible, despite-the bravo efforts'of the men /in the''heart of 'things . sending up drain ■' pipes, farming implements for the Taranaki and other husbandmen, foundry addition, enses of every description .' of merchandise, cases, andevor eases. And that time;-this placo,—whon tho- Home liner has recompense--made"her'.in-the shape"of countless bales of wool and. flax, numborloss boxes of'butter. and cheese,: etc.,.etc.— ere yet: she turns hor nose Pacificwards, shall see'.these toilers onco again at the'old task, emptying the'contonts, of , the sheds into tlip : : gaping hold, per mediums truck and'winch, , ' and the imperturable driver thereof. ... ' All' tho :afternoon has the clamour of unloading deafened' tlio'-' vicinity and over-! powered .the roar of,. tho • streets riot .far ; ft'way;' all the aftornoon, .and ,tho best part: of the night,'"_ the "lumpers'- , have clone stronuously.what their hands found to,do, find 1 tho end, is riot-yet. ■ Tons ; ori tona of . imports'- have. been" slung into the- sheds. as fast.as men might move them,, and there is no., cessation, in the' business, no signs offatigub in' tho ' handlers! '.Whistlo, .'and winch, and sling over the side,—' tho; trucks', watchers with notebooks, the,shods—and so , on;' and down in the stifling , hold, whore strong 'hands' are meeting all demands, the flare/light'• is spreading, while in tho, : sheds the floor spaco. is becoming crowded. ' • ■ ! It' is' an exhilarating thing, a'' - quaint . music (to the onlookers, at least),: to-hear the travail 'of ,tho winches'. Down at the stern of the boat,; near where is unmistakably : displayed the caution, rq the 'twin! propellers, is a particularly .Violent machine. With a spitoful,'snap it bursts into-notice, •working' up into a fierce coriiplairit as. 1 it gathers up its burden swinging out and over. Then, at tho: voice of-caution-below,' it lets ■ tho .lino down racing, and' the querulous • 'burr T r and rattle;of a discontent dying away is almost, human. . And-:• when } at odd' periods: the three machines break' into' work ' close.; together, repeating each its set formula, it strikes tho " imagination : . as very much like a speed contest as! they clatter ono after, another. ... ,[ .-..-'.....•..>■.-'. .. ■ To-night, there. is . another : phase of ■■ tho lifo: strenuous. down by the Railway Wharf.. ■ A , chimney-sweep of a ■; collior from Wostp'ort;. or and narrowhnlled, ,broad-bottomed, -grimy; sooty*.and '■' black-masted; everything, along arid about , her, as.black as a fuiieralj :,and dreadfully , similar to ,tbe coal.hulks.,seen in.,prints of old, Thames, London; this collier has felt.her' way over, the' steady, tidej-.i.with some hun- . dreds of tons• of coal for the ■■ taking ■in .her bowels. In preparation , for, this taking (or . undertaking), evil-smelling' flares are hung advarit'ageonsly on ■ ropes.'•'• overhead'.! and seated on adjacent lodges. Close .handy, iii the' shadows, ■ are ■ tho railway trucks'which! will take .charge ;of the. bjack djamonds. Soon the .'winches arc chasing one another bravely, and the baskots,' nigh to overflowing, hover r in mid-air. ■ Figures' motionless till now on tho edge of the truck, loom forward,'seize the ! approaching load', .arid upend 'it|'.-tho' ,, coal rattling into the, truck about their feet. ■"■ _Out of sight,'blackamoors in: the depth's of 'the hulk ' toil furiously. Tho basketS'_aro filled," the man at the lever moves his right hand, and : the journey to thn trucks is'a _short orieand a. swift. Thcro will 'bo ' many, many such" trips and such efforts before the shovels -clang on the floor of the empty hold, and they will be tired men that climb over! the Tail in , the oarly morning when the battlo.has died away and ■ the cold wind comes riosing ; up the harbour over .the silent/quays. ■.■"'■' <'■''■ Toy mascots aro the. latest- favourites as luck-bringers at tho bridge table. Tho enthusiastic player who gathers up her cards irith a pink velvet cat;at: her elbow feels assured of playing a winning game. When the cards haveboon put .away the.pink cat! ■ reposes on its mistress' hearthrug, and is . tho envy , of all visitors. A. rag " gollywog " is'another charm which is claimed to bring its owner phenomenal good fortune, arid • a curious figure known as " Sunny Jane " .also 1 ranks as a mascot. "The demand,for toy mascots' has increased during the, last few months," tho manager of West End firm informed an " Express'" representative..". " The 1 curious thing .is that the more hideous tlio : toy'the greater its value as aiuckTbriiigor. ' This fashion has succeeded tlio pretty super- . stition of wearing dainty gold: charm's ,or lockets sot with ' birth ' stonos. Wo Jiavo found that ' Tweedledum ' and ' Twcedlcdeo' , uro tho most popular mascots, while their popularity is run very closo by ' Boh," a wbilo dog with a long'heck,.arid..! Juni,'.'an i , clophant with a brilliant scarlet.coat.", , : Eighty pounds per annum for the.support • of two favourite'dogs was left by.. Damo ! Amelia Ann M'Kcnna, the widow of , Sir Joseph Noalo M'Kcnna, of Waterford, Eng- , land,; whoso will was. proved at £38,812 gross. > Much:-amusoincnt was afforded at the Nati ional Choss Congress at the Crystal Palace ■ by a "lightning- tournament,", in which i there were forty-oight competitors. Only ten' ■ seconds were allowed for each move, and the i mistakes mado by the-hard-pressed players •■ aroused great merriment- among tho spec- . tators. ■ ' ' •