Sailor Who Trained On Nelson’s Old Victory.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18615, 17 November 1928, Page 23 (Supplement)

Sailor Who Trained On Nelson’s Old Victory.

MR JOHN WHALL, OF WOOLSTON, TELLS TRUTHS THAT ARE STRANGER THAN FICTION

The captain did not seem inclined t< land the sappers and miners, and hi had almost made up his mind to takt -hem back to the Cape. The officer in -ommand did not favour that at all and, after signing some documents clearing the captain from all responsi bility, the troops were landed. We were allowed three lighters of coal to come out to us. The natives brought it on board in baskets on their heads, emptied it down the bunker holes on the deck, and our stokers trimmed it. We then left for the Straits of Malacca, and on to Penang. On entering the Straits, leadmen were kept in the chains day and night on two-hour shifts. We did not anchor on arrival at Penang. We had only about fifteen to land, and it was done with the ship's boats. The ship was surrounded by natives, who did a good trade with the soldier officers. That evening, on leaving Penang, l had to take my turn in the chains. On relieving the man, he complained of feeling unwell, and was glad his two hours were up. The sailing master was on the forward bridge, standing not far from the telegraph to the engine-room. l had taken several casts with the ead, and I fancied I had touched bottom. I took another heave as quickly as I could, and found I was not misaken. I called out the soundings, and i half seven. “ Take another heave,” aid the sailing master. I was not waitng for him to tell me that, for I had wung tl?e lead twice over my head, md forward it went with all my erength. Quarter less seven I gave he soundings. The telegraph line inkled. Ease her, stop her, stern all. . he skipper came up to the sailing maser. “ Call away the first cutter,” said he skipper. The boat went ahead ol he ship and took soundings, and the /ater got shallower the further they /ent. We went further over to port, .nd took another course between some slands. The Straits had a number ol mall uninhabited islands. We got nrough safely, and were into deep /ater again.

I heard that the man I had relieved /as very ill. The captain had been to .im, and he made a will. That night ie passed away. He was buried in the j traits next day. These events cast . gloom amongst the crew for a while. 7e anchored in the old harbour when rriving at Singapore, and the captain ecided to get the natives to scrape the nip’s bottom and discharge our troops jr there. A rope was passed round the nip and held up by suspending ropes, here were about twelve natives on ach side. I was watching them. It .as my watch off. I was quite surprised to see the length of time they ould keep down. Then up popped one, nen another, and gave themselves a hake, drew in as much air as possible, nd down they went, one hand on the uspender rope and the other carrying . three-cornered scraper. While this /ork was being done, we got a run .shore. I went up towards the town, t was getting dusk, and T noticed a ot of sparks flying about. I said to ne of my mates who had been to Singapore before, “ There must be a re close handy somewhere. Look at he sparks flying about.” “ They are .ot sparks,” he said; “ they are fire.ies.” We had twenty-four hours’ oave, and had a good look round Singa >ore. There seemed to be a lot of difsrent nationalities, and there was one lass called Parsees that were interest j .ig. Singapore was a very hot place here was scarcely any shadow. When ur twenty-four hours were up, we /ent on. board, and the port watch got wenty-four hours’ leave. Then w r e left .gain. Hong Kong was our next port. We arrived there, and I was much truck by seeing the number of junks nd sampans there were in the harbour, nd I soon found the reason. There /ere as many, if not more, living on hese vessels as there were living in louses on shore. We landed what roops we had for this place, and retired w’hat damage had been done hrough the bad weather. One evening he skipper manned his galley and went .shore to a banquet. He told the coxwain on landing that he would be iway a few hours, and not to let the coat’s crew go too far away. On his,

etum, when -we were about half-way jack to the ship, there was a great •tir on one of the junks. We were ordered to lay on our oars. The captain listened and saw what was going on. It appeared an elderly Chinaman had fallen overboard and two younger ones were trying to keep him there. The captain said that it must have been the father, and the two sons were trying not to let him back in the junk, as the Chinese believed he was better off where he was. The great spirit w r anted him. ‘‘The young rascals.” said the skipper, ‘‘trying to drown their old father.” We brought the boat close up and we got the old man back ino the junk. “Now,” said the skipper, calling two of the strongest by name, “go aboard that junk and give those young fellows the time of their lives.” You could hear them yell all over the harbour. Our own ship had heard the yelling and lanterns were moving about to see what was causing it. They got the time of their lives all right. We were moving to be docked, but before going round to where the docks were we got a run ashore. Now the first thing we did was to visit the moneychanger and get ours changed into currency. Me and my mate had just done that, and were then off for a feed at Joe Duncan’s, who keeps a sailor’s boarding-house. We finished our dinner, and amongst my change was a new Hong Kong half-dollar. I tendered Joe the half-dollar for payment, when, as soon as he saw it, he told me it was no good. I said, “What! A brandnew half-dollar?” “Me plenty show you,” he said, and in a pair of scales he put my half-dollar one side and one he took from his pocket in the other side. Mine went up—it was light. He handed me a magnifying glass and told me to hold the coin and look round the rim with it. I saw a faint mark. “Chinaman one great rogue,” Joe said, “cut half-dollar in two, take middle out all same oyster, then stick him together again.” Joe told me to take it back to the moneychanger and get another. We went back, but that Chinaman w f as a bad egg. He never saw us before, he said. I got mv mate to keep his eye on him, and I soon hunted up a native policeman, but when the fellow saw I meant business he gkve me another half-dol-lar.

We went back to Joe Duncan’s for tea, and there were several men there from the Hartford—an American corvette lying in the harbour. After tea we took a -stroll round the town. Crackers were going off. We made toward the place, and found it was a large joss-house. It appeared they were making ready for a ceremony. We got close un and accosted the man at the door. He invited us in for a little while. He drew the screen aside, and there, before us, seated on a throne, was a wooden god three times the size of an ordinary man. Pie was nodding his head, rolling his eyes about, and shaking his head occasionally, and finished by poking his tongue out. I asked my mates what they thought of it. They were of the opinion that a Chinky was inside working the oracle. We went all around the joss-house and saw about a dozen different gods. Men were flocking in. Gongs and crackers were going strong, and we beat a retreat. We saw the street "barber, saw a customer operated on with threecornered razor, saw scribes, sitting by tables writing, saw a lot of sailors eating their dinner with chopsticks, and had a look at the mint, where we sawsacks upon sacks of dollars. Men were sorting them out. The moneychangers had to put their stamp _on all the dollars they passed, and in time the dollars were covered with stamps. Thev are then called chop dollars, and are sorted out from the good ones for melting over again. We visited the soldiers’ barracks, saw a game of cricket between them and some of another company, and, our leave at last being up, we went back to the ship. After the port watch had had a turn of leave we went round to the back of Hong Kong and were put into dock. (To be continued.)