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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 1903)
The Terrible Turk an Amusing Sailor (Copyright, im, by Albert Sonnlchsen.) T T C Trlr a n Bnjman la Al (I mill " I " I Ing as ho is terrible as a soldier. A I Vor Ai-nrv ntnrv nf Macedonia out rage by a Bashl-Baxouk one about the funny antics of his seafaring brother In Islam can be told. Little won der that the Turkish sailor is held ia utter contempt by the world afloat. A story that has become a classic among Mediterranean sailors aptly ilustrates the Turk's inability as a navigator. A Turkish steamer with a native captain put out of the Dardanelles, bound for Trieste Austria. As soon as ho lost sight of land the Turkish skipper likewise lost his head. Just then another steamer came tip from astern and the Turk made signals that he wished to speak with the stranger. The latter, on approaching, proved to 1 o a French tramp. Fortunately one of the Turkish officers spoke French. "Where ore you bound for?" asked the Turk. "Brest," returned the Frenchman. The Turk asked no more questions and allowed the Frenchman to go ahead. Next morning the French captain noticed that the Turk was still astern, and Wiis follow ing most conscientiously in his wake. When next morning he still found the Turk in his wake his surprise grew. On the third day it was the same, and so on the fourth the French captain always made out that Turk ish steamer coming up astern. On the fifth day his astonishment was so great that he determined to let the Turk overhaul him and ask for an explanation. Hy this time they were well down the Mediterranean to ward the French-coast. "Why do you keep so close astern of me?" roared the French captain through a megaphone. "I am following you to Trieste," answered the Turk. Whereupon the kindly French captain s nt a boat aboard the steamer flying the Crescent to explain to its commander that he was about 600 miles off his course and to inrtruet him how to regain it. "Yonderful to a Feaman's ears are the etorlea told of the small Turkish rchooners th.it navigate the Black sea, the Rospho-U3 a: d the Sea of Marmora. In the first place, u is said that no watches are . kept and Unit all hands, includ.ng the m.m at tha w.ieel, not Infrequently sleep at once, '-iu-re is no discipline. The tailors never c.uau ship or wash down dicks. This is e-t-y to believe. If you ever sill close to v. i.u. ward of a Turkish craft one whiff irom lis decks will convince you that cl.an ir.r is not the Turk's strongest point ia b...HKin.slil. It is further averred that i. eou schooners never carry compasses and care not lose s'ght of land. They havs chains, but the nst of the crow are all ..4-ld. They eat, sleep and quarrel to milur and are at liberty to call themselves t.ie mates or the sailors as they choose. - once went aboard one of these craft. 1 ::iall never do it again. All hands were oil deck, dressed most picturesquely in. ie.es and loose, colored Jackets and trou Every mother's son of them was l:i-teously dirty. We asked for the captain t..id he turned from coiling up a rope to u.iwer our call. It is all right for a cap la. n to be democratic enough to coll up a io, e, but not when a big loafer of a sailor is tlietched full length on the main hatch watching the horizon over his big toe. But tli. j Turkish skipper seemed too benevolent to mind that. .a we were talking a sheep cams up from tlu cabin and was followed by a bljt cat, which rubbed against the cheep In a moat friendly and purring manner. No doubt it wai indicative of general good will and feeling among all aboard, but it was r.ot the kind of discipline with which to sail a ship. Ch.ckens were perched about on any p'.uce that offered a roost. A goat, which had rubbed his whiskers into the universal dirt until they were fringed black and white at the roots, ambled about the decks. On one of his horns was stuck a piece of paper as though it had been filed away for future reference. Perhaps thU was only a first impression. At any rate, I did not stay lung enough to get a more thorough one. The stench for'-ac'.e. A visit to a Turkish man-o'-war was ecaiceiy more profitable. I believe that at the lime it just about constituted the entire Mot-tern navy. It was a big, wooden box shaped craft, with a high, old-fashioned poop that probably would have si Pined modern to Sir Francis Drake, but in the nineteenth century was hopelessly out of date. It was anchored in the Dardanelles doing temporary custom house duty, so we had to board It on business. The deck seemed to have had trouble with a cyclone, but that may have been due to the fact that the sailors were evi dently trying to build what seemed to be a big coop for chickens. An elderly gen tleman with white whiskers, a red fex and gold-trimmed spectacles, was superintend ing the work In his shirt sleeves He looked more like a Swede than a Turk. I remember principally (lis broad, benevo lent smile; it took us strangers in as well as the crew; but beyond an intense desire to be pleasant the old gentleman did not seem to know much about the work he jraa superintending. Several sailors stood A '" I tu. , I - V 41 -1, if 1 QUAY GALATA ON THE -BOSrHOnUS, WHERE TOE SEAFARING PEOPLE OF ALL. NATIONS MEET. - a f it I p4 It ( .... 'w TYPICAL TURKISH SKIPPAN. about in pensive attitudes, contemp'ating what was to be done, but not doing it. The benevolent gentleman in shirt sleeves was the bos'n, we were told. The captain, trimmed up in much gold lace, smoked a hookah on the poop and seemed to find the mess amidships ample food for contemplation. His lieutenant, who was fishing over the rail, pulled up a fish about three Inches long with a merry whoop, just as we stepped up on the cabin deck. After he had baited his hook again be turned to attend to our business. When they are well officered, Turks are not bad sailors. But a Turk cannot command a Turk on the water. As a reu't, almost all of the few steamers that form the Turkish mer chant marine are commanded by Austrian officers, while only the petty officers and BallOiS are children of Islam. The engineers are usually Scotchmen When so officered the sailors are not so likely to lose their presence of mind In moments of danger, as are some of the Latin sailors of the Med iterranean. I have this from Austrian skippers of Turkish steamers, and my own experience backs up their statements, I have been shipmate of several on Chris tian ships, and all were Invariably well skilled in penmanship. Discipline seems to take them out of the realm of the ridic ulous. I recall an Incident in the harbor of Trieste, Austria, which shows how much an efficient officer means to Turkish sailors. We were anchored out in the middle of the bay. A Turkish steamer lay within hulling distant e. Its captain, an Austrian, had come abroad to visit our captain, who was also an Austrian. It was about 11 o'clock at night, and the captain of the Turk was still down In our cabin being enteitained by our skipper. Suddenly we heard a tremendous row aboard the Turkish steamer. Men were run ning to and fro on deck and shouting like mad. Pretty soon we saw a dart of flame leup out of a porthole of a midship house. The captain of the Tuik came running out of our cabin and sprang into one of our boats. We immediately pulled for bis ship as hard as we could work our oars. Mean- hi Jim dm j i H rriif on !i'irin"'li THE Sunf.TME PORTE AT TmK YILDIZ USED TO SIT IN JUDGMENT. while, the noise of the confusion increased. A few minutes later, as we clambered up the Turkish steamer's gangway after Its skipper, we saw what the trouble was. A lamp had just been upset in the petty officers' quarters and set fire to some cloth trimmings or curtains, and put all hands into a panic. No rational attempt was be ing made to extinguish the fire. The bos'n trotted up and down, calling on Allah. One quartermaster was making an heroic at tempt to check the flames by throwing water on the outside of the deck house with a glass. Another man had taken, re fuge In the main shrouds, where he was baWiing forth unintelligible advlee to those below. Still Knottier sailor had thrust his head through a hawse pipe and was stuck there, unable to get either out or In, while two others were undoing a boat lashing with frantic haste, forgetful of the fact that u boat, attached only by a painter, floated alongside. But the coming of tho Austrian skipper made an instantaneous change. As be lauded on dfck he let out a fearful roar. Instantly the panic abated. Each man stood quiet. Then in a calmer voice the Austrian gave out a succession of or ders and In live mluut all haudj had form 'd Into n well organized bucket bri gade and were pa. sing water to the bjrn ing house. The lire by this tiini had gained Seme hawjy, but In half an hour it was- under control and before midnight all was quiet again and order restored. It was a Turkish rallir in culioquy with some Turkish soldier that gavj in: the impression that the Turk has. an under current of undem-nitratlve humor . which enables him to see the funny side of things without a smile. The Incident occurred at the mouth of the Bosphorus opening iato the Black sea. We had attempted to enter the Bophorus after sunset. This was at the tlnv; of I he Oreco-Turklsh war, when unusual precau tions were being taken. As we approached PALACE, WHERE TUB SULTAU II - 1!'. SA. CONSTANTINOPLE PEDDLER. shore the land batteries opened fire with solid shot at u-, obliging us to anchor. Next morning our skipper was summoned ashore. Wc went along in a beat and as we waited at the quay Turkish ' soldiers cr-m? down from the g rrl :on and subjected us to a lot of raillery. One of our men was a Turk himself and interpreted th-lr re tnark?. "Vc.ur rtiptaln will be hanged as a Greek flllljiif-'ter," announced ope soldier solemnly. "Perhaps," suKgested another, "he .will only lie made to pay the expense of being .hot at. We charge 1.0C0 piastres for each shot, which Is cheap when you consider Uiat it is war times." , , (Continued on Page Fifteen.)