Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 9, 1903, Page 33

e ————— T S S Y T T ey e .. e e Life HE evolution of the salling vessel of the small pleasure type has made such fmmense strides within the last few yeara that now there Is a vast population which looks forward to spending at least part of the summer months upon the water, The pleasure craft of today form vast fleets, from the large seventy-foot sloop and the hundred-foot schoonsr down to the tiny cabin catboat with a dinky bit of an engine to aid its owners In getling about over the sparkling summer secas. Yachts are legion and firms have sprung up into prominence that do little else than furnish fine types of these craft. An old sallor with whom I had made weveral voyages came to me one day with a photograph of his yacht. It was a fine craft of twenty-five tons, fitted up in the best possible manner, a beautiful fabric to behold. “Do you happen to know any fool who would give me one-tenth of what it cost me?"’ asked the old salt, eye:ng me sadly. ““You know ua great many people and must know some Idiots among them." There are few yachtsmen who have not felt like the old sailor at s>me time during their career, for life, even aboard a fine yacht, is not always one glad song. The worry, trouble and vexations of the owner of the l:rger craft are so great at times that muny men of experience will not own a vessel of over sixty feet under any cir- cumstances, The work of geliing the small cruiser into commission is not great. Yet It is a larger undertaking than the landsman might suppose. The rigging of new lines and overhauling of all the nccessary gear takes some days of hard labor and not a little expense, but ones in ‘¢ mmission,” it may be maintained at a small cost for a long time. It will be much like a thor- oughly overhauled and cleaned house ashore, lasting until wear and tear or ac- cldent make it imperative to renew its parts, In the small cruiser the question of com- fort resolves itself into one of draught and head room coupled with speed and sea- worthiness. The small ship naturally must make harbor and lie close in. It cannot ecarry a heavy launch and a crew to run it and lie well off shore at anchor. The motion of lying outside in a seaway in a ®small vessel Is annoying. But when it starts in with a draught as deep as (hat of a ship ten times its size it has much to contend with., If its draught s light and it is small, it can have no head room and the occupants of its cabin must bow their heads when below, causing a tiresome feeling in the back of the neck and a of Crews Aboard Small Craft series of corns and callouses to grow upon the back of the head from contact with beams and carlines. The conversation of those who are cooped below in a vessel without head room during a long spel of bad weather is unconventional. These facts being known to many build- ers there have come upon the market many models of small vessels whose hulls are small and whose draught is light enough to not find the bottom in every creek or river they investigate. They have cabin trunks built with a dome-like deck which gives ample room beneath and this with the inevitable starboard staterrom, gives the occupants a chance to eat, breathe and even take the floor. They are the bit of carpet upon the floor. They are the real type of pleasure craft and upon them life may be joyous, indeed. The number of men necessary for run- ning a small vessel of the forty to sixty- fcot overall type varies according to the energy of the owner and master. If the owner likes sailing for its healthful exer- cise and lends a hand at all times, he may run his little vessel with only one man to help him and a boy to do the cooking in the galley. 8Such conditions are ideal, for he will soon rely on himself and be able under ordinary conditions to run the craft alone in case of emergency. If, howevef, he must make a display and pose as a soft-handed millionaire who cannot soil his delicate fingers, with either line or capstan bar, he will find three or even four men not at all a numerous crew for one must be the “master” and the others do the work after a fashion, “sogering’ and try- ing in every way known to worthless yacht sailors to make life as easy as possible for themselves and hard for the rich and despised owner. Tha greatest care shonld be exercised In rigging a small craft simply. There should be no racing gear upon a small cruiser. The pole mast and single shroud, with mast head shroud and runner, are far better than the heavy racing rigs for ordinary work, and they look much neater, The single head stay should always be used on a small vessel if possible, for it will do away with the fouling of stay-sail and jib sheets when coming about with not enough men to attend to them. It should work to windward with the wheel alone. Then the other man may do neces- sary work below or ahout the deck while under way, and when dinner time ap- proaches there may be something cooked and ready to serve. Nearly all working vessels of the sloop rig work under a single head-sail, and the same sail should apply to the cruising yawl. The cabins of small cruising crafts are neceasarily small, but it is astonishing how soon one becomes accustomed to dividing up space methodically. The waste space between the side deck is filled with lockers, If the vessel is trunked; or if it is & cutter, the fore and aft ends are bulk- headed up and lockers supplied. Under the transoms along the sides of the cabin are places for canned goods, lines, gears, and what not, and generally a small buffet is built just abaft the mast of the sloop cn both sides. The vessel of forty feet seldom has more than one stateroom, the one on the star- board side, but in it are facilities for wash- ing and dressing. Under the berth are the cases of drawers for linen, etc. In the larger craft of more than forty feet there is generally a stateroom to port, also. This Is sometimes used as a galley, and it is astonishing what a good cook can do In the limited space over a modern blue flame oil-stove. The ice box is generally on this side, and from its depths the ‘“doctor” brings forth material which he “builds" into meals that put the ordinary hotel table d'hote far astern. In the sloop or yawl without head-room in the galley, or which has the galley in the forecastle, such results must not be expected. If the owner gets enough “whack” of a cold and canned sort, with a cup of coffee thrown in now and then, he will do well not to complain, unless he ships a ‘“‘gem.” Good men are so hard to be found who will go on yachts, In spite of the good pay and‘easy work, that ac- commodations must be made for poor ones. An owner who possesses a man of parts will seldom mention it to even his most intimate friend, for fear something might spirit the “angel” away. There is one way to run a small vessel with one man—the owner may run it alone. To do this, the vessel must have a gas motor or “kicker,” as it is called. Then the yachtsman may be his own crew and captaln, having only a boy to cook aud clean up. The engine may be started, if the wind is ahead, or until an offing Is made. Then sall can be hoisted at leisure and trimmed without the craft losing heaa- way or getting off its course. 1t may alsa be used to similar advantage when enter- ing a harbor. The days of the coal stove aboard small vessels are over. Only the cheapest fish- erman will use such a dirty contrivance. On board large yawls or schooners of thirty or forty tons it is often better than oil, but only where there is plenty of storage room for fuel and a large galley which may be kept clean. For nervous people or people who suffer from nervous dyspepsia or exhaustion, there is no other kind of life which com- pares with that aboard the small cruiser, where the sufferer must do some of the work about deck. But there must be real work, not just lending a hand on a line here and there. Many things are (o be borne in mind by the amateur sailor when he decides (o live for a time aboard a vessel as “owner and master.” First of all, he must be philosophical. He must not take the bird- like life too seriously. Accidents and mar- itime dangers, such as storms and col- lisions must be looked out for, but not made into a nightmare to worry him, He must carry away gear and perhaps a stick or two now and then without getting on his nerves. There is little danger in bad weather, if he uses ordinary judgment in shortening sail, and he must remember that only lunatics or worse carry much sail in heavy squalls. His craft, with a moderate amount of outside ballast, will be quite uncapsizable under the conditions it was designed to undergo. If he wishes to have a craft that will carry all sail in a black squall or a topsall in a gale, he should get ashore and join the rocking chair fleet. There he may indvige in prob- lems of metacentric height to his heart's content without danger to himself or com- panions. Neither should he be too particular in regard to his personal habits He should board his craft with the spirit he had when he went on his first picnic, and be ready to live in plain style. This warning will be appreciated after an expensive steward brings him his first meal or two. Canned goods need not be served aboard yachts cruising in the waters along the coast. Ile is a poor steward who cannot furnish fresh beef, chops and steaks, to say nothing of all kinds of fish, at a mod- erate expense. Then, with rice, macaroni, hominy and some of the numerous prepared foods, he will have a necessary variety without opening his tins. They should be reserved for the necessity when the mar- ket has failed. With proper stowing a vast amount of good food may be taken aboard and kept out of sight, yet always easy of access. The question of tips by the owner's guests is one to be considered and is a hard problem to solve satisfactorily. The host must try to see that no one guest overdoes the matter, or some morning, when he asks after the whereabouts of a particular friend, his bo’sn may ask him if *“he refers to that cheap feller what come aboard last SBunday?’ After all, life aboard small vessels of either the cruising or fishing types resolves itself into an art—the art of making light of disagreeable things, as on shore, and making the most of the few days of sun- shine and joy which may be any man's portion who has sense enough to pick them. T. JENKINS HAINS Strain of Romance in Mexican Life NSEPARABLY woven in with all things associated with Mexico in the forelgn mind is the strain of romance, says a writer in the New York World. Nowhere in the world is love more spontaneous, more violent, and what wonder if it be as tran- sient! Under its warm skies, in its per- fect moonlight evening times old New Bpain becomes indeed the ideal place for those odd thoughts that stir the lover's heart; and so wherever one goes in the re- public the finger of romantic love has touched something and left its trail, no matter whether it he of the Cortes palace, at Coyacan, where the Conqueror in jeal- ousy murdered Donna Louisa, or the legen- dary White Woman chained on the snowy summits in view of the ancient capital of the Astecs. Only in Moslem countries are women more secluded than in Mexico, but what law, what custom, what vigilance has ever Been able to put in thrall the fires of the human heart of youth? Just so this effort on the part of elders to keep young hearts apart has the effect of making love affairs all the more intense. One of the prettiest views 1 have ever had this inner court of the native life was of the first. We had been up the hill Guadaloupe and seen the shrine, and on our way down to the miraculous by the steps that pass the great walls and chanced to admire a little the care of its sister, a girl of 15 TIRE tery, and insisted that I take it, we chatted with them the girl ng with a poor, cheap locket by a bead string around her plump neck. She saw that I noticed It, with the sweetest shyness and an pride showed me the picture it ed—just a brown Indian boy In a sombrero, and when I had looked at with question in my eyes she sald, almost & a whisper: “It's my novio." “Novic" means lover, and her eyes grew large and luminous with the word. It took but little urging to let her pour out eagerly the whole story. She lived in SBanta Maria, one of a family of fourteen. He @welt in Tacubya and was a burro boy. He seen her at a flesta, and she said she him as soon as she looked in his She had rever seen him since then once in the street with his burros. 113 ¥ i { £ loved face. except AR st was playing with a tiny cup of- The picture he had had taken and carried to her with some clipped verses by a tiny “muchacho,” a boy so little that no one would suspect him of being a love messen- ger. Just then a woman, vearing a jar of blessed water from the well, approached, and the girl hid the locxet. It was her mother and she was afraid. There is much said of the picturesque peasaniry of Europe, but I doubt if any one country of them all can afford the great varviety of dress found among the women of Mexico, and there is none of the many dresses but seems to add to the beauty of the wearer. This beauty is not for long, for they mature carly and begin to fade when a woman of the United States would be considered in her prime. In Yucatan the “mestizo™ girls are many of them distinctly handsome, and there are few among the daughlers of very wealthy families to excel In looks girls who are to be seen at labor about the streets of Me- rida, Ismal and Motul. These giris are always barefooted, except when wearing preity two-strapped sandals, and no mat- ter at what tasks they may be engaged they are clad in spotless white dresses, on the bottom widths of which is the most elaborate and often highly colored embroid- ery. Their features are a mixture of the delicate Bpanish and the neavier Maya, and, since there has been for generations the greatest care in the habit of intermar- rying with other classes, the type has be- come purified. There is greater freedom for women of the Indian and “mestizo” class in Yucatan than there is for the Yucatecoes, for they are seldom ever allowed to go in public on foot at all, and then are always ac- companied by a duenna or some male rela- tive. In the evening they have thelr out- ing In the family carriage, which drives in the procession round and round the plaza and some of the principal streets. One day as I was walking along a side street in the best residence part of Merida I saw a bit of paper dangling from the end of a string that led up over a balcony and into a window, the shutter of which was almost entirely closed, only a bare crack being visible. The string jerked just the least bit, causing the paper to bob up and down. I turned as if to cross the street for closer inspection. Instantly the paper, which I was convinced was a note, was drawn up and I retired to the next corner, where I paused a few moments out of sheer curiosity to see what would hap- pen. The note was lowered again, and soon there came sauntering by a handsome young man in “charro’ costume, something unusual in the state. As he passed under the balcony he whipped out a knife, severed the string and put the note in his hat and sauntered on. Some of the most beautiful women of Mexico are to be found among the Indians of the Tehuantepec isthmus. There on Sun- days one will see hundrds of pretty church- goers wearing a most extraordinary cos- tume. The skirt is often of satin or silk, heavily lace trimmed sometimes, and with a short sleeved walst. The head dress is the principal feature. It is a great, stift laundered accordion pleated sort of thing that can look very pretty and can be what the woman's word “‘sloppy’”’ means. The Amatecas, both men and women, wear white cotton garments on which the embroidery is done In panels either down the front of the woman's skirt or on the tunic the men wear. There Is a curious custom among them of lovers exchanging the twigs of certain trees in entire scc.ccy, except as each mnew twig Is received it Is carried to the father or mother or guardian of each of the two and assent is given to the continuance of the exchange until the orange biossoms are reached; then it is time for the priest. This pretty method of courtship is dylng out, as it is a relic of Indlan customs and is discour- aged by the priests. In nearly all parts of the country the lovers’ process is the same. 1t is called “playing bear” and is of Spanish extrac- tion. Of course it is not necessary to play bear in those classes where the young folks are thrown together in the market, the fleld, the work room and the highway, but even there a close watch is kept on the girls and econversation with their adorers is fragmentary. The beginning of a courtship is usually the sight of each other on some publi: day, some “‘flesta,” or when driving in the paseo. The lover-to-be beholds a face that causes his heart to tighten, them expond, and though shie may have but glanced at him, it he does not know who she is he will Tol- low and ascertain her abode. That night there will be twanging guitars without her window, and he may attempt to sing (few young Mexicans but hav: falr volces). The next day burning epistles of deathe less love arrive and possibly an elder mem- ber of the young man's family, and it their respective stations, fortunes and all other things are suitable the young people begin to see each other, with some third person ever present and between them, ex- cept in those fond moments when she stands at her window or balcony and her lover is without, but near enough that the slight- est whisper of one can be heard by the other, and if the bars are wide lips may meet. So love is made until the wedding day, but, sad to relate, when that day is not long passed the young wife takes a place in the household but little higher than the servants. But she has expected nothing else and dutifully follows her hus- band to the deor each day and kisses his hand as he extends it. Not often does she think a disloyal thought, for she knows if she should but dally with some old lover or chance newly smitten one her husband will kill her as certainly as he lives and perhaps in the duel with knives that may follow the man will kill her husband. This has happened more than once. The women of the country have an ead- less task in the grinding of corn and beans for meal. It is mostly done with a heavy stone roller on a scooped-out stone. The staple food of the country, the “‘tortillas,” little, thin, tough cakes of the meal, can be baked by women of all degrees with a nicety that defies American cooks. There is a knack about it that is in the blood. Thou- sands of women of the lower classes are seen selling and baking these cakes in the street. i In the north the never-falling garment is the “reboso,” a shawl, worn around the upper part of the body, end when there are children to carry the “‘reboso’ is made into a sling. In the south the brown maid or matron boasts but two garments as a rule, a short-sleeved, low-necked tunic and a “rebajo,” a long strip of eloth wound around the hips for a skirt. Often the col- ors in these are brilliant, and the weaving, done on hand looms at home, is beautiful. They’'re No Account That is a very satisfying exhibit of eur exports to Canada, but the embeazlers and defaulters were not mentioned.—Philadel- phia North American, ¥