intheboatshed.net

‘At last we felt ourselves to be a happy ship. So happy that the spare parts (apprentices) formed a Foofoo band. A keg with the ends knocked out, and a stout canvas substituted - the drum! A skilly tin or skid with two large spoons - a kettle drum! A mouth organ; a patched incomprehensible concertina; a formidable overwhelming voice pertaining to the archangel (our youngest apprentice). Also another instrument, the eldest apprentice - who played the comb very eloquently.’

Three more chapters from Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey today: mutiny; a bully mate suffers revenge; a strange story of a Mexican skeleton; a cracking description of a Foofoo band; and the famous dead horse ceremony.

Why not print them out to read at your convenience?

For the rest of this series of posts:
Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 1

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 2

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 3

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 4

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 5

‘For some minutes Ben and I stared stupidly at the dark triangular dorsal fins of the sharks silently cleaving the unruffled surface of the sea.’

Two more chapters of Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey today: Chapter III Hungry Sharks and Chapter IV The “Old Man” Struggles With Algebra.

Why not print these out so you can read them at your leisure?

For the rest of this series of posts:
Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 1

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 2

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 3

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 4

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 5

‘It is to be understood that the author is not a sailor, but merely a civil
engineer Shanghaied as one.’

The winter holiday season shouldn’t be all work, so I’ve decided to put up some cracking reading - the wonderful Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties, by Hiram P Bailey. I trust some of you find time to look at it, but if you don’t these pages will still be just as good in the coming year or any other time.

I don’t know whether the tale told here is exactly true, but it makes a wonderful romp. What’s more, the various scenes including the dead horse ceremony, crossing the equator and the return to San Francisco (including a splendid villainous melodeon player) have a real ring of truth about them - Hiram P had clearly either done a lot of research or had spent time on ship himself.

My particular copy clearly belonged to someone fascinated by sailing ships, as just about every blank page has a cutting from a Cornish newspaper about sailing ships pasted over it.

Why not print these out so you can read them at your leisure?

For the rest of this series of posts:
Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 1

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 2

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 3

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 4

Shanghaied out of Frisco in the Nineties by Hiram P Bailey - part 5