Indian Games and How to Play Them

Indian Games and How to Play Them

By El Comancho

Illustrations by H. T. Denison

From The American Boy magazine, October 1916. Digitized by Doug Frizzle, October 2014.

WHEN I was “growing up,” I lived west of the Missouri River. The country was very new then and white boys were few and far between, so most of my playmates were Indian boys. Many times I have entered into their sports and games and been one of them as nearly as it is possible for white to turn red.

These games were of two sorts, the outdoor, athletic game, which was mostly based on animals and their ways; and the indoor game, which usually was some guessing game based on combinations of numbers, something like dice throwing or dominoes.

The outdoor games were the favorites and by far the more popular and as these can be played by white boys as well. I will describe several of them, telling in detail how we played them.

The Deer and Wolves

“THE DEER AND WOLVES” was a great favorite and we played it always in the winter when there was snow on the ground. For the “deer” we picked the fastest runner we could get among all the boys and gave him an hour’s start ahead of the “wolves.”

The "deer” then left camp and went where he pleased, usually in a big circle at least a mile away from camp. He was to imitate the traveling habits of the deer, to do as nearly like a deer as he could if the deer were roaming about.

He would therefore go to the roughest bit of near-by country he could find and there wind about from one deer feeding ground to another, going through thickets, possibly crossing or following streams, passing over hills and valleys, and wandering about just as would a deer as nearly as he could.

Of course, wherever he went he left a trail in the snow and it was fair and part of the game for him to do anything to break or hide this trail that he could, for the “wolves” must follow the trail to catch him.

The “deer” could double back on his trail, jump down off of a bank to rocks or bare ground, wade in a stream or do any like thing to lose his trail and thus throw the “wolves” off the scent and escape. But he must not come nearer to camp than a mile away until he was seen by the “wolves” who trailed him.

The “wolves” left camp about an hour later than the “deer” and they had to follow the “deer trail” until they saw the “deer,” then they chased him into camp or caught him before he reached camp if they could. When the “wolves” sighted him, the “deer” would run for camp as hard as he could go, to keep away from them.

If, on the way to camp, the “deer” could get out of sight, say in timber or under a high bank, etc., then he could dodge and double about and thus escape any way he could by throwing the “wolves” off the trail again. The "wolves” could run “by sight” only when they could see the “deer” and at all other times they must follow the trail.

This gave a fine chance for a clever boy to double and dodge and to use woodcraft knowledge to so confuse his trail that the “wolf pack” could not find it and would have to give up beaten sometimes. If any of the “wolf pack” could touch the “deer” before he could reach camp, they thereby killed the “deer” and so won the game, and if the “deer” could get to camp ahead of the “wolves” after they caught sight of him a mile or more from camp, then the “deer” won. It was a good hunting game and was always played with lots of vim and excitement, for it very closely duplicated an actual deer hunt and every Indian boy is a keen hunter.

The Buffalo and Wolves

“THE BUFFALO AND WOLVES” game was another popular one that we played in camp and it called for about the same rough and tumble tactics that modern football does, only in a different way. This game was, like the other, based on animal habits. When wolves attack buffalo, the buffalo bunch thickly together, the calves and weaker animals being in the center of the herd, with the older, stronger buffalo forming a circle around them. The outer ring of buffalo all stand pressed back against the herd behind them, thus presenting a solid front of heads, horns and hoofs to the wolf pack and it is a wise wolf or a very strong or exceptionally quick one that can dodge through that circle and drag down a call' in the middle of the herd without being trampled or gored.

Our “Wolf and Buffalo” game enacted these animal habits in this way: All of the smaller boys who wanted to play were bunched together in the center to represent the calves, then the older, stronger ones who took the part of the buffalo formed a circle facing out around the smaller boys.

Those taking the part of wolves circled around outside the “herd,” trying to get a chance to break through and grab a "calf” and pull him outside the circle.

The players representing the circle of buffalo prevented this by “bunting” at the “wolves,” either with their heads or shoulders. They could not, under the rules of the game, use their hands to take hold of a “wolf” but must defend by “bunting” just as the real buffalo did. They could also trample the wolves, using their feet to block the rush of a "wolf” or to trip him and tumble him over, but handholds were barred for the “buffalo,” although a wolf could use his hands for any purpose a real wolf would use his teeth for.

Sometimes we had pretty exciting times at one of these games, especially when some good smart boy led the "wolf pack” and planned his attacks so that he used the weight of numbers to rush the “buffalo” on one side of the circle while a few of the “wolf band” slipped around on the other side and by quick work broke through the circle and got a “calf” before the “herd” could rally and prevent them.

The Wolves and Badger Game

IN “The Wolves and Badger” game, one boy took the part of the badger and all the rest were “wolves.” The “badger” would back into an angle of a steep bank along the river, or he would back down feet first into an old coyote hole until only his head and shoulders were outside. The idea was to imitate the real badger, which always backs into his hole until only his head is outside, and there he stays to fight it out with any intruder.

In our game the “badger” followed the same tactics by taking a position where no one could get behind him. It was then up to the “wolves” to “pull him out of his hole,” which was a big job if the “badger” was a quick, strong boy in such a position that he could brace his knees against something to hold himself from being pulled out.

I know one boy who managed to hold his position in an old coyote hole for over three hours while at least twenty of us worked as hard as we could to get him out.

In “The Wolves and Porcupine” game, one boy sits down, clasps his arms tightly about his knees, puts his head down and “doubles up in a knot” just as tight as he can to represent the disturbed porcupine. The “wolves” then roll him about and pull at his arms and legs in an effort to break his hold and so “straighten him out.” If you think it is an easy task to do this, just let some strong athletic boy play the porcupine and a dozen or so of the rest of you try to get him straightened out and then keep him that way, for the "porcupine” can break your hold and “double up” again if he gets the chance.

To win, the “wolves” must put the “porcupine” flat on his back, with legs and arms extended flat, then hold him there long enough to show that he is beaten. If the “porcupine” can twist loose and double up again before he is "flattened out.” the wolves have their work all to do over again! It is a rough and tumble kind of a game that teaches speed and exercises every muscle in every player.

The Wheel and Arrow Game

“THE WHEEL AND ARROW” game was played two ways, sometimes as a summer game, but oftener on hard snow for a winter game. If one or two persons play, it is a running game, and if “sides” play, it becomes a standing game. To play it, a hoop of wood is used. This hoop can be any size, though the smaller it is the more difficult the game. I have seen one of not more than six inches in diameter used; but a foot is about the usual measure.

The hoop is rolled along the ground and the player tries to throw an arrow (or small arrow-like stick) through the rolling-hoop without touching the hoop. If only one is playing, he must roll the hoop and then run up alongside and throw his arrow. If several players play at once, they form in two lines facing each other and about forty feet apart. The hoop is then rolled down between the lines, each player throwing his arrow as it passes him.

The arrows are thrown like a spear and a very quick player can throw as high as four arrows as the hoop passes him. If the arrow goes through clean, without touching, the player scores; if the arrow touches the hoop anywhere, the play counts a foul and takes off one from the player’s score. The score can be any number, though it is usually set at ten.

"The Snow-Snakes” game is a trial of strength and skill. It is played in the winter on smooth crusted snow, usually on a level place or on a very slight down grade. The “snow-snakes” are simply peeled willow or other straight growing shoots or saplings, bluntly pointed at the large end. They may be any size or length to suit the player and each player usually has a dozen of so of them.

The players stand in line and throw these sticks just as they would throw spears, except that the sticks should strike the snow as flat as it is possible to make them do so. They should never strike in such a manner as to bury the head or big end, because this stops them; or they may penetrate the snow, or slide along under it and become lost.

The whole idea of “The Snow-Snakes” game is to throw the stick so it will slide, heavy end first, along the top of the snow just as far as possible. The "snow-snake” that is the greatest distance from the throwing line when all players have thrown all their “snake” sticks is the winning throw.

Indoor Games

FOR indoor games we threw bone or beaver tooth dice and counted on the combinations of marks or spots that were upward, just as white people throw dice. We also played “The Sing-Gamble” game without the gambling that went with it when the grown-ups played it. This was a simple guessing game wherein the player held a short stick in each hand and changed them from hand to hand swiftly in time with a chant. One stick had all the bark peeled off and the other was peeled except for a thin ring of bark in the center.

The game was to guess where the ringed stick was, a correct guess winning for the guesser and an incorrect guess losing a point. This game was played either as a ten point or as a one hundred point game. Sometimes only two players played at it, sometimes “sides” were engaged and it became exciting.

Of course, we had numerous ball games of one kind or another, but none of them at all like baseball. Ball games were usually of the pitch and catch order or based on throwing distance.

I do not remember of ever having seen a “bat” used in connection with Indian ball play anywhere, in the sense of our baseball usage.

How to Operate and Handle a Motor Boat

How to Operate and Handle a Motor Boat

By A. Hyatt Verrill

From The American Boy magazine, July 1910. Digitized by Doug Frizzle, June 2014.

NOWADAYS small power boats are so cheap, so reliable and so simple that many boys and even girls, own and operate their own boats very successfully. But even though the makers’ boast “That a child can run one” may be literally true, yet do not think that because you can “run” your motor that this is all that is necessary or advisable to know. As long as the motor goes well and nothing unexpected happens, the boat will almost run itself, but gasoline motors have a peculiar habit of stopping now and then and balking like a fractious horse with apparently as little reason. At such times the boy that can merely “run” his boat is in a bad fix for unless one knows what the trouble is and how to remedy it, he must call on some other boat to tow him home or depend on his oars and must then go to quite a little trouble and expense to hire some “trouble man” to put his motor in order again. In this little article I shall try to tell you what to do and what is of more importance perhaps, what NOT to do, to operate, care for and handle a power boat intelligently, safely and in a way to get the greatest pleasure and service from your craft with the least trouble and expense.

In the first place always bear in mind that a gasoline engine must have gasoline, proper lubrication, good electrical equipment and proper water circulation in order to run. If your engine has been properly installed and tested any failure in its operation will be due to one of these primary necessities failing, unless something is broken, bent or injured. Nine-tenths of motor troubles are due to electrical faults while the other tenth are usually due to gasoline trouble. Old batteries, broken or worn wires, poor connections, wet or dampness on batteries or spark coil, carbon on spark plug or electrodes and in fact a great number of other little things will stop an engine and cause it to absolutely refuse to work until the proper repair or adjustment is made. And right here let me advise you to always bear in mind that the little things are what count with a gas engine. If your engine has been running smoothly and suddenly stops, or begins to miss explosions and gradually slows down and stops, first look over all your wiring and batteries. Every power boat owner should be equipped with an “Ammeter” a little watch-like instrument for testing batteries. Fig. 1. These Ammeters cost only a couple of dollars and will save you many times that amount in batteries, time and worry. If your wires are all whole, in good condition and the connections at batteries, switch and engine, clean and tight, look to your batteries. Disconnect the wire from spark electrode (on make and break engine) turn on the switch and rub the end of the wire against some part of the cylinder. If a bright spark appears you may be sure that your batteries are not at fault. Turn over your fly wheel (with wire still disconnected) until in the firing position and then rub your free wire against the electrode end. If a spark still shows the trouble is other than electrical. If a spark fails to appear it is a certain sign that your firing points are either dirty, worn or improperly adjusted. Take out the electrodes from cylinder and clean them thoroughly with gasoline and if they move stiffly lubricate with a little kerosene. Now try the spark again and nine times out of ten you will find it sparks all right and as soon as wires are connected your motor will run along smoothly again. Much of such trouble can be avoided by proper and not excessive lubrication.

In the case of your engine being of the jump-spark system you should proceed differently. Remove spark plug, lay it on the cylinder or some other portion of the engine, with wires connected, turn on your switch and turn wheel over until the vibrator on coil buzzes. If your batteries and wiring are in order a bright blue spark will run between the two electrodes on spark plug end. If they do not appear, turn off switch, connect a new plug to wire and try again. If on this trial you do not get a spark your wires are short-circuited somewhere and you must find the spot by going over the wires inch by inch and trying all connections. Also test your batteries and discard any that register lower than ten amperes and place new ones in their places. The vibrator on coil should buzz clearly, steadily, and with a high-pitched tone but unless it works unevenly, or refuses to buzz, you had best not try to adjust it yourself as vibrator coils are delicate instruments and a slight mistake in adjustment may ruin them beyond repair. If you find your sparking apparatus in first class shape and your motor still refuses to work, look to the carburetor or vaporizer for trouble (of course I take it for granted that you will be sure that there is gasoline in the tank) for the cheap vaporizers furnished with many motors are sources of constant trouble and you cannot spend a few dollars to better advantage than by investing in a really good carburetor of the float-feed type Fig. 2, and having it properly installed and adjusted. If the motor refuses to make even one revolution open the drain cock at base of cylinder and turn the wheel over. If gasoline issues from the cock it shows your engine-base is flooded and probably after working the excess out by turning the wheel while the cock is open, your motor will start. As soon as it does so, turn oft your gasoline supply, or needle valve, Fig. 3-A until the motor begins to miss explosions, or back explosions occur. Then turn on the valve slowly until the engine runs smoothly. Flooding will seldom bother you if provided with a carburetor but will happen right along if you depend on a vaporizer. Fig. 3. Sometimes your motor will stop from too little gasoline but this usually is shown by back explosions,—a bumpy sort of sound accompanied with puffs of blue smoke issuing from engine base joints and carburetor. In this case open the gasoline supply, Fig. 2-A, a little more, or turn off the air supply Fig. 2-B-B slightly, until the back-firing ceases. After once adjusting your carburetor so that engine runs smoothly never change it until you have made sure that any trouble is not elsewhere. Sometimes, too, an engine will stop suddenly without apparent reason and even when batteries, coil, and spark are all right and base is not flooded, it will refuse to budge. This may be due to dirt or water in the gasoline. Take the pipe off at carburetor, Fig. 2-C, or remove the cap on top, Fig. 2-D, and let a little gasoline flow through. As soon as the gasoline is clear try your engine again. If your carburetor supply-pipe is provided with a settling chamber this trouble will seldom occur and if you have a float-feed carburetor you can avoid water troubles by draining off a little gasoline from the bottom of carburetor, Fig. 2-E every morning before using your boat. The best way to avoid all trouble of this sort however is to carefully strain your gaso­line through chamois skin when putting it in the tank and by keeping the tank well covered and protected from rain and spray. If your motor gets hot, pounds and stops, or begins to slow down, stop it at once and look after your water cooling system. A water cooled motor—and most motor boats have this type—must have a steady circulation of water through the water-jacket on cylinder. If your engine uses a rotary pump you will seldom have trouble but if a plunger pump is used you will often find that a bit of dirt or weed has caught in one of the check-valves of the water pipe and thus stopped the circulation. To ascertain if this is the trou­ble loosen the cap to the check valves, Figs. 4 and 5 A, A, one at a time, in the pipe either side of pump and see if they are clean. Then try the engine for a few revolutions, and if wa­ter is circulating properly the pipe next to cylinder will feel cold and you can also open the water-jacket drain cock on cylinder to see if water is filling the jacket. Still another way is to loosen the cap on the check-valve nearest the cylinder and if pump is working well the water will spurt out from around the loose cap. As soon as this happens tighten up the cap again. Sometimes your pump may need tighten­ing of the packing around the plunger and if the water fails to circulate after valves are clean, try tightening up the packing-collar a little. Fig 5-B. A great source of trouble in pumps comes from the all-too-common habit of using the pump for a bilge pump at times. This should never be done for even if a strainer is provided so fine as to prevent anything passing through the pump that will clog the valves, yet the fine grit and mud will in time wear out the check-valves as well as clog the water-jacket.

If your engine turns over very hard, open the relief valve on cylinder-head and if it still turns hard you can be sure that your lubrication needs looking into or that something is bent or out of line. Too much lubrication is almost as bad as too little and the common practice of allow­ing your oil cups to run a perfect stream for a time and then shutting them off altogether, cannot be too strongly con­demned. Adjust the oilers until the oil drops evenly and steadily from six to fif­teen drops a minute, keep them filled and keep them open as long as engine is run­ning. The compression grease cups on shaft should be kept filled also and should be turned tight now and then. Do not waste time and strength in cranking an engine; unless something is radically wrong it will fire on two turns as well as on twenty and to keep on turning it over is likely to result in flooding the base with unburned gasoline. If after proper oiling it still turns hard, disconnect the engine shaft from propeller shaft and try it: a properly adjusted and properly oiled motor (up to ten horse power) when free of shaft and load and with compression relief open, should turn easily with thumb and finger of one hand; if it takes more than this amount of muscular effort something is wrong in adjustment or lubrication. Sometimes the cylinder,—especially if the engine has been overheated,—will become dry and the piston will stick. In this case remove cylinder head and pour in a good lot of kerosene. After this has stood some time, wipe out and pour in oil. Then turn engine over a few times, put head in place and try running it. It is not always necessary to take off the head as many engines are provided with a relief and priming cock on cylinder head and oil and kerosene may be poured through this. In the case of a jump-spark motor the plug may be removed and oil poured through the hole. Sometimes an engine will be hard to start, especially in cold weather. If it fails to start on one or two turns it should be primed by injecting a little gasoline through the relief or priming cup. This will usually start the motor but if it gives one or two explosions and then stops, the trouble is in the gasoline supply or carburetor. Always keep all joints and nuts tight and free from wiggling and wipe all grease and oil from your engine after running it. A good engineer can always be told by the condition of his motor or engine and if not neglected a motor can be kept as free from dirt and grease as a sewing machine or typewriter. Learn to know the sounds your engine makes when running smoothly and you will soon find that you are able to detect the least trouble long before the motor stops. Have your batteries and wires where you can reach them quickly, and easily but see that they are thoroughly protected from the weather. A watertight box holding the batteries, coil, etc., placed on a thwart near the engine is very handy and is far better than having them thrown into a drawer or locker under a seat. Fig. 6-B. In very bad, rainy weather or when not in use for some time, the whole box can be taken out and placed indoors thus rendering your boat thief-proof and protecting the electrical equipment at the same time. If you have a jump-spark engine it is wise to provide some sort of protector for the plug, Fig. 6-P, most spark-plugs will short-circuit if wet with rain or spray and cause a lot of trouble. The “Reliance” plug will spark under water but when hot from the engine and then wet by spray, the steam will cause short-circuiting even in this plug. There are numerous inexpensive protectors on the market but even an old cap or a piece of rubber cloth thrown over the plug will help a great deal. Short-circuiting at the plug is easily detected by a crackling sound and blue streaks of sparks running across the plug itself. In case this occurs turn off the switch, wipe the plug dry and smear with thick grease. Have a good kit of tools handy at all times; there should be a hammer, screwdriver, a pair of pliers, a monkey wrench, pipe wrench (Stilson) and an “S” or Westcott wrench. Cotton waste, oil, grease, kerosene, and extra gasoline should always be stored in some convenient locker or box. Fig. 6 (T). Make a point of keeping your brass work polished or at least oiled and clean and free from horrid, green verdigris. Nothing looks worse than neglected brass work and a few moments spent cleaning it is more than repaid by appearances and the saving of corrosion. If you cannot keep it bright and clean, it is better by far to paint it with a good enamel paint.

A few extra screws, nuts, bolts, nails and some electric wire should always be on hand and in case of a jump-spark motor an extra plug should always be carried, as a plug is liable to give out at any time and although usually they can be repaired it saves time and lessens danger to change to a new plug and fix the old one at your leisure. Keep your engine covered with canvas or oil cloth when not in use and cultivate a pride in the appearance of your motor as much as in your boat. I have seen many a finely-finished and “yachty” boat in which the engine was neglected, rusty, dirty and covered with old grease and dirt. Such conditions are inexcusable and point to either slovenly habits in other matters or else to ignorance on the owner’s part as to the requirements of a motor. No piece of machinery can be depended upon if neglected and a gasoline motor, although so strong and simple, is in reality a beautiful and delicate piece of machinery. Such an abused engine may, and at times does, run remarkably well but you may be sure that it would run a hundred per cent better if properly cared for. I cannot tell you everything about a motor or a motor boat in an article like this but I hope that with the above hints you will find many of your troubles ended, but before closing I must give you a list of don’ts which every boy using a boat,— whether power or sail,—should memorize, or if this is not possible, they should be pasted up where he can see them at any time. I have boated and sailed for thirty years in all sorts of craft under all sorts of conditions and have never suffered from any accident or weather, mainly because I have always taken proper precaution and have not been afraid to be on the safe side instead of trying to be smart or "showing off.” The more experienced the sailor, the more cautious he will be and lack of precaution and care only shows ignorance and bravado. Scores of lives are lost every year by boats becoming unmanageable or disabled and not being provided with food, water, oars or anchor.

Don’t go on any trip, no matter how short, without oars and anchor.

Don’t go any distance without a jug of water and a can of biscuit. It is safer to always keep them in a locker. You never know when you may need them.

Don’t overload your boat or needlessly go out in bad weather.

Don’t see how close you can run to larger boats to "get the swell.”

Don’t push your boat at full speed in heavy seas, it strains the boat and engine, throws spray and may result in swamping.

Don’t run before a very heavy sea, go across it diagonally if possible.

Don’t run in the trough of the sea, bring her head up to meet each wave.

Don’t try to lay to (keep your boat motionless) in rough weather without a sea anchor, drag or riding-sail. An old oar, a tin bucket, a bunch of canvas, some cushions or in fact any object that will float, fastened to a line passed over the bows will keep your boat head to the seas and make her ride easily. If you cannot arrange this, a piece of awning or cloth lashed to a pole, or oar, and held upright at the stern like a sail, will keep your boat head on to the wind. If oil is poured on your drag it will help a great deal in heavy seas and even oil thrown overboard from the bows will do wonders.

Don’t expect every other boat to get out of your way, the rules of the road on the water are as definite as on land and must be adhered to. If the other fellow violates them it is no reason you should. Keep to the rules and if anything goes wrong it will not be you that is at fault.

Don’t go out in misty or foggy weather without horn, compass, and bell. A small compass should always be on board.

Don’t go out at night without lights.

Don’t run fast in waters you are unfamiliar with. "Haste makes waste” and a sunken pile, stake or reef can send a small boat to the bottom very easily.

Don’t try to come to a dock under full headway. Better stop too soon and paddle up or start over again.

Don’t allow anyone to smoke near your gasoline tank, or to drop cigar or cigarette ashes in your boat, or to light matches near the bottom of your boat. Friends may not like to obey your orders but friends are cheaper than gasoline explosions.

Don’t look into a gasoline tank or fill it by lantern, or candle light. Use an electric pocket search lamp,—or do it in daytime.

Don’t run your boat when on the mud or sand if you can possibly avoid it.

Don’t let weeds, ropes, or lines get twisted around your propeller.

Don’t start out without gasoline, batteries, and oil.

Don’t fail to use judgment, care, and caution, and follow all directions furnished with your engine or boat without fail.

Boy's Museum -Part 5 cont & 6, Plants and Marine Animals

A Boy’s Museum -Part V. (Continued) and Part VI

Plants, Flowers and Fruits and Marine Animals

Popular Science Department

A DEPARTMENT OF INTEREST T0 YOUNG AND OLD

From American Boy magazine, July 1910; digitized by Doug Frizzle June 2014

The plant and flower collections may be made quite interesting and attractive and as they are easy to preserve and prepare they will doubtless form a large portion of your exhibits. Flowers and plants may be simply pressed between pages of a book, or between cardboard or paper under a heavy weight and later, when thoroughly dry, may be pasted or otherwise fastened to stiff card mounts. A better way, however, is to press the flowers as soon as collected, in a regular flower-press, which consists of sheets of tough blotting or drying paper held in a case of some sort so arranged as to hold the paper and plants tightly in place and yet be easy to carry. There are numerous makes and patterns of these and as they are inexpensive it is better to purchase one than to trust to merely pressing at home, if the flower collection is to form a large portion of your museum exhibits. Many plants and flowers fade after being pressed and dried. If dipped in weak formaline when fresh, this will be in great measure prevented, but recent experiments also show that if the flowers are dried by a high temperature—usually by placing in a dish of hot sand,—the colors remain permanent. Pressed flowers are rather unsatisfactory, as far as the flowers themselves are concerned, and a drawing or colored photograph of the flower, exhibited with the pressed specimen, makes an attractive display. In selecting specimens to press, try and secure those that bear leaves, buds, and blossoms and if possible seed-pods also and whenever you can do so, secure the roots attached to the plant (Fig. 7). All should be pressed together, as this gives a better idea of the entire plant than the different parts preserved separately.

Fruits may be made into an attractive and instructive museum exhibit, and although at first it seems superfluous to show common fruits, yet in reality they are most interesting and may be made to illustrate the variation and development of common fruits. Moreover you will occasionally find prizewinning, or freak, fruits which it is desirable to preserve, and last but by no means least, you may earn quite a little money by making fruit specimens for ornament or for fruit growers who win prizes for their products and wish to preserve them or send them to friends. As it is next to impossible to preserve the real fruit in a natural condition, the best method is to make a wax imitation. This sounds hard, but is in reality very easy and simple. First make a plaster of paris cast exactly as described in my article on the Frog and Fish collections in the April issue. When thoroughly hard remove the fruit from mould and tie the latter firmly together by wrapping with thread or string (before doing this a small opening should be left in one side, where the two halves of mold join which may be cut in with a knife after mold is dry or may be made by placing a roll of clay on one-half of mould when other half is cast in plaster). Now mix up equal portions of beeswax, hard paraffine and a little Japanese wax, bayberry wax or spermaceti. Melt this until thoroughly liquid and then pour into the mould through the opening. When mould is about three-quarters full, stop the hole with a bit of damp clay or cotton and turn the mould about in every direction, over and over and round and round until the wax left in the receptacle in which it was melted has begun to harden. As soon as this is hard you may be sure the wax in the mold is also hard. Now drop the entire mould into cold water and leave it an hour or so. Remove from water, cut the thread or string and work gently at the two halves of mould until they commence to separate. As soon as this happens you must work with great care until one-half of the mould comes off. Then dip the other half containing the wax cast in water and work at it carefully until the wax comes out of the mould and you have a perfect wax duplicate of the fruit that only requires a little trimming and coloring to be so much like the original that even the owner could not distinguish between them. Where the two halves of mould came together and where wax was poured in, there will be “fins” of projecting wax. These should be trimmed off carefully with a sharp knife and any tiny air holes or cracks may be easily filled by heating a small knife blade, dipping up a little wax and moulding it on to the spot required. To color these wax fruits you can use plain oil colors, powder color mixed with turpentine, or better still, you can add powder color to the melted wax and then touch up the finished fruit with any other color required. These wax fruits are hollow and very light and break easily, and the object in turning them about when casting is to insure an even thickness of wax on all sides. You may have one or two failures at first; often the mould will be too damp and wax will cool in layers or streaks; you may stop turning it too soon and wax will all run to one side; you may place in water too soon and cause wax to shrink in on one side, or worst of all your mould may be too dry and the wax may soak into the plaster until you cannot by any possibility separate the two halves of mould. In this case you must make a new mould, but it seldom occurs and if mould is always soaked in water before pouring the wax, and then the superfluous water dried out, you will have no trouble. After a few trials you will get the knack of the work and will be more than pleased at the delicate and accurate wax fruits you turn out and will be constantly on the lookout for new fruits to conquer.

Part VI.—Marine Animals.

To the boy living on or near the seashore during the summer months the creatures that live in the water, on the beaches, or among the stones of the shore, will prove by far the most interesting and largest branch of the collection. The immense number and variety of marine animals is appalling to the beginner, but their ways are so remarkable, their habits so strange and their forms and structure so different from any land animals that once we begin to collect and study them we become enthusiastic in the pursuit. Moreover nearly all marine creatures are easy to collect and prepare, and as few people are familiar with even the commonest species, the collection of marine animals always proves attractive and full of interest.

So many branches of the animal kingdom are represented in marine life and the number of species of each division is so great that in a short time the boy museum builder may divide his marine collections into several separate exhibits such as marine shells, crustaceans, annelids (marine worms), echinoderms (starfish, etc.), fish, sea anemones, etc. The localities where each occurs, the method of obtaining them and their preparation and preservation, vary so greatly that each group must be taken separately and its preparation and collection described in detail.

In the first place marine animal collecting may be divided into—

1st. Shore collecting between high and low tide.

2nd. Collecting below low-water mark.

3rd. Collecting animals at the surface of the water.

4th. Collecting animals at the bottom of the water.

Of these the easiest to collect and the most commonly seen and known are the creatures found between tides on the shores. Here we find a great variety of shells, snails, worms, crabs, shrimps, star fish, sea anemones, etc., and for collecting these the apparatus required is very simple and inexpensive. A few wide-mouthed bottles, a basket or pail in which to carry them in an upright position, a trowel or old knife, a pair of forceps, a dip net and a short bar of iron are all that are needed. Wear old clothes and shoes and start forth on some day when the tide will be very low. Before the tide goes out you may secure a number of good specimens among the flotsam and jetsam cast up on the beach, but you will find that few of these washed up and dead objects are really good specimens. In these places, however, you may usually find the egg-cases of shells (Fig. 1) of skates (Fig. 2) and also many good specimens of small shells and occasionally a well preserved crab or even a horsefish (Fig. 3), also known as the king crab or horse-shoe crab. Among the half decayed sea-weed and trash you will also find many little crustaceans or “sand-hoppers.” The dead and dried things should be placed in boxes or baskets while the living creatures should be dropped into bottles of fresh sea water. As the tide falls you should look along the waters’ edge and search carefully for any living creature that may be running about at the edge of the waves. On a muddy or sandy shore many things may be found by digging in the wet shore, for a great proportion of marine animals live buried in the sand or mud. Many of these betray their presence by little piles of sand, holes, or tiny tubes projecting up above the surface. These creatures are very quick and retreat into the lowest portion of their burrows at the least sign of danger, and in order to secure them one must dig quickly by one strong stroke of a spade, shovel or trowel. A great many underground inhabitants, however, show no sign of their presence whatever, and the best way to get these is to dig up moist sand and mud and sift it through a wire sieve in the water. You will be surprised to find what a lot of queer and beautifully colored marine worms, shells, crustaceans, etc., you will find by this method. If there are any rocky shores near by you will find a rich collecting ground under stones and in the little pools of water left by the receding tide. In such places you will find starfishes crawling over the rocks in the pools or clinging to the under side of stones; hermit crabs (Fig. 4) run about carrying their shell houses on their backs; rock crabs and “fiddlers” scuttle under projecting rocks or into crevices and little groups of delicately tinted sea anemones (Fig. 5) wave their tentacles in the calm water of the tide pools. Among old piles and wharves is also a fine place to collect and by paddling about in a small boat and examining the posts and spiles left bare by the falling tide, you will find a great variety of marine creatures that never occur elsewhere.

After you have collected the creatures found between tides you may turn your attention to those animals found just below low-water mark. To get these you must wade about, pry among stones and sea-weeds, dig into the sand and in fact poke into every crack, crevice and hiding place you find. Among the things living below low-water mark are various interesting crustaceans such as lobsters, swimming crabs (Fig. 6), spider crabs (Fig. 7), mud crabs, a great variety of sea shells, worms, starfish, serpent-stars (Fig. 8), sea anemones and even the native coral (Fig. 9). Here, too, you will find sand-dollars (Fig. 10) and sea-urchins (Fig. 11), which belong to the echinoderm group with the starfishes, although they appear so different. If you rub off the spines on a sea-urchin or sand-dollar, however, you will see the star-shaped pattern on the top of the disk which corresponds to the rays or arms of the starfish. Here, also, you will find numerous sponges such as the common scarlet sponge (Fig. 12), the finger sponge (Fig. 13), and many other species. After collecting a lot of specimens they should be assorted and placed in open dishes filled with fresh sea water and here you may keep them for a time alive to watch and study their habits and odd ways. You will notice that the corals, when undisturbed, project out from the stony matter which we usually consider coral and wave tiny tentacles about in the water and then appear much like their relatives the sea-anemones. You may also watch the starfish crawl about by the suckers on the lower side of their arms, his cousins the sea-urchins and sand-dollars doing the same; while the ever lively and friendly hermit-crabs scuttle about here, there and everywhere. If you have collected a few barnacles you will be greatly interested in watching them as they work their cilliated organs out and in their little shells breathing fresh water and gathering in food at each stroke. These barnacles are very wonderful little fellows and although they bear little resemblance to crabs or shrimp they are in reality true crustaceans and in their young state swim about freely in the water.

To preserve your shore animal specimens the best method is to drop them one and all into a solution of formaline or alcohol for the present and then later on, such things as crabs, shrimp, starfish and other hard-shelled creatures may be removed, pinned out in natural attitudes and dried. A good way to kill and preserve the starfish, so that they remain plump and smooth, is to place them while still alive in a basin of fresh (not salt) water for a few hours. Then soak for several days in formaline and pin out on a flat board. They should then be partly dried in a shady dry spot and when nearly dry should be placed in a moderately hot oven until they are dry and hard. Soft bodied creatures must be kept preserved in alcohol or formaline and some things always contract and look like a mere shapeless lump if thus treated. Among these are the sea anemones and corals. To prevent this you should make a strong solution of chloride or sulphate of magnesia and while the specimens are fully expanded add this little by little to their dish of water until they cease to contract when touched. They may then be dropped into your preserving liquid without fear of their contracting out of shape.

While the beach animals are the easiest to collect and are found among the sand and stones of the shore, another group of marine creatures are always swimming or floating on the surface of the sea and must be collected with nets. The best sort of net to use in collecting these animals is a fine dip-net made of cheese cloth. Two of these nets should be on hand, one fastened to a handle and the other fastened to a rope (Fig. 14), so arranged that it may be dragged behind a sail or motor boat, or even a row boat.

The number of animals living on the surface of the water is very great for, although you would never suspect it, the water fairly teems with little creatures which are quite invisible from above, but which are easily seen when placed in a jar or aquarium. It is the great multitude of such tiny creatures that cause the phosphorescence of the water at night, for the majority of these animals give out a faint glow at night. The largest number of surface animals are found at night in calm warm weather and this is by far the best time to collect them. After skimming the surface of the water with your dip-net, or towing the surface net over the water for a time, the net should be emptied into a clean dish of water. There may be a number of fairly large things in the catch, such as jelly-fish (Fig. 15), small fish or even swimming-crabs, but more probably you will see apparently few living objects. The dish of water should be placed on a black surface and a strong light turned on it. Very soon you will find numerous tiny creatures swimming rapidly about. Some of these will gather in masses near the light, while others will sink to the bottom or gather around the edges of the dish. The most numerous and lively creatures will probably be small crustaceans or shrimp. Some of these are very beautiful and give off a bright phosphorescent glow at night. Other odd creatures looking like Fig. 16 will also attract attention, and although you would never guess it these are really young crabs. Young oysters (Fig. 17), and young barnacles (Fig. 18), will also be in most catches of surface animals and these are most interesting creatures to watch and study. To observe and assort these little beings to the best advantage a lens should be used and by placing a watch crystal filled with the water under a low-powered microscope you may amuse yourself by the hour watching the wonderful little creatures whose existence you would never suspect otherwise. Among these are young starfishes (Fig. 19) and young sea-urchins, with a host of other tiny animals no whit less interesting and instructive but which it is impossible to describe in detail in this article. While most of these little surface inhabitants are too small and fragile to preserve for your museum, you will occasionally secure larger and equally interesting animals. Commonest of these are the jelly-fishes already mentioned. Most of these are very difficult to preserve, but some of them make very good specimens and the only way to determine which may be preserved and which not is to try them all and throw away those that go to pieces or contract too much. Other good sized surface animals are the squids or cuttle fishes (Fig. 20). These are quite common at certain seasons and are caught by the fishermen in large numbers for bait. They are very easy to preserve, but in order to show them to the best advantage they should be fastened to a thin board or piece of celluloid as soon as killed and then kept in formaline or alcohol until thoroughly firm. They may then be placed in a jar, mount and all.

Interesting as you will find shore and surface collecting, if you will start dredging for bottom animals you will find it the most fascinating of all. Here you are working on ground never seen by man and with every haul of the dredge you are likely to find some creature never before known to science and are sure to obtain a great number of animals quite new to you and valuable for your collection. The instruments used in this work are easily made and inexpensive and consist of a rectangular dredge (Fig. 21), a trawl (Fig. 22), and tangles (Fig. 23).

The frame of the dredge can be made by any blacksmith and for boys’ use it may be made of light iron 14-inch thick. The scrapers (A A) should not flare too much, for if they do it will be likely to catch on rocks and other objects, besides digging up a lot of useless mud and dirt. The net (B B) is fastened to the frame by tarred rope or copper wire and outside of the net an open bag of canvas is placed to protect the dredge-net from tearing (X). An old fish net may be made over for a dredge, but if possible it is better to get a good new net. These dredge nets are not expensive and may be bought of almost any dealer in nets and Ashing tackle. It is a good plan to have the lower end of the net left open and merely tied together with rope, as this saves the trouble of turning inside out at each haul. The rope should be fastened to the dredge, as shown in the figure, as by this arrangement the small line (C C) breaks if the dredge catches on a rock or other object, and the dredge thus swinging end on, allows it to pull off the obstruction. A short distance from the dredge a weight should be attached to the main rope to keep the stretch of the latter from lifting the mouth of dredge from the bottom. The trawl (Fig. 22) consists of an iron frame (F), an iron or strong wooden beam (E), and a net with one edge weighted with lead (G). The tangle (Fig. 23) can be made by any boy and consists of bunches of twine or raveled rope fastened to pieces of chains so it may be dragged over the bottom by a rope fastened to the bar (B). The dredge should be used on muddy or sandy bottoms; the trawl on mud, sand, or mixed bottoms, and the tangles anywhere, but preferably on rocky or rough bottoms where a dredge or trawl cannot be used.

To dredge from a row boat or launch is very easy, as it is only necessary to throw over the dredge, trawl or tangle and then row or run the boat slowly ahead until you think it time to see what you have caught.

In dredging from a sail boat care should be taken and the work should not be undertaken unless two persons thoroughly familiar with handling sailing boats are together. If the current is strong the dredge or trawl may be fastened to the bows and the boat allowed to drift slowly, exactly as though she were dragging her anchor, or, if the current is not strong enough to move the dredge, a line may be fastened to the dredge rope from the stern so the boat will swing broadside to the current. If there is no strong current to work for you it is best to tow the dredge behind as slowly as the wind will permit, and for this reason a sail should be reefed close down when dredging even in light winds. The most favorable position for dredging when sailing is shown in Fig. 24, in which the arrow shows direction of wind, A the boat, and B the dredge rope. In this position the boat may be luffed up slightly to keep her moving slowly, while if the dredge sticks or hangs back, the boat may be quickly brought into the wind.

You will find it lots of fun watching the oyster dredges come up and among the oysters you will find large numbers of other shells, lots of crabs, sea anemones, worms, crustaceans and other animals, while star-fishes,—the oysters’ worst enemy,—are everywhere.

Fancy Knots and Rope Work

A. Hyatt Verrill published the very popular Knots, Splices and Rope Work in 1912 after this article appeared. That book is still in strong demand and was illustrated by the author./drf

Fancy Knots and Rope Work

by A. Hyatt Verrill

From The American Boy magazine, December, 1910, Vol. 12, No. 2. Digitized by Doug Frizzle, May 2014.

IN THE August AMERICAN BOY I told you how to make some useful knots and splices and in this issue I will try to describe some of the more ornamental and fancy knots.

These fancy knots are useful as well as ornamental, however, and if you ever look about on board any vessel, be she yacht, merchantman or man-o-war, you will be sure to see several of them in use and to the inexperienced they appear most complicated and difficult. In reality it is no harder to tie a good Turk’s Head or Matthew Walker than a bowline or reef knot once you know how.

In the old days of sailing ships every able-bodied seaman could tie practically any knot, and “marlinspike seamanship” was considered as of considerable importance. Nowadays, wire rigging and steam have rendered knots, ties and splices of less value and importance, but, nevertheless, almost every ship has at least one member of the crew who is a proper seaman and can tie knots, splice, serve or weave sennet as well as any of the old-time salts.

After you have learned how to tie the various knots you will constantly find new uses for them which never occurred to you before and if you own a boat of any sort you can add much to her appearance and “yachtiness” by a liberal use of your skill in knotting and splicing. The most important of the ornamental knots and the ones I shall try to teach you to make, are the Crown, with its variations, Figs. 1, 2, 3; the Wall, Figs. 4 and 5; the Matthew Walker, Fig. 6, and the Turk’s Head, Fig. 7. By the use of these and combinations of two or more an immense number of fancy knots may be devised and many of these combinations have been in such general use that they have become recognized as regular knots, such as the Nail and Crown, Double Wall and Crown, etc. In addition to these real knots, the covering of rope or rigging to make a smooth even finish or rigging to make a smooth even finish or “Worming, Parcelling and Serving,” Fig. 23, should be included as ornamental work, while Four-Stranded Braid and Crown Braiding are widely used in making laniards, hand lines, fenders, etc., Fig. 8. In addition to these the amateur rope worker should be familiar with the “Monkey Chain,” Fig. 9, and should know how to properly sling a barrel, cask or bundle as shown in Fig. 27.

The material best suited to tying fancy Knots is either very fine stranded and flexible hemp or closely twisted soft cotton rope. Either of these is good, but ordinary manilla is too stiff and bristly to work well for the beginner. Select a piece of new rope and some fine cotton twine and if possible have a fid, marlin-spike or piece of smooth-pointed hard wood to help in your work. Unlay the strands of the rope for six inches or so and pass a seizing of twine around the end of each strand and around the rope below as shown in the figure. This will keep your strands and the rope from unlaying further and will save lots of bother. An expert can work without the seizings but you will find it best not to try this. We will now try the simplest of fancy knots, known as the Crown. Holding the rope in your left hand, fold one strand over and away from you, as shown in A, Fig. 10, then fold B over A and, holding these two strands in place by your thumb and finger, pass C over B and through the bight of A as shown. Now pull all the ends tight and work the bights up snug and you will have the single Crown knot shown. This is a poor knot to stand by itself, however, and is mainly of value as a basis for other knots and for ending up rope. To end up a rope with a Crown it is merely necessary to tuck the ends of the strands under and over the strands of the standing part as shown in Fig. 11, and taper them down and trim closely exactly as in making an Eye Splice described in my former article. This makes a most neat and shipshape way of ending up ropes such as painters, halliards, etc. It will never work loose like a seizing and is quickly put on at any time, whereas one often wants to end up a rope when no small stuff for seizings are at hand.

The Wall, Fig. 12, is almost as simple as the Crown, and in fact is like a Crown reversed. In making this knot bring C downward and across standing part, then bring strand A over C and around standing part and finally bring B over A and up through bight of C. When drawn snug the knot is like Fig. 4, without tucked ends. As in the Crown, the Wall is of value mainly as an ending knot when ends are tucked as in Figs. 4 and 13, or as a basis for other knots. Either the Wall or Crown may be rendered more ornamental and useful by “doubling.” This is done by following around the lay of the strands on a single Wall or Crown. That is, after making your single wall knot, bring strand A up through its own bight, beside the end of C. Then bring B up through its own bight beside A and bring C up through its own bight beside B. This will give you the knot illustrated in Fig. 5 while the same treatment of a Crown will result in the effect shown in Fig. 3. A still better effect may be had by crowning a Wall knot. This is done by first making a Wall and then bringing the strand A up over the top, laying B across A, and bringing C over B and through bight of A, as shown in Fig. 14. This is the foundation of the most beautiful of rope-end knots known as the Double Wall and Crown or Man Rope knot, shown in Fig. 15. Make your single Wall and Crown it, but leave the strands slack. Then pass the ends under and up through the bights of the slack single wall and then push the ends of the side of those in the single crown, pushing them through the same bight in the crown and downward through the walling. It sounds quite difficult, but if you have learned to wall and crown before attempting it, you will find it easy enough for it is really merely “following" the strands of the single wall and crown. The result, if properly done and ends drawn tight and cut off closely, is surprising and to the uninitiated, most perplexing, for if the ends are “tucked” through the strands of the standing part, as shown in Fig. 15, there should be no sign of beginning or ending to this knot. This is, perhaps, the most useful of ornamental knots and it comes in very handy in many places. It is often used in finishing the ends of rope railings to gangways, the ends of Man-ropes (hence the name), for the ends of Yoke-lines, and to form “stoppers” or toggles to bucket handles, slings, etc. Its use in this way is illustrated by Figures 19, 20 and 21, which show a handy topsail halliard toggle formed by turning an eye splice in a short piece of rope finished with a double wall and crown at the end. Such toggles are very useful about small boats. They may be used as stops for furling sails, for slings around gait or spars for hoisting and in a variety of other places which will suggest themselves to the young sailor. The most difficult of ending knots and one which every amateur sailor should learn, is the Matthew Walker, or “Stopper Knot,” Figs 6, 16, 17 and 18. To form this knot, pass one strand around the standing part and through its own bight, then pass B underneath and through the bight of A and through its own bight also. Then pass C underneath around and through bights of A, B, and its own bight. The knot will now appear as in Fig. 17, but by carefully hauling the ends around and working the bights tight a little at a time, the knot will assume the appearance shown in Fig. 10 or Fig. 6. This is a very handsome and useful knot and is widely used on the ends of ropes where they pass through holes, such as bucket handles, ropes for lifting trap-doors, chest handles, etc. The knot is well adapted for this purpose as it is hard, close, and presents an almost flat shoulder on its lower side.

The Turk’s Head, Figs. 7 and 22, is a knot much used aboard yachts and warships and is so handsome and ornamental that it is a great favorite. It is used in ornamenting lower rigging, in forming rings or shoulders on stays or ropes to hold other gear m place, to ornament yoke lines and for forming Slip-collars on knife laniards, gun laniards, etc. it is also used to form collars around stanchions or spars and placed around a rope close beneath a Man-rope knot it gives a beautiful finish. Although so elaborate in effect it is really an easy knot to make and while you may have difficulty in getting it right at first, a little patience and practice will enable you to become proficient and capable of tying it rapidly and easily in any place or position. To make the Turk’s Head have a smooth round stick or other object and some closely twisted or braided small line. Pass two turns with the rope around the rod, A, Fig. 22; pass the upper bight down through the lower and reeve the upper end down through it, B, Fig. 22. Then pass the bight up again and pass the end over the lower bight and up between it and the upper bight. Dip the upper bight again through the lower one and pass the end over what is now the upper bight and between it and the lower, C, Fig. 22. Work around in this manner to the right until the other end is met, when the other part is followed round until a plait of two or more lays is complete, as shown in Figure 7. The Turk’s Head may be drawn as tight as desired around the rod or rope by working up the slack and drawing all bights tight. A variation of this knot may be formed by making the first part as directed and then by slipping the knot to the end of the rod work one side tighter than the other until the Head forms a complete cap as shown in Fig. 22, D. This makes a splendid finish for the ends of stanchions, poles or flag staffs. Ropes that are to be used for hand lines, stanchions, man ropes or life-lines or, in fact, for any purpose where appearance counts, are usually wormed, parcelled or served. Worming consists in twisting a small line into the grooves between the strands of a rope, Fig. 23 A. This fills up the grooves and makes the ropes smooth and ready for parcelling. This is done by wrapping the rope with a strip of canvas, Fig. 23, B. This is tarred and the whole finished by “serving” or wrapping tightly with spun yarn, marlin or other small stuff, Fig. 23 C. Although this may all be done by hand, yet the serving is usually accomplished by using a “serving mallet,” shown in Fig. 23 D. This instrument enables you to work tighter and more evenly than by hand-serving, but in either case the rope to be treated should be stretched tightly between two firm supports. Often a rope is served without parcelling and for ordinary purposes the parcelling is not required.

A variation of serving is made by “halfhitch” work, as shown in Figs. 17 and 8. This is quite pretty when well done and is very easy to accomplish. To do this, take a half-hitch around the rope to be covered, then another below, draw snug, take another half-hitch and so on until the object is covered and the halt- hitches form a spiral twist as shown m the illustrations. Bottles, jugs, ropes, stanchions, fenders, and numerous other objects may be covered with this ornamental half-hitch work and as you become expert you may be able to cover things with several lines of half-hitch work at the same time. Four-strand braiding is highly ornamental and is very easy and simple. The process is shown in Fig. 26 and consists in merely crossing the opposite strands across and past one another as illustrated in A, B and C, Fig. 26. A still more ornamental braid is made by crowning four or more strands or separate lines and looks like the right hand illustration in Fig. 8. The process A is exactly like ordinary crowning and does not require any description. Walling may be continued in the same way, but is not as handsome. The Monkey Chain is sometimes used in ornamental rope work, but is principally useful for shortening rope in such a manner that it may be readily lengthened. It is well shown in Figs. 9 and 24. To make the chain draw a loop of the rope through its own bight, A, Fig. 24, another loop through this, C, Fig. 24, another through this, and so on until the rope is shortened to the required length. The end may then be passed through the last loop as shown at E, Fig. 24. If to be used for a permanent chain the end may remain thus and the chain will never work loose. If used to shorten rope and the slack is required at any time, it is only necessary to slip out the loose end and jerk on the end, when the entire chain will unravel instantly.

No article on knots would be complete without some mention of slings, for to sling a barrel, cask, box or bale safely and easily is often of great value and importance. While the boy familiar with knots and splices will no doubt devise practical slings of his own, yet the three shown herewith in Fig. 27 may serve as hints to readers. Fig. 27 A shows a useful sling for bags or bales, and consists merely of a length of rope spliced together and slip-noosed around the object as shown. B shows how to sling a barrel upright, while C shows how to sling a cask in a horizontal position. In this case the rope may be used with an eye-splice at one end, as illustrated, or it may be merely tied at both ends. Sometimes a similar sling is used in which an eye-splice is turned in each end in place of the knot shown. There are numerous other knots both useful and ornamental, but those described are the more important and if you learn to make all of these you will be able to pick up others from sight or description, for each one learned makes the next easier. 

Tips Heroism

The short story that appears below does not seem to appear anywhere else on the web, not even a title reference. Since I wanted to read the story anyway, it got digitized./drf

Tip's Heroism

Henry James

from The American Boy magazine, August 1903. Digitized by Doug Frizzle Jan 2014.

THE great works of the Danton Co-Operative Iron & Steel Company were aglow with the fires of its numerous furnaces and noisy with the hum of the industrious life within. Here at one end, the line of furnaces where the oblong blocks of iron are heated white; toward the center of the mill, the great, crunching rolls whence the glowing masses are hurried from the fires. Back and forth through the roils the iron is passed by lines of men holding great tongs in their hands. Longer and longer grow the bars, looking in the semi-darkness not unlike fiery serpents, as they bend and twist under the manipulations of the men. At length the last slot is passed and the nearly finished rail, still red hot, is taken to the whirring saws near by, where the rough ends are cut off in a twinkling and carried away by lively boys. Then the long bar is laid aside to cool.

The fiery gleams of the glowing furnaces, and the disappearing bands of light as the rolls swallow up the lengthening rails, the showers of many colored sparks as the saws do their work, all make an interesting picture this still summer night, and the visitor to the works would be inclined to observe that here, men literally earned their bread by the sweat of their brow.

By the side of the massive engine in the center of the mill, stood John O’Neil, the night engineer. He was busy oiling the machinery, now and then stopping to pat the shining steel with a loving hand. Once he glanced up at the ponderous driving wheel while a worried expression came into his face. Then he stepped quickly to the lever and shut off the steam a trifle and the great wheel ceased to revolve so swiftly.

“What’s the matter with the steam?” inquired a gruff voice a moment later.

“Nothing, sir,” replied O’Neil quietly.

“Well, I’ve got to have more power at them rolls or we won't turn off all the work we’ve got for tonight.”

“I’m afraid to give you much more, Mr. Martin, for I don’t like the looks of that fly-wheel. I wouldn’t want to take the consequences of turning on full steam.”

“What do you mean?”

“The wheel is weak, sir, and is getting worse. I reported the matter to the superintendent a week ago but nothing has been done. It wouldn’t take much to burst her, and that would mean death to some of us and ruin to the mill, sir.”

“You’re right, O’Neil, you can’t be too careful. I’ll see the matter is attended to,” and Martin, the foreman of the rolls, walked away.

John O’Neil was eating his lunch a little later when Joe Bagley, a man whose face bespoke an evil nature, approached and sat down beside the engineer.

“Well, John, an’ what was ye tellin’ the foreman?” he inquired impudently.

“About the engine,” replied O'Neil shortly, for he had never liked the man.

He seemed to feel an instinctive distrust of him.

“What’s the matter with her?” asked Bagley.

“I don’t know as it’s your business what the trouble is,” replied O’Neil.

“Oh, ye needn’t get mad, O’Neil, I didn’t mean no harm in askin’. I’ve noticed you was worrit lately about somethin’ an’ I thought mayhap I could help ye,” said Bagley.

The reply disarmed O'Neil, and in a confidential tone, he said: “I’ll tell you, Bagley. It wouldn’t do for the men to get wind of it though, or they’d all leave. You see, the fly-wheel is weak, and if a full head of steam should be turned on, she’d go to pieces mighty quick. I’ve been careful ever since I found it out, but it ought to be fixed before it gets worse.”

“No wonder you was worrit, but I’ll tell no one. But say, man,” he continued, bending toward O’Neil, and speaking cautiously, “have ye heard of the strike there’s to be?”

“Strike? Where?” asked the engineer in surprise.

“Why, right here, to be sure. Didn’t we ask for more pay a month ago, and never a word yet from Henderson, the superintendent? We’re gettin’ sick of waitin’, and tomorrow the committee of three is going to see him. If he refuses to raise us there’ll be a strike and every man will go out;” and Bagley brought his fist down on his knee decidedly.

“But I’ve no cause for complaint. I get fair wages and why should I strike?”

“To help us, of course. Don’t you see if every man goes out they’ll have to give in at once, for there’s lots of orders ahead; but if some of the men stays in we won’t win so easy.”

“Well, Bagley, there’s this about it.” said O’Neil, as he finished his coffee and closed his lunch pail, “I’ll stick by the company as long as they treat me fairly, strike or no strike.”

“If ye don’t go out with us, John O’Neil,” said Bagley, rising angrily, “it’ll be the worse for ye. Ye remember how some of the men as didn’t go out at the Columbia strike last year was treated, and they might do ye some harm here.”

“Yes, I do remember,” replied O’Neil with a shudder.

“Well, then, ye'd better think it over before ye say ‘No,’ ” were Bagley’s parting words.

“So they're talking of a strike,” thought O’Neil after Bagley left him. “Misguided fools; they’ll strike for a month, perhaps, and then when the shoe begins to pinch, they’ll beg to be taken back. Oh, no, no strike for John O’Neil; I’ve tried it once and that lesson I’ll never forget;” and he busied himself about the engine, keeping a careful eye on the revolutions of the great thirty foot driving wheel, as it whirled around half in and half out of the great pit in which it revolved.

*******

“Father, father, they’ve struck, they’ve struck!” shouted Tip O’Neil, bursting into the room where his father lay sleeping one morning, about a week afterward. Tip’s face was flushed and excited, and he gasped out the words breathlessly, for he had run all the way home from the mill with the news of the strike.

John O’Neil sat upright and rubbed his eyes while Tip went on: “I just came from the mill and all the men struck together, and they wear little curly bits of paper in their caps to show they’re strikers, and they’ve all gone to Thompson’s hall to hold a meeting, and Mr. Henderson has telegraphed to Harrisburg for men to take their places—and—and—that’s all.”

“That’s quite enough,” replied his father with a smile, which quickly gave place, however, to a grave expression, as he arose and dressed himself, and followed Tip down stairs, where were Mrs. O’Neil and baby Tim.

“John,” said his wife, coming up to him and laying her hands on his shoulders, persuasively, “you’ll not go out with the men? Remember the last time.”

“Yes, Molly,” he replied, smiling down into her anxious eyes upturned to his. “I do remember the last time, and for that reason I’ll stick by the company, come what may.”

“Oh, I’m so glad, John,” said his wife, as she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Good for you, father; don’t you strike just because the rest do. Billy Bagley said you was mean if you didn’t, but I told him you never was mean, and—”

“Tipperary,” said his father, shaking a warning finger at him (John O’Neil was a true Irishman and had named his first-born for his own dear birthplace), “where did you get that cut on your chin? You’ve been fighting.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to let Billy Bagley call you mean, and besides he struck me first.”

“But what did you say to him that caused him to strike you?” inquired O’Neil.

“Why I said his father was mean because he struck,” replied Tip, a little shamefacedly.

“Ah, that’s what I thought; you were both to blame. Tip, I don’t want you to have anything more to do with the Bagley boy.”

“All right, father,” replied Tip obediently, “I’ll keep away from him after this.”

“Molly, I guess I’ll go down to the offices and assure Mr. Henderson that I’ll stand by him, or he may be after telegraphing for a new night engineer,” and John O’Neil, after kissing baby Tim, put on his cap and left the house.

He found Mr. Henderson in his private office, and the superintendent greeted him with a smile when the engineer had told him of his decision to stand by the company.

“Thank you,” said the superintendent, shaking his hand warmly, “rest assured we shall not forget your faithfulness. I’m sorry for some of the men for they can ill afford to lose even a day’s pay. I believe that Joe Bagley is at the bottom of this trouble. I find that he has been among the men urging this strike for the last week, and having won over some of the hot-headed ones, they almost compelled the others to go out with them.”

“It was Bagley who urged me to strike,” interrupted O’Neil.

“And like a sensible man, you refused,” said the superintendent, smiling. “I suppose you know that Jephson, the day engineer, has gone out, too?”

“I thought so,” replied O’Neil; “he’s easily led.”

“That being the case,” continued the superintendent, “I shall have to ask you to run the engine on night and day turn, until we can secure some one to take Jephson’s place. We have telegraphed to Harrisburg for men, and hope to have all the departments running by the day after to-morrow.”

“Shall I report for duty Thursday morning?”

“Yes, unless we should need you before.”

“Then I will bid you good morning, Mr. Henderson,” and O’Neil bowed himself out of the superintendent’s office.

Thursday morning the mill resumed operations, with the new men from Harrisburg, and the rage of the strikers knew no bounds. Many threats were made by the strikers against the new men, but their anger was directed chiefly against John O’Neil, who soon found it would not be safe to venture outside the mill. And so it came about that morning, noon and night, little Tip O’Neil trudged to the mill with his father’s dinner pail and at night he carried two, the second containing his midnight lunch.

For a whole week John O’Neil ran the great engine night and day. Every day the strikers grew more bitter against him, and they began to make open threats against his life and the company’s property. The engineer heard of these threats in a general way, but they did not disturb him in the least. He felt the need of rest, though, for the steady night and day strain began to tell on him, and when a young fellow of good appearance, applied to him for the position of assistant engineer, and show Ted his capability and thorough knowledge of steam power, he arranged with the superintendent for the young fellow’s employment. This relieved the worn-out engineer in a great measure, and a nap now and then, with young Lawson in charge of the engine, did O’Neil a world of good, and a day or so saw him fully recovered from the wear of the previous week. Still there was no sign of the company’s yielding to the demands of the strikers, and as their funds began to run low and credit was refused them at the stores in town, every day now saw them more and more desperate.

Two weeks had now passed since the inception of the strike, and John O’Neil had not ventured from the mill to visit his home. For two weeks faithful Tip had carried the dinner pail back and forth, and conveyed the daily news of home to his father. No violence had as yet been attempted by the strikers, and a feeling of security settled down over the great mill and things resumed their usual course.

Then there came a dark, stormy night. Tip had trudged through the pouring rain after supper with the two pails, and had returned home. The streets were deserted. Few cared to breast the storm of wind and rain that raged furiously without. At the mill the night “turn” had come on, and work was progressing as usual. John O’Neil sat by his engine, carefully noting its speed, for the steam was at a high pressure; for some reason higher than common. The fly-wheel had not yet been repaired and he was still very careful about running at high speed. Presently Lawson, his assistant, came on for the night, and O’Neil, bidding him keep a watchful eye on the machinery, left the engine and going to his little room close by, sat down and ate his evening meal. The coffee, he remembered afterward, tasted queerly, but he thought nothing of it at the time. His supper finished, he lay down on the rough cot and was soon asleep.

At the home of the O’Neil’s there was anxiety, not only on account of the threats made by the strikers against John O’Neil, but because baby Tim had, that very afternoon, begun to show signs of the much dreaded croup. All evening long his mother had doctored the child with the simple home remedies, but without avail. He grew worse hourly, and about nine o’clock the mother, greatly worried, decided to send Tip for the doctor.

"Tip,” she said, “you’re not afraid to go, are you?”

“I guess not,” replied Tip manfully, donning his rubber coat.

“Then hurry, dear, and tell Dr. Morse he must come at once.”

“Yes, mother,” came the cheery voice out of the darkness, and Mrs. O’Neil closed the door and went back to gasping, choking Tim and waited.

Tip hurried on through the inky blackness. On up the hill on the other side of the town to Dr. Morse’s house and rang the bell. The good doctor himself responded to the timid ring and invited the boy into his cheerful office while he told his story.

“Certainly. Tip, I’ll come right away. But here, you take this prescription”—writing—“and go round by Robbin’s drug store, and if you hurry you will reach home with the medicine about the time I shall get there.”

“What if I don’t, doctor? It’s a long way round and it’s awful dark,” said Tip.

“Oh, well, if you don’t get there just on time 1 guess we’ll manage. I’ll take some other medicine with me in case you are late.”

All right, doctor, I’ll get home just as soon as ever I can, and with this, Tip was off once more in the storm. The wind dashed the rain in his face. and at times he found it almost impossible to see his hand before him, so dark was it.

Down the hill, then on past the mill where his father was, down the long main street of the town and then Tip reached the drug store.

“This is for my father,” said Tip, as the clerk handed him the bottle of medicine.

“And who’s your father, my little man?” inquired the clerk, smiling.

“John O’Neil,” replied Tip, “and he didn’t strike either," he added proudly.

“Well, it’s all right if you mean John O'Neil the engineer of the Co-operative Company,” said the clerk. "You tell your father that as long as he don’t strike, he can have all the credit he wants at Robbins store.”

Tip tucked the bottle of medicine carefully away in the pocket of his rubber coat and hurried down the street in the direction of home. At the next corner he encountered several rough looking men. By the light of the street lamp he saw they were strikers, for in their caps, which were pulled down over their faces, they wore the small curly bits of paper, the badge adopted by them. As he passed the men, he heard his father’s name spoken in an undertone. Tip pricked up his ears. What were they saying? Perhaps there was a plot to harm his father in some way. If so, he ought to know what it was they intended to do. At any rate, there could be no harm in listening. Carefully the boy entered the gate of the corner yard and crept unobserved along the fence, close up to where the men were talking in subdued tones. Tip’s heart beat like a trip hammer as he gained a position behind the fence where he could hear every word distinctly. Crouching in the wet grass, he fairly held his breath, as bit by bit, he learned of the dastardly plot against his father and the mills. Peeping through a knothole in the high board fence, Tip recognized in the speaker, the dim outlines of the villainous face of Joe Bagley. The man was exulting over the fact that the plot had originated with him. Aided by Lawson, the new assistant engineer, the scheme was to be carried out that very night. John O’Neil's coffee was to be drugged, the lever of the great engine was to be thrown wide open by Lawson, and it was expected that the consequences would be disastrous to the mill, to O’Neil, the faithful engineer, and to the men who had taken the places of the strikers, and whom the latter scornfully dubbed “scabs.”

As the full meaning of his father’s danger broke upon Tip, he shuddered. What was that the men said? He placed his ear to the friendly knothole and listened eagerly. Ten o’clock! That was the time they had set. Why, it must be ten o’clock now. He was too late. The boy’s brain seemed on fire so fast ran his thoughts. He would try though; yes, he would try to reach the mill in time to warn his father. Slowly and cautiously he crept along the fence, back to the gate. And then how his little legs flew as he sped through the darkness toward the mill. Baby Tim, his mother, the doctor waiting for the medicine, all were forgotten in the one desire to reach the mill before the catastrophe. Soon the line of glowing furnaces came in sight. He drew nearer. The mill was still safe. The men were yet at work. He had almost reached the works when a sudden panic seemed to have seized the workmen. They ran wildly from the mill. Tip knew well the meaning of that and he redoubled his exertions. He reached the now deserted mill. He thought he saw a dark figure glide past him as he entered one of the wide doors. How the rolls roared as he passed them. What an unearthly racket the spinning machinery made. He approached the ponderous engine, the driver of which seemed like a zigzag flash of steel-blue lightning as it flew back and forth. The huge wheel whizzed round with a mighty rush that was momentarily increasing. But his father, where was he? Half wild with fear, Tip ran to the door of the little room, where his father was wont to take his naps. He lay asleep on the rough couch.

“Father, father, wake up, wake up!” Tip cried. There was no answer, save the fast increasing roar of the machinery. Tip shook him, but it was of no use. He was unconscious. Rushing out into the mill again, Tip spied one of the trucks which were used for conveying away the ends of the rails. It was but the work of a moment to draw it to where his father lay. Upon the truck, by a tremendous effort the boy placed his father, and then as fast as possible, he drew him away from the mill and danger. At a safe distance Tip paused. Why not try to save the mill? He would go back and attempt to shut off the steam. Leaving his father, he hurried back to the founding engine. Inside the mill pandemonium reigned. The clangor of the wheels, the clamor of the fast revolving rolls, the roar of the now furious engine filled his ears. Still undaunted the brave boy approached the monster. His hand was upon the bright handle of the lever. He pushed with all his might, but it did not move. He tried again. His utmost strength failed to budge it. He stooped to pick up a heavy hammer that lay near, thinking perhaps the lever might yield to blows. Suddenly there was a tremendous rending sound. The ground trembled beneath his feet. The entire engine seemed lifted through the roof of the mill. Crash succeeded crash. Tip was borne to the ground in the ruins of the mill. He felt the rush of rain drops upon his upturned face, and then—.

*********

John O'Neil will never tire of telling how they found poor Tip, the hammer still clutched in his hand, crushed under a great piece of timber among the ruins of the mill. He was unconscious and his right leg was broken just below the knee. He still used crutches when Joe Bagley and Lawson, his accomplice, were brought to justice. And it was Tip’s testimony that sent them both to state’s prison. Baby Tim recovered from the croup and did not suffer from Tip’s failure to arrive on time with the medicine.

Tip is in the big office now, under Superintendent Henderson himself, and John O’Neil is assistant superintendent of the mills.

"Tip my boy,” Mr. Henderson sometimes says, "I've often read of heroes, but I never expected to have a real live specimen working for me.” and he laughs to himself, while Tip replies—nothing.