I was much discouraged at the appearance of this
Skipper, and had half a mind to give my friends the Slip when I saw him
on the Wharf.
Having manned our craft, we purchased a colossal refrigerator in which
to put our Bass and Weak Fish, laid in a stock of cold provisions--among
other things a Cold Shoulder--plenty of exhilarating beverages, and,
with Buoyant Spirits, (every Man of us,) and plenty of ice on board,
started on the slack of the Morning Tide. I regret to state that by the
time we were ready to start our Skipper was half way "Over the Bay,"
being provided with a pocket pistol charged to the muzzle. He and his
two subordinates were pretty well "Shot in the neck" by the time we
reached Fort Lafoyette. The consequence of this was that we no sooner
came Abreast of the reef in that locality than we got Afoul of it. For
getting Afoul of the Rocks we had to Fork over twenty dollars to the
captain of a tug boat which came and Snaked us off with a Coil of Rope
when the tide rose.
During the time we remained stationary, the Bottle, I am sorry to say,
kept going Round. All the excursionists except myself got half seas
over, and when we resumed our voyage the steersman had fallen asleep, so
the vessel left a Wake behind her which was extremely crooked.
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