by Bob Kranich
Wrecker’s Tale, (Part 7, Excerpt 58)
This is a new story, titled “Wrecker’s Tale”. Captain Dan Benson is the captain of a two-masted schooner, the Jenney Mae. His schooner is used to take his pineapples from his plantation to market and also wrecking. Wrecking means he will go out to a shipwreck and save people, ship, and cargo. It is an additional lucrative business because of the many storms and the reefs along the Keys.
Wrecker’s Tale, (Part 7, Excerpt 58)
This is a new story, titled “Wrecker’s Tale”. Captain Dan Benson is the captain of a two-masted schooner, the Jenney Mae. His schooner is used to take his pineapples from his plantation to market and also wrecking. Wrecking means he will go out to a shipwreck and save people, ship, and cargo. It is an additional lucrative business because of the many storms and the reefs along the Keys.
He and his sailing crew are returning from Cuba after purchasing pineapple slips to plant. As they leave Cuba a pirate ship follows behind, just out of sight, stalking them. They speed up and loose them. When Captain Dan gets into the Key West harbor he visits an old friend and purchases some armament.
Wrecker’s Tale
“Good Grief, Man! Do you think that they may be lurking about?” James asked.
“Don’t know. We may have lost them last night. But I’m going to be ready for them.”
“Well, Dan, I’ve still got a few back in the warehouse. I’ll clean them up and get you everything you need. If I’ve got them I’ll also give you the chests to store them, the grape, and powder on deck.”
“Thanks, James. My First Mate John can be found at the Key West Inn.”
“Don’t you worry, Dan. I’ll take care of it for you. I pray you don’t need to use them.”
Captain Dan literally skipped the short distance to his home. As he was coming up the walk his two girls and wife Jenney Mae, were outside to greet him.
“Hello, Dear, we saw your boat come into the harbor this morning. The girls have been going up to the captain’s walk a lot the last few days looking for you,” she said as she embraced him.
“This is so lovely, Dear,” the captain said as he put his arms out to hug the two girls who ran up to him.
The next morning came too soon.
“I’ll be a week or two, Jenney May. We have to plant the six thousand pineapple slips. It will take about an acre of land. We’ve got it ready. Then we have to harvest the old field on Plantation Key and immediately transport the pineapples up the East Coast as far as New York. I will send word by my field manager Jonathan as to my schedule.”
He said his goodbyes and hugs and went down the street. When he got to the dock one of his longboats was waiting for him.
“Good morning, John. You too, Benjamin and Roberts,” the captain said.
John announced, “Cap’n we’ve got the swivel guns secured. It kind of feels like we’re sailing a Man-of-War,”* he said jokingly,
“Sir. Benjamin and me’self went by Master James’ warehouse after the evening meal, and he gave us the guns, shot, and powder. They was all loaded in chests. Right smartly, I must say. We stowed them on deck and I’ve took the liberty to get the swivel mounts installed. You know Matthew is the best carpenter we’ve got. He said he knows just where to place and mount them. He’s working on it now, Sir,” he said proudly.
“One more item Cap’n. Jonathan will show it to you as I row out,” John stated. “Go to it, Benjamin.”
“Well Captain Dan, this here is the best tool to use to plant those pineapple slips. It’s a narrow bladed hoe.* We’ve bought four of them,” he said as he showed one of them to Captain Dan.
“Why is it so short, Benjamin?” the Captain asked.
“Sir, it needs to be short. You use it with one hand and grab a slip with the other. We only have to dig down three and one half to four inches. Since the hoe’s handle is twelve inches long, that is the distance between plantings. We don’t have to measure. One other thing, we should use double rows, if you please. Two foot between rows and well-staged will yield the most for the space.”
“Well done, men,” the Captain said.
Captain Dan climbed up on the schooner’s deck. He looked back at First Mate John and Benjamin and said, “Now, men, let’s get this Man-of-War up to Key Largo.”
On the way to Key Largo, the Captain and John looked over Matthew’s work on the swivel gun mounts.
Matthew explained, “Sir, even though we have only four cannons, I’ve built six mount locations. These swivel guns are lightweight. They’re only about seventy pounds apiece. Why, one man can pick ‘em up, and place ‘em from one side to other. Usually you’re only fir’n off one side. I’ve placed mounts, port, and starboard in front, two midd’lin and two aft. I feel that it should do it”
“Looks good, Matthew. Thank ye kindly,” the Captain said, “Now John, let’s look in these chests and see those guns.”
They opened a chest, “Capt’n I’ve already did some looking,” John said. “Two are like this. But two are strange looking. See over here.”
John opened the second chest, “Why, John,” the captain said. “These two are breach* loaders. You take this breach block out of the trough at the back of the gun, then throw in this pre-measured bag of grape. Put this bag of gun power behind the balls and push the breach block forward and lock it in place, like this. You can fire this gun twice as fast as the other muzzle* loaders.”
“Very good, Sir,” John exclaimed.
“John, we’ll wait till mid-morning. When we are away from any Key Wester’s hearing, we’ll have a class and then do some live firing. It looks like Master James got us up with plenty of powder and shot.”
“Ok, men, listen up and pay attention. The Captain’s going to give us a class on firing these here ‘big guns’,” he said, kind of smiling. “Any one got any experience?”
“Yep. Simon and I were in the U S Navy,” one of the men, Amos said. “We fired big bore guns, not those pop guns!”
“Well, Sir if it is ok with you,” another man, Clyde spoke up, “Confederate Navy, out of Mobile.”
Captain Dan stated, “It don’t matter what navy you were in. You’re manning the Jenney May now. We’re all Americans! Now listen up. You three experienced men will command and fire the guns. The rest of you are co-loaders. That leaves me at the wheel and John running the ship’s ropes. So let’s go through the mounting process, loading, aiming, and firing. Now remember to look to me to fire all at once. Do your best. Man the guns on the sea side.”
Captain yelled, “Fire!”...Blam! Blam! Blam! The smoke covered the deck on the starboard side.
Captain yelled again, “Reload!”… Fire!... Blam! Blam! Blam!
“OK, men,” the captain yelled. “Swab them out, and when they are cool, real cool, we’ll stow them back in their chests.”
“There’s the Key Largo harbor Capt’n,” the First Mate announced, “I see the sloop, Sir.”
As they sailed into the harbor and were lowering a longboat the wagon appeared on the beach. It pulled right up to the pier.
“Jonathan seen us, and come to give us a ride, Capt’n.”
The Captain gave the order to drop the anchors, and load up. They pulled their longboat up to the small dock.
“Hello, Captain, good to see you. I trust your trip was favorable,” Jonathan said with a welcome.
“Yes, Jonathan, we’ve got six thousand slips. We’ll get a good rest, and see what we can do in the morning.”
“Well, Sir, I think you will be pleased. The men have got the field cleared and ready to plant those slips,” Jonathan said proudly.
“Very good, Jonathan. Let’s get on to the plantation house. We’re famished.”
“The cook’s working on it, Sir. Let’s load up, men.”
When you’re tired and have a lot of work to do, the morning comes along very fast.
“Captain... Jonathan and I were talking,” First Mate John said as they were finishing their breakfast, “We can cut our time in half. We can take Benjamin and our crew and plant the slips up here in the new ground with those twelve inch hoes. While we’re doing that, Jonathan can take the schooner after we unload the slips, and he and his crew can start cutting pineapples.”
Jonathan added, “Sir, both crews should be finished in a couple of days.”
“A great idea, men!” The captain paused thinking...then said, “We’ll have to plan. Just as soon as the pineapples are put in the hold they will begin to ripen. We’ll have to leave for the East Coast immediately! John make sure we have provisions for a week.”
“Aye aye, Sir.”
“Men, let’s get going!” Captain Dan said enthusiastically.
Wrecker’s Tale
“Good Grief, Man! Do you think that they may be lurking about?” James asked.
“Don’t know. We may have lost them last night. But I’m going to be ready for them.”
“Well, Dan, I’ve still got a few back in the warehouse. I’ll clean them up and get you everything you need. If I’ve got them I’ll also give you the chests to store them, the grape, and powder on deck.”
“Thanks, James. My First Mate John can be found at the Key West Inn.”
“Don’t you worry, Dan. I’ll take care of it for you. I pray you don’t need to use them.”
Captain Dan literally skipped the short distance to his home. As he was coming up the walk his two girls and wife Jenney Mae, were outside to greet him.
“Hello, Dear, we saw your boat come into the harbor this morning. The girls have been going up to the captain’s walk a lot the last few days looking for you,” she said as she embraced him.
“This is so lovely, Dear,” the captain said as he put his arms out to hug the two girls who ran up to him.
The next morning came too soon.
“I’ll be a week or two, Jenney May. We have to plant the six thousand pineapple slips. It will take about an acre of land. We’ve got it ready. Then we have to harvest the old field on Plantation Key and immediately transport the pineapples up the East Coast as far as New York. I will send word by my field manager Jonathan as to my schedule.”
He said his goodbyes and hugs and went down the street. When he got to the dock one of his longboats was waiting for him.
“Good morning, John. You too, Benjamin and Roberts,” the captain said.
John announced, “Cap’n we’ve got the swivel guns secured. It kind of feels like we’re sailing a Man-of-War,”* he said jokingly,
“Sir. Benjamin and me’self went by Master James’ warehouse after the evening meal, and he gave us the guns, shot, and powder. They was all loaded in chests. Right smartly, I must say. We stowed them on deck and I’ve took the liberty to get the swivel mounts installed. You know Matthew is the best carpenter we’ve got. He said he knows just where to place and mount them. He’s working on it now, Sir,” he said proudly.
“One more item Cap’n. Jonathan will show it to you as I row out,” John stated. “Go to it, Benjamin.”
“Well Captain Dan, this here is the best tool to use to plant those pineapple slips. It’s a narrow bladed hoe.* We’ve bought four of them,” he said as he showed one of them to Captain Dan.
“Why is it so short, Benjamin?” the Captain asked.
“Sir, it needs to be short. You use it with one hand and grab a slip with the other. We only have to dig down three and one half to four inches. Since the hoe’s handle is twelve inches long, that is the distance between plantings. We don’t have to measure. One other thing, we should use double rows, if you please. Two foot between rows and well-staged will yield the most for the space.”
“Well done, men,” the Captain said.
Captain Dan climbed up on the schooner’s deck. He looked back at First Mate John and Benjamin and said, “Now, men, let’s get this Man-of-War up to Key Largo.”
On the way to Key Largo, the Captain and John looked over Matthew’s work on the swivel gun mounts.
Matthew explained, “Sir, even though we have only four cannons, I’ve built six mount locations. These swivel guns are lightweight. They’re only about seventy pounds apiece. Why, one man can pick ‘em up, and place ‘em from one side to other. Usually you’re only fir’n off one side. I’ve placed mounts, port, and starboard in front, two midd’lin and two aft. I feel that it should do it”
“Looks good, Matthew. Thank ye kindly,” the Captain said, “Now John, let’s look in these chests and see those guns.”
They opened a chest, “Capt’n I’ve already did some looking,” John said. “Two are like this. But two are strange looking. See over here.”
John opened the second chest, “Why, John,” the captain said. “These two are breach* loaders. You take this breach block out of the trough at the back of the gun, then throw in this pre-measured bag of grape. Put this bag of gun power behind the balls and push the breach block forward and lock it in place, like this. You can fire this gun twice as fast as the other muzzle* loaders.”
“Very good, Sir,” John exclaimed.
“John, we’ll wait till mid-morning. When we are away from any Key Wester’s hearing, we’ll have a class and then do some live firing. It looks like Master James got us up with plenty of powder and shot.”
“Ok, men, listen up and pay attention. The Captain’s going to give us a class on firing these here ‘big guns’,” he said, kind of smiling. “Any one got any experience?”
“Yep. Simon and I were in the U S Navy,” one of the men, Amos said. “We fired big bore guns, not those pop guns!”
“Well, Sir if it is ok with you,” another man, Clyde spoke up, “Confederate Navy, out of Mobile.”
Captain Dan stated, “It don’t matter what navy you were in. You’re manning the Jenney May now. We’re all Americans! Now listen up. You three experienced men will command and fire the guns. The rest of you are co-loaders. That leaves me at the wheel and John running the ship’s ropes. So let’s go through the mounting process, loading, aiming, and firing. Now remember to look to me to fire all at once. Do your best. Man the guns on the sea side.”
Captain yelled, “Fire!”...Blam! Blam! Blam! The smoke covered the deck on the starboard side.
Captain yelled again, “Reload!”… Fire!... Blam! Blam! Blam!
“OK, men,” the captain yelled. “Swab them out, and when they are cool, real cool, we’ll stow them back in their chests.”
“There’s the Key Largo harbor Capt’n,” the First Mate announced, “I see the sloop, Sir.”
As they sailed into the harbor and were lowering a longboat the wagon appeared on the beach. It pulled right up to the pier.
“Jonathan seen us, and come to give us a ride, Capt’n.”
The Captain gave the order to drop the anchors, and load up. They pulled their longboat up to the small dock.
“Hello, Captain, good to see you. I trust your trip was favorable,” Jonathan said with a welcome.
“Yes, Jonathan, we’ve got six thousand slips. We’ll get a good rest, and see what we can do in the morning.”
“Well, Sir, I think you will be pleased. The men have got the field cleared and ready to plant those slips,” Jonathan said proudly.
“Very good, Jonathan. Let’s get on to the plantation house. We’re famished.”
“The cook’s working on it, Sir. Let’s load up, men.”
When you’re tired and have a lot of work to do, the morning comes along very fast.
“Captain... Jonathan and I were talking,” First Mate John said as they were finishing their breakfast, “We can cut our time in half. We can take Benjamin and our crew and plant the slips up here in the new ground with those twelve inch hoes. While we’re doing that, Jonathan can take the schooner after we unload the slips, and he and his crew can start cutting pineapples.”
Jonathan added, “Sir, both crews should be finished in a couple of days.”
“A great idea, men!” The captain paused thinking...then said, “We’ll have to plan. Just as soon as the pineapples are put in the hold they will begin to ripen. We’ll have to leave for the East Coast immediately! John make sure we have provisions for a week.”
“Aye aye, Sir.”
“Men, let’s get going!” Captain Dan said enthusiastically.
From the Author:
My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s SouthWest Florida Online News records, A Walk Across Florida.) As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
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