238 THE JERSEY COAST. 



drowning men than I have. I tell you it's an awful 

 sight to see the poor creatures clinging to the rig- 

 ging and bowsprit, to see them washed off before 

 your eyes, sometimes close to you, without your 

 being able to help them, and their dead bodies 

 thrown up by the waves on the sand. You don't 

 feel like stealing or murder at such times; and 

 besides, I never knew a dead man come ashore that 

 had anything in his pockets." 



A peal of laughter greeted this naive remark, toge- 

 ther with the ready response : " Bill, you were too 

 late ; some Barnegat pirate had been before you." 



"No, the Barnegat pirates are kinder than the 

 Government. We do our best to save the poor 

 fellows, but the Government puts men in charge 

 of their station-houses that know nothing about 

 their business. My father-in-law was the first man 

 that threw a line with the cannon over a ship, and 

 he was presented with a medal by the Humane 

 Society. He never was paid a dollar for taking 

 charge of the station, the life-boat, and the cannon. 

 Since he died I kept it for five years, and was paid 

 two years ; now men are selected for their politics. 

 One lives back on the main land two miles from his 

 station-house, another never fired a gun, and a third 

 never rowed a boat. The last got a crew of us toge- 

 ther once to go out to a ship in the life-boat and 

 undertook to steer, but we told him not one of us 

 would go unless he stayed on shore. It is a dan- 

 gerous thing to have a green hand at the helm, or 

 even at an oar, in times like that." 



