BAD WEATEEB, 33 



owning it received the piece, and had perforce to be 

 satisfied therewith. Thus justice was done to all in the 

 only way possible, and without any friction whatever. 



As some of us were without clothes except what we 

 stood upright in, when we joined, the *' slop chest " was 

 opened, and every applicant received from the steward 

 what Captain Slocum thought fit to let him have, being 

 debited with the cost against such wages as he might 

 afterwards earn. The clothes were certainly of fairly 

 good quality, if the price was high, and exactly suited 

 to our requirements. Soap, matches, and tobacco were 

 likewise supplied on the same terms, but at higher prices 

 than I had ever heard of before for these necessaries. 

 After much careful inquiry I ascertained what, in the 

 event of a successful voyage, we were likely to earn. 

 Each of us were on the two hundredth " lay " or share 

 at $200 per tun, which meant that for every two hundred 

 barrels of oil taken on board, we were entitled to one, 

 which we must sell to the ship at the rate of £40 per 

 tun or £4 per barrel. Truly a magnificent outlook for 

 young men bound to such a business for three or four 

 years. 



