Spontoon Island
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Capt. Gary's Log

a record of events and memories
sailing along with the Sloop, RED WOLF
transcribed and edited by Wm. Van Ness

BUCKHORN MEETS THE RED WOLF
By Wm. Van Ness

Log of Sloop RED WOLF
9/15/36

8:30 AM
Spontoon Island Lagoon
Approx halfway between Main & Casino came across drifting dinghy.

While not all that common in these waters, lines will part now & then and a dinghy going adrift isn't all that unusual. A dinghy adrift with a cargo of a very seasick and hung-over buck deer in evening clothes, one arm around a box of salted acorns and the other about a large jar of pickled watermelon-rind, and an irish potato impaled on one of his antlers, and ne’er an oar or paddle in sight, well...

I took the dinghy in tow and helped the deer onboard the Red Wolf.  He gave his name as a Mr. Buckhorn, and claimed to be as confused as to how he'd come to be there as I was! Well, I don't go looking into other folk's sea chests, so I let it pass & suggested to Mr. Buckhorn that he might have somewhere he'd rather be than where he was now? He agreed, so I put her about towards Casino.

Despite his clothes & an educated tone of speaking, Mr. Buckhorn seemed to be a fairly nice fellow for a landlubber, who didn't put on airs and even asked a few reasonable questions about my sloop and her rigging. So, we got along fairly well on the short trip, and when he offered to buy me a drink once we landed at Casino, I decided to take him up on the offer. I did suggest he'd want to remove the potato from his antler before we got there, though.

I put in at my usual slip at Pirate's Cove, & took Mr. Buckhorn to introduce him to Shanghi Sadie's. He semed a bit reluctant to go in once we got there. I gather that wharfside dives like Sadie's aren't his usual drinking holes. Well, Lubbers in white tie rig aren't her usual customers either, so I towed him on in.

Seeing Sadie in her usual cloud of cigar smoke, I shouted her an "Ahoy" and to stike up the galley to bring my new mate & me two cheeseburgers (one a "special")& enough Grog to wash'um down with! At the mention of the burgers I thought Mr. Buckhorn might be getting a mite seasick again, but I assured him Sadie's "special" was a patty of mushed-up nuts and berries & whatall else for them poor critters as can't eat real food!

Just then one of Sadie's bunny girls brought the mugs of Grog to our table, and by the time we were ready to have them filled up again, Mr. Buckhorn seemed a lot more at ease, and was able to apply himself smartly to the food when it arrived. He applied himself even more smartly to the Grog, and it wasn't long into the evening before he could have passed himself off as an honest Tar on shore leave, if not for the silly duds he was wearing.

Singing seems to come natural to some people, so the night went fairly nicely. Mr. Buckhorn followed along with my sea songs with a good will, and threw in a few of his own school boy tunes for good measure. Still, all Watches come to an end eventually, so after helping Sadie lay the snoring buck into a comfortable corner as she closed up for the morning, I made my way back to my own hammock in the Red Wolf. "Nice fellow" I thought to myself, "too bad he can't hold his liquor, though"

-G
       Mr. Buckhorn is usually chronicled by E.O.Costello, and is used with permission.
       Reggie's life continues (and changes) in "Let's Doe It [Let's Fall In Love]"