Fire Marengo?

[Wartooth]

Undoubtedly one of my favorite nautical chanteys. However, I've yet to figure out what the heck they're trying to get across. What is the song about? Any ideas?

Wartooth

[Trapper]

Hi there!

Actually, it's a cotton screwing chantey. In order to stuff as much cotton in the hold as possible, they would basically tamp it down using a plate and screw assembly (much similar to a capstan, from what I've seen). Cotton was, however, a dangerous thing to carry, as it was prone to overheating and combusting.

"The Galveston Screwmen's Benevolent Association was a trade union of specialized longshoremen who, with the aid of screwjacks, stowed and packed the bulky cotton bales into the holds of ships before the use of the power cotton compress. Their specialized ability insured an increase in the bale capacity of a ship by 10 to 15 percent, a skill critical to the profitable operation of the shipper." - from the Benevolent Assn. of Screwmen

More than you ever wanted to know, eh?

Fair winds,

Trapper

[Duchess]

Is cotton like hay, where if it is baled and pressed slightly damp it will molder. Thus creating heat and smolder ready to burst into flames at the first dose of oxygen?

The Duchess

[Wartooth]

Is cotton like hay, where if it is baled and pressed slightly damp it will molder. Thus creating heat and smolder ready to burst into flames at the first dose of oxygen?

The Duchess

Probably. From the way Trapper describes the baling process, it would flare just like hay. I worked on horse ranches for a few years in Florida and NJ. We had a farmer bring in a truckload of bales one summer. All were fresh and clean. Yet one of those bales started throwing off wisps of smoke a month after we got it. I spent at least an hour hunting out that bale and spreading it out with hose in hand. The very center was HOT and starting to blacken. Strange.

Wartooth