Seated in his cabin inet off the engine room of the China Navigation Co.'s s. Szechuen, Mr. J. H. Fayers chief engineer, told a '"North-China Daily News" ' representative about his famous African grey parrot as the vessel heaved in rough seas near Ningpo a day or two ago. Mr. Fayers parrot is the hero of three shipwrecks. He is well known to all China Coast officers, and popular among the many passengers who-have made his acquaintance, "My parrot has been a member of the crew of at least fifty ships during his twelve years at sea," he said, and has travelled as far south as Port Camphor, as far north as Newchwang, and as far up river as Chungking. It have had many offers to buy him, and a'pilot on the Yangtze once said he would pay me the equivalent of £50 for him. But it would take a great deal more than that to make me part with Polly."
'The famous seafaring parrot started out on his career in 1924 in an Andvew Weir vessel, He was given to Mr. Fayers by the skipper of this vessell. When he took charge of him, "Swahili and Hindustani' were among the languages in which he could make himself understood, First Shipwreck It was in 19297 after three years' experience on coastal boats, that Polly first sprang into the headlines. In March of that year, he was on board the s, Tungting, a river boat, when the vessel was wrecked 'near Wusueh. The Tungting left Wusueh in the early morning, and at eight o'clock struck a rock, which tore the yesso: from the: forecastle to the engine room. ie Tungting was beached, and the) passengers and crew got safely /to shore. While for help {o arrive, the com-which included twenty or so cabaret girls from Hankow, were entertained by the parrot,' which went through its entire repertoire in order to keep up the spirits of the shipwrecked mariners, The parrot had its second experience of disaster at sea in August 1931,-when on board the ill-fated s.
Ichang. The ship was badly battered 100 miles from Amoy while running away from a typhoon, She managed to make port, but was so damaged that she had'to be broken up and converted into serap iron. During the nerve-racking trip into port with a gaping hole in the side of the ship, the parrot was not in the least dismayed, but insisted on whistling and shouting absurd remarks Polly had his narrowest. escape from death last summer, when the s cunning, caught in the worst typhoon' experienced along the China Coast for many years, and was driven on a rock at Hongkong. Mr. Fayer was at home on leave at the time and the parrot was being cared for by the members of the crew of the vessel. The Sunning was anchored at Junk Bay. when the typhoon struck, The parrot was spirited away from the ship by members of the crew after the arrival of the tug which had come to the ship's rescue. He was offered for $1 to anyone on the tug who cared to buy it. There were many who wanted the parrot, but no one had a dollar, so it was given to the tug's crew for nothing.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.