oakum

• Sheehan said oakum is loose hemp or similar fiber, treated with a tar-like substance, which is used to caulk seems in wooden ships and pack pipe joints. —  TimesArgus.com: Sports
• Captured in raids or sold outright by African slave owners and traders, the men, women and children would have their mouths bound with oakum - a type of loosely twisted rope - and be tossed into the bottom of the boats offshore. —  Black America Web
• The reduction, by extension and counterextension; the maintenance of the coaptation of the segments; the adaptation of the dressing by splints, oakum, and agglutinative mixtures; in fact, all the details of treatment may be here fulfilled with a degree of facility and precision not attainable in any other part of the organism. —  Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
• He was attended by his mates, who were provided with shot-plugs, oakum, and tallow, to stop any shot-holes which might be made. —  Frank Mildmay The Naval Officer
• "We've sprung a fearful leak, sir," he exclaimed; "it's my belief that the oakum is washed out of the seams, for already the water is rising above the ballast Then hasten with your crew, search out where the worst leaks exist, and strive to stop them," said the admiral, calmly; "man the pumps, and let others be told off with buckets to bale out the water. —  The Settlers A Tale of Virginia

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