The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-06-28
THE woHDEnTuL nwrMMER.

The story ofa man 0fhis mAicsty'sTtF reg
imoht falling overheard from the chainhly
Steamboat, between Long Point and Monire.
al, and ~ miraenlousIy appearing on tho
beach befirc biz comrades had dsembarked,
reminds nc NJ H-rirrums's',es- that occurred
during my servitnle on hoard the Dolphin
mAn-ofwar, bound 10 the West Indies. We
were going along NJ the rate of abou, three
knots and n half an hour. when Tom Gar
board, belonging to the foreiop, (wbo, by
the hy was bit ON wag) sleeping IN the
forcchains, by a sudden lurch Of tho ship,wAN
thrown overheard,
~ man overboarll - was the general cry
fore and an, and cyery one nan 10 offer or
give assistance 10 the drowning man.
Tom was a tolcrAbly good swimmer. a. ev-
ery body thought, hut nothing extraordinary.
lie Awoke on finding hinnsclfi in deep water,
and began tn use his paddles, the ship going
ahead, n was SAYING ,bcfpre, at the rate Of
three and q half knots. Tom wAs som Lost
sight of under the counter (for although our
ship wAs not on thc plan Of Sir Robert Sep
( ping. yet she was pretty well Abafl.) when he
was lucky enough To get hold of the ruddcr
chains. The hands all ran an, expecting 10
( see Tom asicrn, and lower tho Jolly boat to
pick him up, but he was not 10 be seen.
"IIe's gone said they. "to Davy's locker"
and efforts ceased
Our ship was very deep. consequently our
gun room ports were low in the water. This
Tom saw. and as il was getting dark, ho
thought he would wait till they beat 10 quar-
tcrs and pipcd the hhmmocks down, before he
Z rot ~, hoar,l, ,sh,eh l,e did, and he poppcd
into the lady's hold, where the gunner keeps
his wRds and spare monkeys tail. and thero
remained I'LL the middle of the watch. when
he sailed forth and made free with our bread
bags, taking enough to supply him for three
days.
At the end of this time VIC were jogging a.
long n, an easy rate, with scarcely any wind.
about knot, when Tom, unobsorved, slipped
out Of the port he came in at, dropped astorn
7 AMI tTssH ~ t'ssiiii the sAit,r----------
"The Dolphin ahoyT'
"Ilallo," said the quartcr-mAster, who was
about getting pull on the main brace.
A'If you ,loa't taxa hack tho ssainsail and
hcave too" said Tom, ~ shall sink, for no
man can swim to the West indies without
provisions"
Everybody ran aft in amazement, for il
had been blowing fresh during the timc VIC
had been overheard; but thcre was no time
to be lost, 10 that the boat was lowered and
Tom was picked up, to the great qualification
and astonish,ncnt Of every body on board.
On our arrival, Ms the captain was on shoro
dining with tho Governor, the talk turned
upon swimming. The governor was extoll-
ing the powers ola black Ran he had, and
the captain declared that no man could swim
with Tom Cardboard of the Dolphin's foretop;
however, to make q long story short, the cap
tain and the governor mado a very heavy bet,
Tic rimg wag Hppuiutcti, and Tom requested
one week to get ready in.
The carpenters wrrr ordered 10 mako what
chests and couvcnicuccs Tom required. The
purser was entrusted, at his request, to sup
1 ply fortnights provisions. The day came,
and Tom went on shore at the wharf appoint
ed, when he began to stow his grub. The
black fellow looked up in astonishAent
"What you do here, mAssa ?" says he.
"what am doing here ?' says Tom, "wby
I ann taking my provisions, TO be sure, and /
advise YOU to do the same; for not n bit OF
this do you get on the road"
"Wby, massa," said the nogro,"me no more
swim nine or ten miles"
Says Tom. Ms FIN Amazement at tho short
distance, "Why, man, I'm going to Tobago,
which, believe, is'ovcr two hundred miles,
and shaa't be hack Cor u fnrtnight
The Enectafor.a vrera aafnniahed Tho
black man refused to swim. The governor
lost his wager, and Il was not until we were
homeward bound that Tom told the secret
II IIbonu D,yrLu,1n