Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1852-03-22

como tDOCOQO haVlO. ,-5f4 s..,s 20
I The poor lad wanted to tell the Officer
that he had shipped as boy or ordinary
s seamen, and be dare not go aloft; but il
his fright he had forgotten the few words
!. of English which he might have picked ur
aud SO. spoke it in Portuguese. -.
@Be done with your jaw breaking lingo
and go aloft, or I'll start you with ropes
end. s=z,ea
i The boy did not understand the words
but. be knew it was threat Of some kind
and dreading its fuI6llment, he sprang to.
wards the rigging, and would have gone
Ealoft, or tried to; but / laid my hand upon
j his arm, and held him back, while Ilsaid to
the mate, ,---s,yatea t:a9t s8s4 ssEs4 :. sas5is-
Don't send this boy aloft. sir; III 60
in his place. - -
I " Hold on there, Mr.. -Vibert! don't send
that boy up there. If he should fall and
be killed, or lost overheard, it would be
downright murder" 4.,&ss,,= .t..,.,s.. =
20 Geo vos GUARDED" (Heaven preserve
you, exclaimed the boy, as he bounded for
ward, and seizing; the captain hand, eager
1 ly pressed it to his lips. s,s SILVA.
i AT that moment a strange lurid glare lit
up the Heavens, and every object about the
ship was as plainly visible ias though it had
been noon-day. 1t was not lightning, but
seemed rather to proceed from the murky
| atmosphere itself, and appeared 10 roll in
from all parts of the compass towards the
ship. in undulating waves, like the beauti-
| full coruscations of brilliant aurora bore
alis. it was just such light as one would
have imagined to light up the dark recesses
of the Russian forest from the midnight
flames of burning Moscow.
On the topsail yard the men were strain,
ing every nerve to furl the sail. The yard
arms were, rolled in, and the gaskets halt
passed, whena rushing noise like the escap pc
of pent-up steam, arrested our attention !;
and turning our eyes in the direction from
which. it came, we beheld not mile astern
Of u.s.. the whole surfase of the water con-
verted into mass Of boiling, driving foam,
by the hoarse breath of the coming tornado
Long spiral wreaths Of mists were caught
up. from the 1eaping waves, and came dri-
wing on white as the hiring drift from
the submits Of our New England hills,
hurried onward by the winter hurricane. =
sssCeme down! down from, aloft there, ev-
,ry soul Of ye-in with ye; and down for
your liyesi Do ye bear? Let the sail go,
and come DOWN. aSs3t5 sts1as I.
Thus yelled theexcited captain; and in
came the men off the yard, and down to the.
deck by the back stays ard the last man
had just.cleared The rigging, when the hur-
ricane burst upon the ship in all its wild
yelling fury.4I said the last man had gain
ed the deck--I did not mean that; for there
was one, who needed not the captains war
ming, and still remained on the yard That
one was Manuel, the noble looking Portu,
.gese sailor, the friend Of the boy Diego.
s Obstinately he chung to the almost furled
sail, after all the others had left ths ward.
Twice the captain screamed to him after the
Others had reached the deck; but be needed
him not; and he was there alone when the
most terrific gust broke in wrath upon the
quivering Ship .s5 -
Then commenced the most desperate strug-
gle l had ever witnessed. The puny arm
Of man battling with one Of natule's nigh
tiest elements. In an instant the bunt of
the heavy topsail filled with wind, and bel,
lied out forward of the yard like an infa-
ted balloon; but the daring sailor smoth-
cred it in with giant strength, and had al
most secured it. Ten sounds more, or the
aid Of another pair of hands, and the sail
would have been saved. But a second
blast, wilder and more furious than the first,
tore the canvass from his grasp, and the
next moment it was rent from the yard by
the tremendous power Of the gale J; and the
brave sailor who had so nobly periled. his
life to save it, was hurled backwards 10 the
deck. Stunned and confused by the slat-
ting fragments of the torn sal, he lost his
hold, and was precipifated backwards clear
off the Top, and would doubtless have been
killed on the spot had it not been that in
his descent he fell across the mizzen stay.
which partially broke his fall
Never, while live shall forget that
shrill piercing scream of agony which
broke from the lips Of the beautiful Brazil>
ian boy, as he rushed forward and hung
himself upon The inanimate body of his un
fortunate friend. @ Et5szgsysf
"Keep her square before it, sir,'' said the
icapiain.to Mf. .Vibert;l 'and here, three or
-four of you take this brave fellow into the
cabin.'',
The boy clung eonvulsively to the body,
and would only relinquish his grasp about
his neck when | assured him he should &C.
company us 10 the cabin, and be permitted
to remain with his friend. Il ~
Upon examination it was found thai
Manuel had received no serious injury,
having been merely stunned by the fall.
and it was almost certain that, provided he
had not been hurt internally, he would, in
the course Of "a few days, be able to return
to his duty The captain had a bed pres
pared for him,iby turning, two Of the seltees
together, and placing mattress upon them;
and, after doing all for the man that was
deemed necessary, he spoke kindly TO the
boy, giving him permission to remain aad
nurse his friend; ana then returned to the
deck to look alter the safety. Of the ship.
The boy remained beside the couch till
Manuel was fully restored 10 consciousness;
when he conversed with him for few mo.
Hsents in so1low q, tone that / could bear
nothing that was said after which he left
L,,, l. L. ~