Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1853-02-11
THE SOLITARY FRIEND.
THRILLING EPISODE OF OCEAN LIFE

ior + a may be thirteen-since the "Jacob Mo
to to gan, a ship of seven hundred tons burdel
ou sailed from Brunswick, Georgia, for tt
E, East Indies She was noble ship, but
r. We believe the assertions of one who sale
in her, she was built for misfortune. Sh
It was launched from her stocks at mid day
~ ~ but yet the moon was seen iu the heavens
!, n when she gave her first impress to the sal
" water Several years subsequent to thu
period when the story opens, she was driy
en- upon one Of the Martyrs Reefs, anI
herill-iated timbers we're s.rewed upon th,
sands Of Florida
Al the time Of which. We write, the ia.
co0 Morgan was commanded by Captain
Ben Wallack, powerful, bread chosted
man, but as kind and consderate as be
was fearless and strong. Scamen were
scarce, and the ships crews were obtained
With great difficulty, and under these cir
cums'anceS, men had been hired who
would otherwise have been rejected. The
snip had been six days cGt, when the first
m.te, 'ir. Gayun, from Prov ,dence. X.
l., Wa suddenly taken sick, and on lhe
mex morning his i.tc.cs, clay N4soonsi .llct
to toe deep grave of she diae At,aDtie.
. lAis untim i event LEFT. capt. Wall.ck
IN 4 critical sit tuatQn. Nat. Faulkner, his
second innate, was by no lne.t,,s qaaiiael
Tor the eiheo, nor would be have taken the
responsibility had the captain desired i'll
There was hut one man in the ship who !
possessed sufficient knowledge Of seaman-
ship for the mates berth, and though
Wallack found that to him he must give
the Office, yet he did 50 with nlany,misgiv-
ings The mans name was Tom Roland /
naughty aud ovcrbearing in his disposition,
seeming by h.s gen IA! conduct to have
been in the habit of commanding, rather
tl'an obeying, on ship board, aud who had
already begun to exercise sort of control
over the crew. But the case was one of
necessity, and Tom Roland was Installed
into the Office of first mate, and quartercd
i'll the cabin.
For several weeks thinnc- -..~-~, n :
renv.J "eil. roland proved to be tho
rough navigator, and finished seaman, and
4 ready and efficient officer, and Capt
" allack began to think his misgivings
we're entirely groundless. Over the crew
Roland had the most thorough control,
md even those men who had evinced to-
wards the Captain marks of inSubordina-
ion, moved without a murmu. at the
b ghest beck Of the mate.
cHe morning, when Capt. Wallack and
lis second mate had the morning watch,
hey both kept the deck until Roland had
il shed his breakfast, and when the latter
took his watch at few minutes pas: eight
,'c.ock, they went below. Whcn they
reached the cabin, Mr.. Russell, the super
,argo, was just rising from the table, and
aking book from the head of his berth
:at down upon stool at the foot of the
adder and commenced reading. He passed
few observations upon the weather, as the
:aptain and his second mate went on with
his reading. Some FIVE minutes had passed,
when Faulkner and Wallack were startled
by sudden exclamation of pain from the
'upercargo, and on turning, they saw that
he had dropped his book, and sat with both
hands pressed hard upon his stomach,
while his features had assumed 4 liyid hue
expressive Of the most acute suffering
The captain sprang quickly from the table,
and laying his hand upon the sufferers
exclaimed:
"What is the matter, Mr., Russell? 2"
40, God don't know Here it is. l
burn :" uttered the suffering supercargo,
as he pressed his hands harder upon his
stomach.
"What have you been eating? What
have you been drinking!' asked Wallack
in a frenzy Of anxiety.
Nothing, nothing. Oh. oh - groaned .
the poor fellow.
WaIiack cast a trembling glance at his
second mate, and for Il moment they both
remained silent.
alt 5 strange" at length uttered Faux |
ner, :. poor Gwynn was taken exactly the
same way"
The Captain made no reply, but his
countcnance wore strange shade of doubt
and suspicion, as he gazed upon the torpid
features Of the supercargo.
That night the broad Atlantic rolled its
ceaseless waves over another Of the ships
company. Nr. Russell had breathcd his
last.
Capt Wallack and Nat Faulkner had
the last dog watch. Roland had gone
down into the cabin, while the foremost
hands, with the exception Of the man at
the wheel were all forward. The captain
paced the quarterback in thoughtful,