The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1854-11-14
A THRILLING SEA STORY,


" :, nearly i've hundred souls. drow near to "cbops
y ofabe Englishl-chsnnel.' For four davs en-
- bad been beating down from Plymouth. an,
:, ~ on the NTH, at evening, she made her tack TO
10 the French coast = o. (! lst41
4 Tho watch was sot at oigl,l p. M:tbe Can
tam came on deck soon after, and having AZ
!" ceatalnod the fearing of Scilly, gave orders Il
:, Keep the ship ''full andbye," remarkine a, The
- same time TO the officer of tho deck. that he
i mlght make the light on the loo bean; but he
= stated. he thought it more than probablv tba,
IT be would pass il without seeing II. Uo than
turned in" as did most,of idlers. and tl,o lfar
D. board watch. .a.@i N, - 5 ~. falsi' ~ 20
! AT a quarter past nine p NJ. thc1ship west
!. by compass when tho cry of .ligh, hovi was
. heard from The forotopsail yard ol
!, = Where away? asked the officer of tho dock
Three points to the bow, replied the look
out man, which the upprofcssional readers
ahead.
At this moment tho captain appeared and
took the trumpet.
Call all ards,' was his Immediate order
'All handsI whistled the boatswain with
the long shrl summons, familiar 70 Tho oors
or all who hare ever been on board a man Of
war; "D' "a
All hands! screamed tho boatswain's mate
and ere tho summons died away, all but tho
sick were on deck. ,,,,,
L1he ship was staggering through heavy
swell from the Bav of Biscay; The gale. which
had been blowing for several DAYS. had ncreas
co 10 severity that was not to bo made light
OF me breakers where Sir Cloudesy Shovel |
ana his ileet wero destroyed in the davs ofl
| Qne"n Anna,sang their song of death before |
and tho Dead Mans Lodge replied in hoarse
notes behind US. To 90 ahead-seemed TO bo
death. andto GO about was sure destruction
inc nrst that caught the eye of the CAPTAIN
was the furled mainsaii which he had ordered
10 be carried throughout the evening-tbej
hauling mp of which contrrry to the last ord.r
ne Ind given on leaving the deck. had caused
the snip to fall off to leeward two points. upon
which strong gale was blowing her, in which
'he chance OF safety appeared to the stoutest
nerVs almost hopelcss-that sole chance con-
sIs'lng IN standing on, to carry us through tho
breakers of Scy, or by close craze alono
thci- outer lodges. Was this destiny TO be-
the end of the gallant ship, consecreted bvl {
many prayer and blessing from the heart of
a naiiona
WHY'S tho mainsai up when ordered il ?
set: cried the Captain in tremendous voico.
Finding that she pitched her bows under.I t
TOOK t IN under, your general order, sir. that {
the officer of the deck should carry sail ac ) b
cording to his discretion replied the lieutenant o
;. :, 'hsave the log, was tho prompt domand of i
The log was thrown. r,
How fast does she go? c.
'Fiveknots and a half. sir a,
Board the main tack. sir tc
She will not bear it, SIR said the officer of sc
he deck .r - o,
Board the main tack!,' thundered the Cap G
ain, keep her full aud bye, quarter MASTER g
'Ay, ay, sir to
The tack was boarded. e4nlA /
'llanl aft the main sheetY shouted the Cap-j
ain and aft it went like the spreading of al
ca BIRDS wing, giving the huge sail to the co
ale, - d Io0es h. tn
Give her the leo helm when she goes into re
be sea- cried the Captain. 10 \ to
'Ay. az. sir! she has it, growled out the old r.
"a dog at the binnncle. ~ % of
tight your helm; keep her full and bye!' 90
'Ay. ay' full and bye she is, was the prompt IN
nswer from tho helm .'..i = do
'tow fast does she go:' te n1 to
Nine knots and half sir Nb we
How bears the light? Us tel
Nearly beam, sir 81 Z Ol bo
How fast does she go? ns 4 wi
Nine knots, sir Sl
'Steady so, returned the Captain. 90 ! fin
Steady, answered the helmsman. and all
os silent as the grave upon that crowded
'ck, except tho bowling of the storm, for ,ed
49, n"o 'lat seemed TO the imagination ing
ltwas trying hour to u.s. Unless we could nv.
rry sail so as to go at the rate of nine knots bo
hour we must of necessity dash upon Sell 4 Uo
add who ever touched upon those rocks an,
d lived during storm? s;o
The sea ran very high and the rain fell in inc
eets, the sky was one black curtain illumin ato
ed only by the faint light which was to mark
r 1niI Il
struction. The wind had got above whistl \ 9,
git came in puffs that 1attened the waves. tba
d made our old frigate settle to her bearings tho
lilo every thing on board seemed 10 be crack The
2 into pieces. AT this moment the carpen- ina
reported that tho left bolt of the far shroud
d drawn. r..
Get on the lnfs,' and set them on all fhe nor
ather shrouds. Keep her at small helm 40
arter-mnster, and ease her in tho sea- were ion,
, orders of the Captain. li.ia4 I. wrr
The luffs were soon put upon the weather our
'ouds. which. of course relieved tie chains \
- ,"' ou' "s"y an anxious eye was sine
I'm depended the mosts. and upon tho masts i+
pended the safety of the shp-for one foot !.
canvass lees she couldn not live fifteen min &c :,
1,wa~,i t road
at every surge, she seemed upon making Wv, s"u
deep the sailors grave. and her live oak -. =.
IS his coffin ofglory. She had been fitted nrar =
ut Boston when tho thermometer wa, DO, - -;
zero Her shrouds of course, therefore, 49,, %
ken Mt every strain. and her tdwieldly O.,
'ts-forl she had those designed for the -, ~
ate Cumberland, mach larger ship-secm. "o., o.
ready tojnmp out of her. -, 90 ~
nd now. while all was apprehension, ano,h ., =,
'et drew--and thop another-tiIlat at last '.o
whole .tay was placed upon single bolt ''"s ~,
than mans wtist in circumfers nee - o.
tho iron clung to the solid wood. and na'y
US alongside the breakers. though in PEI pee,
! tfrightful proximity to them This thrill. ~,
incident has neyor, / believe. beon no.
in public, but il is q literal fact--which M
Q not The slightest attempt to ombeisb. ~
we eolloped on--for can compare our ,ho, H.
ood snr, -. - ~ = ' o''se--.,o, ,, rocks than
white foam seowled around their black ,.;''; 'ie'
Is. while the spray fell ovor n AMI The .''',