Saint Paul weekly Minnesotian., 1859-05-21

" Breakers on the lee-beam J" answered
another. ...-. ..
p" Breakers on the lce-bow !' echoed I
third. '
All eyes peered Immediately into the dark
hess. A long line of foam was plainly visible
skirting quite round the horizon to leeward.-
"God have mercy on our souls !" l involun
tarily calculated" i'5- -'
The captain sprang to the wheel, his ey'
flashing, bis whole frame dilated; for he haf
taken a sudden and desperate resolution
He saw that, if no effort was made, we shOul(
be among the breakers in twenty minutes
but if the mainsail could be set and made Il
hold for half an hour, we might escape. There
were nine chances to one that the sail would
split the instant it was spread, and in les:
terrible emergency he would have shrunk from
the experiment, but it was now our only hope
keep her to itr' he shouted 'keep hel
well up-All hands to set to the mair
course"
Fortunately, we were strong handed, so thai
it would not be necessary to carry the tack
to the windlass, Notwithstanding the Gale. A
portion of the crew sprung to man this i'm
| portant rope the remainder hurried up the
rigging disappearing in the gloom over head
| In less than minute the huge sail fell from
the top. 1t struggled and whipped terribly
but the good ropes held fast.
"Brace up the yard-haul out the bow
line ~ shouted the captain.
cay, ay, sir ~ and it was done.
"Haul aft ~
The men ran off with the line, and the i'm
mense sheet came to it's place. This was the
critical moment. The ship feeling the addi.
tional propulsion, made headlong plunge. l
held my breath. l expect nothing less
than to sec the heavy duck blown from
the yard like gossamer, but the strong fabric
held fast, though straining awfully.
"She comes up, don't she ~ interrogated
the captain Of the man at the helm.
cay, ay, sir,-she does"
How much ?'
Two points, sir ~
IF she holds for half an hour" calculated
the captain, 1--WE may yet be safe"
On rushed the noble. ship, seeming to know
how much depended on her. She met the bill
lows, she rose above them, she struggled per-
severingly forward. In five minutes the break.
ers were visibly receding. But hope had been
given only to delude us. heard a crack
sharper than an explosion of thunder, and
simultaneously the course parted from its fas-
Jennings, and sailed away to leeward, like a
white cloud driven down the gale.
A cry 0, horror rose from ALL "Itis over"
| cried; and looked around for a plank in
tending to lash myself to it, in anticipation of
the moment for striking. When the course
went overheard, the head of the ship went
off Immediately; and now the wild breakers
tumbled and roared closer at hand each mo-
ment
Suddenly the captain seized my arm, for
we were holding on almost side by side
" Ila :" he cried, is not that dark water
yOnder - and he pointed across our Ice
bow.
l looked in the direction to which he refer
red. Unless my eyes deceived me, the long
line of breakers came to an abrupt termina-
ton there, as if the shore curved inwards at
that point You are right; there is a
deep bay ahead" | cried joyfully. "Look,
you can see the surf whitening around the
cape
The whole crew simultaneously detected
this new chance of escape. Though unable
to head to the wind as before, there was still
prospect that we could clear the promontory.
Accordingly, the next few minutes were pas
sed in breathless suspense. Not word was
spoken on board. Every eye was fixed on
that rocky headland, around which the waters
boiled as in the vortex of maelstrom. The
ship seemed conscious of the general feeling,
and struggled, | thought, more desperately
than ever She breasted the huge pillows
with gallant perseverance, and though each
one sent her closer to the shore, she met the
next wave with the same stubborn resolution
Nearer, nearer we drifted toward the fatal
I
the breakers.
had noticed gigantic roller coming for
some time, but had hoped we mil ght clear the
cape before it reached US. | now saw the
hope was in vain. Towering, and towering
the huge wave approached, its dark side al
most perpendicular wall of waters.
Hold on, all, thundered the captain.
Down it came. For an instant its vast sum-
NIT hoyered overhead, and then, with roar
like ten thousand cataracts poured over U.s.
The ship was swept before it like feather in
gale. With the waters flashing and kissing
over the decks, and whirling in wild eddies
nduer our feet, we drove in the direction of
the cape. held my breath in awe. A strong
man might almost have leaped On the extreme
point OF the prcmontory. [ closed my eyes
shuddering. The next instant a hurrah met
my ear We had shot by the cape, and miles
of dark water were before us An old tar be-
side me had given vent to the cheer; and then
addressing me, he said: THAT was close scrap
ing, sir. Another such would have cracked
the hull like an egg shell. But this craft was
not made to go to Davy Jones locker ="
And with all the coolness imaginable, he
took out huge piece ofpigtail ,leisurely twist
ed off bit, and began chewing with as much
composure as if nothing unusual had happen
cd
A year ago, when in New York, l met the
captain again, unexpectedly, at the Astor
House. We e'dined together; when I'took oc.
casion to ask him if he remembered our win
ter's experience in the Irish Channel ten years
before.
"Ay," he said: "and do you know that
when went out to Liverpool on my next trip,
heard that search had been made all along
the coast for fragments of our ship. The es-
cape was considered miraculous"
Sir" Ireplied, ''Pve had enough of the
Irish Channel" III = -