The Shreveport weekly news., 1861-05-27

absence of any wind, or other ap-
pareut cause to vex them. That
cause existed amid the other mex
plicable mysteries Of nature and the
material world, though seiled from
the eyes Of men, with thousand
other things, which, doubtless. it is
not good nor profitable for them to
know.
Nor We're other signs-such as
should not have beenneglected. warn
ing of the approach of the tempest.
The featae1ed tribes, whom nature
has gifted with a wonderful percep-
ton Of approaching danger, seemed
to be struck with great CONSERVATION !;
full eonvulsion. That .shrewd and
cautious old fellow, the sea-guu, who
had been to the fresh-water ponds
for his breakfast of fish, was now,
to the great joy of his bitter enemy
and rival the crow, beheld winging
his fight, to sea, gaining an oMng, as
him of an approaching hurricane.
Others of his tribe, a little more tardy
in their movements, but with the
same purpose in view. We're seen
performing their spiral evolutions in
/ the mid-heavens,-every thing gave
evidence that tempest would spec
Oily burst upon us.
1t was now that old Mr.. Gin,
never loath to bestow the benefit Of
his experience upon others, placed
watt at the head of his little mast
to warn us in. A few minutes af-
ter he had departed for the shore
wearing it still, and in addition an
other half way up the mast, or half
mast, the well known signal Of dis
tress, to signify the danger we were
in. But we paid no attention to
these signals. We had a good boat,
and were all Of us excellent rowers,
and besides, were exceedingly am
bilious Of the honor of being last to
strike the sand Then the fish had
just struck in, or become plentiful,
and to return with a loaded boat
when others had failed, and to be
able to say with shrug to our COM
panions, IN give you n fish, would
be something to boast Of, and pass
good-natured jokes about for the next
two days. believe, however, that
the greater part Of the blame should
rest upon myself.
In the meantime the gale kept
increasing, but then the fish came
thicker and faster and few min
utes MORE We said to each other,
'can neither make nor break
We had nearly filed our boat With
fine fish, and were at the very in
slant to set out for the shore, when
4 vessel appeared in the south-eas.
closc-hauled upon the wind, to use
the nautical phrase, with her star
board tacks on board, which means
that she was sailing with the wind
upon her right hand bow. We
could see that she wore at her mizen
peak the customary signal tor a
pilot. l proposed to my brothers
that we should row out to her, and
as we were acquainted with all the
shoals and lodges for 20 miles east,
and as many west of our hamlet,
that we should offer to conduct her
into either OF the ADJACENT harbors of
-and-. They of course said
yes as they always did to anything
Of my proposing. At the moment
when the gale had increased SO much
that it was with great difficulty that
we could propel our boat to windward
at all, and we could see that our
companions were straining every
nerve for the land, we set out to speak
the unknown vessel more than a
league to leeward Of us.
We had rowed mile or two to-
wards her, when all at once we saw
her take in the flag, which denoted
her wish for pilot, and shaking
the reefs out of her topsails, and
slackening her weather braces and
bowlines, keep away, as if determin-
ed not to be spoken. This was not
pleasant discovery to us, caught
more than IL miles from the shore,
night near at hand, and storm just
ready to burst upon us. The inten-
tons of the object which had seduc-
ed us into this further peril-may
God forgive those who directed her
movements they have lives to an
swer for-were soon made more full
! ly apparent. While We lay viewing
her, the main top-gallant sail and the
courses Were loosed and set, her yards
, were squared, and she was steered
away from the land, leaving us, whom
her governors must have seen, to the
perils and horrors of a stormy night
| in boat, the keel of which was
only eighteen feet in length.
And now commenced our hard
ships. With the greatest exertions
we We're capable of making, on,
progress towards the shore was in:
consi lerable. The wind continued
increasing, and with it the number
and mapnitude of nv own special