Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-12-31

and sent a boat to the relief of the sufferers
Her crew and passengers had lost all hope of
being saved, and their gratitude for the unex-
pected rescue was proportionally great As
one of the men who had been brought away
IN the third boat was ascending the ships
side, the mate, catching glimpse ofhis face,
started back in CONSERVATION. 1t was the
very same face that he had seen three or four
hours before looking at him from the captains
desk. AT first he tried 10 pursuade himself
1t might be fancy /; but the more he examined
the man the more sure he became that he was
right. As soon as the exhausted crew and
furnished passengers were cared for and tile
barque on her course again, the mate called
the caDtdin aside.
1T seems that was rot ghost L saw today
sir. The mans alive"
hat do you means Who's alive
"Why, sir, one of the passengers we have
just saved is the man I saw writing on your
slate at noon. | could swear to it in a court
of Justice"
Upon my word, Mr.. Bruce replied the
captain, "this gets more and more singular.
Let US 60 and see this man."
They found him in conversation with the
captain of the rescued ship. They both came
forward expressed in the warmest terms their
gratitude for deiverance from horrible fate
slow coming death by exposure and starva-
ton. The captain replied that he had but
done what he was certain they would have
done for him under the same circumstanc ces
and asked them both to step down into the
cabin Then. turning to the passenger, he
said, Il hope, sir, you win not think / am
trifiing with you, but I would be much oblie-
ed to you if you would write few words on
this slate" and he handed him the slate with
that side up on which the mysterious writing
was not.
II will 10 81 ;ol H.
passenger, but what shall write?''
"A few words are all / want Suppose YOU
write, steer to the nor'-west"
The passenger, evidently puzzled to make
out the motive for such request, complied
however, with smile. The captain took up
the slate, and examined it closely, and step
pine aside, so as conceal the slate from the
passenger, he turned it over, and gave it to
him again with the other side up. ''You say
that is your handwriting" said he.
81 need not say So" the other replied, 'for
you saw me write it."
"And this ?" said the captain, turning the
slate over
The man looked first at one writing, then
at the other, quite confounded. At last,
"What is the meaning of .h,s 2" said he, 81
only wrote one of these, who wrote the 9TH
er 81
'That's more than can tell you, sir; my
mate says You wrote it at this desk, at noon,
to-day"
The captain of the wreck and the passen-
ger looked at each other, exchanging glances
of surprise and intelligence and the former
asked the latter. 'Did you dream that you
wrote on the sate ~
'.No, sir; not that remember."
"You speak of dreaming" said the captain
of the barque "what this gentleman
about at noon to-day ?"
Il - tF,a hplD
thing is most mysterious and extraordinary
and had intended to speak to you about it
as soon as we got a little quiet. This gentle
man. being much exhausted, fell into heavy
sleep, or what seemed such, some time before
noon. After an hour or more he awoke, ard
said to me, Captain, shall be relieved this
very dav' When / asked him what reason
he had for saying so, he replied that he had
dreamed that he was on board barque, and
that she was coming to our rescue. He de-
scribed her appearance and rig, and, to our ut
ter astonishmcnt, when your vessel bore in
sight, she corresponded exactly to his discrip-
ton of her. We had not put much faith in
what he said.n
''There's not doubt rejoined the other
captain, ''that the writing on the slate, let it
have come there as it may, saved all our lives.
But YOU saw" he added turning to the pass
enger, ''that YOU did not 'ream of writing on
a slate ~
''No, sir. | have no recollection of doing
so. got the impression that the barque |
saw in my dream coming to rescue us,
but how that impression came / cannot tell.
There is another very strange thing about it.
Everything here on board seems to me quite
familiar, yet am quite sure l never was in
your vessel before. 1t is all puzzle to me.
W hat did your mate see ?" Thereupon Mr..
Bruce related to them all the circumstances
above detailed.