Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-01-09

that man. What she said to him, how she con-
trived to hurt his feelings to the extent she did
we shall never know. But he and the rest OF our
very pratical crew fought very shy of her after
wards. l am glad was not the man at the
wheel, however.
| You have gone with me so far. 1t see ms to me
that have nothing more to tell you about the
ship, and the different relations OF those who were
sailing in her. Now comes ali incident which al
tered the most of those relations, and which makes
this little story worth telling.
! When you get down lower tn in o3@ south.
grea. westerly wind, always strong, and some
times, nay, more than sometimes, Ore zlns up in 10
a gale, blows round the world the wind against
which Lord Anson fought, and in his noble igno-
did almost the noblest deed OF Britt sh sea-
manship. We were going before that wind now,
| but southing on it, to make, near as possible
the great circle OF the Rebel Maury Sometimes
this wind has few degrees south. One evening
it nearly northwest that the ship, still head
ing southwark, was laid over, with the water tear
ing IN cascades over her lee bulwarks.
That day we had had champagne. Three days
before 1t had blown up into gale, and the skip
per had put the ship before it, and we had run q
thousand miles in ninety iy-s;x Eours,-e N st spen-
did run for any snip in such heavy sea- that was
the reason of the champagne.
| That same evening The skipper, the brown Pas
senser, and myself we're noking the quarter
getting heavier and heavier. The wind, as said,
was northwest, and very warm (please to remem-
Der that We were in the southern hemisphere ami
that the wind was from the equaor), but as the
evening dropped, it grew colder and colder, until
il got deadly chill Then, as darkness settled
down on the face of the wild heaving waters, a
snow storm came drifting on the wind, and made
the ship look, TO US the quarter d. ok, like the
ghost OF a ship driving through Il nf pitch.
On K hal haeD falL
Brown Passenger, Hatter,on, and they both
seemed diss Ati>tsd with netting. heard the
skipper say, must turn l.. cannot stand five
and twenty hours OF it. Keep deck as long
YOU Here he ls.' And then the first otfcer
came up to relieve him.
:" Mr. Hicks, were his last words /" if it comes
on any thicker, lay the ship 10 immediately. B.
sure of this must turn IN"
Hattertcn and | stayed on deck little while,
and the weather seemed mending the intervals
between the snow-storms were longer, and
thought the night would lit, so We went and
turned n too. and | tried to .eep.
But | could noi. Three thousand miles from
land, 10 those awful desoate latitudes, a ghastly
danger all around, unseen, and yet near enough
TO lay lis hand upon ones heart, and freeze ones
blood, and the ship dashing along under the
charge of reckless drunken villain. Sleep not
/. / once more got out Of my warm bed Gt was
freezing cold now, and shook with fear welD,
and went on deck. My worst feaIs realized
We were IN the midst OF binding snow-storm,
aud the ship was flying through it a. her best pace.
10 demonstrate with the drunken madman, II cks,
was to be told to mind my own business. /
turned to arouse the captain.
o that CHASTITY yell that hideous cry of de-
spair and terror that went my heart like dag
ger, and told me tn ED had 1t the
horrited shrek Of the watch forward. 1t was
inarticuIate, but # the o,ds for which that CRY
was intended had been spoken never so slowly
SO loudly, they could not have told the disaster
more plainly We we're lost.
-illiosl q thr bo~sprlt end the snow seemed
10 thlcken and to sohdify, forming white wall
acro,s her course. d0uO. II there Vas time 70
put the helm down. | had time one hid
eous white ice crystal, just at the right of the
fore-royAI yard, aud then | crouched against the
buiwArk>, expecting the shock.
Il in ns;a / The ship stopped so
suddenly that | thrown along the deck
bruised and hurt; and then one heard the crash
here was ripping, tearing, and cracking OF wood
all around, and last of all the sourd Of heavy
bodies falling through the air, as the masts came
headlong down, one on deck and Two partly over
board. Then ruin aad confusion unuIterabe, in
describable.
suppose my courage is about the same as that
OF commonplace people, but it would be worse
than absurd 10 conceal the fact that | was dazed
for certain, very short time, know what ID do |
This may partly have arisen from the fact tha,
instinctlvely knew or thought knew, that moth 1
ing could be done,-that death matter OF
minutes. But this not ths with the /
crew. Their sailor instincts taught them better. 1
Ihe first thing became aware OF, the first thing
with any kind OF arrangement in it which hap /
pened after the ruin was this the we're
crowding into the two larboard boats, which still /
hung in the davits (the .tarboard boats had been
crushed 10 atoms by the ia i of the foremas J, and
wer. leaving the ship. The frs boat, lowered /
with Clitforo's apparatus, in the in a
moment, and in another was stove, and sunk |
among the floating wreck. Not soul in her
came on board again. The other hung in the
davts longer; their complement was made up all
but two,-the carpenter, and the American sail /
or, who stood before me. The,carpen,er was not
to be found. and the American stood looking at
them.
A young man had forced his way up from the |
second cabin and came to them. l heard what |
he said.
There's room for dozen more souls in that
boat, mites. lake my wife with you: for the |
love of God, take her."
No answer TO him but curses.
"Where is the carpenter? We must have !
Chips" they cried Jump in, Yankee. Come
on or you'll be too late.'
| cannot give the Americans answer. 1t was
too rough. The words IN which ne expressed his |
contempt for them would not do to
reproduce here. Yet, they were, were
SO wondrous>witty that even while l sm dwelling
on the horrors of that night, cannot forbear to
laugh viii g | recall them
The first mate, who commanded this boat gave
the word to lover away, and they went down th
ships side into night and darkness, never to be
heard OF again. Il is impossible to guess at their
tate. They may have been swamped soon, or
they may have been tossed on that bitter weter-
ng sea till they ate one another. Who can tell
May God forgive them!
1t was full moon, and the night was light
that the ship settling down by ths head,
and moreover had swung clear Of the berg, and
was going to settle herself down decently, with
out any more breakage. There great deal
If noise and confusion. The second cabin pas
,engers had broken up from below, preferring for
some reason, the having wild, desperate strug-
gle for life to being drowned masse. So there
we're some five and-tweny tragedies taking place 1
.rould me, which / hardly noticed, for betseen
Iou and 1, reader, life happened to be very pre-
,ious to just at that time, and was selfish and
oath TO die But some one laid hand on my
shoulder, and looked round and saw who it was.
n,.L L. =. .