Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1869-11-25
' CHASED BY 4 PIRATE.

burden, but size xas large for those days:
and was the 6sstsst ship that ever sailed
out of Penobscot Bay. We'll thst she was
20, my dear children, or I should not be
here to-day.
i vss in tho West India trade, and hav-
ING taken iA about one third of cargo at
. Windward island, that is. one lying farth-
est to the east, was running down to lee-
ward island. about six hundred miles, to
fill up nay ship. p
One third Of . esvgs just t4ade perfect
set of ballast for T. heavy wind, &C that my
ship could not have been in . condition to
saii faster. And this. too, was providen-
tial," said the old man, piously, 'tas You
viii soon sec, for had she been either folly
laden or N lisht belfast We should have
been overhauled aud aost.
"Atthat time 81, there we're 9 g.sas %s g., y.
were msreiless creatures, and killed all
vee @h aa iS ii tSsg Want to kill them for
rsaid. " didn't make them any richer: "
tS.m y had :;ssaB en- 81 gnt
York, when they came there 90 spend their
money. and 80 might bear witness against
them, and cause them to be punished., In
earlier years tho pisttss were more merciful
but when some had eep co5Sicttsd by chan
cling to unsst persons whom they had spa7-
ed. the otherS said, s'pead man: tell no
tales; and murdered ~ yhes2 they took.
zone morning. when 70 Wers SSont
half.wayto our port 4 aiS Wind was blow
| inR very freshly indeed; and We were run
ming under short sail. At.,sunrise I came
ON Ideeh; and took my glass, as always
idin the Inornina, to look around and see
il any sail were ip maht. And fsrAway to
the east, straight astsrn, / could karely
discern q sehoseey attending, e, the north.
| I had lust fairly made her ont when her
course was suddenly ohanged. end she be-
,ean. sailing directly after us. In e few
naia,utes saw more SAT- bpread upod her.
First reef vas taken out of the topsail,
then the top-gallant sail wes set, and then
q great square-sail was let down ftom the
tore-yard: Evidently she:was chasing u.s.
II did potlike TO alarm the crew; so I
said nothing about the vessel astern, so I
called tho mate and! satd; Mr.. Mason, it's
best to make the most Of . fair wind, you
may shake out the reef from the! t0psails,
and set the top.gallant sails"
Wan hands aloft to make sail Z he
shouted. Then coming up to me. looking
little pale. he said, aWhat is IL Captain p
for he had noticed that had kept the
gloss at my eye agood while. :, *
: - Nothing OF great consequence Iguess,
-"' somethine, I'm certain he said to
himsslf. hut went away. : =
s"I didn't keep he secret long. FOR when
the sailors had done making sail. one Of
them spied the, schooner, and cried Sail
no! They all saw her, and knew in .
moment what it meant. Coming down to
the deck, they stood in . group, looking
pretty !anxious' but keeping quiet. and
gazing at me % if I carried all their lives
the schooner plainly, from the deck with
And We, too, were rushing forward at~a
/. .ss'Soon ia mnat4 sanss al again. Capt.
Dunbar, We are ready to set more sail, if
81: Notnov ~ sid, s.v.'n. -; Til,
Wind ffsthsns fast, sAd I'm not sure vi
could carry more sail with safety" y
I'm IN hour more the pirate waa only
three or four miles asteIn. We could see
her decks crowded WITH men. And present.
~! ny I'D :! The there i & cried III the
crew q With. one voice.!
Eyes, there il was; and now if We could
outsail the pirate, We lived, If not, We died.
1.-THE wind had been fresheping fast al
the while, and was now. q, sharp gale. /
had never in my life, perhaps, had 80 much
canvas ON in. 20 heavy blow, but wefmust
spread more.
- "s Set the courses.',
''You should have seen the men fiy. to.
obey. They bad the courses on in about
the time it commonly takes seaman to
sniff his quid Of tobacco from one cheek to
the other! ::'',o. III. y
|; II now waited to see five were going
fast enough; but soon perceived. only too
plainly; that the pirate. still gained upon
%, though slowly at last. 1slooked up to
the; mAsts. 'rhey we're bending like
coach whips--that they did not go over
board seemed miracle-snd yet we
must carry more sail.
sect on the .studding sails, I said; we
must trust in God to make:the ship bear
it through
"At any other time had ordered the
seamen aloft when the masts were threat
they would have refused, now they spraug
up the shrouds like cats. Studding- sail
after studdipg.sail was set; then We got
put the boats sails, and spread-the wher-
ever they would catch ., capital Of wind.
And still not spar nor yarn parted. It
seemed to me that they were held only by
the mighty power OF God. r-.;
"Thefe were few moments of deep sus-
pense. I stood turning my eye now aloft
at the bending, grooming mssts, then as-
tern at our fierce pursuer. Courage boys I!
cried; she no longer gains -.
''What hurrah But next moment
they we're still as death again, for it did
not seem possible that the top.hamper
could not hold ont: and the swapping of
one spar or rope would have doomed ns.
':And so for an honr, that seemed year.
The ship flew. but the moments Jagged
how theylaggsd /! Still the wind increased.
I could see that the pirate Nas ploughing
terribly into the sea, and that If the wind
went on increasing she must soon take In
sail. Presently there waa puff Of smoke
at her bow, and q cannon-ball plunged
into the sea. quarter of q mile astepn.
The men qusiled little, but I said Good,
| boys they BEGIN to see that they cannot
catch us. Soon another ball which went
farther, but was wild. She kept firing for
halt an hour. Some Of the balls would
have struck, had they been . we'll aimed
but the fire hindered her speed, and she
lost around considerably.
1 ladf val Aev nine o'clock. By this time
the gale was too much for her, and her
great square-sail was taken in. She fell
astern rapidly; at one o'clock her hull could
no longer he seen, and she gave up the
chase, .haulipg. to sud, shortening sail I
now had. ehe. studdinG sails and royals
taken in, and ordered dinner, for - yet no
man had tasted food. We soon left her
out Of sight! But if God did't hold our
masts in that day, I dom know What did. !"
|, DAVID 4 WILSON. y
AROUND THE WoRLD.-With the means Of
locomotion at present in use, . tour round
the world may be made in 9i9hty days.
The ipesryale. eeparating the various points
are these: Paris to- New, York. IL days;
thence II SIN Francisco,. z; thence to
Yokohama, n thence TO Hong Kong, 6;
thence to Calcutta, IL, thence 70 Bombay,
3; thence to Cairo, IA; and from Cairo back
to Paris, 6-making in all eighty days;
about the time which would formerly have
been employed in going from London to
at. Petersburg.
Officers and men of the steamer Cuba
have been honQsably discharged.