The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-07-14

>
Mr. Darrell ?" she asked.
"No," / answered. cat least | have
strong hopes that we may be saved. !
think the worst Of the gale is over, and il
we only don't happen to ship an unfortu-
nate sea like that which"
MY dear fatherl He was all that had ~
she moaned and once more her miracu-
lOus fortitude gave way, and she broke
down again.
The gale abated at midnight, and though
the ship labored terribly in the tumbling
swell, for want of canvas to steady her,
we shipped no more heavy seas. l stayed
near my young charge all through the
night; for, of course, neither of US could
sleep. | promised her that would ever
be as father to her, and that, come what
would she should share my fortunes and
be to me as sacred legacy.
Of course no such idea as maria ge
with her had anything to do with what L
said or felt at that time. was twenty
five years old, and Jessie child. Besides,
L was under promise of marriage to a
young lady Of suitable age She Tilted
me for another, during my absence-but
that has nothing to do with my story.
/ With the morning light came the neces-
| sity for effort, and sense responsibility
new and strange to me. | sounded the
we'll and found only two feet of water in
the ship, this having worked down from
above. | did not attempt, alone, to pump
her out; but rejOiced in the assurance
! that | still had a tight vessel under me !;
for, had she sunk, should have had no
| dependence beyond such a raft as / could
have extemporized. Every boat had been
swept away.
| loosed and let fall the foresail, and sue
ceeded in setting it, with the child IS assist
ance and the power of the windlass The
spanker could easily manage with the
brails and these, with the lower staysails,
were all the canvas | intended to make
use Of l could do nothing with the loftier
sails without more help.
! The sun had come up brightly after the
! storm and the aspect of the skies indicated
a continuance of fine weather. l took OBJ
servafions and shaped my course toward
the Hervey Islands, hoping to make
Mangea or Raratonga. I had good
general knowledge of navigation, though
[ had little practice, and was unused TO
ANYTHING like responsible control of that
department.
Or course, was obliged to be at the
helm most of the time. But | soon taught
Jessie, so that she could steer well enough
in fair weather, which gave me time to
attend to many other matters. But as we
could not steer all day and all night, the
ship was necessarily left to her own
guidance some part of the time.
| soon discovered that my knowledge of
navigation, though it might tell me where
| was, would not, enable me to go where l
wished. The winds and currents headed
me on, so that we were making drift to
the westward; and it was impossible to
remedy this, unless the ship were manned
so as to be well steered and enabled to
carry all sail Spite of all that the child
and could do, she must go nearly where
the elements might carry her. We should
be more likely TO make land somewhere
among the TOngas or Fejees than IN the
direction l had hoped at first.
There was no fear of our running short
of provisions or water, as we had more
on board than we could consume for
years. The weather continued fine, and
VIC were daily drifting into milder lati-
tudes; bat no sail could be seen. A dozen
times every day / climbed to the mast
head, in the vain hope of deserving
ship, and as often descended to cheer up
my little shipmate with the hope of see
ing one to morrow. Thus week after
week wore away monotOnOusly, while
Jessie and | were all the world to each
other, and every hour served to fasten
| the tendrils more firmly about my heart,
as she leaned in her childish dependence
upon me. | thought how miserable
might have been if entirely alone In such
q situation, and in return clung to her,
! and gave thanks as for blessing, heav-
en-sent, to become part of my whole
future life and being. l do not think l
could have entertained the thought OF
| ever parting with her.
My observations satisfied me that we
had passed beyond the latitude of the
Tonga and Feejee groups without having
seen them. This knowledge WAS rather a
relief to me, for we should most likely
have fallen into the power of savage can
nibals, who would have shown US no
mercy We could hardly fare worse by
drifting on toward the equator, while
there was still the possibility of meetin 6
| ship with civilized men on board.
At length, on going aiOft as usual, one
beautiful morning, the horizon line along
under our lee presented the Irregular,
broken appearance which had often seen
before. and knew so well. The punches
of tufts of cOcoanut trees growing upon
very low land were the first objects that
came into view, so that, as we neared
them, the slender stems seemed to be
rooted into the ocean, and 10 SHOOT direct
ly up from its watery bed.
We were setting, by the force of cur
rent, directly toward the island, and there
was no possibility Of prOpellng the ship
away from it, But there was chance
that it might be uninha bited. If so, we
could not land upon it, for we had nc
boat, and it was out of the question tC
think of managing a raft in the intricate
channels OF coral reef.
But We had been seen, as it appeared
even before we had discovered the land
For within an hour the triangular sails OF
half dozen large canoes rose into view
coming rapidly up toward us. To escape
with the ship was simply impossible. But
it occurred 10 me that the savages could
know nothing of our defenseless cOndi
tion, though the appearance of the ship
under so little canvas in fine weather
must be strange and suspicious to them
They would not attempt any foul play
with us, If they believed the vessel to bt
fully manned and armed. They had com,
off TO drive a barter trade with the white
men, as was their usual custom.
/ at once set to work, with the help o
the child, who showed a ready compre
hension OF the situation, to manufacture
crew for the vessel. Seamen's clothes
were abundant, and in short time every
handspike was rigged up in motley suit
, These were all stuffed out into shape, ant
topped with hats or caps. | disposed
, them in the most natural positions abOu
the decks, in the various parts Of the ship
80 as to give the whole the most lifelik,
appearance.
L loaded all the firearms we had OF
board, which amounted to only three
muskets; and then went sloft To- loose tn,
mainsail, which had never been set since
the gale in which the crew were swep
overheard. had felt unable, alone, Il
control such an immense sheet OF canvas
But must have it ready for use now, il
| oaoa 7 ahould want tn give the vessel NOR