Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-08-13
NO. 1872.

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But the safety of myself, and those en-
trusted to my care, should be thought Of
before anything else besides, we had
nothing to satisfy their hunger, and were
helpless to ASSET them.
AT this crisis the lookout man, who had
been placed at the royal sung
out in clear voice, that rang cheerily in
our ears, the startling words
Sail, ho."
Every one seemed silence-stricken at
the cry. and l, seizng my telescope,
rushed to the masthead.
For moment, my eyes were dazzled
by the bright noon-day sun, but as l be-
came accustomed to the glare, could
make out a ships royals, on our lee-beam.
My experience told me she was a man-of-
war.
Haiing the deck, l directed Davis to
trim sails, set studdin' sail, and keep the
vessel three points free, at the same time
sending the lookout on deck to assist the
working of the ship, and taking his place
myself.
In about an hour / could distinguish
our "chase," to the first reefs Of her top
sails, and now, | was certain from the
rake of her masts, and my knowledge of
the movements of our fleet, that she was a
frigate.
just as l made the discovery, cry as
cended from below, and looking down,
saw my men endeavoring to prevent the
bark's crew from coming on deck, through
the cabin hatch dbatt!
Not waiting to ask myself how they had
thus reached the after part of the ship,
seized the main-royal back stay, and in an
instant was on deck.
The struggle for time was desperate,
but the poor, starved remnant of humanity
could not withstand the strength of the
elpomenes-which, if anything was in
creased by their late abstinence-and, in
few minutes, we had the Danes secured,
hand and foot, and once more slowed
away.
now sent Davis to the masthead, with
orders to keep a sharp lookout on the
strange ship. From this time, all was
anxiety as to whether we had been OBJ
served by the figate. How longed for
a gun, or some other means of communi
eating with her. Suddenly hail came
from Davis, aloft:
by the Lord, sur! there goes gun P"
As he spoke, dull booming came
across the ocean waves, and we knew we
were sighted
4 Then another gun, and another, till by
sound signal the frigate had spelt her
name. She made out "Melpomene."
The scene that followed is beyond des-
cription. We, the officers, forgot our
position, and so did the men, We only
knew we were human beings, with BROTH
erly feelings, and that salvation from
fearful death was near at hand. We
laughed. we sung, and Trimble would
have released our prisoners, thinking as
they were now assured OF safety, there
was no need for keeping them in confine-
ment. But l believed it better-as they
would have only little longer to suffer
that they should remain where we had
made them fast, until the frigate's boat
boarded US; and this plan was adopted.
How different were our feelings under
the setting sun, to those experienced at its
rising!
We were once more on board the Melpo-
meme.
We had been in real danger, and were
quite conscious of it. We had been not
only threatened with starvation, but had
also risked a sanguinary collision with the
already famished crew OF the Danish ves-
sci, who, as before stated, were half in
sane from their sutferings, and seemed to
think that we, instead of coming to their
rescue, were in some way or other the
cause of their distress. At all events,
they believed we had plenty of provisions.
and could help them, had we wished to do
so.
Most undoubtedly we had been in
position of real and almost hopeless peril,
from which accident alone now rescued
us; for il was sheer accident our once
more crossing the track of the frigate,
Had she steamed on to Bermuda, no other
vessel might have appeared in time to de-
liver us from fate too fearful to be con-
templated. +
Our JOY at finding ourselves once more
on the deck of the Melopomene may be
imagined, but not described.
The Captain of the Copenhagen was
our guest, and little doctoring soon gave
him strength enough TO enable him to
communicate the particulars of how he
and his crew had got into their distressed
situation. The bark had taken departure
from Falmouth for Boston with full
cargo and was in her eighty-serenM day
when we boarded her. She had been de-
, tanned BY rough weather, with success
, sion of adverse gales, until her provisions
had given out and the men got stricken
with scurvy. In all probability, had the
Melpomene not sighted the bark, all on
board of her would have persisted.
On asking the skipper, how his men had
come up abaft from the fore-peak, he ex-
planned it by saying, that the cargo con-
sisting partially Of dry goods, kind of
wing g-passage" had been made for the
supercargo, and through that they had
found their way.
As the captain Of the bark spoke Ian
guage with which many of us were ac-
quainted, we had Il good deaf OF conversa-
ton with him. Both he and his chief of
icer were intelligent gentlemen, as in
deed are most OF the officers, OF Danish
and Swedish ships. Before leaving us,
there was an interchange of national toasts
between old Denmark and old England.
After having provisioned the Copenha-
gen, we sent her on her way rejoicing;
and in few months atterward, Trimble
and myself received handsome pair OF
epaulettes. and the men five sovereigns
each, from the owners of the bark.