The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-09-20
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT.
BY VIOLET.

4 Il
BY VIOLET.
The good ship Adrian, Capt. axfor,l
master, sailed from New York about
the middle Of January, 1s49. They
had been out to sea three days, when
the Captain called all hands on deck.
and after delivering himself of volley
of Oarhs, which none but half-drunk-
Gu. seaman could invent, he proceeded
to inform them that some ono had
smuggled girl on board, and that the
most condign punishment awaited the
offender when he or they should he
discovered. '0f course he could not
treat her as he would a boy under
similar circumstances; he should have
to let her roam around the ship, and
none of the crew were TO sreak to her
or notice her in any way.p and he
wound up with threats aud impIeca-
tions that might we'll have intimideted
lhe bravest tar before him.
There We're several passengers,
rough, sturdy-looking men, bound for
San Francisco, who had their own no.
tioDs of how the girl come there, and
they resolved TO watch events closely.
One man, an old, weatber-beatnn
sailor. could have unraveled the mys-
terry if he had chosen, but it would
have been q hazardous experiment,
and he knew enough to keep bis own
counsel.
When the girl fist made her appear
ance Oh deck she was pale from SEA
sickness, and had a wild, frightened
look. She sat for hours gazing in the
direction from which they had sailed,
and to the remarks of the passengers
answered in the fewest words possible.
Some one offered her a book filled with
wonderful stories, but she only shook
her head, and without withdrawing
her gaze from the sea, whispered, ats
no use; 1 can't read" She ate by
herself, and. according TO the cooks
statement, devOured. "as much as
man every Bit"
1t was not pleasant voyage, and to
the superstitious there came to be a
general presentiment of evil; they
Were convinced there was ill-luck on
board, and various mysterious surmis-
ings were atloat concerning the girl,
who was deemed the cause. of it. The
old sailor, who was considered quite a
prophet among his fellows, shook his
heal and assured them, "rhere be
strange things goin' to happen, and it
he more'n likely that somc on board
will never see the shore again.
Contrary to all expectations they
rounded the HOn i'm safety, and their
hopes began to rise, when they en-
countered a furious storm which lasted
three days, and left them in father q
disabled condition. The courage of
the men was cnly kept up 10y an in
creased supply of liquor, and open in
subOrdination was more than once put
down without the knowledge of it
coming to the Captain, who spent
more than half his time i'm his room in
beastly state of intoxication.
There had been a dead calm for
twenty-fOur hours, and all the dark
fOrebodings had been revived. The
Captain kept sober and wa'chful, and
it was midnight before a single hand
thought of turning in, and every pre-
parat'on had been made for the gale
which seemed inevitable. Just as the
watch tod out the hour, there broke
on the midnight calm u strange, un-
woDted sound-the wall of an iniant's
voice. The stOu;cst man of them shook
as with an ague fit, and it was almost
} relief that the storm fiend burt upon
them Immediately. For five days they
stood by the brave old ship, which was
the only home most of them knew,
and then, 10y the Captains orders, they
made ready to desert her. The storm
was over, but the vessel was fast filling
with water. The provisions were di
vided between the boats, the ctficers,
passengers and all but two of the crew
were or boar', when the old sailor
called out, "Where's the gal and her
child?"
"Push off, sang out the Captain,
and the boat which held him obey ed,
but the other waited to take the old
man from the doomed wreck. He
went from their sight for moment,
and then came forward with some
thing in his arms wrapped in an old
sail. His movements had been closely
watched by the Captains boat, and
there came hoaTse demand of him,
where's the gal?"
ITO where the whole of YOU will be
in a few days more" was the dishcart-
sning reply.
On the second day the boats lost
sight of each other, and what become
of the Captain or the men with him
lGemains untold to this day, for not one
OF them We're ever heard from again.
But the "JOyp kept OD, and in foi ty-
three days from tile time they took TO
the longboat they tloated ashore at
Hawaii.
AT first the men had kept aloft from
the baby rs though il was some evil,
uncanny Thing, but they soon came to
consider il a good omen that it bad
been given into their care, and through
out AL those weary days and nights
there was always offered arms to credle
the little fellow; and although kept
upon starvation fare, they never be-
grudged the drop of liquor given in the
sugar and water, or the crumbs which
were soaked i'm il, for the baby. One
day, when the hours had dragged slow
ly along, and there was no Joke or
story to keep up their spirits, Jack, the
self-constituted nurse, proposed they
should christsn the baby. Each was
TO dip finger into the sea aud place il
upon the child's head with an un-
spoken wish.
Some told their thoughts afterward,
and a qu, er medley they were, conflict
ing strangely enough, though all had
meant to dt sire good upon the uncon-
cious babe. Old Jack was the last,
and he placed his big, brown hand
upon the little bald head, with the
words, 1--WE will call you Joy Adrian,
| and may the Lord bring down a curse
upon the head Of him who has wrong
ed you."
The child throve wonderfully, and
through all the hardships of their stay
upon the Island, and the remainder of
the trip i'm suspicious-looking craft,
which took them 10 San Francisc,, it
never knew a sick day or sleepiess
night.
And so Joy Adrian made his debut
| i'm California with dozen or more
men, feeling they had a sort of owner