Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-04-25
AUSTIN MOWER MINNESOTA,

have been slowed away7'' at last he
said. ssThe ship must be searched.
and if don't find the fellow he must
be good hand at hide.and-seek. Or
dor up all hands,
Every nook and corner of the vessel,
from stem to stem, was thoroughly
search, and that with all the esgerness
Of excited curiosity-for the report had
gone out that stranger had shown him.
self on board !; but not living soul
beyond the crew and the officers was
found.
Returning to the cabin, after their
fruitlcss search, !" Mr.. Bruce" said
the captain, what do you make of all
this p
"Can't tell, sir. Isaw the man write.
You see the writing. There must he
something in it,
Well, it would seem to. We have
the wind free, and have great mind
to keep her away and see what will
come Of it." ~;
"s,,rely would, sir, if were in your
place. It's only few hours lost at the
worst" =
"Well, we'll see. Go on deck and
give the course nor'west. And, Mr..
Bruce, he added, as the mate rose to
go, shave lookout aloft, aud let it
be hand you can depend on"
=. = His orders were obeyed. About 3
o'clock he look out reported an ice
berg nearly ahead, and, shortly after,
what he thought was q vessel Of some
kind close to It.
As they approached, the captains
glass disclosed the fact that it was q
dismantled ship, apparently frozen to
the ice, and with good many human
beings on board. Shortly after they
hove to, and sent out the boats to the
relief of the sufferers.
It proved to be vessel from Quebec.
bound to Liverpool, with passengers on
board: She had got entangled in the
ice, and finally frozen fast, and had
passed several weeks in q most critical
condition. She was stove, her decks
swept-in fact q mere wreck; all her
provisions, and almost all her water
was gone. Her crew and passengers
had lost all hopes of being saved, and
their gratitude for the UNEXPECTED
rescue was proportionally great.
As ono of the men who had been
brought away in the third boat that
had reached the wreck was ascendino
the ships side, the mate catching a
glimpse at his face, started back in
CONSERVATION. It was the very face he
had seen three or four hours before,
looking up at him from the captain
desk.
At first he tried to persuade himself
it might be fancy; but the more he ex-
amined the man the more sure he be
came that he was right. Not only the
face but the person and the dress ex-
actly oorresponded.
As soon as the exhausted crew and
famished passengers were cared for
and the barque on her course again,
the mate called the captain aside, ut
seems that was not ghost I saw go by
sir; the mans alive"
"What do you mean2 Who's alive 2"
"Why, sir, one of the passengers we
have just saved is the man saw writ
ing on your slate at noon. I would
swear to it in court of JUSTICE"
"Upon my word, Mr.. Bruce" replied
the captain, " this gets more and more
singular: Let us 60 and see this man" !"
They found HIM in conversation With
the captain of the rescued ship. They
both came forward and expressed, in
the warmest terms, their gratitude for
dellverance from horrible fate-slow
coming death by eposure and starva-
ton.
The captain replied that he had but
done what he was certain they would
have done for him under the same cir
cumstances, and asked them both to
step down into the cabin. Then turn
ing to the passenger he said, II hope,
sir, I would he much obliged to you if
you would write a few words on this
slate" And he handed him the slate,
with that side upon which the myster-
lous writing was not. 81 will do any
thing you ask, - replied the passenger;
but what shall I write Z"
"A few words are all I want. Sup
pose you write, steer to the nor'west."
The passenger, evidently puzzled to
make out the motive for such request,
complied, however, with smile. The
captain took up the slate and examined
it closely; then stepping aside SO as to
he turned It over @ and % gave we i toeiS1a to Si%
.:You say that is your handwritin 2"
said he.
"I nee,l not say so," reioined the
other, looking att, for you saw me
wrlte it," =
"And this ?" said the captain, turn
ing the slate over. =.
The man looked first at one writing.
and then at the other. quite confound-
ed. At last "What is the meaning
of thisa" said he. 20 only wrote one
of these. Who wrote the other ~.
"That's more than can tell you, sir.
My mate here says you wrote il, sitting
at this desk at noon to-day"
The captain of the wreck aud the
passengers looked at each other. OK.
changing glanoes of: intelligence and
surprise; aud the former asked the lat
ter. "Did you dream that you wrote
on this slate :: d:
|. No., sir, not that remember"
You speak Of dreaming" said the
captain Of the bark "what was this
gentleman about at noon to-day I"
Chaplain, rejoined the other, "the
whole thing is most mysterious and ex-
traoriinary and. I had intended to
speak to you about it. as soon as we
got a little quiet. This gentleman -
pointing to the passenger,) "being
much exhausted, fell into heavy sleep,
or what seemed such, some time before
noon after an hour or more he awoke
and said to me-. Captain, We shall be
relieved this very: day When I. asked
him what reason he had for saying so,
he replied that he had dreamed that he
was on board q barque, and that she
was coming to our rescue. He describ-
ed her appearance and rig j; and, to our
utter astonishment, when your vessel
hove in sight, she corresponded exact
ly with his description of her. We had
not put much faith in what he said, yet
still We hoped there might be some
thing in il, for drowning men, you
! know ui11 cotcl. ok a akro- Au Il ho,