Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-04-08

LEAN hEhALD.-dero W o are at Tue
other end of the world, thousands OF
miles from good old Lancaster, in q
place that as a school boy some years
ago, when reciting my daily lessons
In Geography, | little dreamed would
ever see. We arrived in Rio Janeiro
on the 10Th of December, anchoIing
in the evening. la the following
forenoon the vessel paid her respects
to the Brazilian Flag-Admiral of the
Fleet, to the French Admiral of the
tFrench Fleet and the English Admi-
raj, 10 the shape of salutes, firing
about seventy guns in ALL We lay in
Rio for ten days, having q good time
seeing the city and eating good food.
And you may depend upon it that
this latter is no small item after o
long passage at sea. Rio has beau.
tiful harbor, and the city itself is like
all other Spanish and Portuguese
Ports, slow, lazy, warm place 1t
was fearfully hot while there andfrom
news since received by steamer, we
left just 10 time,a yellow fever broke
out just after leaving and there were
about hundred deaths from it per
diem, in the shipping alone We were
only 100 glad to get away from that
hot city on 29,h Dec. (about midsum
mer there) making a run down to tho
mouth of the Magellan Straits, having
only one incident to disturb the mon
otohy Of the passage.
One afternoon when off the mouth
of the La Plata we got gale from off
the river, and we had about twenty
four hours of pretty rough weather.
On the following afternoon, as we
were sailing along before a good
breeze on the quarter, and every
thing quietly going on in the usual
routine, a sudden crash was heard
and all of us below were suddenly
startled by that fearful cry of imam
over board" Little can you imagine
the feeling that stirs one at that cry
for half moment all hands seem
wild, stirred by their bet er impulses,
asd anxious to do every thing at one
time but without the loss of a mo-
ment at the order, "Silence fore and
att Every man to his stationl" the Of
tcers get every man to his station,
and the ship hove to, and the life
boat lowers. In the mean while |
will tell the events of the three or
four minutes before the life boat was
in the water.
Four men were on the fore.top-sail
yard-arm at work. all at once without
warning, the runer for the top sail
halliards parted. aud the yard fell
with jerk to the cap-about fifteen
Co.. t-~--L.-e g,
yard; three Of these were knocked on
to the fore yard, catching themselves
and escaping without very serious
injuries, the other poor fellow was
thrown down about sixty feet strik-
ing the rail and crushing it through,
then falling overheard. Lieut.. Ack-
ley, who was drilling his division at
the time, on the quarter deck, seeing
the man fall over board jumped on to
the poop,s and giving directions to the
man at the lite-buoy to drop it at the
moment he was in the water, jumped
over board and encountered by all
his clothes swan to the body and
held it up, waiting for the life-buoy.
But it seems that the msn at the buoy
had not sense enough in his excite
ment to set it off, and by the time it
was dropped LIT. Ackley was two
hundred yards astern, and a heavy
sea running. So he being certain
that the man was dead from his fall,
had to let go the body and Try and
save himself, which he finally succeed.
ed in doing by reaching the life buoy.
The man sank instantly on his letting
go. The boat picked up Mr.. Ackley,
but nothing could be found of the
body of the unfortunate man and
after a fruit!ess search the life boat
returned and being hoisted we filed
away again, leaving the poor fellow
to his God. All of us presume could
not but feel how very quickly death
might overtake any of US, and were
thankful that we were safe. Such an
event makes quite an impression up
on the sailors at the time.
We came into the Straits of Magel-
Ian January 18th, anchoring about
nine o'clock in the evening in Dun
ganess Bay, about twenty miles of
Cape Virgin, and about a mile off
lee coast the most barren and forsak.
en- | ever saw. That night a south
west gale broke on us and we drag.
ged for about half mile, before
hurricane, and fearful sea, until we
finally brought up with both anchors
down, and 80 fathoms of chain on
each Twas fearful night and any
thing but cheering prospect before
US of going en- shore. After two days
the gale broke and we got up anchor
and stood up the straits under steam,
running that day until we came to
anchor in Gregory Bay. A party of
Us went on shore hunting and found
some game in shape of ducks and
snipe, but more desoIate country
l never saw. We were three days
working up to PuntaArenas, a CHILEAN
eoaling station about half way
through the Straits 1t consists of y
coal mine, and about fifty miserable
shanties and seven or eight hundred
convicts and miserable half breeds
IL is on the Patagonian side of the
Straits. We lay there over Sunday
and Monday taking in coal. The of
fieers went on shore whenever they
felt so disposed bat once was enough.
A tribe of Patagonian Indians came
in while we lay there, to sell skins OF;
gusnacos, foxes, seal and ostriches
probably the dirtiest, worst looking
objects of humanity that exist. The
natives are immense in stature but
horrid in their filth, the only redeem
ing feature being their handsome
teeth.
We left there last Tuesday morn