Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-01-14

when the wind chops round to the
east ard, what does he do but sets
course for the Straits Of Magellan. He
. was bold fellow, that old man, for
there wasn't many as had worked
through them Straits then, though I've
heerd as one O Her Majesty's frigates
worked through under olose-reefed
topsails since. Anyhow, it wasn't no
joke [ tell you, cropping our
way J. without chart, some
times with land within half a
! mile O. each side O. us, with man in
the chains-now and then singing out
"a half less five No, sir, it was close
work; but we had luck and we man
aged it. And sure enough If the old
man hadn't come through that way
we'd had our v'yage all for nothing, for
we weren't we'll clear O. the Straits
when we joins compan. with the very
craft we was in search of. The skipper
he was IN quandary, for you see the
half O. our guns was unshipped and
down in the bold, for we'd SO much to
we hadn't had no time to get them up
again. Then there was only seventeen
on us, Americans, English, Irish,
Scotch, as could be depended on; the
rest were all Paraguayans, yellow men,
we didn't know and couldn't trust, you
see; but, by gum, sir, once they was
in they fought we'll and no mistake"
Z Here [ interrupted Sans narrative
to inquire how many Paraguayans they
| had seen.
"There was 100 on EN-" he re
sumed, shut till we knowed them we
couldn't trust them, you see, eos they
was yellow men. No matter; the old
man, he says, we'll nave a shy at them,
so we ranges close up alongside and
commences firing with the guns we
had. But that game didn't last long,
tell you for she gave us two shots
for our one, and it was rather hot for
us; SO we stood off again out of range.
Once we was clear Of her fire we tried
the range of our long gun, as stood
between the bits on the fo'c's'l head,
and by gully, sir, it dropped it's mes
sengers clear aboard OF her, while she
hadn't gun that could throw
a shot our length. Then we
knowed what our game was. We could
sail three feet to her two, SO do as she
would (and they were true sailormen
as ever handled that ship they could
not bring us within range, while we
peppered them as we pleased. For
forty minutes, sir, we wrought that
gun until it was so hot it needed no
printing, and if we didn't make
wreck O that there galleon by that
! / all Ill
cruising. Then, In course, she struck;
for what else, [ axes you, sir, could
she do, with her fore and mainyards
shot away at the sings, her mizzen-
mast gone by the board, and her head
rigging run down in heap over the
jibboom, and hanging into the sea-"
Sam did not seem to notice that he
had asked question, for without the
slightest pause Tor al answer, he pro-
ceeded:
"Then it was out-sculls with us, and
away on board the galleon as fast as
oars could drive us. When we reached
her deck there warn't many left alive,
and pounding with the big gun had
made mince meat O. most O her crew
as how else could it be? No, there was
few of them who could tell the number
O. their mess" repeated Sam, slowly
and thoughtfully.
didn't ask him what became of that
remaining few [ didn't ask him what
treatment they received at the hands of
himself and his messmates. Seeing
that old, gray, weather-beaten face OPP
posite me, [ did not care to hear worse
of it than it chose to tell and as he
gave a shake of his head, and seemed
to have done with that part of the
story, tried to put it behind me, too,
and listened as he went on
cit was big treasure, sir. The yell
low men never see SO much gold all
their lives before, and they nearly went
N ad but the seventeen Of Us kept
them in their place till the lot was
fairly divided. Seventeen hundred
dollars in gold was my share, and it
was only forty minutes from the time
we fred the fist shot till we boarded
her. Wasn't that good wages by the
hour? Well, Sir, it was bout ship
now and back to Buenos Ayres, and
when we reached that there port, I
thinks to myself, why I'll slip cable
and make bolt of it"
At this point ventured to interrupt
Sam, and ask why he wished to leave
the ship when he was making so much
money. 81 = s-.a
"Why, you see, didn't just want to
run my head into moose for the sake
of the dollars" he resumed, "and on
the wage back to Buenos Ayres we
did something that was precious near
piracy"
He did not say what it was they did,
but wondered what horrid crime HUI
man nature was capable of when it
turned the stomach of man, who,
without the slightest qualm of con-
science had taken part in the terrible
carnage attending the plundering of
the galleon.
$50, as I said, I determined to give
them the slip, and one night cut and
rum" he resumed. ''But the skipper
he sent gang ashore and hunted me
up, and clapped me in Jail for desert
ing my ship. 1t wasn't by any means