The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1876-05-18

There Jethro; that is some Of the
tender mercy Of the French pirate--a
foretaste Of what we may expect If
taken.D
Yield, Seth! The longer thou de-
lay, the more hazard to the lives Of our
people be IS a man-Of-wari"
Go thou below, Jethrol command
herel Yield, indeed" he muttered, as
Jethro began to descend; II will sink
frstl"
Stand by there, men!" shouted
Seth, in a voice which made every sailor
start. 1t was evident that he had put
off the Quaker, and the men responded
heartily to it. "Get the long-boat ready
to be launched at a moments warning;
clear away the quarter-bOats, and see all
clear to lower them in an instant. Mate,
take in all the small sail ct once"
Mays voice and manner Were resolute
and peredptory, and the men executed
the orders promptly and were ready for
the next, though wondering what the
captain meant to do. The Frenchman
was also at fault, taking the maneuvering
Of Seth for an intention to give up his
ship, and hove the schooner to, and
waited the lowering of boat from the
Grampus. In rounding to, as Seth had
calculated, the Frenchmen had given the
advantage Of the wind to the ship, and
while his men stood agape at the man
agement OF the larger vessel which they
looked upon as a prize, Seth seized the
helm in his brswny hand. The men
scarcely needed the word, but antici-
pated his intention as he put the helm
hard up, and in compressed but concern
trated voice which was heard distinctly
from stem to stern, he said: "Let go
all the braces, and bowlines, slack OF
sheets and tacks, and square the yards
quickl"
1t was done in a twinkling, and Macy
shaped his course as though he would
bring his ship under the lee quarter of the
privateer. This feint completely deceived
the enemy, when Seth suddenly changed
her course and brought her head to bear
directly upon the hull Of the FrenChman.
Her crew discovered now, but too late,
the design of the Grampus, and dire
confusion ensued upon the crowded decks.
eff thou dost intend to run her
down." said JethrO to Seth, hurriedly,
projecting his head a moment from the
cabin gang-Way~-" if-nay hear me, Seth
for the sake of humanity-if thou art
determined to run her down, ease thy
helm little and give them aGhance for
their lives"
"stand by to lower the boats" thun-
dered Seth, stamping furiOusly upon the
deck. A grOan of horror escaped his own
crew, for not till this moment had they
really seen the design of their captain,
and the swarthiest check grew a shade
paler; but it was for theirliYes and they
knew it. The schooner lay in the trough
of the sea, her decks covered with cOnfu-
sion and the huge bulk of the Grampus
posing on the last high wave above her.
/" MsericOrde r. A wild yell of de-
spair, heard far above the dashing of the
ship and rushing of the waters, burst
from the doomed FEenchman-an instant
and down came the Grampus ioaming
and laundering upon the privateer. Her
plunging bow striking her just amidship,
cut the small vessel directly in two, and
her heavy armament, together with the
tremendous force of the severing blow,
sent her beneath the waves to rise no
more; and all her Inflated crew of one
hundred and fifty souls went under with
her; a few struggled moment in the
mighty vortex, but were carried down,
and the next wave efiaced every bubble
of the mass of human life 30 terribly and
instantly quenched.
Down with the boats from the quar-
ter-launch the long-boatl" The COM
mand, though it could not have been ut
tered on executed sooner with safety,
came too late. The aim Of Seth had been
too fatally sure. His own beat narrow
" escaped being sucked into the whirl-
pool made BY the sinking schooner, and
not one Ofthe FrenChman's crew rose or
again saw the face OF day.
Seth entered the cabin and, walking