The daily gazette., 1877-05-26
THE BRAZEN HORSE;
OR, THE KAN AKA's REVENGE.

OR, THE KAN AKA'S REVENGE. p,
Far up, on the foretop- gallant yard of
the ship Brdzen Horse, sat Hook Nooi,
the Kanaka sailor, bareheaded, unshel-
tered from the scorching rays of the sun
that shone down on the vessel, as she
lay becalmed on the route from the
Sandwich Islands to San Francisco. ID
The suferings of the poor fellow were
extreme, for there was hardly breath
of air stirring. r.i s.I p.
So still was the hot, CLASSY surface of
the sea, that even the shadow of the ships
figure-head-a small, beautiful horse of
solid brass, balanced on its hind hoofs,
its forelegs uplifted as if fora gallup-
could scarcely be seen to. move in the
water. -.
Two hours previously the captains son
Henry, youth of twenty, had sharply
demonstrated with the islander for blum
der in his steering. HI aa t.H
The Kanaka, angry at being scolded
by mere 'strippling," had made an i'll
natured retort, which was heard by the
skipper, who, then ordered the often
der aloft, TO remain there until called
down,
As he left the wheel, Hook Nooi had
given Henry sidelong glance, which
the captain had construed into look of
You must be careful, Henry" he said
to his son. "These Kanakas are revenge
ful, and he may sometimes try to deal
you blow in the dark" lG -, .ul
81 do not fear him" was the youths
answer. 'Ifit was not that 1 am afraid
he would think | did, would ask you
to forgive the poor fellow, and not send
him aloft." ,5-.... IL
An odd-looking creature was Hook
Nooi, with his enormous head so strange
ly disproportioned to his'slifn, wiry form.
He had fiat nose, a large mouth; white,
hooked teeth; great staring, black eyes,
and long hair as coarse as the name Of a
horse. '.,n,5 ,sn ,..'..t t''s.- '''' 'l.'.l
Now, as he stood dropping beneath the
burning sun, Henry's pretty young wife.
Mary, came on dock, and being told what
had happened she begged her father-in-
law to call the sufferer down.
+ This he refused to do. ,t-.'.I
As he spoke, a small cloud passed over
the vessel, and Q strange ,humming noise
was heard. .d1u9 stHro n ,ls7
\ The skipper started as if shot, and
instantly gave orders for taking in the
lsail., -@"' H4 -7i4l 1905 'aiq
Il But so brief had been the' warning of
the approaching squafl That ,it poiinced,
shrieking and bowling upon the craft ere
more than half of the canvass could be
taken in, The other half was torn from
the yards and whirled slantingly up
ward, going round and round, leaving
only few rags streaming from the jack
stays. .'.5..
Down on her beam ends, half buried
in the foamihg waters aud sheets Of
driving spray, as she sped along, roaring
and cranking like a thunierbolt, 1t seem
ed for some minutes as if the ship would
be literally "'gutted" by ihe overwhelm-
ing seas. .......
Suddenly there was a sharp cry from
Henry's wife, who pointed to Hook
lNooi. :" ''--' '.,.''.........'.
"Quicki Call him down, or he will be
killed!' she exclaimed, .,.,'.'..'.-.-'
Through the whirling mist ofthe storm
the Kanaka was seen clinging for life to
the slender top-gallant mast, which the
Itop-gallant stays having given way, was
jerking and swaying wildly almost ready
to part and dash him with it to the deck
SO far below.
The coarse, black hair of the poor Ka-
naka streamed on the wind, his teeth
! were set, and his great eyes were turned
beseechingly toward the Skipper.
"Not yet" said the latter coldly. "The
fright will do him good. The mast will
hold some minutes longer"
| But in this he was mistaken. The
pleadings of the young wife, Joined to
Henry's, prevailing, few seconds later
the islander was called down, and scarce
ly had he quilted the dangerous spal
when away it went.
Ii fell with crash afoul of the brazen
image of the horse at the bow, striking il
with such force that the figure-head os
cillating, seemed about to be carried
away.
AS the Kanaka sprang to the deck he
directed swift, quick glance at the cap
tain and his son aft.
"The rascally serpent" muttered thu
skipper to his son. "Did you see tina
look? He means mischief, and think i
would be good plan to iron him and
put him in the hold, otherwise we viii
be murdered In our berths. BE is almos
crazy with rage and hatred against as fol
keeping him aloft, and especially for i'm
periling his. life by making him stay 81
| long on that dangerous mast in this squall
As to his services, we'would not mis-
them at all, as the dumbhead is good TO
nothing"
Except at winning and diving, "sai'
Henry; ''but that, of course, is.no use Il
u.s."
The humping of the fallen mast agains
the bow was now heard. tlli
The storm, having by this time abatet
sufficiently to leave the forward deck
nearly free from water, the captain or
dered the wreck to be cleared from The
figurehead, to which it still hung.
"I will clear itp' cried Henry, as h'
darted towards the knightheads. l =.
Y He got over the brazen image, knife In
hand. #....,i .,..,.,.a..l..... :.
AT the same time the Kanaka crept to
wards the bow, his eyes seeming to glare
| The captain picked up a handspike
l ! "The rascal means mischief!" he ex
1 claimed. ,Ifhe laysDa hand on my bO