The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-06-19


off thst doesn't mean fish" said
Joaquin in rather sulky manner, "may
l never catch smother ssrdine as long az
live"
fright, my lad, "-repiied the patron
cheerilv; "there are sardines there by
millions, and as they are to leeward we
can strike them where We choose. Now
then, my lads, have everything in resdi-
ness, and stand by to down sail when l
give the word
In about quarter of an hour we were
right on to, and apparently near the
center of the shoal, which must have
been q mile in length. Every rising
wave was literally alive with fish,, and
as we struck in they leaped from the
water in every direction round the
galley. IaiEi . esd Es3giEsA
Clown SAIL" shouted the patron, and
with good way still on the boat the net
was cast. Then came the hauling in,
and by the dead weight there could be
no doubt as to the take; indeed, as the
net neared, the whole or the surface ccn-
fined became solid with sardines. Half
dozen men with scoops leaped on t.
thwart and gunwsle, and commenced
lading the fish in, while those hauling
had 10 keep easing to give them time to
work at-the dense mass; and when st
last the remnants were shaken out of the
strands OF the net, the patron said, turn
ing to me: -' t
There, senior, you have brought us
luck. l never saw finer take, and if
there were millions more, we haven't
room for another hundred" f
And so it seemed, for we were pretty
deep, and as for the flooring, the boards
were Just cast loosely over the fish.
Then, in the exubersnce of his spirits,
Clement Orue served out q glass of
aguardiente and cigar all round. As
he passed me the cup, he indicated with
the hand holding the bottle the land.
"And now for Lequeitio with as many
sardines on board Jas Pedro Artegui snd
Jose Echevsrris have between them.
There, abreast Of US, lies Elsnchove,
and" turning slightly, "there is Cape
Mschiehaco, where"--
His eyes and jaws became fixed, the
fingers opened, and the bottle fell into
the water Following the direction of
his gaze, l saw steamer rounding the
headlsnd, and apparently pointing
di ectly for US. r
Holy Maryl yonder is the govern
ment cruiser Ferrolsno-up sail, lads,
and pray for the breeze to freshen, or
we're likely to see Cuba or the Philip
pines on board man-of-wsr."
We had good ten miles to run, with
the wind, which wRs increasing, on our
beam, The steamer, TO cut us of, would
have to DO the whole in fourteen though
when we sighted her she wss not more
than seven distant. We both would be
going on diagonal lines, and ours was the
shorter. 1t may readily be imagined
that the chicos needed no recommends
ton to bestir themselves. The sails
were hoistsd in 3 iiffy, the galley trim
med to bear the strain, the course laid,
and as the boat felt the "draw" she
seemed to leap forward. Pedro Artegui
and Jose Echevarria were already under
the land, so they, st any rate, were safe.
For some minutes no one spoke, the
whole attention being concentrated to
the Ferrolano and it soon became evil
dent, from the increasing volume OF
smoke, that she had caught sight of
US and--was=f firing up. We
were we'll bsllssted with the fish and
stood the spread of canvas admirably,
though tn list to port, now and again,
brought the gunwale level with the
seething water. The wind freshened
considerably, and under other circum>
stances it might have been a question
of taking in a reef, but we held on. |
banking sardines and men well over to |
staIboard. / should think we must |
have been going eight or nine knots, but
for all that the Ferrolano rose percep.
tibly every few minutes, and when we
were within five miles of the entrance
to Lequeitio l could distinctly see the |
group Of officers on her bridge. 1t four
miles she was not more than fifteen |
hundred yards of, and she soon let us
know it; for following a white puff |
from her bows came shrieking howl |
across our stern, which made ali hands |
duck like lot of sslsaming mandarins. |
The Ferrolano gunner was trying his
hand, and it was pretty certain that |
each succeeding shot would come closer,
and so it proved, for the next struck the |
water on our starbosrd quarter, COM !
pletely drenching the patron and my |
self. ..-. -...... g. .,...... t..-....r .....- !
What do you think about 1t, senior;
we have no chance; have we ?" asked |
Clement Orue OF me in low voice.
With tolerably decent attempt at a
smile, considering the awkward position
in which we found ourselves, suggested |
that while there was life there was hope,
that did not think we should be hit, !
snd that every momont we drew nearer
home. / had scarcely given expression
to these comforting observations, when q
fat contradiction came to the supposi-
ton that we were not likely to be
touched. Vrrrowww - vriish - boom
sEd q shell struck our r1sinmsst about
three feet from the peak, bursting and
sending the particles humming to port.
The spar was shattered completely, and
the canvas came down with a crash;
psrtislly falling on to the gunwale, and
into the water, and as the men
slid over to port at the same time,
thought we would cspsizs. Tee lore
sheet had also been cut, ana the sail
was banging and Topping terribly. I
"Holy Mary it IS all over with U.S."
gasped the patron; "we'd better huff up
and give in +; another shot will cut us in
two" g 70 .-t
l hardly know now to explain, but
somehow or other l found myself in
g.. al.
Z l presume it was that had Kept my
head having, during campaigning expe-
riences of fifteen years, been consider !
ably under fire both at sea and on lsnd
besides, / felt convinced that the chances
were not altogether hopeless.
"Now, chicos," l shouted, "down