Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-10-10
THAT YANKEE WH1LER

One OF the most striking hCndlnnds on the
South African coast is the Bluff of Natal Its
majestic position standing boldly out from
the mainland, and rising straight up from the
deep blue ocean to height of several hun.
dred feet; the brilliant hues of the thousand
and one varieties of tropical folinge which
cover its steep sides from top to bottom: the
clear sky above, and the bright plumage of
the birds flashing in the sun-all contribute
to make the spot picturesque i'll the extreme.
In the maze of the gigantic underwood on
the Bluff, at the time of which am writing
leopards, tiger-cats, monkeys, serpents and
other beasts and reptiles, roamed at will !;
the precipitous sides and wild ENHANCEMENT
insuring protection from the attacks of the
hunter. Within the last few years n road has
been made up the Bluff, and lighthouse
now crowns the summit The inner or north
ern side of the Bluff forms one side of the
Bay of Natal, while low sand hills inclose it
on the north. The northern coast is irregu-
lar, and a sandhill projecting far into the bay
almost cuts it into two parts so forming a
double harbor. From this point the harbor-
bar stretches across and the water being
there very shallow, vessels of large size are
prevented from passing into the inner har-
bor. Fortunately, however the Bluff pro-
tects them on the south and except when
north or east winds are blowing a tolerably
good anchorage is Obtainable. On account
of the impossibility of emigrant ships sailing
over the bar, the early emgrants were trans
ported from the ships to the beach in the in
ner harbor in large surf boats, and frequently
had to be carried through the surf to the
shore 10y Kaffrs. On the sandhill that di-
vdes the bay there stands lookout and the
Port-captain or Harbor- masters house and
about two miles up the south shore is situated
the town of Durham, the only road to which,
at the date of this story, was through the
bush path
Early in the afternoon of one of the hot
test days of the summer of lSj--, the ther-
mometer registering something like one hun
dred and ten degrees in the shade, the bay rs
calm as glass, and the beach quite deserted,
the men in the lookout were surprised to zee
long rakish schooner sail round the Bluff
and drop anchor in the outer bay. No soon
er had she brought-to than whale boat was
lowered and put off from her side The
Harbor-master hurried down, followed by
half-a-dozen men, to the beach and before
the boat had reached the shore, a small crowd
of white men and Kaffirs had gathered round.
As the boat ran on to the shingle, tall sal
low man, whose bOny frame. sharp eyes and
features proclaimed him an American before
he spoke, jumped ashore and asked in
sharp nasal tone who's Boss (chief per
sonage) here 7"
II am the Port-captain," said that func-
tionary, stepping forward. 'Do you want
me?"
oval, yes, do-some, I'm Cap'n of the
Southern Cross schooner-thar she is Shes
sprung bad leak, and want to beach her
here and examine her timbers My lads is
almost done up with pumpin'." She's film
most awful quick and l want some men to
come off and take hand at the pumps. My
crew can't keep on much longer guess.
where are you FROM and where bound,
Captain ?" asked the Harbor- master.
1--WE bin cruisin' after whales, and ther's
pile of lie aboard. But sir, if we stop palav-
ering here l shant get my ship beached.
What men can you git me, now, quick
There's plenty Of Kaffirs about, said the
before you can take any of 'em off TO your
ship"
"Permisson" echoed the stranger. oval,
l never Who's got charge of this lot Who
do they belong tO?"
"They don't belong to anybody. This is n
British colony, Captain. But you must get
leave to take 'em aboard, or else you can't
have EN-" replied the Harbor- master in an
emphatic manner.
Who'll give me permisson-you? ?" asked
the Captain.
mo, can't; you must go and get mag
istrate's order"
the way. Look sharp. Boss, cos I'm in a
mortal hurry, you know"
The Harbor-master turned away, saying :
"Up in Durham, and"--
How fur's that ?" broke in the Yankee.
"A good two miles through the bush path.
You'll have to get horse"
"Whar'l git one 7" asked the Captain.
At this moment, Mr. MKay, the govern
ment land agent who, full of officious curios-
ity had come down from the custom house,
pushed through the crowd and said I'm
lend you horse, Captain. Just come this
way"
tain, turning and following the agent. IN
accept your offer, and feel hOnored."
In n few minutes the horse was produced,
and a nigger engaged to run ahead and show
the way. As the Captain mounted the horse,
he turned to the HarbOr-master and said I:
You'll be able to find boats enough TO take
fifty niggers off at once eh p
80 yes We can do that"
oval now" said the stranger as a parting
observation, "aint it plaguy shame that
man can't save his ship without all this palav-
er? Here's the Southern CrOss-as smart a
schooner as ever sailed under Stars and
Strlpes-a-makln water ike ulhu, anu We
to go through all this here performance be-
fore ken git few darned niggers to pump"
And away he rode towards Durham.
The magistrate not only gave the Ameri-
can captain the necessary order, but opened
a bottle of wine and, drinking to his success,
promised any further assistance that might
be in his power and in two hours after leav-
ing the harbor the stranger was halfway back
again,
During his absence, all had been hustle at
the harbor. More Kafirs had come down in
the hope of being hired, and great was the
amount of speculation as to the termslikely to
be offered These Natal Kaffirs are runaway
Zulus, who, having once deserted, are barred
from returning to Zululand under penalty of
death. They are both brave and intelligent,
and are a much finer set of men than the
negroes of the west coast. From the look
out, the crew of the schooner could be seen
pumping necessarily, continuous stream
pouring from her side; and MIR. MKay,
whose proffer of the horse was instigated
more by the hope of profit than by dsinter-
ested Kindness for he was the owner OF the
surf f-boats, wAs waiting for the strangers re-