The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1881-08-18
NUMBER 35

more we neard the grape rafting and tear
ing along the invisible deck, and the splin-
terlng and crashing Of yards and masts
aloft. # the fog was thick before, there
remains no word to express the capacity Of
1t now that the smoke Of the cannon hung
around us. Although, as have said. the
enemy lay within pistol shot, the very fame
spouts Of his last broadside had not glanced
the least reflection on the solid body Of
smoke and vapor; the men stationed at our
guns could scarcely see one another, and
when we fired our third broadside they had
nothing but the recollection of the spot in
dicated by the captain to go by.
Five times the Frenchman fired at us.
and the last time his grape sung close along
the port side Of the schooner, showing thew
were aware that their shot had taken no
effect, and that that they had shifted their
aim A little more and this broadside
would have raked us, for they fred with
depressed muzzles, and their vessel was
twice as high out of water as ours. AS it.
was, not a single shot touched us. We had
taken their bearings, though they had evil
IDENTITY not taken ours, and it was by omis-
sions of this kind, apparently so inconsid-
cradle, but in reality of the very first i'm
portance, that French navel officers lost
most of the vessels entrusted to them by a
country whose reverses on sea were only to
be equalled by its disasters on land.
We were in the act of giving them q
fourth broadside, when they hailed to say
they surrendered. Shelvocke immediately
ordered the plnnace to be lowered and
manne with twelve seamen, in charge of
Mr.. Tapping, with orders to take possess
ion. The boats crew were armed to the
teeth, Shelvocke being apprehensive of
treachery, and small compass being sent
down, and the vessels bearings given, the
pinnace showed off, and was immediately
swallowed up in the fog.
We waited anxiously for Tapping's hail to
announce his arrival, the men being still at
quarters and the guns doubled shotted.
ready to bestow their terrible dose should
the boats crew meet with any resistance.
But we had no fear that the third mate
would overshoot his mark, as he had, the
bearing of his prize; and it was certain, from
the result of our broadsides, that the vessel
had not drifted half her own length from
the spot in which we had sighted her.
We remained waiting for some time-I,
for one, expecting every moment to hear
pistol shots and the clash of cutlasses, as I
thought it extremely probable that the
Frenchman had called for quarters as an
excuse to get his boats out and tow away
from the place in which we had nailed MIN,
when, to our great relief, we heard q shout
from Tapping.
"Hallo!" answered Shelvocke.
Its all right. sir. She's splendid hip.
We've got the Frenchmen under matches,
and liberated the prisoners.
Whats the name of the vessel?"
The Hanover, bound from London to
Jamaica. She was captured this morning
ct three o'clock by French privateer, and
has prize crew Of fifteen men, who were
taking her to Havre. There are forty Of
her crew and the master aboard"
is she much damaged?"
Her foretop- mast is in halves, sir, and
the royal mast head rests on the forecast}e.
Her lower standing rigging is good deal
cut up, but can't see anything above her
tops. She has three men killed and ono
slightly wounded
Very vel, Mr.. Tapping. While this fog
holds, shall fire musket from time to
time, which you will please answer. Let
the liberated men turn to, and reft as well
as they can
AS soon as the sun reached the meridian.
the fog began to thin down in the west.
One could see it breaking up into masses
like the clouds around the brow Of q
mountain, glimpses Of the sky shining,
OAHU Suo inooiVa1s, anu the Sparkling OF
the open waters; while, astern of us, it
was as thick as cream, and the ship invisi-
BILE. We were all of us anxious for q sight
OF the recapture, and every eye was turned
aft as the vapor thinned down upon the
ship. revealing first her hull and next her
courses, until presently her main royal yard
oozed out, then the whole of her lay ex-
posed; and fine great ship she looked, as
her large black shape was thrown into
strong relief by the solid snow. white bodies
OF vapor which were slowly rolling and
settling away down in the east.
I have been in many an engagement, but
this was the first and the last, and only
time saw ship captured in fog Front
An Ocaa7s Free Lance"