The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1881-12-08
STORIES OF T'HHE SEA.
Strange Baf61eaaCapGs g6rachmsa
AHerOisRnRaaR'TO Hundred
Pirates SHafms


: A remarkable story of sea life is told by
a Newfoundland correspondent of the Tor
L onto Globe. The writer was standing with
/ some friends on cliff between PIacentia
t and st. Mary's bays. There was no
breeze and the sea was quiet. Within a
few minutes the surface Of the water be-
came alive with myriads of cod and lesser
. fish and while the members of the party
were endeavoring to find an explanation of
the odd occurrence whale came up near
the cliff. The huge fellows jaws were
agape and spouting a column of spray like
a geYser. Something was the matter with
him. He evidently was trying to get
away and his struggles had frightened the
smaller creatures round about. AS the
whale drew near the shore the men saw
the fins and formidable weapon of large
sWord-fish, and a moment later a thrasher.
or fox-shark, fastened himself upon the
monsters back. The sword-fsh was pierre
ing the whale below, driving him to the
surface; and the thrasher was giving it to
him from above, seeking to drive him be-
low. When the thrasher struck his huge
antagonist the sound was a dull thud
and when, missing his aim, he hit the
water the sharp crack was heard for half
mile. The waves were beaten into foam.
the whale trying to ply his tail upon his
enemies, but before he could get his un-
gainly body into position they were out of
harms way and making new attack upon
an unexpected quarter. The contest con-
| tinued SO long. that at the point of battle
the sea was colored with blood, but the
whale escaped finally and the last seen of
him he was blowing in triumph five miles
off the coast. Many fishing crews rowed
to the scene Of the action and were
excited witnesses of what they declared to
be the most unique spectacle of their ad-
venturous lives.
When the Cyprlan was wrecked OH the
coast Of Wales a few weeks ago, the two
hundred people who stood horror-stricken
along the shore, saw All act OF faeroism
rarely witnessed under any circumstances.
The captain, John A. Strachn, Of Liver
pool, has told those on board that everyone
must look TO himself. Most of the crew
had dropped overheard, and Capt. strachn
also prepared TO leap into the pillows. He
tied life-peit about his waist and mounted
thesraile that moment he noticed the
pale face u boy peering from below deck.
The Lad was stoWaway. A few hours
ago he was sneak, an unworthy thing, a
miserable pflfererof privileges; but now
the skipper only remembered he was q
human being to be saved if possible, and
not to be left behind. Without a word
Captain Strachn unbuckled the life-belI
from his waist and lashed it ship-shape
upon the little stowaway, bidding him
save himself. II can swim" said the can~
tain, sstake the belt" Over the side went
the stoWaway, lifted upon the surf like
cork; over the side went the captain, trust
ing, like good, brave fellow that he was,
to his strength, enfeebled with long watch
ing and anxiety. The boatsWain, struggl-
ing for his own life, caught at the captain,
who was still making headway, and both
went doWh, never TO be seen again; while
the little stoWaWay, with the good cap
tain's life-belJ about his waist, was flung
upon the Welsh coast, battered about, but
alive to tell the story Of his strange fate
and his kind friends heroism.
A daring featin navigation was perform
ed recently by Capt. JAS. Hart, 8 Yankee
skipper, now in the employ Of the Chilian
government. More than year ago the
iron screw steamer Rimac was wrecked by
the PeruVians. The burned and sunken
hulk was left in the harbor at Callao. Last
month Captain Hart raised. the hulk, re-
paired the engines and steamed gouthWard
to Valparaiso, a distance of 1868 miles.
Every particle Of woodwork had been
burned from the Rimac and her ribs shone
like that of megatherium skeleton. The
deck beams We're cracked and twisted as if
they had been thin iron wires. Very
heavy weather was encountered, and as
the vessel would dip into the seas, or they
would strike her abeam, the water would
rush into the hold, threatening to swamp
her at any moment. All hands, from cap
tain to cook, We're wet through the entire
trip. Several Of the damaged deck beams
broke through the straining of the sides
and one day the remains of the bridge
tumbled into the hold, carrying with it the
binnaele and the wheel which had been
temporarily fixed up.
A fierce encounter between the crew of
a Chinese gun-boat and a gang of freeboot-
ers, unacr the famous pirate Of the Pacific,
KIWangg gg-kingm took place near Ningpo
on September IS. The action was wholly
with small boats. The pirates sought
refuge in shallow water, and the gun-boat
captain was obliged to send out his iunks
The men Of the latter were armed with re-
peating rifles and the marauders with
muskets. The fighting was terrific. More
than two hundreds of the pirates were
slain, nine were captured alive and seventy
including the chief escaped. KWang-kinG-
mans stronghold at -tsew-shan Is
said to be impregnable. It is approached
only by narrow pass in the mountain.
and is defended with artillery. The Chi
nese government has standing offer of
Sc, 600 for his heaJ.
a lake in the rear Of Manzanillo, MexI-
60, burst its confines last mouth and pour-
sA~w r&-xv.- AEz gEy1