Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-05-10
A PIGAY CHksEsAWET,
LIVELY IndIdsal Ia Neh York b



ferry house, jersey City, Six excited
gentlemen jumped out and asked for
the vessel. Gone" laconically an.
swered the gold laced official in charge. |
"Great Scott but ( must catch her;
my friends are aboard" cried the
most excited of the party.
81 sAre you good on the swim?' de-
risively asked Gold Lace.
To his question what then must
he do? the official suggested that the
passenger hire tug, and one that was
passing by was hailed. the necessary
arrangements we're made, and the en-.
tire party got aboard.
sCan you do it?" was eagerly asked |
of her captain when the situation had
been explained. "Don't know; p'raps |
so" was the non-compittal response.
II was twenty minutes since the
steamer left her wharf. Allowing
her a speed of fifteen miles an hour
she would have been five miles away.
But then considerable time was lost in
getting stralghtened out after she
left the wharf. + And then, again,
somebody makes the comforting sug-
gestlon that until Sandy Hook is
reached steamships do not make full
speed. Down about Governors Island
mile and half away, is small for
est of masts and unique collection of
many colored tunnels. The "game,
however. is quickly spotted. She is
just to the north of the island, and as
she turns to round it her four masts
are clearly outlined. The Monarch is
not going at full speed. In fact, she
seems to be crawling along, while un-
der the bow of the tug the water boils
and bubbles and sweeps back astern in
a seething foam. She is undoubtedly
fast one, and there is little doubt
that she will overhaul the steamer be-
fore the Narrows are reached. This
optimistic view of affairs is suggested
to the captain. He simply says:
"P'raps so."
Past Governors Island the tug
sweeps. Not more than three-quar-
ters of a mile now separates the tug
and steamer. But to all appearances
the distance might just as we'll be ten
times as great, for the steamer is just
about to slip through the Narrows.
A long, hoarse blast, followed by
another and another, awakes the
echoes on the Bay Ridge shore. The
little party gathered on the bow of
the tug awaits with breathless sus-
pense an answering signal. A min
ute passes, and then a puff of white
steam is seen from the steamers whis-
tie, followed by dull, muffled sound.
But there is no Stacking of the steam
ers pace, and q moment later the sig
nal is seen to have been intended for
passing vessel.
Past the ruined battlements of Fort
Lafayette and the frowning guns of
Fort Hamilton into the broad expanse
of the lower bay the steamer sweeps.
'The jig is up" remarks one of the
party dropping in disheartened mo-
ment into slang. The prospective Eu-
ropean visitor has ceased writing postal
cards and concludes to inform his
friends in person of his adventure.
But the tug keeps on, and half an
hour later the steamship is stretching
away off toward the New Jersey shore,
while the tug, which had passed
through the narrows, is skirting Co.
ney Islands sands
"No, we're not agoin to try to head
her off IN the English Channel" a deck
hand explains. You'd think now by
the way she's headin' that she was
agoin' to fetch up somewhere in Jersey.
Well she amt. She's in what they
call the main channel; that's the only
way she can get out; the water amt
deep enough for her here on the Ro-
mer Shoals, where we are. When
she gets close to Sandy Hook she's
got to turn sharp to the left, round the
Sou west Spit and come right across
our bows in the Swash Channel, if we
| get there soon enough"
| The four master bears down at right
angles to the course of the tug.
''That means she's doin' her best"
explains the deck hand, as the hoarse
putting of the tug changes in tone and
comes with mufled sound. 1t is
certainly "touch and 60" Less than
a quarter of mile separates the tug
and steamer, but the latter has reached
her outward channel. She is about to
turn her head out to sea, and once
more the tug sounds three long, hoarse
blasts, while at the same moment her
flag is dipped. A minute of suspense
and then three white puffs go up from
the steamer. Her propeller ceases its
revolutions and curious eyes pass
over the rail as the tug ranges along
side. A rope ladder is lowered, the
plucky passenger chambers aboard, his
baggage goes up at the end of the
ropes, and, with footing whistles and
cheers from their passengers, the YES
sells separate.
"That's what I call mighty fine
piece of work." the captain was gra-
cious enough to say, as the tug started
homeward.
A Startling Discovery.
Physicians are often startled by re-
markable discoveries. The fact that DR..