Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1883-05-10
THE BLACK BUOY.

10 swim. Why, | could swim like a
duck when / was girl. Dear me,
dear mei'
Grandmamma sat bolt upright in her
high backed chair, resting her elbows
on the arms and smiling across at
grandpapa-who sat on the other side
of the hearth-with a conscious look in
her bright old eyes. Grandpapa the
general, pausing in the act of raising
his tumbler to his lips, nodded and
smiled back at grandmamma They
were both white-haired, bright-eyed
and rosy-cheeked; both sat straight
and erect, IN tall, red-cushioned oak
chairs, and each saw the other through
an effacing medium that smoothed out
wrinkles. restored hyacinthine locks,
and blotted out the fifty years that lay
between them and youth.
Now, when we. the youthful des-
cendants of this stately pair, grouped
in lazy attitudes around the vast, roar
ing hearth, with its tall carved chimney
piece, saw the meaning looks that were
exchanged between our respected
progenitors, we scented q story. And
when a many-yoiced appeal for the
story broke from Us, grandmamma
hesitated for moment and shook her
head, then looked across to grand
papa, who nodded again, and after
little pressing she thus began:
You know, young people, that you
are of good family only on your grand
fathers side, and not on mine; for he
came of the old and honorable stock,
willie my father was only ships bos'n.
My father was killed in a great sea
fight when / was only a little child,
and was brought up by grandfather,
who was ostensibly boat builder and
fisherman, but in reality smuggler.
A successful smuggler, too. In those
days smuggling meant great risks and
enormous profits, for duties, especially
on foreign wines and spirits, were ex-
ceedingly high. II was not only a
profitable trade, but it was reputable
in a peculiar sort of way; for it re-
quired great courage and great skill. |
England was always at war in those
days, and the smugglers ran the risk
Of being snapped up by an enemy's |
cruiser as well as of falling into the |
clutches of a revenue cutter. In addi- |
ton, there were the inevitable chances |
and dangers of the sea. SO that
good smuggler had to be not only a |
man Of great daring bat of great knowl- |
edge OF navigation. He had to work |
into harbor on the darkest night tor
it was only on dark nights that he
could venture on ''a rum" with the
utmost secrecy and dispatch. To do
that he must know every inch of his
way, be able to distinguish landmarks
and buoys where an Impractical eye
would only see indstinct darkness,
and know to nicely the time the tide
turned, the twists of the sandbanks,
and the position Of the sunkea rocks.
My grandfather could neither read
nor write. and he had, as think for that
reason, a wonderful memory. He was
assisted in his work by-my two uncles,
both illterate men like himself and the
three seemed to find their way, through
long practice and acute observation, as
if by instinct. There was only one
channel leading to the landing place,
the mouth of the little river where we
lived being almost choked by sandbanks
which ran out to some distance. 1t was
necessary to hit this channel a consider
able way out at sea, and small black
buoy bobbed up and down to indicate
its commencement. One side of the
harbor was formed by line of rocks
iutting out to some length and shelving
down gradually into the water, and
the buoy was distant from the extremity
of these rocks about three-quarters of "a
mile This headland was called the
Point.
The black buoy, a mere speck on the
waters, was hard enough for any one to
find in the broad day; yet my grand
father never failed to find it in the dark
for of course it was only a moonless
night that he could run u cargo. The
usual course of proceeding was this;
The lugger arrived off our coast at
nightfall, lay to until signal was
flashed from our friends on shore, and
then found the entrance to the channel,
and worked in with the tide. Ii was
necessary to be very careful in hitting
off the channel at first, where the buoy
was, or they might ultimately run on the
sunken rocks at the extremity of the
Point.
Grandfather and | lived in pretty
cottage at one extremity of the village.
Our house was better than most of the
others, for grandfather had money in
the bank, and was well to do. The cot
tagc was covered with honeysuckles
and creepers; at the back was we'll
stocked kitchen garden; in front was
grassy bank sloping down to the sand,
at its junction with which stood our
wooden boat house. BY the boat house
lay three or four of our boats, broad,
strong and unwieldy, and opposite the
boat house were the moorings of the
Little Lady, our naughty, fast-sailing,
clever little lugger.
| had very Independent, irregular
sort of a life. My grandfather was Of
ten away for days at time, and the |
old woman who looked after the house
for grandmother was dead long since
would have had little time for scour-
inc and cleaning if she had tried to look
after me. l got little book learning
from the old vicar, but it was not |
enough to hurt me. No, my dears; | |
knew no Italian, no Latin, no algebra; !
but my eyes were none the less bright, |
my lungs none the less clear, my color
none the less blooming, that | passed |
most OF my days in the bright sunshine. |
and free, fresh air. / could run n |
couple OF miles and Jump gate; could |
pull m oar With the best, and | could |
swim like duck. | was thoroughly at |
home on the water or in it, The sea |
had no terrorS or difficulties for me, ex-
cept such as it was pleasure to over |
come. SO, at sixteen, | am told, | was |
a freSh-colored, free-limbcd, bright
eyed young maid. whose only trouble |
was her long tresses of thick brown
hair, and who bothered her head very
little with the other sex
Not but that | had admirers. But
they were limited in quantity and coarse
in quality. | mean rough; manly
enough but lacking in that refinement
which young girl in any rank of life
always longs for, and with sometimes
sad results. Anyhow, the bold young
fisherman who made sheepish overtures
to my formidable self excited nothing
on my part but polite amusement, and
was quite whole, | was very happy,
had wonderful appetite, and sound in
wind and limb, and perhaps, young peo-
pie, you have to thank the freedom of
my early life for the excellent constitu-
tions which you now enjoy.
On certain day in September when
| was nearly seventeen years of age,
my grandfather being absent on one of
his expeditions and expected back at
night | set off for one of the long
ramhleS in the country which | was in