The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1884-03-27

was her bland and beautiful illumi
ration fairly kindled when dozen
tD - shouted: There's boat out
tiero N tho starboard bow Hush.
cried tho captain; and amid tho silence
there stole down yet again to tho awcd
and astonished listeners the wild, m,s
terions singing Of mans voice, fol.
lowed by peal OF laughter. "Wcli
whatever it may prove. it must be over
hauled" said the captain. MIR. Rns
ton, call some hands Mt to lower away
one Of the quarter boats, and 60 "ot
and see who it is that il singing anf
laughing away out here in the middle
Of the ocean" In few minutes the
boat WIS pulling away for the dark oh.
jecf % the left % the moons reflcc-
tic.
III watch below 'ad turned out AM.
. crowd Of soasaen .rtait II with burning
curiosity tie issue | It's singular en-,
ccnufes It'll 10 na mas voice as
raisea tna. there chantey,' said one Of
the oldest, and presumably ono OF the
most ignorant among them. as they
overhung the rail. IF I'll been in the
old mans place ye might ha' turned to
and boiled mo afore you'd ha' got me
to send boat to it, aWhy, what dye
think it is, Bill?" inquired another.
"Think l don't think at MI. 'Taint
my business to think. But dye s'posc,
replied the old man, "that any morta.
being with hintellccts inside him, suca
as you and mes got, nd tarn to and
sing songs-and dessay comic songs,
for what should set him laria. IN Il
hopen beat ut this here hour of ti.e
night. 1000 or 5000 miles away from
land? You bet old Bill knows what he's
q talkin' about when he says that il
what's come across in that there boat
turns out mortal he'll swaller tho big
gest pair o. sea-boots that's knockin'
about the forecastle." Awed by the
old sailors prophetic croaking, to which
years OF rum and hard weather
had communicated forbidding,
sepulchral note, tho others fell into
deep silence, straining their eyes in the
direction of the boats. A half-hour
passed before they approached the ship.
during which the seamen had been
startled by many hoarse and dreadful
cries proceeding from the advancing
boats, intcrmixed with shrill and savage
laughter. and wild shouts delivered in
accents the mariners could not make
head or tail Of. "Well,' cried the
captain. VIII en- the boats were
within hail, @what is it you have
come across, Mr.. Burton?" "A raw
ing lunatic, sir, answered tho mate.
He's Spaniard, think. There's a
dead boy in the bottom Of his boat that
/ reckon to bc his son. He's been ship
wrecked apparently. and there's moth
ing to CO u drink along with him that
we can find. I. ws.a now seen that
boat holding him. As they drew along
side tho wretchcd maniac began to
rave fearfully, so,n,li:aes breaking v,
to sing some weird, tuneless song, then
bursting into accents full Of heart,
breaking cntreaty, and afterwar,
wrestling furiously with tho two nom
who had hold Of him, making the boat
sway to her gunwales, and uttering
shrek after shrek. 1t was as terrible
a scene rs ever tho mooon shone down
upon. They had to bind him turn up
on turn with ropes in order to drag him
aboard, and mad as he was, yet il was
evident he knew lie was TO be separated
from tho dead boy under the thwarts OF
his boat, for his struggles were franti,
when he saw what they meant to do,
every posture was q passionate, delir-
ious yearning toward the corpse, and
when finally he was lifted over the
rails, his screams and rawlings in Span
ish sent the hardest among those whc
had no hand in getting him inboard re-
coiling with horror. He was little
more than a skeleton. When they
brought lantcra and examined him,
they found the remains Of what had
clearly been tall, handsome man,
but famine had done its work famine
and thirst. A boy might have
lifted the cmaciatcd frame, though
madness furnished it yet with u horli-
BILE vitality, and q degree Of life, fearful
to behold in Sd shrunken conforma,
tion, blazcd in his dark eyes, cruellv
sunk, and showing like flames in tn,
hollows, whose shocking depth was ae
centuated hy his bushy hrows. III,
corpse Of the lad was reverently
dropped over the side, and the boa,
sent adrift, after the ships name sh,
carried painted on her stern had been
duly noted. There was no doctor OF
board, but what the kindness of Englisl
sailors could do for tho poor Spaniar,I
was done. He died on tho following
afternoon, having ceased his raving and
fallen into pathetic silence soon after
hte had been taken below. 1t could not
certainly be known that the hoy had
been his son. But don't think there
could be doubt of it, said the cap.
tain and Mr.. Burton, as they stood
looking at tho dead man. "for. mere
skeleton as the poor fellow is, there
seems to me by the appearance Of his
face that there was more of broken
heart in his death than the want oi
food and water" The mans clothes
and belongings, besides the vessels
name, served to identify him. He was
master of Spanish ship that had
sailed from Cartagena three months
previous to the discovery Of the boa,
by the English iron clipper With him
Ind gone his only son. The vessel wa,
never heard Of after having been spoke,
in twenty degrees north latitude, and
there could be no doubt that Of the nn
merous crew who were III her. the poor
captain, when encountered raving in az
open boat amid the frightful solitude o.
the great Atlantic, was the last man. -
London Telegraph.
- -
To Husbands.
Always complain Of being tired, ant
/ Il 4 =. -.