The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1884-05-01
FLEEING FROM THE TEMPEST.

FLEEING FROM THE TEMPEST.
The Swallow by all odds was the
luckiest old craft for her inches that
ever sailed the seas She was built of
the cleanest North Carolina pine, hailed
from Edenton, and her skipper, on
whom be peace. came from behind the
sand dunes Of old Carrituck beach.
sailed with him away back in the ffties,
rousing times, too, when a chap might
find a berth along the shore. In those
days our coast line swarmed with craft,
mostly schOoners, to which class the
Swallow belonged. With the exception
of myself, officers aud crew were South
born, the mate, a stalwart, clean
limbed CharlestOnian, Anthony James
by name, and a splendid specimen of
the American sailor of those days.
Generous and rs free as water, he
would share his last dollar with ship
mate. He was six feet two inches,
brOad-shouldered, bearded aud bronzed,
and, wthal, as gentle as woman
though as brave rs n lion. He was the
power behind the throne in thR Swa low
The skipper, too, was joll yAold soul,
regular walking encyclopedia, having
the depth of all the waters on all the
bars and in all the inlets along the
coast at the ends of his fingers. Both
he and the mate would boldly take
chances with the Swallow through any
inlet on the Virginia or Carolinas coast
from daylight to dark But though
they took care of the Swallow the
schooner was able to take care of herself,
for she was one of those crafts which
possess splendid weather qualities.
All one summer she piled between
Charleston and New York, and was
yfpino~ rnpun,- hand ,vvo-
Business was booming cOastwise. One
pleasant summer evening she cleared
from Charleston packed to the matches
with cotton. The wind blew fresh
from the South'ard with slight driz2le
of rain. The skipper seemed to be in
n hurry for he kept cracking it to her
all the night BY morning She was up
the coast and out of sight of the shore;
but there was a stillish breeze which
was shifting about. 1t came on
sitter and sitter, and in the
just before dark we made her
snug and laid her to, with head off
shore. Before daylight the Swallow
was wrestling with the great September
gale in which the Central American
toundered, the like of which has not
been experienced on the coast of the
Carolinas since twenty-seven wears ago
During the night the wind went clear
around the compass, but after sunrise it
was steadily blowing from the eastward,
and in the top hamper it sounded like
the roar of u huge organ.
The daylight revealed sublime spec
tacle. lneycrv direction hurrying surges
were sweeping past on the wings of the
wind immense hills of waves piled up
to wind ard in stately array. The little
craft, stripped to storm sails, 0allautlv
struggled amid the blows, while over
her, low down, sped the leecy rack Of
the tempest in fast flying sguadrous
The crew clustered aft about the wheel
An oil-clad sailor stood beside the
wheel, turning it down a few spokes
whenever she pitched heavily-some-
thing she took especial pride in, for she
was apparently trying to dive clean
through the waves. which were contin-
ually pounding her bows. Her skipper
also in an OIL suit was crouchin.y under
the weather railing, keeuly alive to the
actions of the vessel The mate stood
by the cOmpanion-way nagging the
helmsman, and the crew were nitchinr
on 10 secure holding places. Every hing
was batteued down fast, the galley fire
was out, and the crew had breallfasted
on an extra reef in their waist belts.
As the day advanced without any
abatement in the fury Of the tempest,
the skipper became anxious His crit
zeal eyes began TO measure the on COM
ing pillows, which, when the craft rolled
to the wind ard, seemed from their base
like the steep DIES of mountains. And il
became manifest to him that if his craft
tripped and was caught in the clutch of
any of the huge waves she would be
thrown off into the trough and be swal-
lowed up in the fearful CULTS between
the pillows.
Shortly after noon there came an ON
nous lull. It's effect was STARTLING
Suddenly there was new motion. In
stead of the regular pitch and roll, the
schooner would ba lifted up to the
crests of the pillows, CULVER moment.
and then settle down into shelter, where
she was encompasSed with hills of hur-
Tying surges.
a seafaring life is one which trains
the faculties TO a keen quality of per
ceptiou. II develops promptness and
reSolute reliance which becomes n sec
ond nature in the trained mariner. He
never will hesitate in n great crisis. He
promptly singles out the best and safest
line of action, and boldly executes il.
1T was this quality in the skipper which
caused him to spring TO the wheel, take
the spOkes in his own hands and
thunder:
Spring forward into the weather
-fore-Tigging, all of you. Mr.. James,
stand by to ease oil the main sheet.
Lively, men, lively! So! Now, Mr..
James, ease OF handsomely;" and the
skipper with a keen glance to windward
sent the whirling wheel hard up. As
her head began to fall away. she
mounted up on the top of great wave,
and was greeted with the swelling roar
of the tempest, which came rs suddenly
rs the lulL The main-sail gave one
vicious Stat and was instantly torn into
ribbons, and then she sank away under
the lee of tremendous sea. Every eve
in the little craft was now rivcted on its
towering crest, Each hand instructive
ly sought for secure holding and clutched
It fast The mate sprang for the main
rigging and the skipper braced himself,
still eagerly watching the Swallow.
Without break or a curl of its green
tinted top il settled down and taking
The little vessel in its resistless en-
brace il bore her aloft into the tempest
Keeling and quvering in every timber
she rapidly paid OF, and as she once
more went down into the deep vale of
the surges she was stern on and was
gathering way.
AS the Swallow reeled away before
he tempest the skipper guiding her
over the troubled waters. his voice