The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-05-02
FLEEING FROM THE TEMPEST.

-Cur'ottI Perry. in Christian Union.
FLEEING FROM THE TEMPEST.
The Swallow by all odds was the
Iuckiest 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 fiities,
rousing times. too, when q chap might
find 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 and crew were South
ern-born, the mate, stalwart, clean
limbed Charlestonian. Anthony James
by name, and a splendid specimen OF
the American sailor of those DAYS.
Generous and as free as water, he
would share his last dollar with a ship
mate. He was six feet two inches.
broad-shouldered, bearded and bronzed,
and, w.thal, as gentle as a woman
though as brave as lion. He was the
power behind the throne in the Swa low.
The skipper, too, was q lolly old soul,
"a regular walkiug sencsclopedia, 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 tie 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
EARN mr. money hand over hand.
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 drizlle
of rain. The skipper seemed to be in
n hurry for he kept cracking it to her
all the night. BY morn No She was up
the coast an out of sight OF the shore:
but there was a stiffish breeze which
was shifting about. 1t came on
stiffer and stfffcr, and in the
a ternoon we reefed her down.
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
1oundered, the like of which has not
been experienced on the coast of the
CaEo!inas 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 huge organ.
The da, light revealed sublime spec
tacle. In every direction hurryng surges
were sweeping past on the wings OF the
wind; immense h lis of waves piled up
to wind ard in stately array. The little
craft. stripped to sto NJ sails, calamity
struggled amid the b lows, while over
her, low down, sped the tieecy rack of
the tempest in fast flying s tuadrons.
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 10, for she
was apparently trying to dive clean
through the waves, which were contin.
ualy pounding her bows. Her skipper,
also in an o i suit, was crouching under
the weather railing, keenly alive to the
actions of the vessel. The mate stood
by, the companion-way nagging the
helmsman, and the crew were nitehing
on to secure holding places. Every hing
was battened down fast. the galley fire
was out, and the crew had breakfasted
on an extra reef in their waist belts.
-; As the day advanced without any
abatement in the fury CT the tempest,
the skipper became anxious. His crit
ical eyes began to measure the on com.
ing pillows. which, when the era rohed
to the wind ard, seemed from their base
Like the stesps.dessf M0antains. And it
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 tro Oh and be swal-
lowed up in the fearful CULTS between
the bill ows.
Shortly after noon there came an ON
1nous lull. Its effect was sra ting.
Suddenly there was q new motion. In
stead of the regular pitch and roll, the
schooner would be lifted up to the
crests of the pillows, culver moment
and then settle down into shelter, Were
she was encompassed with hills of hur-
rying surges.
a seafaring life is ole which trains
the faculties a keen quality of per-
ceptiou. 1t develops promptness and q
resolute reliance which becomes a sec
ond nature in the trained mariner. He
never will hesitate in a great cris S. He
promptly singles out the best and safest
line of action, and boldly executes it.
1t was this t,ual ~ 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! MIR. James,
stand by to ease of the main SHEET.
Lively, men, lively! So, Now, Mr..
James, ease of handsomely and the
skipper with keen glance to windward
sent the whirling wheel hard up. As
her head began to fail away, she
noun ed up on the top of great wave,
and was greeted with the swelling roar
of the tempest, which came as suddenly
as the lull. The main-sall gave one
vicious slat and was instantly torn in O
ribbons, and then she sank away under
the lie of tremendous sea. Every eye
in the htIe craft was now rireted on its