Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-07-13


songs and dessay comic songs. for
what should set him larIln' lin 1 hopen
boat At this here hour Of the night. two
Of three thousand miles away from land
You bet old BID knows what hes
taIlxin' about when he says that II what's
come across ia that there boat turns out
mortal he'll swaller the biggest pair D.
sea-boots that knocking about the fore
castle.
Awed by the old sailors prophetic
croaking, to which years of rum and
hard weather had communicated 4 for
bidding, sepulchraI note, the 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, intermixed with shrill and savage
laughter, and wild shouts delivered in
accents the mariners could not rake head
nor tail of.
ssWell, cried the captain, when the
boats were within hail, '1what is It you
have come across, Mr.. Burton ~
"a raving lunatic, sir, answered the
second mate She's Spaniard, think.
There's q dead boy in the bottom of
his boat that reckon to be his son.
He's been shipwrecked apparently, and
there's nothing to eat OF drink along
with him that we can find. 2
1t was now seen that two Of the crew
were in the madman's boat holding him.
As they drew alongside the wretched
maniac began to rave fearfuIlv. some
times breaking off to sing some weird,
tuneless song, then bursting into accents
full Of heartbreaking entreaty, and after
ward wrestling furiously with the two
men who had hold Of him. making the
boat sway to her gunwales, and uttcrinr
shrek after shrek. It was as terrible q
scene as ever the moon shone down upon.
They had to bind him turn upon turn
with ropes in order to drag him aboard,
and, mad as he was, yet it was evident
ne knew he was to be separated from
the dead boy under the thwarts of his
boat, for his struggles were frantic when
he saw what they meant to do; every
posture was a passionate, delirious yearn-
ing toward the corpse, and when finally
ne was lifted over the rails his screams
and rawlings in Spanish sent the hardest
among those who had no hand in getting
him inboard recoiling with horror He
was little more than skeleton. When
they brought lantern 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
emaciated frame, though madness fur
nished it yet with a horrible vitality,
and degree of life fearful to behold in
so shrunken a conformation blazed in his
dark eyes, cruelty sunk, and showing
like flames in the hollows, whose shock
ing depth was accentuated by his bushy
brows.
The corpse of the lad was reverently
dropped over the side, and the boat sent
adrift after the ships name she carried
painted on her had been duly noted
There was no doctor on board; but
what the kindness of English sailers
could do for the poor Spaniard was done.
He died on the following afternoon,
having ceased his raving and fallen into
a pathetic silence soon after he had been
taken below. 1t could not certainly be
known that the boy had been his SON.
ssBut / don't think there could be a
doubt of it, said the captain and Mr..
Burton, as they stood looking at the
dead man, s'for mere skeleton as the poor
fellow is, there seems to me, by the APP
pearance of his face, that there was more
of broken heart in his death than the
want Of food and water"
The mans clothes and belongings, be-
sides the vessels name, served ultimately
to identify him. he was master of a
Spanish ship that had sailed from Garth
agena three months previous to the dis
covery Of the boat by the English iron
clipper. With him had gone his only
son. The vessel was. never heard of
after having been spoken in twenty
degrees north latitude, and there could
be no doubt that Of the numerous crew
who were In her the poor captain, when
encountered raving mad in an open boat
amid the frightful solitude Of the great
Atlantic, was the last man.