The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1886-07-08

Of the sea, the shrek OF the wind.
And so the men were dismissed, each
to his special duty; and the paymas-
ter was directed to see that the fatal
letters D. D. discharged dead) were
placed against the unhappy mans
name in the ships books.
And now occurred a circumst ance
which took the whole ship by storm,
as it were, and which, mere accident
and coincidence as it was, made all
the old seadogs nod their heads and
eye the younger men meaningly, as
who would say, "What did l tell
you?"while they, on their part, were
| firmly impressed with the lesson in
cause and effect thus SO pointedly
placed before them. 1t was clearly
established; and ere the afternoon
watch was over the sky had cleared,
the storm had dropped, the wind had
shifted right round and was now blow
ing dead fair. There was no room
for more argument-the oldsters had
1T all their own way-the scoffers were
silenced.
The ship now in afew hours rounded
| the cape, which before had seemed an
| impossible obstruction to her, and
made her way unhindered to the
north; but the feelings engendered by
the events Immediately preceding This
change had taken too strong q hold
upon the men to pass lightly away,
and in many long first or middle
watch the subject OF the disappear
ance of the lost shipmate and it's i'm
4 oy~ ~ he al TO-
discussed with bated breath, and ma
ny an ominous shake of the head was
given as the opinion was modify ex-
pressed that "we'd not done with
him yet" And when afew days after
wards, on Sunday morning during
divine service, the quartermaster OF
the watch came creeping and tiptoeing
down the ladder to report something
to the commander, who at once fol-
lowed him silently up the after hatch
way, but few minutes afterwards re-
turned and whispered mysteriously
to the captain, who in his turn mount
ed on deck and did not come down
again, we all felt that perhaps some
thing more might be in store for us, and
was even now perchance at hand. How
impatiently we sat as the sermon
dragged out It's seemingly interminable
length. and then when at last the bl ess-
ing had been given and the quick, sharp
voice of the first lieutenant had issued
the order, "boatswain's mate, pipe
down.: we literally tumbled up on deck
to learn what it was that had disturb
ed the calm of that SABBATH forenoon,
1t needed but glance. "Icebergs!"
There they were, along array of cold,
filmy, shadowy giants, looming huge
in the mist with which each surround
ed himself-ghostly, CHASTITY, clammy
spectres from the very land of death
ITSELF Not that we thought of them
as such; no, we were glad, We young
sters; we liked them, thought they
were "jolly, Though any object less
gifted with an aspect OF joviaiity one
can hardly imagine. Each, as we
neared it, wrapped us in it's clammy
shroud of death-cold fog and chilled
us to the very marrow, and towering
far above our mainroyal mast head
seemed to threathen us with instant
and appalling destruction.
So we sped on, iceberg after iceberg
rising above the horizon as we held
our course; and if sources of anxiety
and alarm by day, how much more So
by night! Often we entered q vast
bank ofimpenetrable fog concious
that somewhere in it's inmost recess
es lay concealed, as if waiting for its
prey, a gigantic berg, but never know
ing from moment to momeut when Or
where exactly to expect it. This was
splendid chance for the croakers.
Many great solemn head was shaken
and many a jaw wagged with gloomy
forebodings over that unusual and
unexpected appearance of ice in the
Southern seas. By and by the wind
began to freshen and signs of another
gale appeared, though this time from
another quarter fairly favorable to
us; and with her canvas snugged down
and bright lookout forward, the old
ship began to shake her sides as she
hurried away from those inhospitable
seas with their spectral occupants
towards the inviting warmth of the
tropics and the steady blasts of the
trade-winds.
Anxious for breath of fresh air
before turning in to my half-sodden
hammock, went on deck to take a
turn with a chum, and enjoy, as we
often did together, few anticipations
of the delights of home once more.
1t was a vida very wild
night. There was a small moon; but
the clouds We're hurrying over her face
in ragged steamers, and in such con-
slant succession, that her light vas
seldom visible; and when she did show
it for fieeting moment, it tell upon a
black, tossing, angry sea, whose waves
broke into clouds OF icy foam as they
baffled off the bow of the great ship,
or tried to leap savagely over her
quarter 1t was q hard steady gale,
the wind shrieking and hummine
through the rigging, and the old ship
herself pounding ponderously but ir.
resistibly at the great mountains Of
water before her, and creaking, groan-
ing and complaining as she did SO,
masts, yards, hull, all in one strident
concert together, as if demonstrating
at the labor which she was forced to
undergo. In spite OF the moon the
night was as black as Erebus, and
from the quarter deck on which we
paced the bow of the ship was barely
visible. We were just turning oul
faces aft, my chum and I, IN oul
quarterback walk, when a voice rang
out sudden, clear and loud forward
the voice of the starboard lookout
MANIA bright light on the star
board bowl" Instantly we, and in
deed every soul on deck, turned and
peered hard in that direction. Not 6
vestige OF a light was to be seen! Their
the voice of the officer of the watch
was heard from the bridge ordering
, the midshipman OF the watch to &C
forward and find out ii the man was
dreaming or il any one else had seer
the light which he reported. No ONT
else had seen it; but the man stuck te
his text. He had seen for a second
time Il bright light on the starboard
bow-a very bright light, and quite
different from anything which was US
ually seen at sea.
mo, sir! beg your pardon, sir!
wasn't asleep-not l, sir! broad awake
, as l am now, sir! and able to swea1
to it,"