The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-10-16
STRANDED ON sEA-WEED.
Curious Adventure of Ship While Round
ing Cape Horn.

ing Cape Horn.
at was back some years ago, and we
was making the voyage from Liverpool
to China around the Horn, said sailor
to reporter WED had heap Of
trouble with the men; they all got down
on the old man and left at Rio and we
got in lot of greenhorn Portagees
there what didn't know the bobstay
from the gigs tiller-ropes. Howsom1
ever, it was take 'em or stay, so we took
the chances and went, and what with
their mistaken ropes in the daytime
and Sever bein' able to find'em at all at
night, it made it mighty lively for the
three Americans aboard. But by
special visitation o. Providence, luck
calls it, we got round the Cape, and
every thing went snug until one night.
was at the helm; there was q fair
breeze a-blowin' an not cloud over
head. There had been little sea in,
but about six bells it kind of fell off and
let up all to once, and the ship kind Of
refused to answer the helm. reported
it to the skipper, and up he comes on
deck. Every sail was full and drawin',
even to the topgallant stun sails, and
she was keeled over as ship is what is
under six-knot breeze; but, so help
me, don't believe she was movin' at
all The old man tumbled to it, too,
and says he to me: There's something
kind O. curious about this; but don't
let on to them niggers for ard
He hadn more than got the words
Of bic ,,aO,rfh xtrho fha xTallpvy 1ayila
came aft in body and began to jabber
away, pointin' up to the sails full, and
then to the water, maxim the sign of
the cross and goin' on at rate what
was enough to set you crazy. They
was Just scared to death; they see the
ship under full sail, and they'd found
out she wasn't movin'; that was tho
amount of it.
THE skipper was a man of few
words, and he grabbed up marlne-
spike and went for 'em and they got
back for ard. Then the old man ordered
away the dingey. I'd had the helm
down all the time, and by Stacking the
head sails and brailing up the foretop-
sail had got the ship up into the wind,
and when the dingey was lowered l
went down in her, and soon as | struck
water | see what was the matter. We
were stuck in bed of sea-weed what
was about as solid as any thing you ever
saw. | sent an oar down into it, and
couldn't reach bottom, and then, takin'
q bunch into the dingey, | gave tho
word and was hauled up to the davits
again, and dye know it didn't help
things at all The Portagees were
scared MORN ever, and said we'd
never git out, and one of EN- SPUN
long yarn about schooner on the Allan
tic coast of South America what run into
bed, and all hands starved to death
and were found there by steamer l
knew that we were all right as long as
we had any kind of wind, but it took
us an hour to git her under way
again, and by morning the wind had
all gone down, and there we lay Jest
as if we'd been drydocked; as far as
YOU could see from the topmasthead
there was nothing but a spread of sea-
weed, Jest as if you sunk a ship up to
the water-line in a swamp, jest flooded
so that the grass jest showed above the
water; that's the way it looked for all
the world, and I'm tellin' you the facts
when say it wasn't no cheerful out
look. If there hadn't come wind we'd
have been there yet; as it was, we lay
there for twelve hours waitin' for a
breeze, but none came, and then the
skipper ordered'Out boats and we took
grapplin' irons and hauled the weed
away from the front of the ship, and
then cot hawser and towed her ahead.
We did that for twelve hours and made
four ship lengths, and then the men
seem it was no use give it up, and be-
tween you and mel didn't blame 'em.
So the skipper, after cussin' and swear
in. and BLOWN things up hill and
down dale, ordered the ship swung
round. That took about four hours,
and then we lay for six more, when, as
luck would have it, it began to blow.
We crammed every thing on her, and
in about five hours more we struck blue
water-glad enough, too; butts fact,
we had to 90 out of our way a matter
of two hundred miles in beating round
the patch.
GLOW thick do you think it WASP"
J asked the old sailor. "Well, in the
place we hauled it away l dropped a
t lead down, and reckoned that the mass
was twenty foot deep, and by this time
| that ere tloatin' island is solid land.
+ Wen, that was a curious experience, SO
t to speak, but about six months after
Q found myself down by the Falkland
y Islands. 1t came on to blow, and the
n skipper ran in under the lee of one o.
+ the islands, and | gave the order to gil
n out the anchor, but the old man sing,
o out to Delay. Git out grapplin' iron!
= says he; so got one out, all hands laiC
n on, and in about ten minutes we had ;
e vine of sea-weed on deck as big as
e mans leg, and Heaven only knows hov
d long. Dye know, we dashed it to tn
z, cat-head, and the ship swung toit for
, moorings, and by it we laid out tn
n gale. We were in fifty fathoms at tn
d time, so that sea-weed rope was tire
ii | hundred feet lone If Won kin heat this