Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-07-26

frame she made little water, yet not so
much but that halfshour's spell at the pump
twice day easily freed her. But, curiously
enough, at the end of fortnight she became
tight again which attribute TO the swelling
of her timbers by their direct contact with
the water.
We were slender company, but we man.
aged extraordinarily well. The men were
wonderfully content; never heard so much
as a murmur escape from one of them; they
never exceeded their rations nor asked for
a drop more of liquor then we had agreed
among us should be served out. But, as had
anticipated, our security lay in our slender
ness. We were too few for disaffection The
negroes were as simple as children, Wilkinson
looked to find his account in happy arrival;
and if ! was not, strictly speaking, their cap
tain, was their navigator, without whom
their case would have been as perilous as
mine was on the ice.
1t was on the 9TH of December that we
sighted the Scilly Isles. guessed what that
land was, but so vague had been my naviga-
ton that burst not be sure, until spying a
smack with her nets over, l steered for her
and got the information l needed from her
people. They answered us with an air of
fear, and, in truth, the fellows had reason, for,
besides the singular appearance of the ship,
the -four of us were appareled in odds and
ends of the antique clothes, and have little
doubt they considered us lunaties of another
country, who had run away with ship be-
longing to parts where the tastes and fashions
were behind the age
Now, as you may suppose, by this time
had settled my plans; and as we sailed up
channel unfolded them to my companions.
! pointed out that before we entered the
river it would be necessary to discharge our
lading into some little vessel that would
smuggle the booty ashore for us The figure
the schooner made was so peculiar that she
would inevitably attract attention; she would
instantly DO boarded in the Thames on our
coming to anchor, and if told the truth she
would be seized as q pirate, and ourselves
dismissed with small reward, and perhaps
with nothing.
''My scheme, said l, ''is this: have rel
ative in London to whom l shall commune
cate the news of my arrival and tell him my
story. Y0n, Wilkinson, must be the bearer
of this letter He is a shrewd, active man,
aud l win leave it to him to engage the help
we want There is no lack of the right kind
Of serviceable men at DEAL and if they are
promised a substantial interest in smuggling
our lading ashore, they will run the goods
successfully, do not fear As there Is sure
to be a mGn-of-war stationed in the Downs,
we must keep clear of that anchorage, l
win land you at Lydd, whence you win
make your way to Dover and thence to Lon
don. Cromwell and Pitt will return and
help me to keep cruising. My letter to my
relative viii tell him where to seek me, and
! shall know his boat by her flying a jack.
When we have discharged our lading we
will sail to the Thames, and then let who will
come aboard, for we shall have a clean hold.
This, continued |, sis the best scheme l
can devise Tie risks of smuggling attend
it, to be sure; but against those risks we
have to put the certainty of our FORGETTING
our just claims TO the property if we carry
the schooner to the Thames. Even suppose,
when there, that we should not be immedi-
ately visited, and so be provided with an OPP
portuity to land our stuff, whom have we to
trust2 The Thames abounds with river
thieves, with Jumpers, scufflo hunters, mud
larks, glutmen, rogues Of all sorts, to hire
whom would mean to bride them with the
value of half the lading, and to risk their
stealing the other half But this is the lesser
difficulty; the main one lies in this There
are sonle I, 600 men employed in the London
custom house, most Of whom are on river
duty as watchmcn; thirty Of these people are
clapped aboard an East Indiaman, five or six
on West India ships, and like proportion in
other vessels. So strange a craft as ours
would be visited, depend ont, and smartly,
too Dye see the danger lGdsl What do
you say, then, to my schemeF
The negroes Immediately answered that
they left it to mel knew best; they would
be satisfied with whatever did
Wilkinson unused while, ard then said:
Smuggling was risky work. How would
it be if we represented that we had found
the schooner washing about with nobody
aboardm
"The tale wouldn't be credited said l.
"l'he age Of the vessel would tell against
such story, even if you removed all other
evidence by throwing the clothes and small
arms overheard, and whatever else might 20
to prove that the schooner must have been
floating about abandoned since the year
1750m
Mustn't lose dc clothes, massa, on no ac-
countln cried Pitt.
"Well, sir, says Wilkinson, after another
spell Of reflection, II reckon you're right.
III so be the law would seize the vessel and
goods on the grounds that she had been
pirate and al that's in her was plumber, why,
then, certainly, don't see nothin' else but
to make smuggling job of it, as you say,
sir"
This being settled (Wilkinson's concurrence
being rendered the easier by my telling him
that providing the lading was safely run, l
would adhere to my undertaking TO give
them G1 ,000 each for their share), went
below and spent half an hour over a letter to
Mr. jeremiah Mason. There was no ink,
but | found a pencil, and for paper used
the fly leaves Of the books in my cabin. |
opened with a sketch of my adventures, and
then went on to relate that the Boca was a
rich ship; that, as she had been a pirate, l
risked her seizure by carrying her to London;
that / stood grieyously in need of his counsel
and help, and begged him not to lose a
moment in returning with the messenger to
Deal, and there hiring boat and coming to
me, whom he would find cruising off Beachy
Head That ] might know his boat, babe
him BY jack little below the masthead
"As for the Boca del Dragon I added
'Willsinson would know her if she were in
the middle of a thousand sail, and indeed O
farmers boy would be ablo to distinguish her
for her uncommon oddness of figure was
satisfied to underscore the words 'cs rich
ship quite certain his imagination would
be sufficiently fired BY the expression At
anything further / burst not hint as the
letter would be open for Wilkinson to read.
When / had finished l took lantern and
tho keys Of the chest and went very secretly
and expeditlously TO the run, and, removing
the layers Of small arms from the top of the
case that held the money, picked out some
English pieces, quickly returned the small
arms, locked the chest, and returned
All this time we were running up channel
before fresh westerly wind 1t was true
December weather, very raw, and the horizon
thick; but | knew my road well, and while
the loom Of the land showed | desired nothing
better than this thickness.
But wary sailing delayed us, and it was
not till 10 o'clock on the night of the It'll that
we hove the schooner 10 Off the shingly beach
of Lydd, within sound of the wash Of the
sea upon it. The bay sheltered US; we got
the boat over | gave Wilkinson the letter
and ten guineas, bidding him keep them
hidden, and to use them cautiously with the
silver change he would receive, for they were
all guineas Of the first George, and might
excite comment if he, poor sailer, i'll clad,
should pull them out and exhibit them.
Happily, in the hurry of the time, he did
not think to ask me how had come by them.
He thrust them into his pocket, shook my
hand and dropped into the boat, and the
negroes Immediately rowed him ashore
| stood holding q lantern upon the rail to
g,