New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-09-05
DRIFTING OFT 70 SEA

Hulk, ahoy!''
| Through the deepening darkness We
see it coming, borne onward By the cur.
rent. It's going Quito sea with the
tide. The waves dash around it; bul
the breeze is still fresher further ou1
from lssad. The darkness is shutting
down closer and closer. Steadily
through it comes the old hulk, still
borne onward by the fast ebbing tide.
Nowit is so near that wecan make ou1
its name painted on the black hull
Democracy. The rigging is gone,
the rudder broken; it is all there is left
Of the old ship Democracy
| 1t is sinking, butthe tide will carry it
further out to sea before it goes down.
II will sink in deep water, and can
! never be raised, even if anybody should
| want to raise it. Its loaded down far
below the Water-line, but the stern is
much the lowest part. Now We see the
cause of this; there is a big man, weigh
ing over three hundred pounds, sitting
on two chairs aft and bearing it down.
He is master and owner of the hulk,
but it would be better off if he would
jump overheard and leave it. A great
Pmany are leaving it. All the small
boats have pulled away, loaded to the
water edge; and others of the crew are
Swimming away. Wemeet rats desert
ing il. A man named Brice is stand
ing by the wheel. He is first mate.
Listen to the order he gives:
Here, you fellows on the larboard
side, go over to the port side"
The anchor is gone, and the bows
have been stove in by a collision with
the steamer Protection In the
place for the fgure-head sits an ancient
mariner with red bandanna. Down
below Chief Engineer Mills is trying to
start up the free-trade engine, the only
one the vessel is provided with. But
it has blown off cylinder-head, and
the crank-pin is broken, and the piston.
rod rusted stationary, and the water
rises to the fires. Besides, there isn't
coal surplus enough to run it any length
of time, even if he could start it.
Clambering up the starboard side and
almost swapping the craft are meH'
named Curtis and Jones. They know
it is sinking hulk, but then have been
drifting in an open boat for four years
and are glad Of anything. With them
is also native of the Wicklow tribe,
whom they picked APP at the Second
Ward Islands. They call him Godkid,
and he is also boarding the hulk and
helping to bear itdown.
,,Hulk ahoy!''
There is no response. Clouds are
gathering about and the lightning
strikes the 6gure-head a couple of times,
but he only waves his bandanna and
takes pinch of snuff. The lightning
goes off in a crippled condition. The
tigure-head is SO dry that he is a non
conductor; electricity can't touch him.
Half the crew is fighting with the casta-
ways and trying to throw them over
board. The crew know that they are
helping TO sink the hulk;.the men object
particularly to the native. But the
three cling on, and the weak and weary
crew cannot free themselves of them.
The fat man aft still continues too heavy
for the hulk. The large waves are
breaking over the deck. The rain is
falling; the dark. heavy hull has been.
carried past us by the strong current
and is disappearing in the darkness.
Hulk ahoy!'
But the only sound which comes back
to us'is the low wash of the waters as
they rush through the leaky hulk, and
this order by Officer Brice:
"Port your helm! larboard it, I
mean.