Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-03-28


 tive quiet of the sheltered deck, bit with ferceness that had not been observable yes terday.
 The moment had the body of the vessel in my sight perceived that she had changed her position since my last view of her. Her bows were more raised, and she lay over far ther by the depth of a plank. 1 stared ear
 ,stlv at the rocky slopes on either hand. but could not have sworn their fguration was changed An eager hope shot into my mind, but it quickly faded into an emotion of ap- prehension. It was conceivable, indeed, that on sudden some early day might find the schooner liberated and afloat, and this was the first inspiriting flush; but then came the fear that the disruption and volcanic throes of the ice might crush her-a fear rational enough when I saw the height she lay above the sea, and how by pressure those slopes which formed her cradle might be jammed and welded together. The change of her posture then fell upon me with a kind of shock, and determined me, when had broken my fast, to search her hold for boat or for materials for constructing some ark by which might float out to sea, should the ice grow menacing and force me from the schooner.
 I made plentiful meal, feeling the need, of abundance of food in such a temperature as this, and heartily grateful that there was no need why should stint myself.
 While l ate my mind was so busy with considerations of the change in the ships posture during the night, that it ended in de terminlng me to take a survey of her from the outside, and then climb the cliffs and look around before I fell to any other work Arming myself with boarding pike to serve as pole, dropped into the fore chains and thence stepped on to the ice, and very slowly and carefully walked round the schooner. examining her closely and boring into the snow upon her side witL my pike wherever suspected a hole or indent. I could find nothing wrong with her in this way, though what a thaw might reveal could not know Her rudder hung frozen upon it's pintles. and looked as it should. Some little distance abaft her rudder, where the hollow or chasm sloped to the sea, was great split three or four feet wide; this had certainly happened ln the night, and 1 must have slept as sound as the dead not to hear the noise of it. Such rent as this sufficed to account for the sub sidence of the after part of the schooner and her farther inclination to larbcard Indeed, the hollow was now coming to resemble the ''ways" on which ships are launched; and you would have conceived by the appear ance of it that if it should slope littl4 more yet, off would slide the schooner for the -ea !; and in the right posture, too-that is, stern on. But l prayed with all my might and main for anything but this. It would have been very we'll had tho hollow gone in @ gen. tie declivity to the wash of the sea-to the water itself, in short; but it terminated at the edge of cliff, not very high, indeed. but high enough to warrant the prompt founder ing of any vessel that should launch herself off it. Happily tho keel was too solidly frozen into the ice to render passage of thus ss,N4s~ l. kI-- rived at, after careful inspection, was that the sole chance that could offer for the de- livery of the vessel to her proper element lay in the cracking up and disruption of the bed on which she lay.
 Satisfied as to the state of the ice and the posture of the schooner, viewed from with out, sent a slow and piercing gaze along ths ocean line, and then returned to the ship The strong wind, the dance of the sea, the grandeur of the great tract of whiteness, vitalized by the flying of violet cloud shad- ows along it, had fortified my spirits, and being free tfor a while) of all superstitious dread, determined to begin by exploring the forecastle and ascertaining if more bodies were in the schooner than those two in the cabin and the giant form on deck. threw some coal on the fire, and placed a, OK tongue along with the cheese and Il lump of the frozen wine in a pannikin into the oven flor had mind to taste the vessels stores, and thought the tongue would make all agree able change, and then, putting candle into the lantern, walked very bravely to the fore castle and entered it.
 I was prepared for the scene of confusion, but must say it staggered me afresh with something of the force of the first impression Sailors chests lay open in all directions, and their contents covered the decks. There was the clearest evidence here that the majority of the crew had quilted the vessel in a yio- lent hurry, turning out their boxes to cram their money and jewelry into their pockets, and heedlessly fiinging down their own and the clothes which had fallen to their share This had every right to suppose from the character of the muddle on the floor; for, passing the light over part of it, witnessed a great variety of attire of a kind which cer- tainly no sailor ill any age ever went to sea ~itI,-not so fine, perhaps, as that which lay in the cabins, but very good, nevertheless, particularly the linen.
 In many places, glittering among the clothes, were gold and silver coins, a few sill yer ornaments, such as buckles, and watches things not missed by the pirates in the transport of their flight In kicking a coat aside discovered a couple of silver cruci- fixes bound together. and close by were a silver goblet and the hilt of sword broken SnOIC OFT TOT CDe sake or the metal It was made of. Nothing ruder than this interior is i'm aginable. The men must have been mighty put to 1t for room. There was a window in the head, but the snow yelled it. May be the rogues messed together aft, and only used this forecastle to lie in. Right under the hatch, where the light was strongest, was a dead rat stopped to pick it up, meaning to fling it on to the deck, but its tail broke off at the trump like @ pipe stem.
 Close against the after bulkhead that sep arated the forecastle from the cook room was O little hatch There was quantity of wearing apparel upon it, and I should have missed it but for catching sight of some three inches of the dark line the cover made in the deck. On clearing away the clothes I perceived a ring similar to that in the laza- rette hatch! and it rose to my first drag and left me the hold yawning black below. I peered down, and observed stout stanchion traversed by iron pins for the hands and feet. The atmosphere was nasty, and to give it time to clear went to the cook house and warmed myself before the fire.
 The fresh air blowing down the forecastle hatch speedily sweetened the hold. lowered the lantern and followed, and found myself on top of some rum or spirit casks, which on l. !