San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-04-09

ABOUT IL as though we must certainly be run
down if he did not keep sharp lookout !;
and when my watch below came round at
O'Clock, was so agitated that was up and
down till daybreak, as though my duty did
not end till then.
The gale moderated at sunrise; and though
it was gloomy, true Cape Horn morning,
| with dark driving clouds, the sea a dusky
olive, very hollow, and frequent small quick
squalls of sleet, which brought the wind to
us in sharp guns, yet as we could see where
we were going, got the schooner before it,
heading her east northeast, and under a
reefed topsail, mainsail and staysail the old
bucket stormed through it with the sputter
and rage of a line-of-battle ship. There was
a logreel and line on deck, and l found a
sand glass in the chest in my cabin in which
had met with the quadrants, perspective
glass and the like, and l kept this log regu-
larly going, making point of departure on
the chart the American captain had given
me, which l afterwards found to be within
two leagues and a half of the true position.
But for three days the weather continued so
heavy that there was nothing to be done in
the shape of gratifying the mems expecta-
tionS by overhauling what was left of the
cargo. Indeed, we had no leisure for such
work; all our waking hours had to be strictly
dedicated to the schooner and in keeping a
lookout for ice But the morning of the
fourth day broke with fine sky and a brisk
breeze from little to the east of south, to
which we showed every cloth the schooner
had to throw abroad, and being now by dead
reckoning within few leagues of the mer-
idian of 90 degs., | shaped a course north by
east by my compass, with the design of get
ting a view of Staten Island that | might
correct my calculations
When we had made sail and got our break
fast, | told Wilkinson and Cromwell Pitt
being at the tiller) that now was a good Op-
pOrtunity for inspecting the contents of the
hold; and mot to be tedious in this part of
my relation, however | may have sinned in
this respect elSewherey we carried lanterns
below, and spen. the better part of the fore
noon in taking stock. From a copy of the
memorandum | made on that occasion still
in my possessionl, | discovered that the Yam
kee captain had left us the following: Thirty
five casks of rum, twenty eight hogsheads of
claret, sixty puncheOns of brandy, forty casks
of sherry, eighteen cases of beer in bottles,
together with number of 'pieces" of gin,
as it is called. In addition to this were the
stores in the lazaretUe, besides a quantity of
several kinds of wine in jars, etc, elsewhere
enumerated, besides all the ships furniture,
her guns, powder, small arms, etc, as well as
the ship herself took the men into the
run and showed them the chests, opening the
little one which stood stocked with small
arms and lifting the lids of two OF three OF
the others. They were perfectly satisfied
fully believed the chests to be filled with
small arms and nothing else, and so we came
away and returned to the cabin, where, to
please them, l put down the value of the
cargo at a venture, setting figures against
each article, and making out total of e2, $40
This, of course, included the ship
How much'll dat be a man, NASSAU
asked Cromwell
six hundred and sixty pounds" l an.
swered
The poor fellow was so transported that
after staring at me in silence with the cor.
ners of his mouth stretched to his ears, he
tossed up his hands, burst into a roar OF
laughter, and made several skips about the
deck
"Of course" said 1, addressing Wilkinson,
''my figures may be ahead or short of the
truth But if you are disposed to take the
chance, I'll tell you what Pll do; Ill stand by
my figures, accepting the risk of the value of
the lading being less than what say it is,
and undertake to give each man of you FL 200
for your share"
"Well, sir" said he, 81 don't know that |
ought to object But few pounds is mat
ter of great consequence to me, and l reckon
if these here goods and the vessel should turn
out to be worth more than ye offer, the loss
nd go agin the grit-ay, if 'twere $50 a man. u
l laughed and told him to let the matter
rest; there was plenty of time before us;
should be willing to stand by my offer even
if l lost by it, so heartily obliged was 1 to
them for coming to my assistance. And in
this spoke the truth, though, as you will
understand who know my position, had to
finesse. 1t went against my conscience to
make out that the chests We're full of small
arms; but | should have been mad to tell
them the TRUTH and perhaps by the truth
make devils of men who were, and promised
to remain, steady, temperate, honest fellows.
was not governed by the desire to keep all
the treasure to myself; no, vow to God
should have been glad to give them a moiety
of it had not unprecedented the very gravest
consequences if l were candid with them.
But this, surely, must be so plain that it is
idle to go on insisting on it.
The fine weather, the golden issue that was
TO attend our successful navigation, the salts.
factory behavior of the schooner, put us into
high good humor with one another; and
when it came to my collecting all the clothes
in thu after cabins, and to distributing them
among the .threGl men. / thought Billy Pitt