The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-06-06
cheap affairs, calculated for traffic, but

all were sure fire for few rounds.
was one of the gang told off to load
them, and / know we loaded the even
hundred. This would give us a matter
of seven shots apiece without reloading.
One-haf the muskets were carried aft to
the quartz ers, and the others distributed
along the bow and waist. Four cut.
lasscs were hunted up and served out,
and then there was time for one more
precaution. The felucca was coming
down slowly, urged by her sweeps, and
a man a,oft with a glass reported that
she was full of men and had two six
Founders on her decks. The head of
the bark pointed pretty stealily to the
northwest, for there was neither wind
nor sea. The felucca was coming down
from the northeast, and we could there
fore figure that she would board us on
the starboard bow.
Orders were given to search for and
bring on deck bottles Of every kind and
shape. / think we routed out fifty or
more in the fo'castle, while the cabin
furnished hundred. These were broken
in pieces on the forward deck, and fine
mess they made of it. We could walk
over the stuff with our leather soles, but
woe to the bare feet which leapcd OF the
rail. The Felucca people did not sus-
pect our cannon until they got n shot
from the starboard gun which made the
splinters fly. Then they changed their
course and pulled for our bows, and we
could not train gun to bear upon them.
| helped reload our gun with a sold
shot, and we had scarcely finished when
the felucca was upon us. She grappled
us Just where we had figured, and, under
the little woman's orders, we made no
effort to prevent. She had foreseen that
if driven back the Feucca could take
position on our bow or stern and pound
us to pieces with her siX-podnders,
while we would not he able to return
shot.
We were drawn up in line across the
deck abaft the foremast, with the spare
muskets lying behind US. The captains
wife was at my left, armed with his re-
volyer Mind you, there wasn't shout
or shot as the fellows boarded us. They
pulled down to us in a grim, determined
way, never man opening his lips, and
as the grapnels caught they came swarm
ing over the bows like stream Of giant
ants, each man armed with creesc alone.
| There wasn't yell until they struck the
deck, and then there were hundred in
! chorus. Every man was barefooted, and
every one was horribly cut. We opened
! fire at the same moment, and down went
the first gang. The second was wiped
out almost as quickly, and then we
| rushed forward and each man went in on
his own hook. 1t was Il picnic for us.
A few musket shots were fired at lis from
away aft, but the bullets flew among the
rigging We rested our guns on the
raj and fired right down among them,
and, in tea minutes from the beginning
of the fight all the pirates alive sought
shelter below. We had fourteen dead
on our decks, and there were twice that
number in sight of the fclucca, while
not one of us had a scratch.
] eaying three men to fire away at any
head appearing above the matches, we
cast off the grapplings and pulled the
/ felucca along our starboard side until the
| cannon would bear Then we fired a
| shot through her deck aud bottom, re-
/ loaded and gave her another and then
cast her adrift She rubbed around our
stern, driftcd off about hundred feet,
and in quarter of an hour went to the
bottom. Perhaps dozen living men
came to the surface and swan to the
! bark, but not one of them was allowed to
board. You may think it blood thirsty
act, sir, but we wiped them out to the
last man without any twinges of con-
science, and I've always been glad of it.
Had they captured us, our throats would
| have been cut in no time. We lay all
that day without moving half mile, but
sunset brought breeze, and we finished
our voyage without further adventure.
The excitement of the fight made the
Captain much worse, but he recovered
in a few weeks, and was able to take
command aga.n. York Sun.