San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-04-06

must quickly 60 to pieces in heavy sea upon
the ice if she did not iiberate herself. But
though this excited depression melancholy
enough, nothing else that l can recollect
contributed to it. When reviewed the APP
prehension the Frenchman had raised, and
reflected how insupportable burden he
must have become, was very well satisfied
to be alone Time had fortified me; had
passed through experiences so surprising,
encountered wonders so preternatural, that
superstition lay asleep in my SOUL and /
found nothing to occasion in me the least
uneasiness in thinking Of the lifeless, shriv-
eled figure of what was just now a fierce,
cowardly, untamed villain lying in the fore
castle.
made a good supper, built up large fire,
and mixed myself hearty bowl of punch,
not with the view of drowning my anxieties
God forbid l was too grateful for the
past, too expectant of the future, to be capa-
BILE of so british folly-but that l might
keep myself in a cheerful posture of mind;
when l was terrified by an extraordinary
loud explosion, that burst so near and rang
with such prodigious clear note of thunder
through the schooner that / VOW to God l
believed the gunpowder below had blown up.
And in this suspicion l honestly supposed
myself right for a moment-for on running
into the cabin was dazzled by a crimson
flame that clothed the whole interior with q
wondrous gush of fire; but this being in
stantly followed by such another clap as the
other, l understood o thunder storm had
broken over the schooner.
1t was exactly overhead, and that &C.
counted for the violence of the crashes,
which were indeed SO extreme that they
sounded rather like the splitting Of enormous
bodies of ice close to than the flight of cleo
trio bolts. The hatch lay open; ran on
deck; but scarce had passed my head through
the companion when down came a storm of
hail, every stone as big as a pigeons egg;
and in all my time never heard more hell
ish clamor. There was not a breath of air.
The hail fell in straight lines, which the
fierce near lightning flashed up into the ap-
pearance Of giant harpstrings, on which the
black hand of the night was playing those
heavy notes of thunder. l sat in the shelter
OF the companion, very anxious and alarmed,
for there was powder enough in the hold to
blow the ship into atoms; and the lightning
played so continuously and piercipgly that it
was like a hundred darts of fire, violet, Grim
SOD, and sun colored, in the grasp of spirits
who thrust at the sea, all over its face, with
swift movement of the arms, as though
Searching for the schooner to spear her.
The hail storm ceased as suddenly as it had
burst. l stepped on to the deck, and observed
that the storm was settling into the north
east, whence concluded that what draught
that might be up there sat in the southwest.
Nor was l mistaken, for half an hour after
the first Of the outburst, by which time the
lightning played weak and at long intervals
low down, and the thunder had ceased, felt
a crawling of air coming out of the south
west, which presently briskened into small,
steady blowing, but not for long 1t fresh
ened yet and yet; the wrinkles crisped into
wilderness on the black heavings; they grew
into small surges, with sharp, cubbish snarl-
ings, preludious of the lions voice, and by 10
o'clock it was blowing in strong squalls, the
sea rising, and the clouds sailing swiftly in
smoke colored rags under the stars.
The posture Of the ice inclined the schoon-
ers starboard bow to the pillows, and in
very short time she was trembling in every
bone to the blows of the surges which rolled
boiling over the ice there and struck her,
finging dim clouds of spume in the air, which
soon set the scuppers gushing. My case was
that of a stranded ship, with this difference
only: that vessel ashore lies solid to the
beating of the waves, whereas the ice was
buoyant; it rose and fell, sluggishly, it is true,
and so somewhat mitigated the severity of
the shocks of water. But, spite of this, 1 was
perfectly sure that unless the bed broke I'M
der her or she slipped off it, she would be in
pieces before the morning. 1t was not in any
hull put together by human hands to resist
the pounding of those seas. The weight of
the mighty ocean, along whose breast they
raced, was in them, and though the wind was
no moro than brisk gale, each billow by it's
stature showed itself the child of giantess.
The ice bed was like whirlpool with the
leap and fash and play of the froth upon it,
The black air of the night was whitened by
the storms of foam flakes which flew over the
vessel. The roaring of the broken waters in
creased the horrors of the scene I firmly
believed my time was come. God had been
merciful, but was to die now. AS to max
ing any shift to keep myself alive after the
ship should be broken up, the thought never
entered my head. What could do9 There
was no boat l might have contrived some
arrangement of booms and casks to serve as a
raft, but to what purpose? How long would
it take the wind and sea to freeze me2
I crouched in the companion way, hearken-
ing to the uproar around, feeling the convul-
sions of the schooner, fully prepared for
death, logged and hopeless.
On sudden-in BREATH felt the vessel
rise. She was swung up with the giddy
velocity of hunter clearing tall gate; she
sank again, and there was mighty concus-
sion forward, then pause of steadiness while
you might have counted five, then wild up
ward heave, a sort of sharp floating fall, a
harsh grating along her keel and sides, as
thouoh she Was being SmartlY warmed nvar