Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-05-31


raised as if, in sudden terror and agony of
death, he had darted look to God. SO in
imitably expressive Of life was his attitude
that, though knew him to be a frozen body,
as persisted as if he had died with Adam or
Noah, was sensible of breathless wonder
in me that the affrighted start with which he
seemed to be rising from the table was not
continued-that, in short, he did not spring
to his feet with the cry that you seemed to
hear in his posture
The other figure lay over the table with his
face buried in his arms. He wore no cover
ing to his head, which was bald, yet his hair
on either side was plentiful and lay upon his
arms, and his beard fluffing up about his
buried face gave him an uncommon, shaggy
appearance The other had on round fur
cap with lappets for the ears. His body was
muflled in thick ash colored coat; his hair
was also abundant, curling long and black
down his back; his cheeks were smooth,
manifestly through nature rather than the
razor, and the ends of small black mustache
were twisted up to mis- eyes. These were the
only occupants of the cabin, which their
presence rendered terribly CHASTITY and
strange.
The interior was extremely plain; the bulk
heads of a mahogany color, the decks bare,
and nothing in the form of an ornament saw
ing silver crucifix hanging by q nail to the
trunk of the mainmast, and a cage with q
frozen bird of gorgeous plumage, suspended
to the bulkhead near the hatch. A small
lantern of an old pattern dangled over the
table, and / noticed that it contained two or
three inches of candle. Abaft the hatchway
was door on the starboard side, which l
opened, and found narrow, dark passage.
could not pierce it with nay eye beyond a few
feet; but perceiving within this range the out
line of a little door, / concluded that here
were the berths in which the master and his
mates slept There was nothing to be done
in the dark, and bitterly lamented that |
had left my finder box and flint in the boat;
for then could have lighted the candle in
the lantern.
perhaps" thought I, zone of those figures
may have a finder box upon him.
Custom was now somewhat hardening me;
| moreover, was spurred on by a mortal anx-
iety to discover if there was any kind of
food to be met with in the vessel. So
stepped up to the figure whose face / had
touched, and felt in his pockets; but neither
ON him nor on the other did / find what
wanted, though was not little astonished
to discover in the pockets of the occupants OF
so small and humble a ship as this schooner a
fine gold watch, as rich as the one l had
brought away from the man on the rocks,
and more elegant in shape, gold snuffbox
set with diamonds, several rings Of beauty
and value lying loose in the brooches pocket
of the man whose face was hidden, a handful
of Spanish pieces in gold, handkerchiefs Of
fine silk, and other articles, as if indeed
these fellows had been overhauling parcel
of booty, and then carelessly returned the
contents to their pockets
But what needed was the means of OBJ
tanning light; SO, after casting about
thought l would search the body on deck,
and went to it, and to my great satisfaction
discovered what / wanted in the first pocket
| dipped my hand into, though l had to rip
open the mouth of it away from the snow
with the hanger.
/ returned to the cabin and lighted the
candle, and carried the lantern into the black
passage or corridor. There were four small
doors, belonging to as many berths.
opened the first, and entered compartment
that smelled so intolerably stale and fusty
that had to come into the passage again
and fetch a few breaths to humor my nose
to the odor. As in the cabin, however, so
here found this nervousness of air was not
ties of a vegetable or animal kind but by
| the deafness of the pent up air itself, as the
foulness of bilge water is owing to its being
imprisoned from air in the bottom Of the
hold
held up the lantern and looked about me.
A glance or two satisfied me that was in q
room that had been appropriated by the
steward and his mates. A number Of dark
objects, which on inspection | found to be
hams, were slowed snugly away in battens
under the ceiling or upper deck; cask half
full of -four stood in a corner near it lay
large coarse sack in which was q quantity Of
biscuit, piece OF which l bit and found it
as hard as flint and tasteless, but not in tho
least degree moldy. There were four shelves
running athwartships full of glass, knives
and forks, dishes and so forth, some of the
glass very choice and elegant, and many of
the dishes and plates also very fine, fit for
the greatest noblemanis table Under the
lower shelf, on the deck, lay q sack of what
| believed to be black stones until, after turn
ing one or two of them about, it came upon
me that they were or had been, should say,
potatoes.
Not to tease you with too many particulars
under this head, let me briefly say that in
this larder, or stewards room, found among
other things several cheeses, a quantity of
candles, a great earthenware pot full Of
peas, several pounds of tobacco, about thirty
lemons, along with two small casks and
three or four jars, manifestly of spirits, but
of what kind | could not tell. took q stout
sharp knife from one of the shelves, and
pulling down one Of the hams tried to cut it,
but l might as well have striven to slice
piece of marble. / attempted next to cut
cheese, but this was frozen as hard as the
ham. The lemons, candles and tobacco had
the same astonishing quality of stoniness,
and nothing yielded to the touch but the
-four / laid hold of one Of the jars, and
thought to pull the stopper out, but it was
frozen hard in the hole it fitted, and l was
five minutes hammering it loose. When it
was out l inserted steel-used for the sharp
ening of knives-and found the contents solid
ice; nor was there the faintest smell to tell
ne what the spirit or wine was.
Never before did plenty offer itself in so
hooking shape. 1t was the very irony Of
abundance-substantia ghostliness and a
Barmecide's feast to my aching stomach.
But there was biscuit, not unconquerable
by teeth used to the fare Of a sea life, and
picking up a whole one l sat me down on the
edge of cask and fell a-munching. One re-
Election, however, comforted me-namely,
that this petrifaction by freezing had kept
thu victuals sweet. / was sure there was
little that might not be thawed into relish
able and nourishing food and drink by
good fire. The sight Of these stores took such
a weight off my mind that no felon reprieved
from death could feel more elated than /.
Ny forebodings had come to naught in this
regard, and here for the moment my CRATE
full spirits We're content to stop.