The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1888-06-06
WOMEN OF GRIT.

We were well into the Gulf OF Bengal, |
bound for Madras, when one morning,
just as night was fading into dawn, |
thought | heard voice hailing us from
the surface Of the sea. There are sea
birds who cry out almost like human be- |
ings, and although | was startled by the |
hal, dismissed it after few seconds as
the cry of bird. Scarcely had | done
so when it came again, and this time | |
knew it was the voice of woman.
There was no need to hail the mate or
watch, for he had heard the cry as well. |
We were jogging along under easy sail,
and he seized the glass and ran up the !
forerigging. There was a sort of steam
rising from the water, but the mate had
not climbed thirty feet when down
he came again, and in one breath
ordered the ship into the wind, the
Captain aroused aud boat lowered. We
of the watch had no doubt that the shin
had been hailed by castaways, but che
boat was down before any of us had made
out lone woman in a sort of canoe
craft about two cables length away on
our port bow. She had neither paddle
nor oar, and her craft was driving with
the wind and sea, while she sat covering
in the s.ern. Our boat was soon alongside
of her craft, and woman aud craft were
soon aboard the Admiral Mel ,on. The
watch below had been turned up, and
everybody was on deck to see what was
going on. The woman was white, and,
we soon ascertaincd, American. | say
white, but brown would be the better
term, for it was evident she had long
been exposed to tropical weather. She
Of O,plit,,, ci
about 40 years of age, and at one time
had been good looking.
"Who is the Captalnl" she snapped, as
abe touched the deck.
Here, ma'am, "rcpliel our old man, as
he stepped forward.
Il want to talk to you in your cabin, -"
she continued, her fingers working nerv-
ously and her eyes swapping fire
They had not been gone a quarter of
an hour when both reappeared on deck.
| was at the wheel, and therefore heard
all that was said. 1t appeared that the
woman, whose name was Mrs. Thomas,
owned and sailed trading schooner,
which had been left her at her husband
death. 1t was strange vocation for
q woman, bat it seemed she like it and
also had a good business head on her.
She had a crew Of six, her mate being an
Englishman and the Others Lascars, and
she had been sailing between nearly all
the towns on the Gulf. Three days be-
fore we picked her up, her schooner had
left Sumatra, bound for the Indian coast.
The crew seemed to be perfectly quiet
and content, b { at 10 o'clock of the
previous night, headed by the mate, had
suddenly laId violent hands on her and
sent her adr.ft without water, food, or
paddle. The intention was to run away
with the schooner and cargo and sell
them, and this plan might have been
carried out but for her rescue.
She was the spunkiest little woman
over saw. She was SO mad she couldn't
stand still for three seconds at time.
What she wanted was for our ship to 90
in pursuit. Her schooner was armed
with two brass six-pounders, while we
had four twelves, and she expressed her
entire willingness to see her craft sent to
the bottom before the mutinous crew
should benefit by their acts. Captain
Wheeler was pretty well along in years,
very careful on the question of insur-
ance, and his mind was not made up un-
I'll after breakfast. Then he decided to
luiI up toward the Andaman Islands
in search of the schooner, and he almost
promised to give her taste of our metal
If she was sighted and would not sur
render.
he little woman managed TO cat a
dozen mouthfuls of breakfast, and then
returned to the deck to almost assume
control. She ordered a man aloft,
bassed the job of casting loose the guns
and getting up powder and shot, and
every ten minutes she was hailing the
lookout TO know if anything was in
sight. Luck was in her favor While
we had been jogging along all night,
the schooner, being further TO the east.
had been almost becalmed We raised
her almost dead ahead about noon, and rs
luck would have it, again we had plenty
of wind while she had none until the YES
sells were not over two miles apart. The
schooner could have no suspicion that
the woman was aboard of us, and we
flew signal that we wanted TO speak
her. She Mt once lay to, and, as we ran
down to her, / saw Mrs. Thomas giit
her teeth, clench her hands and show
Others evidences of her feelings. She
had borrowed the mates six-shooter,
donned a hat and coat to disguise her
self. and as we lay to about cables
length away no eye could have made out
her sex.
Schooner ahoyl" called our captain.
"Aye, aye, sir This is the Nancy
Lee, bound from Sumatra to the main
land.n
"Are you the Captain3"
''No, sir. He's very sick in his berth"
"Run out those guns p whispered the
old man to us, and down went the big
baIkers, and such of the crew as were
not at the guns rested their muskets
along the rail.
'Tye got your Captain here and she'll
be put aboard of your shouted our Cap
tain. ''If you attempt any resistance
I'll sink your
The Englishman ordered his crew TO
one of the guns, but they refused to obey,
every man of them skulking forward and
disappearing down the-hatch The fel-
low left the deck long enough to arm
himself with .cutlass, and as We low