The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-04-21
The Yankee Skipper and the
Fundy Tides.

IL seems according TO Inc old Storya
tellerss that YEARS ago the captain Of d
New England coaster determined 10
discover the exact location Of ''Down
East" At every port he visited. from
Cape Cod to Boothbay. the inhabitants
all denied that they lived there, and,
when asked where "Down East" was
only pointed mysteriously up the coast,
Finally. when the skipper Of the 'Darc-
ing Polly" received a cargo of goods
for Grand Pre-. he was highly pleased,
thinking that at last Down East"
would be found.-for. in those days.
Nova Scotia was considered 1.-THE Jump
ing-of place"
One fine morning, the schooner got
under way, and sailed merrily up
through the maze of islands that skirt
the coast of Name. Fair westerly
winds favored them, and on the second
day they entered the famous Bay of
Fundy, or Fond de Ia Bale. as the
French call it.
The skipper had never heard of the
great tide there; and when. the follow
ing morning. the mouth of the Minas
Channel appeared on the right shore.
he bore away for it, wing and wing.
| and he was soon under the Acadian
hills.
The rich green fields and the vii
lagos alongshore seemed to give Il
friendly greeting; and captain and crew
decided that '.Down East was very
pleasant region.
But luck is tickle; and as they were
bowling along, up the basin proper.
they felt sudden jar. then heard a
scraping sound; and moment later
"The Dancing Polly" was aground.
under full sail.
The small-boat was put out with q
kedge. and the sails were braced this
way and that, but all to no purpose, -
the boat was aground hard and fast,
the tide was going out, and skipper and
and "crew' would have to wait until
the high tide came to float them of.
1t was quite late in the day. and ere
long the captain, and the cook, the
great Newfoundland dog, and yellow
and-black cat. who constituted the
'crew" all went to bed.
Early the next morning, the captain
was awakened BY the dog; and when he
crawled out of his berth. he found the
floor of his cabin so aslant that he had
to scramble on all tours to reach the
ladder The schooner was evidently
heeled over. But the captain had ex-
pected this, and made h s way as best
lie could.
Was he dreaminga He certainly
thought so; and then, having some
doubts, he reached over and gently
touched the yellow and-black cats tail.
An answering wall assured him that he
was awake. and that he and "The
Dancing Polly" were really somewhere
high up in mid-air
The bewildered skipper crept to the
rail. his astonishment all the while in
creasing. The broad stream of the
day before had vanished. Not drop
of water was in sight, but far below
him could be seen vast basin of mud,
in which pigs were roofing and grunt-
ing!
For some time the skipper stood a1,d
looked; then. noticing the cook stand
ing by and, like himself, lost in Won
der. he said:
wal, John. reckon we've reach cd
here at last"
Reached whereof exclaimed the
cook.
Down East" replied the old man.
soIemnly.
ut looks more like up East. and on
a powerful high perch. moreover" re-
torted the cook. land I'm for striking
inshore."
The two men started forward. and
they soon found that the schooner was
resting on great ledge of rock like q
tower that rose out OF the mud. Lower
ing rope over the side, thes let them
selves down upon the rock, and ever
then were several feet from the muddy
surface.
The great pedestal upon which they
stood was covered with olive-hued ant
black weeds. which concealed innum
cradle star-fishes. sea-urchins ant
shells. and it gradually dawned upor
them that 1.-The Dancing Polly" ha'
not been transported inland. but tina
the water had gone seward and lef
them.
How to get down was the next ques
ton, and after debate about leaving
the dog and the cat. the two men fin
ally managed to slide. slip. and scram
bic to the plain below, and through
mud waist-deep foundered to the shore
where they were received with roars o
laughter by group OF nne LOOKING
Acadians. who had been watching thei
decent and their difficult progress.
Then and there. the Yankee naviga
tor first heard Of the Furdy tides
, and several hours later, from the dec
!. of the little craft he saw the ''bore'
, come in;-first small stream. growinI
rapidly wider and deeper until the en-
tire basin was filed with surgiug water
: that rose higher and higher. until fin
ally ''The Dancing Polly" floated free
!. and once more sailed away in the di
rection of Grand Pre- r. Holder. Il
st. Nicholas.
: # He Had Only Known.