Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-11-29

linen ne asked, very Sharply, III was
pilot.
"'No,' replied; but why so much
haste, captainT
"He cursed me and yelled: You ask
why hurry-look yonder'
GAS he spoke he pointed seward.
Coming down before the wind, with
royals and stuns'ls set, was vessel.
She was not more than six miles away,
and was no doubt the English man-of
war brig 1t was the sail my father had
told me of as | was leaving the beach.
1.-THE second mates boat was hoisted,
and when the flying jb was set the top
sail and topgallant sail were sheeted
home, and the schooner began to move
slowly through the water, but not so fast
but that the other boat, which was now
alongside. was hooked on and hoisted up,
the crew clambering out by the main
chains and on to the deck.
Capt. Ganvil had got somewhat
cooled down, and was giving his orders
in a clear and quiet tone. The fore and
main sheets were Stacked off, the gaff
topsail set, and the SLAYER headed a little
west of north, with the wind abeam, a
course that took her along the east end
of the island and at a right angle to the
course steered by the brig.
1--WE padded to the shore as fast as we
could. and had just reached the beach
and turned to have look at the chase,
when what should we see but the brig,
which had now come quite near headed
/ up into the wind.
Her yards were alive with men, and
what but moment before had been
beautiful, trim pile of canvas from deck
to trucks was now mass of Tapping
sails and flying cordage. Everything had
been clewed up and let go, and the crew
were trying to hand the sails. though
they Topped so loud that they sounded
like volley of muskets to us on shore.
Il looked over to the schooner, but she
was holding on to everything, though
she keeled over SO far that her lee rail
was under water, and her crew were
hanging on the weather rigging and fife
rails like SO many flies on a ceiling.
The wind now began to come in gusts
and the air grew cold, and it chilled me
as the fog used to do in London. There
was a dash of rain. and it got so thick
that we could not see either vessel
There was a flash, then crash of
thunder, and it lightened for a moment
Then we saw that the SLAYER had taken
in his flying jib his topgallant SAIL and
his gait topsail and was settling away
his topsail. and a crowd of men were
crawling up the ratlnes to reef it, though
how they could expect to hand the sail
in such gale | could not understand.
'The brig, under close reef topsails,
was standing away from the island and
steering nearly south. Her yards were
squared, and then ! saw that the wind
had shifted round to the north ard and
that the SLAYER was close hauled and dip
ping her bow under so that it seemed as
if she must be buried every plunge she
made.
Then came another squat of wind and
rain, and the air grew almost as black as
night.
"The wind is heading him off, my
father cried, placing his voice close to my
ear. He will never get past the rocks.
Again there was flash that almost
blinded us, crash that seemed as if the
world had come to an end. Then the
air lighted Jp SO that we could see the
poor Clelise. Her mainmast was gone
and had carried with it the foretopmast.
l thought | could see the men that had
been on the topsail yard struggling with
the wreckage to leeward, but there was
little time to think of them. The craft
was not ships length from the sail
rocks. and headed right between them
,yraat 500 90 ma ,,,s n i'm, touar1 ba,
Oh! ] shut my eyes. There was a crash
that we heard above the roar of tn,
storm.
There was another volley of wind OF
rain, of light of thunder Then il cleared
again. The wind blew a steady gale
and the rain fell more regularly. Wa
could see the rocks and the ocean. bui
that was all The SLAYER had disappeared
and the brig was not in sight.
1.-THE gale continued until the SUI.
went down, but with the rising of the
moon, which was at its full, it subsidized
and by 8 o'clock il the evening the SIX
was as clear and the stars shone out a.
steady anG bright as if all the world wa,
at peace and all its people happy.
1.-THE storm had done much damage
on the island More than half our huts
had been blown down, number of the
canoes had been dashed to pieces on the
beach, and many of our finest cocoanut
trees were lying upon the ground.
! "AI that night our people spent in go
ing back and forth upon the beach, and
many terrible sight they saw. With
the food tide, which began TO turn lit.
tie before midnight, the bodies Of tn,
, black people and Of the slaver's crew
came floating in with the wreckage Of
the vessel We looked for some signs Of
life among them. but all in vain.
About o'clock in the morning one o.
our people found the body of the cap
tain. His heart still beat and he breath
ed family. but he died before we got
him upon the beach. He had a fright
full cash in his forehead and both leg
were broken.
Just after the finding of the captain
} came across the body of woman with
Ill -, a. 81, l.