The Arizona sentinel., 1889-06-22

we're HIuSGY Y-SlA udGIN6S III oli. Iuo
 spokesman, who at first had put his
 requests for presents in civil language,
 on meeting with a quiet but determined
 refusal to be allowed to board the ves- sel, soon changed his tactics, and be-
 came insolent and overbearing. Cap
 tain Webster sternly pointed to the
 shore, and bade them return whence
 they came.
 The words had hardly left his lips
 when the chief. putting his fingers in
 his mouth, blew a shrill and piercing
 whistle. Simultaneously the blankets
 were stripped from the suspicious
 looking heaps in the center of either
 canoe, and each man, bending for
 warda seized a musket. Abandoning
 all disguise, the two canoes then
 dashed for the schooner. In an in
 stant the repeater was at the
 captains shoulder, the crank
 worked rapidly twice, and two
 natives in the starboard boat fell
 mortally wounded. As he again
 sighted, the sharp reports of the six
 shooters rang out, and responsive yells
 assured him that Ben and Bill Graves
 were shooting to good effect. Partly
 sheltered behind the low rail of the
 schooner, Webster quickly sent four more of the pirates to their last ac- count This deadly fusilade material ly checked the advance of the canoes
 toward the schooner, and dropping down behind their low gunwales the natives reloaded their muskets and again poured volley into the
 schooner. A sharp, stinging sensa
 tion in the shoulder told the captain
 that he was hit, while an exclamation
 behind him of Boys, I'm done for," followed by heavy fall on the deck, told him that one of his brave com rades was incapaciGated for further duty. Dropping on the deck, he looked hurriedly around. Poor Graves, stretched at the foot of the mainmast was gaspiug out his last breath. mortally wounded.
 Crouched behind the rail, however, his dying shipmate's weapon in his left hand, his own siX-shoOter in his right, Ben still kept the other canoe at dis tance. Grasping his Winchester Webster now crept rapidly forward on his hands and knees behind the rail, and suddenly appearing in the fore rigging surprised the occupants of the starboard canoe by several well-di- rected shots before a dozen muskets pointed in his direction compeled him to drop upon the deck for a second time. It was at this moment that Ben, having thrown himself on the deck to reload, was supposed by the natives on his side to have been killed. With yell of triumph, now feeling certain of their prey, they urged the canoe for ward, and in another moment were alongside the schooner. At this junct- ure matters looked very black for the Americans. Webster had his hands full with the other canoe, and in order to keep that off was compeled to expose himself necessarily to har- assing fire. Ben had not yet succeeded in relOading. and it looked as if the Indians on his side would succeed in gaining foothold on the deck. Once there, the sailors would stand no chance for life.
 At this important crisis assistance arrived from a wholly unexpected direction. A stalwart savage was al ready in themain chains, and the canoe alongside the little vessel, when Hon Pee, rushing from the galley with an immense copper of boiling water, pre- cipitated its scalding contents into the middle of the canoe. A gigantic sav- age alone succeeded in climbing on to the rail. To him Captain Webster now directed his attention, when he became conscious that he was himself covered by the weapon of native in the fur ther canoe. It was a critical moment. The piece of the native on the rail was directed at Ben, the barrel of whose pistol seemed in some way to be jammed. Disregarding his own safety, Webster drew bead at the man on the rail, and-missed him. It had the effect, however, of disconcert- ing the fellows aim, for his bullet in its turn, whistled harmlessly by Ben's head. Clubbing his now empty Win chester, Captain Webster was about to rush upon the native, when a deafen- ing report was heard behind him. Looking back, he was in time to see the native boy, falling backward down the compaion way, sent there by the recoil of his musket The native on the rail staggered and fell forward, a gaping wound in his breast telling plainly that the harm less charge of powder with which the boy had been intrusted had been SUD- plemented by something of a more deadly nature. This repulse afforded both Ben and the captain a chance to# reload. As he rose from the deck, however, to pour in another volley, Webster felt puff of air on his cheek, and, glancing aloft, perceived by the bellying canvas that the schooner was again gathering steerage way. Turn ing seaward, he swept the hori- zon with an anxious glance, where a wall of white water seemed to be rush ing landward. In few moments a white squall, so common in those lati- tudes, would be upon them. The na-