Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-11-28

the beasts after they retired. There were
scores of them watching US from the bush
es. no doubt, but they did not show them
selves. When the tide began to draw the
yawl off shore the ape left in charge took
a turn with his tail around a bush and
thus held it.
At suudown there was a little breeze
and we could have left, but wanted the
apes in the traps and the captain wanted
his yawl. As i grew dark all the crew
went below SAYING that ii was none oftheir
fight, and one of the Borneo sailors de-
clared with great yigor and much grief
that he had recognized an uncle in the apes
had killed. Another had seen his brother.
the cook fairly cried at the thought that
his favorlte son, who had been dead for
FIVE years might have turned into an ape
and be waiting to destroy his afectionate
father. Thomas and ! remained on deck
to watch, and at o'clock we heard and
saw enough to prove that the apes were
moving in concert and in large body.
tried to get the crew up, but they refused
to come. had donbe barred shotgun.
and Thomas was to throw the shell if they
came near enough. The shore was in
such darkness that we couldn' see what
our enemies We're up to until the boat was
suddenly seen floating along our port bow
| fired into the black mass, and Thomns
lighted the fuse and heaved the shell,
but in his great excitement he missed the
boat
From the splashing in the water knew
that a large number of the apes had SWAN
off
| had scarcely fred when three or four
had appeared on the bows, and the next
moment tLey boarded. from every quarter.
Their screaming and chattering were ter
rlble, and we no sooner saw the first half
dozen board than we made a rush for the
cabin. From that moment we were be-
siegad, and by an enemy such as never
captured a sailing craft before.
The crew were willing enough to fight
now, releaziug the danger. We were al
together in the little cabin and all armed.
but the question was what to do. The
apes raced up and down the decks, pulled
at every rope, and the number of them
must have been a full thousand. Their
racing about made the little schooner
tremble clear to her keel, and now and
then their weight lurched her from side to
side. The scuttle of the forecastle was
secured, the matches all fast, and the
boards over the cabin skylignt were all
nailed. We heard them pulling and haul
ing. however, and every moment was al.
anxious one. They wrenched the water butt
loose and rolled it around the deck,
and six cages of parrots were broken
up in no time and all the birds killed.
1t was a full hour before the apes quiet
ed down.. and from thence to daylight we
caught few winks of sleep as we watched
and waited. When day broke and we
could see through the cabin side lights. the
scene on deck was one of desolation Every
running rope had been pulled down. great
holes had been gnawA in the sails, and
whatever they could break had been broken.
They were still at it. Some of them were
even gnawing at tie deck planks. 1t was
clear that if left uninterrupted they would
ruin the schooner aboFe board. and so we
raised a great shout td draw their atten-
ton. It succeeded to 4 charm. 1t wasn't
five minutes before they had wrenched the
boards off the skylighe The sash was a
heavy one and the pailes small, and even
when they crowded upon the sash to the
number of fifty it bore their weight.
Holding my revolver dose to one of the
panes | fired three shots, and this cleared
them off. From theS great chattering
above we knew that three of the gang had
been killed or badly st. They tried it
again in about i've minutes, ana now we
used both revolvers and peppered four or
five more. From that on they kept clear
of the skylight, but we knew they were
the doors.
Ga each side of the companion way was
a pane of glass over an opening four inches
wide by twelve long. | smashed out
one and Thomas the other, and we began
shooting. The crowd made at US, seeming
to be perfectly reckless, and several were
shot as they ugged at the barrels of our
rifles In half an hour we had the deck
covered with dead and dying, and the
beasts began to show signs of being de-
moral;zed. An old gray head, who had
been concealed behind the foremast, finally
peered out, and | put a bullet into his
head. He fell over with a scream, and
with that every ape that could move
sprang overheard and made for the shore
We waited awhile before leaving our
quarters. but reached the deck to find that
they had departed for good There were
fOrtytwO dead apes on the schooner, and
we finished six who were badly wounded
Our bodthad grounded on Il smaller island
half Il mile 2way, and after we had recov-
ared 1t We got the chaps who had been in
the traps 50 long. They exhibited the
greatest ferocitv. bnt were handled the
worse for il, and W. finally got them safe
I5oarl. Then we turned to the schooner,
and it took us two full DAYS to get her in
sailing shape. From the hour the beasts
left the craft we did not cat sight of a
single one again during our stay.