St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-24
AGREAT OCEAN CHASE
flow Three Portuguese Sail
ors Ran Away With a
Whaling Bark.
After a Terrible Experience
They We're Finally
Caught.
a British Survey Brig Loses
Several Of Its Men in the
Fight.
IN Exciting Story Full Of the
Most Thrilling Narra-
tiveS.

Of the British survey brig Advance,
which was surveying the islands to the
south of the Sandwich group. King
man shoal. Palmyra island, and other
shoals and islands had not been closely
surveyed, and we were spending the
summer in this work. The brig was a
craft of 2G0 tons, and, being govern
ment vessel, was under strict discipline.
She was armed with two cannon. and
carried supply of small arms. In
those days the inhabitants of some of
the South Pacific islands were bad
natured lot, and nothing but the sight
of strong force would prevent them
from making troublesome visits to
vessel anchored close insh0re.
About the middle of September we
were at Tanning island, when heavy
gale came up from the west, and we
had to run for the open sea to the east.
The gale struck us about > O'Clock in
the afternoon, and hung to us until
noon the next day. During this time
we were running little east of north,
and having all we could do, and when
the gale broke we were at least 200 miles
to the northeast of our island. 1t was
mid-aftern0On before we got the brig
about, and she had scarcely been headed
back when a WhalebOat came down
upon US from the northwest, and after
half hour of hard work we got her
crew aboard. Then we heard a very
Interesting story.
There Were Eight OfThem.
first mate, two harpooners and five
hands. All belonged to the British
whaling bark Penrose, of Liverpool.
Twenty days previously she had run
INTO Honolulu and discharged half a
cargo of oil and shipped three Portu-
gueSe sailors to replace hands who had
Deen lost at sea. On leaving Homo
lulu she had cruised TO the southwark,
taking whale occasionally, and on
the day the gale broke she lowered for
whales about POO miles north of the
group we had been surveying. Three
boats were down at once as the bark
ran into school. AS the breeze was
light only shipkeeper was left aboard,
and he was sailor who was just re-
covering from hurt.
The three Portuguese were in the cap
Eain'S boat, which made fast to Il big
bull whale within quarter Of mile or
The bark. and was Immediately struck
and disabled, and the line had to be cut
Meanwhile the other two boats had gone
% the eastward after the school, and
they had no sooner made fast than their
victim ran off at full speed. Owing to
The direction Of the wind the shipkeeper
could not work down TO the captain.
His boat was wreck, but was acting as
float to sustain the crew. In this
emergency the three Portuguese offered
10 swim TO the bark and return with a
spare boat, and they were told to
90. They reached the craft in safety,
but had no sooner got aboard than the
yards were trimmed, her head was
brought to the south, and she sailed
within 800 feet of the captain as she
made Off. The dark-Skinned rascalS
made no bones of the fact that they
were running away with the ship. In
deed. they boosted of it, and derided
and inSulted the men hanging to the
itoven boat. 1t was
Heartless. COld-EslOOded Thing
20 do. The two other boats were five
niles to the eastward, and it was an
hour after the bark made off before the
men cut loose from their dead Whale to
.athom the mystery. The found the
wreck Of captains boat TO discover that
Inly one single man remained with it,
he others having been pulled down by
The sharks. By the time they had heard
ais story the bark was more than hull
Town, and just then the gale broke.
The boats were laid head-on TO the sea,
md drifted slowly to the east. dividing
heir men, SO as to give each an equal
show to live out the gale. During the
1lght the second mates boat was lost
light of, and, as it was never heard of
again, it must have been SWamped.
Had we been running course the sur
VlvIng boat could not have fetched us,
but as we brought about to return to
the island she got the chance to do so.
As soon as the story had been told
our captain decided to go in search of
The stolen bark. 1t was a question,
however. whether she had outlived the
gale. She must have received the full
force of it. and being so shOrt-handed
she was liable to disaster. The main
question was whether she would scud
or drift. We had adopted the form er
course, as the brig had habit of flood
ing her decks when lying head OH. The
mate of the stolen bark, whose name
vas Cummings, felt certain that
The Portuguese would let her drift.
In that case we would have to cover
hundred miles OF ocean to the west
ward before beginning to look for them.
What did they want of the craft? What
could they do with her? There was
only one reasonable answer. They
would run her down among the South
Hrn islands. find some safe spot to Law
her away, and then ''have good time"
This meant eating, drinking. smoking.
and having no work to do. They would
not dare to try long voyage, nor to put
into any prominent port. As they
would need the services of the ships
keeper, it was not likely that they
would do him any harm.
1t was Mate Cummings belief that
The Portuguese would head for Christ
mas island, hundred miles to the south
Of where we had been surveying. and
the briggs course was accordin gly laid,
On the afternoon of the third dav after
picking up the boat we sighted the bark
dead ahead. We were then not over
twenty-five miles from the island. The,
stolen craft had evidently been taking
things pretty easy. She was under short
sail when we first espied her. although
she weather was fine and the breeze
tair. The thieves had no fear of pur-
suit, and perhaps ali were captains eX-
sept the shipkeeper and would not obey
zach others orders. We had her almost
hull up when the fellows became sus-
picious.
Then they Set Everything Below
and aloft. and to our intense chagrin we
discovered that the bark was faster
o0iIVl tilttli 'tlO ullS LII WAS q CLOCK IN
the afternoon when we sighted her. and
as darkness fell she had gained couple
OF miles on us. Having got the alarm
it was hard to tell what they would now
do, but after a long consultation our
captain decided 20 round Christmas
island on the north and west. and Law
course for Jarvis island. The bark was
headed directly south when re last saw
her.
Next day at n0hn we were TO the west
OF Christmas and running down on our
course, when we suddenly discovered
the bark on our starbOard quarter.
standing out from the southeast end OF
the island, where she had been in hid
ing to let US pass. She had not seen US
on account of a wooded peninsula max
ing ont for several miles. and we felt
sure we had her in a box. The wind
was from the west. and it was bit of a
1ob to get the brig about. smart as we
were. Tie bark was about five miles
OFT us we headed for her. She co,ltln,t