Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-05-24
oxE AeA1Nsr a nuNpREp.


Heroic Defence OF ship Attacked BY q
Multitude OF savages,
From the New York Herald.
About 1885 Captain Eilas Jones, now
preaident Of the First National Bank Of
Falmouth, Mass, sailed from Woods Holl
g third officer In the ship Awashouks,
captain g: Collins ON four years cruise IN
one OF most intense excitement and hair
breadth adventure, and, while Captain
Jones is Of q quiet aud uuassuming character
and not fond Of putting his glory before
the world, vet your correspondent obtained
. story full Of interest and one that y not
known 10 have been published, although
In years past 1t WAS theme OF much dis-
cussion.
The vessel had crew Of about 35 men,
tncluding captain, hrst, second aud third
Horn without incident She cruised about
the South Sea, and when Is months out
had 900 barrels of iiue oil In her hold.
Closing in with group of islands just
north Of the equator, Captain Collins de-
cided TO make trade with the natives.
The ship was hove 10, with most Of her
sails set, In small bay where the calm
water reflected the strip Of white sand,
green palms and tropical plants that skirted
its margin as well as the purple hills of
the interior.
A number of native dugouts put out to
the ship and made iast to her chains, and
the savages clambcred over the vessels
rail. At a favorable signal fierce yell
burst from their dusky throats, causing
tbs ears Of tn ,se who heard it to tremble
than 1t takes to write It the ships decks
were full of matt, es and the unarined crew
made for the rigging, jibbooms aud fore
castle, In fact anywhere to escape the blood
thirsty islanders.
The fight that ensued was a desperate
md ax,rts mil snotn lon THn mt luna
had been SO sure of surprise that they
had formed no plan Of attack, depending
entirely on their overwhelming numbers.
At the first rush Captain Collins and the
second mate were engaged in desperate
hand-to-hand conflict with sOmo of the
savages who had availed themselves of the
ships cuttlng-in spades, aud the poor men
were Immediately hacked to pieces.
Thomas Clifford, of Falmouth, a seaman,
made bolt for the fOrecastle, and received
blow from spade. He carries the scar
across his forehead to this dav, and 1t 10
most unpleasant reminder of that bloody
massacre.
Captain Jones, then youth of 20. found
himself surrounded by a number of in
furiated natives, each struggling for
whack at him with the keen edged spades.
He managed to parry the blows, jumping
into the vessels hold and crawled among
the tiers of oil casks into the cabin. Here
he found the steward and two seamen on
the floor, covered with wounds inflicted by
the murderous spades. The rest of the
ships company were either alot or cooped
up in the fOrecastle In one corner of the
cabin was the magazine, containing the
muskets and ammunition. Seizing the
muskets, Captain Jones gave them to the
wounded men to load, while he set about
rescuing the Awashonks.
The natives were scattered over the decks
stealing what they could get their hands on.
They plucked up the ringbolts from the
deck and rails, and tugged at them, when
two tons strain would not have pulled
them out. They pried at bolts and straps,
picked at nail heads, wrenched down
kettles and stovepipes and threw them in.
to the canoes The chief an ill-visaged
rascal, was at the wheel endeavoring to
beach the vessel, but he was not up to
navigation. First he put the wheel down,
and, the sails not filling, he put the wheel
up, Slowly the Awashonks headed of
and gathered headway toward the beach.
An Indian who liv ed in Mashpec, some 10
miles from here, cut the braces and the
sails were taken aback. A shower of arrows
and heathenish maledictions were hurled
at him as he sought shelter in the tops.
The vessel lost headway, but the chief con-
tinued his experiments with the rudder.
The cabin, where Captain Jones had
taken refuge, was lighted by two windows
in the stern. and large skylight overhead.
When the enemy peered into these aper-
lures well-directed bullet sent them away
in hot haste. For over an hour this skirmish
between desperate man and 100 murderers
continued. A fast as the wounded men
could load the muskets Captain Jones
would put their contents where they did
the most good, and the islanders began to
have wholesome fears of the windows, and
set about devising some other method of
attack.
Looking up through the skylight during
the quiet that followed, Captain Jones
saw the chief at the wheel in his frantic en-
deavors to beach the vessel. Taking care
full aim at his broad, naked chest, he pulled
the trigger. The bullet passed through
the deck, and, having spent its force,
rolled along the planking to the chiefs
very feet. The savage left the helm, in
spected the bullet hole, and then laid
piece of board over the splintered plank
/; he then returned to the wheel as uncon-
cerned as could be. Another bullet from
the musket pierced his heart and his life
less form rolled into the scuppers.
At the death of their chieftain the island
ers fed panic stricken to the shore, and
the Awashonks was laboriously put to sea.
She soon fell in with a merchantmen,
Captain Proctor, and was brought into
Woods Holl by portion Of the merchants
crew.
Captain Jones was offered a masters s
berth by the owners of the whaler he had
SO bravely defended, and up to 1864 he
followed the sea in that capacity. Three
of the crew now live near Falmouth, and
two of them bear scars that tell q tale of
sore woundss, eeived in,the fray.