Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1890-06-20

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bawled the captain. care you strong
enough to get aboard without help"
"Ay, sir, we'n manage it."
A rope was thrown, and one after
another the fellows came swinging and
scraping and scrambling up the clean
side of the steamer. The passengers
crowded round and gazed at them with
curiosity and pity. Their sympathetic
eyes seemed to find famine painfully
expressed in the leathern countenances
that stared back through mats of hair
"We must let your boat co." said
the captain.
"Can't help it, sir, thankful enough
to be here, l reckon" answered the
fellow who had called from the stern
sheets, and who acted as spokesman.
"Anything belonging to you to come
out after?"
''Nothing. Let her go, sir. If
sailors sea-blessings can freight a
craft she amt going TO float long"
The boat was sent adrift, the engine
bell rang ont, once more the great
mail steamer was thrashing over the
long, tall heave of the Cape Horn
swell.
GLOW came you into this mess?"
inquired the captain.
The man who had before spoken
gave answer:
"Wc're all that's left of the crew of
the Boston bark "George Washing
ton" She was whaler, hun dred
and forty days out. 1t were four days
ago. | was the first to smell fire some
while arter two O'Clock in the middle
watch"
at wanted ten minutes to six BELLS"
exclaimed man. and a general, en-
phat,c, hairy nod followed the inter-
ruption.
81 was the first to smell fire." con-
unued the other, "call it what hour We
like. gave the alarm, and all hands
turned to with hoses and buckets. But
there was deal of oil in the hold, and
the ships planks was thick with grease
besides, and that gave us no chance.
By ten O'Clock in the morning the
flames had bursted through and was
shooting up mast-high, and then we
calculated it was time to look to the
boats"
The others stood listening with hard,
stolid, leathery faces, generally gazing
with steadfast eyes at the speaker, but
sometimes glancing askance at the cap
tain and the crowd of others which
stood round.
"There was an ugly sea running"
the man went on, ''and the wheel
being desartcd, the ship had fallen off
and ran in the trough, and the lower
ing of the stern boats, whalemen
though they was who had the handling
of 'em, cost our company of twenty
eight souls the loss of all hands saving
them as stand afore ye."
GA bad job! measly, cruel, bad
job !" here broke in long -iawed man
whose brow and eyes were almost con-
cealed by quantity of coarse red
hair.
"Well, us eight men got away in
the boat" proceeded the spokesman,
"bringing along with us nothin' but
small bag of bread and abou. six gal
Ions of fresh water. We're been a.
washing about since Tuesday, and
now, the Lord be praised, here we
be with q chance of getting
something to eat, and what's more
pleasurable still to our feelings, the
opportunity of comfortably farming
in"
A murmer of pity rang among the
passengers, several of whom were
ladies', and there was more than one
somewhat loud whisper to the effect
that the captain ought really to send
the poor creatures forward at once to
get some breakfast, instead OF holding
them, starving and dry with thirst, in
talk. The eagle-eyed skipper, how
ever, asked several questions before
dismissing them.
"Since by their own confession the
fire gave them plenty of time to escape
from the bark, how was it they left
her SO ill-provisioned as they repre-
sentedw
This was most satisfactorily account
cd for. Other inquiries of like ma
ture were responded to with alacrity
and intelligence.
Every sentence that one or an
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