The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-12

of us banged away, and we hit somebody
at almost every shot. The boat came on,
how yer. the wounded cursing and the I'M
hanaed cheering and was within 80 feet
of our side when the nine FOUNDER roared
again She had fred a shell plump into
the boat. Ii had acted as a solid shot and
gone through Der, killing and wounding
and smashing, ana when the smoke blew
away only three men were swimming away
on the surface These we ordered aboard
and made secure at once. The bark dropped
another boat, but after coming half way
it returned. About moor she got rifle of
wind which did not reach us, and made OF
to the west to be seen no more.
When we came TO question the prison
ers, who were lusty looking cut Threats. we
found that they belonged 10 the Maldive
islands, around in the Indian ocean. They
made no bones about admitting that they
meant to capture us, and were surly and
defiant over their repulse. They would not
give us the name of the bark, and even
after she was out of sight they boosted that
she would return soon TO release them. AT
shutdown we got the breeze and stood away
on our course. That night, during the
mates watch, the pirates disappeared. All
knew where they went, but no one asked
any questions. The two boats contained
fully two dozen of them, and their loss
must have sadly crippled the bark and
changed her plans.
About three years later than the date
given at the opening of this sketch, ]
shipped aboard Of a British ship called the
Swallow to make voyage from Bombay
up the Persian gulf and back. She was
an old craft and a poor sailer, and her
crew of twelve men was made up of four
or five nationalities. i remember there
were two kanakas or Sandwich islanders,
one Lascar, a negro or two, and the others
were american, English and Dutch. We
had scarcely left Bombay when the captain
was taken sick with fever His name was
Aldrich, and his wife, who was a woman
of thirty, always sailed with him. She
nov took command in a general way, and
this to the satisfaction of both mates.
though both were thorough sailors. !
heard one of them say that she could take
an observation or work dead reckoning.
and ! saw from the orders she gave that
she knew all about a ship.
We had good weather and made good
progress until after we were above MusCat.
" the Bay Of Ormuz. Then one forenoon
we got a squat which did not last fifteen
minutes, but which brought down our
fore and man-to' gallant masts and carried
away a sail or two. Thee was only light
breeze after the squat had passed, and we
were lying TO and hard at work, when an
Arabian dhow of about two hundred tons
burden came stealing down the coast We
were within four miles OF the rocky and
mountainous shore, but she was two miles
inside of US. She was no sooner made out
than the first mate became very anxious,
and Mrs. Aldrich was sent for TO come on
deck. She took a good look at the stranger
through the glass and queried Of the mate:
Can we depend on the crew TO ight''.
i hope so, ma'am," he replied.
Have them come aft
AL moved aft, and I can remember
through all the long years just how she
looked and every word she said. She had
5 worried. anxious look. and no wopcer,