Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1891-07-30
THE STOLEN SHIP.


Of the British survey brig Advance
which was surveying the islands to the
south OF the Sandwich group. Kingman
shoal, Palmyra island and other shoals
and islands had not been closely sur
veyed, and we were spending the sum-
mer in this work. The brig was q craft
Of 200 tons, and being government yes
sci was under strict discipline.
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 aft
ernoon 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 north
east of our island. 1t was midafternoon
before we got the brig about, and she
had scarcely. been headed back when
whaleboat came down upon US from the
northwest, and when we got her crew
aboard we heard rery interesting story,
There were eight of them-a first
mate, two haTpooners and five hands.
All belonged to the British whaling bark
Penrose, Of Liverpool. Twenty days
previously she hal run into Honolulu
and discharged half cargo of oil and
shipped three Portuguese sailors to re-
place hands who had been lost at sea.
On leaving Honolulu she had cruised to
the southwark, taking whale occasion
ally, and on the day the gale broke she
lowered for whales about 200 miles
north of the group we had been survey
ing. Three boats were down at once as
the bark ran into a school. AS the breeze
was light only shipkeeper was left
aboard, and he was sailor who was
just recovering from hurt.
The three Portuguese were in the cap
tain's boat, which made fast to big
bull whale within quarter of mile Of
the bark and was Immediately struck
and disabled, and the line had to be cut.
Meanwhile the other two boats had gone
to 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 a
float to sustain the crew. In this emer-
gency the three Portuguese offered to
swim to the bark and return with aspare
boat, and they were told to go. 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 300 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. Indeed, they boasted Of it,
and derided the men hanging to the
stoven boat
It was a heartless, cold blooded thing
to do. The two other boats were five
miles to the eastward, and it was ar
hour after the bark made off before the
men cut loose from their dead whales tt
fathom the mystery. They found the
wreck of the captains boat, to discover
that only one single man remained witt
it, the others having been pulled dowr
by the sharks. By the time they hat
heard his story the bark was more thai
hull down and Just then the gale broke
The boats were laid head on to the Sc;
and drifted slowly to the east, dividing
their men so as to give each an equa
show to live out the gale. During tn
night the second mates boat was los
sight Of and as it was never heard o
again it must have been swamped. Ha,
we been running course the surviving
boat could not have fetched US, but a
we brought about she got the chance t
do so.
AS soon as the story had been told on
captain decided to go in search of tn
stolen bark. It was a question, how
ever, whether she had outlived the gale
She must have received the full force c
it, and being so short handed she wa
liable to disaster. The main Questio
was whether she would scud or drift
We had adopted the former course, o
the brig had habit of flooding he
decks when lying head on. The mat
of the stolen bark, whose name wa
Cummings. felt certain that the Portr
guese would let her drift. In that cas-
we would have to cover hundred mile
of ocean to the westward before begi1
ming to look for them. What did the
want Of the craft? What could they
with her? There was only one reasol
able answer. They would run her dow
among the southern islands, find SON
safe spot to lay her away and then "haV
good time" This meant eating, drin
ing, smoking and having no work to d
They would not dare to try long vo
age nor to put into any prominent port
I was Mate Cummings belief that ii
Portuguese would head for Christm
island, hundred miles to the south
where we had been surveying, and tt
briggs course was accordingly laid. c
the afternoon of the third day after pic
ing up the boat we sighted the bal
dead ahead. We were then not Ov
twenty-five miles from the island. IT
stolen craft had evidently been takil
things pretty easy. She was under sho
sail when we first espied her, althous
the weather was fine and the breeze fai
The thieves had no fear of pursuit, al
perhaps all were captains except &
shipkeeper and would not obey ea'
Others orders. We had her almost hi
up when the fellows became suspicion
then they. set everything below al