Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1891-10-23
THE STOLEN SHIP.

ct the British survey brig Advance.
which was surveying the islands 70 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 10 this work. The brig was a craft
of 900 tons, and being q government yes
eel was under strict discipline.
About the middle Of September we
were at Tanning island, when a heavy
gale came up from the west, and we had
to run for the open sen TO the east. The
gale struck us about Q o'clock IN the aft
ernoon and hung to us until noon the
next day. During this time we were
running a little east Of north and having
all we could do. and when the gale broke
we were at least 900 miles TO the north
foastof our island Il was midafternoon
before we got the brig about, and she
had scarcely been headed back when a
wl.aleboat came down upon as from the
northwest, aud when we got her crew
ABOARD we heard a very interesting story.
There were eight Of them-a 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 Portuguese sailors to re-
place hands who had been lost at sea
On leaving Honolulu she had cruised to
the southwark, taking a 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 a %shipkeeper was left
aboard, and he was a sailor who was
just recovering from "a hurt.
The three Portuguese were IN the cap
tain's boat. which made fast to a big
bull whale within a quarter Of a 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 bad 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 a wreck, but was acting as a
doat to sustain the crew. In this emer-
gency the three Portuguese offered to
swim to the bark aud return with a spare
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 500 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 boosted Of it,
and derided the men hanging to the
steven boat.
It was a heartless, cold blooded thing
TO do. The two other boats were five
miles to the eastward, and it was an
hour after the bark made Off before the
men cut loose from their dead whales to
fathom the mystery. They found the
wreck Of the captains boat, to discover
that only II single man remained with
it, the others having been pulled down
by the sharks. By the time they had
heard his story the bark was more than
hull down and Just then the gale broke.
The boats were laid head on to the sea
and drifted slowly to tho east, dividing
their men so as to give each an equal
show to live out the gale. During the
night the second mates boat was lost
sight Of and cs it was never heard of
again it must have been swamped. Had
we been running a course the surviving
boat could not have fetched us, but as
we brought about she got the chance tc
do so.
As soon as the story had been told o
captain decided 10 90 in search of the
nfo1at haw1r - r-,n a rrr.nafa, h1srr
ever, whether she had outlived the gale.
She must have received the full force OF
it. and being 50 short handed she was
liable to disaster. The main question
was whether she would scud or drift.
We had adopted the former course, as
the brig had a habit Of flooding her
decks when lying head on. Tho mate
of the stolen bark, whose name was
Cummings, felt certain that the Portu-
guese would let her drift. In that case
we would have TO cover a hundred miles
of ocean to the westward before begin.
ming to look for them. What did they
want of the craft? What could they dc
with her? There was only one reason
able answer. They would run her down
among the southern islRnds, find some
bNLs spot 70 lay hcI away dlu lutu nave
a good time" This meant eating, drink
ing, smoking and having no work to do.
They would not dare to try a long voy.
age nor to put into any prominent port.
was Mate Cummings belief that the
Portuguese would head dor Christmas
island. a hundred miles to the south Of
where we had been surveying, and the
briggs course was accordingly laid. On
the afternoon OF the third day after pick.
ing up the boat we sighted the bark
dead ahead Ne were then not over
twenty-five miles from the island. The
stolen craft had evidently been taking
things pretty easy. She was undcr short
sail when we FIST espied her, although
the weather was fine and the breeze fair
The thieves had no fear Of pursuit, and
perhaps ell were captains except tn,
shipkeeper and would nos obey eaci
others orders. We had her almost hull
mp when the fellows became suspicious.
then they set everything below and
aloft, and to our intense chagrin we dis
covered that the bark was a faster sailer
u ~ a.