Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-08-04
SHARK BEHIND HIM.
AKDSRGS AND TEE KERNlIO SIGHTED BY 4
FREIGaT STEAMER.
The hareG Has Yet More Than 1000 Mls to Sail
IN Hs Racs With lie Sea Serpent and &c Eas
Some DiSsgresabla Ocsan Companions
With HIN Constantly.

BALTMoRE, August Capt. Thorn
as Morgan. in command OF the steel
steamship SobraOn, which arrived here
from Liverpool, reports that about 2
O'Clock on July "A he sighted a small
boat ahead with sails set. Surprising it
was a boats crew from a shipwreck, he
bore down upOnit. To his establishment,
there was but one man in the boat, and
he seemed perfectly at ease. The man
brought his little craft alongside the
Sobraon and entered into conversation
with Capt. Morgan. he said he was
Capt. Andrews; that his boat was the
Mermaid, and that he had started TO
race across the ocean from Boston to
Lands End, England, with boat the
same size called the Sea Serpent. He
had then been out thirty days. As the
SobranOn was north latitude forty-two
degrees fifty minutes, west longitude
thirty-SiX degrees twelve minutes, Capt
Andrews was about 2,146 miles from his
destination. By request Capt. Morgan
received the log book of the lonely
mariner up 70 the date Of meeting the
Sobraon, to be forwarded to the Boston
HeUld. IL was mailed yesterday.
Capt. Morgan says the courageous
mariner was we'll aud In good spirits;
was short OF nothing needed, but re-
GREETED having been ont so long. When
the two parted company the weather
was cloudy, with a light breeze from
the northwest, and when last seen the
Mermaid was sailing with flowing
sheet. A shark had been following the
Mermaid for days, and when she made
fast 20 the SObraOn the two pilot fish
which had preceded her for the same
time and belonged 10 the shark secreted
themselves beneath the tiny craft until
she got under way, when they resumed
their places just ahead. The lOg-bOOk
contained but little Of interest except
Capt Andrews's meeting with the Cali
fOrnia, which supplied him with little
heavy-weather medicine. He regretted
not being able to see the sun for days
TO ascertain his position.
From the point of view OF the old salt,
Capt. Andrews is in bad way. The
company Of q shark looks OminOuS.
WHAT does the shark want If it be not
square meal, and why should it stick 10
the Mermaid If 10 did not expect Capt.
Andrews 70 go crazy and jump over
board? These are the questions the old
salt is very apt to ask and to answer TO
the dismay Of the Captain. From any
point Of view the outlook for tho Mer-
maid is not cheering. BY the steamer
route, the distance from New York TO
Queenstown is $500 miles, and yet here
is this tiny racer 2,10O miles from its
destination after having been thirty
days out from Boston. To be sailing
even with q flowing sheet in such a
boat, with a hungry shark only for COM
pany, Is bad enough, but when one con-
siders that the season for cyclones is
now 40 hand, and that such a small boat
cannot sail fast enough TO avoid that
kind of storm as a large ship can, the
hope Of Capt. Andrews ever reaching |
any land IS slim enough, not to mention |
the hope of completing the journey.
a number OF such voyages as this |
have been attempted. The boats are |
commonly spoken OF as dOries, but they !
are no more like a dory than Newport |
catboat is like a mudscow. The hUlls |
are always built on the deep cutter |
model, and are carefully decked over,
and So ballasted that the crew can
throw over his sea anchor when a gale
comes. close his matches, and turn in to
sleep until pleasant weather, always
providing that some comber does not
crush i'm his cockleshen. OF course the
shark followed the Mermaid because
of the waste food that Capt. Andrews
threw overheard, and the pilot fish
were there because the shark waS-just
as q little dog can always be found han
dy by when big dog is killing sheep.
The steamer Kehrwieder, which ar
rived at Deptford, near London, on
July i, reported passing the Sea Ser
pent ON July s. Her exact position was
not reported, but she was probably not
over 100 miles from the Mermaid, judg-
ing by the speed the Kehrwieder had
made.
While a small boat has now and then
crossed the Atlantic ships yawl once
landed twenty-four negro children from
the Gold Coast I'm Brazil-the chances
are an against the success Of such vOy-
aces as the Mermaid and the Sea Ser
pent are undertaking. The shippers
are very apt TO do rs the captain OF the
Dark Secret did two or three years ago
get frightened and give it up when a
friendly merchant ship beaves in sight
homeward bound.