The Portland daily press., 1891-02-27


| just as Black Care was solidly mounted
on every mans shoulder, Talbot stepped
out on the beach, and with as cheerful
an air as If he were proposing lark
ashore volunteered to take one of the
| ships boats, and attempt the trip to the
: Hawaiian islands.
Think of it.
But believe if you give q sailor sin
gle plank he will see material for a
aotilla, and so, after a pause of few
minutes-a tribute to discipline-the
young officer was almost lost in the
wave of sailor men that surged around
him, asking, urging, pleading to go with
him, although every man jack of them
knew 1t was almost certain death he
volunteered for. And then, when the
choice fell on the coxswain Halford and
three able seamen named Andrews,
Muir and Francis, the others almost
fought about it.
The crew picked, Talbot passed in re-
view of all the boats that had survived
the wreck, selecting the whale boat,
which was raised on rude stocks-made
from the Saginaw's drift-and work be-
gan on ner InaC very Gay.
The seals and offers, sole occupants of
the island for several peaceful years,
made off in dismay before the swarm of
two legged intruders, who brought such
active life and intolerable sounds to their
tranquil retreat; for not only did the
hammers and caulker's mallets play on
the whale boat, but Sicard, to hearten up
the men, set them to building a schooner
Of the Saginaw's planks and beams in
which to sail to safety if Talbot's efforts
failed.
Through days of dreary weather the
work was pushed, and on the 18th of
November the whale boat was ready for
her venture. She was well prepared as
far as the limited supplies of the ship
wrecked permitted, but, compared with
the elemental forces against which she
must battle, and considering the-season
of the year, it seemed as though she could
not outlive the first day.
The gunwales were raised eight inches
and she was decked over; two masts
were shipped and a bowsprit mounted;
she had full set of new sails and oars
from the ships stores-and was stocked
with canned goods.
In the choice of these latter they had
to be guided by guesswork entirely, for
all the labels had washed off in the
wreck, and although the best looking
and the largest were selected, and the
supply was lavish, the contents of many
of them proved so unsuitable for such y
| journey that they not only jeopardized
its success, but actually precipitated the
disaster.
On the morning of the 18th of No
| vember, for the first time since the YES
| sells loss, the sun shone on the cast
| always, lifting up their hearts and filling
| both parting crew and those left behind
| with an almost unreasonable joy and
| hope.
| The first hours of the day were occu-
pied in giving the last touches to the
boat, and then Talbot stepped aside with
the captain to receive his final instruc-
lions. These were:
BEAT up against the Trades, through
the Belt of Gains and the Variables, to
Ia given) latitude east of the Hawaiian
islands, and thence run west with the
Trades"
| This route was advised not only be-
cause it was in the track of ships, but
also because the islands cover an area of
about hundred miles, which greatly in
creased the chances of their being sight
ed, no matter how the calculations
faulted, and that they would fault was
| inevitable, for in small boat the mo-
| ton is so very lively that an accurate
| reckoning is almost impossible. Then,
too, the mountain peaks are lofty, and
| the smoke of the twin volcanoes can be
seen long before the islands themselves
| are raised.
A tracing of the chart and some navi-
cation instruments were given him, and
then, in the sparkling light Of full noon,
the little craft put out through the open
ing of the reef and danced joyously off
on her mission.
A deep throated cheer followed them,
and as its echoes pealed over the lonely
waters an answer came drifting back,
reedy and thin with distance, but keyed
to the same exultant note of confidence
That days sunshine was like the rose
thrown to the martyr in the arena-the
last token of friendship from the skies;
for, beginning with the next morning,
the little boat battled with storms until
the end came. The fifth day out the
waves, which had been swapping and
| snarling at her heels since the second
| day, rolled into mountains under the
| fierce wind; the deck began to leak, the
cooking apparatus was washed over
| board, the provisions already opened
| were ruined and they hove to with a sea
anchor.
Fancy twenty foot boat hove to in
November gale in midocean.
This was a specimen of the weather
they met. When the wind and the sea
were not actually graphing in savage
conflict, clouds obscured the sun and
blotted out the stars; the navigation in
struments proved absolutely useless, and
the dead reckoning was 80 faulty that 1t
was miracle the islands were sighted
at all. In the second heavy gale the
sea anchor was lost, and three cared
drag fetched away. In still another, a
square sail and two more oars, with
which they had made a second drag,
and successfully clawed off the storms
edge for three hours
Flint, steel and matches were ruined,
SO fire was out of the question, and the
raw food, exposure and cold soon
brought on grave physical disorders that
crippled the little crew by half. Mrr
and Andrews were ON the sick list for
three weeks. Talbot was also i'll, but
his CHEEKY spirit and powerful viii kept
him about, and even when wrung haae
with anguish,his courage was stin strong
enough to hold up the fainting hands Of
the men who prayed to heaven for help.
Once the un-shone for few hours,
and by means of the lenses OF an opera