St. Paul daily globe., 1892-11-27
4 BOLD SAILOR BOY,
a Thrilling Incident OF a Cy-
clone in the Indian
Ocean.
Single-Handed the Cabin Boy
Fought the Storms
Fury,
Getting the Brig Under Way
and Navigating Her
Safely.
At the End of Seven Days He
Came Proudly Into
Port.

III was at bOuTDOu, IllO uOSI ulStduL y
French harbOrs in the Indian ocean,
says the New York Herald. Many ships
were anchored there one hot day when,
With the suddenness which usually
marks the arrival Of Erst Indian cy-
clones, the semaphOre announced that
tidal wave was imminent, and the
regulation boom of the cannon empha-
sJzed the order for all vessels so move
Lut instantly into the open sea.
With all possible haste the crews on
The different ships strained at the ropes
and anchors, and in less than half an
hour every vessel except one had dis
appeared below the horizon.
The one which fingered. deaf to the
lnjunctionS of the souverign authority,
Sas large brig, upon whose deck not a
I0uI was visible.
Presently q second cannon doomed,
'epeating the command and seeming to
,Ty out that there YVES not second to
lie lost in leaving the harbor.
At that moment the groups on shore
aw the brig turn slowly and drift away
coward the open without a sail raised
And without a sign of life aboard!
Then the cyclone burst in terrible
IuTyl
An hour later it was learned with
mazemeDt that the briggs entire crew
ad been kept ashore through some un-
explained blunder, and that when the
order to raise anchor had been given
Ilere was not man on the vessel, no
lie except the cabin boy, thirteen years
b,d. and the captains dog.
1t would seem that the little chap, in
order to obey the repeated command of
Ihe semaphore, had filed the anchor
chain and cut the hawser which held
The brig.
But what, thought those ashore, sick
Bt heart, could his feeble strength ac-
tomplish in such a storm? How could
Iney hope that he all alone would be
IDle 10 manage the heavy wheel and
Iteer the great vessel in the face of the
cyclone?
1t was madness to think such thing,
and great was the CONSERVATION among
Ihe crew and officers, who could do moth
ing but wait hopelessly.
The brig is lost" they said.
Days passed, and the gloomy prophe-
cieS seemed to have been realized.
All the other ships which had left
port had come back, but nothing was
seen or heard Of the brig.
Still, hoping against hope, and with
stubbornnesS which resembled madness,
all the shIpmates of the cabin boy, from
the captain down, passed weary days
straining their eyes toward the horizon.
Suddenly on the seventh day naked
mast rose up sharply against the sky.
Then second and a third mast became
visible and grew larger and larger. The
erosStreeS and yards gradually rose
from the water, and presently the brig
was seen with ali its sails turled, held
in lis course by the little staysall hoisted
only part way and beating against the
cOrdage like handkerchief.
A great, almost savage cry Of Joy
came from twenty thrOats as the group
of loyal sea-dogS fixed their eyes on the
vessel which rose as it were from the
grave. Pellmell and with the speed of
q storm they tumbled into the marine
OIL instantly. Twenty minutes later
they were steaming out to meet the brig
the lost brig which had been found
again.
For there was no doubt about it; it
was their own vessel, which the thlr-
teen-ytar-old hero had brought back to
port after seven days absence, and such
sutferings and struggles as no words
can tell.
AS the captain had thought, when the
boy heard the danger signal and saw
that no one came he had filed the an
chor chain, which his weak arms never
could have hoisIed. had cut through the
hawSer, and then, springiDg to the
wheel, had steered the ship out to sea.
Afraid! That boy afraid! Not bit
OF it; he had the real sailors stuff in
him, and, instead of crying, he set about
pluckily to make the best OF bad bust
ness, and save the ship, if he could, or
ryO dawn with hnr hic hands on the
wheel, if he could not.
In the first place he lashed the wheel
with sliding knots to the larboaTd and
starboard, so as to get the best of the
terrible lurcheS which would have been
too much for his bOyish muscles, sturdy
though they were, and then during
tWenIy-SiX hours he stood like a rock at
this post of danger, watching with the
eye of a seaman the monster waves.
measuring the danger with the judg-
ment of a veteran, and thousand times
saving the ship from being sWamped
in the storm.
And near him, seated on his launches,
with his black eyes fixed tenderly on
the boys face, as If he understood that
his life and the ships safety depended
on the chiId's heroism, sat the captains
dog, never moving, though the brig
which seemed 10 have no bottom.
After twenty-siX hours, when the cy-
clone had spent its force and left the
ocean calm, the cabin boy, worn out in
body and daZed in mind, suddenly re-
membered that he had not eaten for
more than day, and that his little
stomach was sounding the alarm with
ali the energy of undue abstinence.
If he proposed to save the brig and
bring her back proudly into Bourbon
harbor he must eat and get strength,
and to do that he must 90 to the cabin
for food, but how leave the wheel? For
a long time he thought of this and at
last an idea came to him.
'Cartahn,' said the child, speaking
to the dog, which bounded toward him.
"Come here and hold this wheel while
! 90 after something to eat. We have
got to get some grub, doggy, or it won't
do us any good to be out of the storm.
Now, then, catch this rope in your
white teeth and hang on to it for your
life. That's right! Good Cartahu!
Now wait Just two minutes like that
and | will be back"
Taking final look to make sure that
the dog had a sure grip on the rope, the
child hurried 10 the kitchen, and was
back in iiffy with wine and sausageS
and bag of biscuits, some sugar, water
and a bottle of taffle, al. of which he de-
posted triumphantly by the binnacle.
"Ihere," he cried, ''you see, old Car
tahu, that the bon Dieu looks after good
cabin boys and good little dogs! Now
we've got enough to chew OH for week,
and the devil fly away with us if we are
not back in Bourbon by that time"
The child was not mistaken, and the
seventh day after, having steered his
course by the sun and stars, he saw the
peaks Of Reunion island, and presently
the tugboat brought him his shipmates,
drunk with joy and enthusiasm.
The governor Of the island was deeply
moved at this instance of rare intelli-
gence and energy, and the whole colony
RAISED a subscription for his benefit.
The result was that, aided by every
one, he was sent to the naval school at
Brest, from which he came out an Of
fcer.
Where is he today? That 1 do not
know, but certainly he is getting on in
the world somewhere, that plucky little
cabin how