The morning call., 1893-07-06
Chronicles of the Cruise
of the Black Cat.
HOW THE CREW GOT WET.
A Discourse on the GrOtesquely Clad
Figures That Frightened the
Bridge-Tender.

teeth of the wind that blew against the
tide TO depredate the oyster beds OF the
upper corner of Bay Farm Island. Oysters
are cheap now-n0t to mention that they
are out of season because the months
have no RS in them-and the crew of the
piratical craft lost days pay to seize un-
| lawfully about 81 worth of bivalves. And
they came home empty handed and almost
naked. In the latter fact there is a story
that ought to be told by humorist rather
than q historian
But the humorists are high-Driced and
the story must be told at once, for if kept
long it will lose its freshness. 1t is too
good to keep. When the Black Cat left
the Alameda shore the captain, the first
mate and the second mate-the Black Cat
is the flagship of the Alameda squadron.
YOU know, and manned only by officers
were all warmly, if not elegantly. clothed
in the ordinary style and cut of garments
! ordinarily worn by the ordinary civilized
| Caucasian.
When she passed in through the bridges
Sunday morning the three human hgures
tentots in the "Booge Man," or like Topsy.
only less decorously.
| Bat the editor is prudiSh, and for
this reason MOI even the truthful historian
may accurately depict the lack OF clothing
| in which the Black Cats crew were attired
when the drydOck was reached. though she
intelligent reader, if he scan closely the
white spaces between the lines, may real
| lie without being told.
| How it happened, being not INDIGENOUS,
may be told as we'll as a SIM pie historian
can tell it. When off the bivalve beds
night came over the uppermost part Of the
| globe, but the trade winds, contrary to all
| Ism Il Ca aAfy
! taken in the mainsail and the jib was low
cred. The first mate went to the wheel.
while Captain MahrOg busted himself In
provisioning and eQuppng the sklff. Sud-
denly there was low. grumbling. grating
sound, and the center-board flew up into
rather sudden juxtapositiOn with the cap
| tain'S elbow. There was conclusion and
some words which are best comprehended
by series Of
| YOU'RE ashore" said the captain.
| "Guess you're right" said the mate.
There might have been further specula-
ton INDUCED In on this question. but just
then a big whitecap ducked its head into
the cockpit and practice took the place Of
theory.
The Black Cat was in the trough OF the
sea. her canvas Tapping idly and the wa
ter pouring in by the tubful. While the
captain and the second mate bailed the
third mate tried to shove the null off the
| oyster DdUk. NGulully uc duu Ill
| trying fell.
When rescued he was wet and al oar was
missing. But the accident lightened the
craft enough to float her off, and with rare
seamanship Captain Mahrog brought heI
around till the canvas filled. Then he stald
at the rudder while the second mate mas
saged the first mate and rolled him up in
tarpaulin and slowed him away in the
| hold with the advice to STOP shaking or
he'd win every cigar in the house. He
was shaking aces all the time. However,
the contents of a canteen that had been
brought along Tin case Of snake bite, as
Captain Mahrog had explained. put
another rumbling. grating noise like the
first. only more so, and there would have
been another cOncusSiOn of the centerboaId
if the second mate hadn't been sitting on
it. Still the wind and the waves kept up
merrily. but this time the watchful cap
| tain kept the craft out OF the trough. while
the second mate tried and JAILED 10 push
her off with the remaining oar.
well, wait for the tide, said the cap
tain, and they waited.
But when you need it most the tide has
a certain hesitancy about rushing matters
that is decidedly discouraging to stranded
craft The captain grew impatient.
"Pl take the skiff and 60 after the
bivalves from here" he finally decided.
| He went. Now he is sorry he went A
duck hunters skiff in a high wind and an
ebb tide is not exactly the kind OF sailing.
you know, calculated to insure the maxi
mum safety with the minimum OF seaman
captain was not lacking. He lacked
enough of the latter to have drowned
| kanaka or cat.
But he could swim, couldn't he? He
could. and he did. Before he had gone
two fathoms from the Black Cat the skiff
began to fill. In moment it was swamped
and the captain was wet. He was also
overheard. He struggled. He righted
the skiff. He bailed it out. He got in
again Carefully. carefully he watche d
| the waves now, and in watching and care
lie rode them safely. There is a certain
| skill which comes to the practced seaman
that enables him to manage safely the
a skill Captain Mahrog employed, and be
finally reached the stakes in safety.
The live oyster beds, you know. are
separated from the outside world by a
fence of stakes driven firmly into the mud,
| and just far enough apart to admit the
passage OF small skill; Well. here was
the captain and his skiff and an oyster
scoop. He headed the frail craft for the
widest open space between the stakes
| Now he reaches the opening. The
| skiff was passing in. But now also came
another white cap. dead to the port, and no
room in which to steer In such cases
seamanship is discounted and there is Il
premium upon swimming
Well. the white cap came. 1t poised. 1t
fell. Boat. captain, scoop. everything fell
beneath it-and were lucky. indeed. not to
be crushed by it. Again the captain swan.
Again he struggled. Again he riRhted the
skiff and toied bravely on, now inside the
bed, and still hungering for the succulent
bvalve.
And yet the Black Cat returned to Ala
media light. and with nary an oyster
aboard. Why? Because the captain
found the water three hours too deep on
the oyster beds. and daylight but half an
hour off. A good and sufficient reason.
you will know. If you have ever been
| there.
With only one more swapping, the CAP
tain returned alive to the Black Cat But
his teeth were chatterng and his bones
shaking-the second mate says he shook
four skies every time.
I'VE must get out of here before day.
break" said the captain, when he had
been duly massaged by the second mate