The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-03-03
CHAPTER I
9HE DRnADNAU0Hr.

friends who are about TO be separated
BY = long voyage viii never see each
other again--those who are left behind
may be missing upon the return; those
who set out may never come back
again But no such thought as this
bothered the heads Of the seamen who
were busily engaged in getting the
DreadnauQht ready for sea on the morn
ing of March IS, 1875. On that day the
Dreadnaught, John Allaire, master,
was to set sail from the port of San
Diego, Cal, on q voyage through the
seas of the northern Pacific.
!. The Dreadnaught, q three-master of
nine hundred tonnage, belonged to that
type of clipperbuilt ships which the
Americans use so advantageously in
their foreign trade and which in point
of speed nearly rival the best steamers
In their merchant marine. Such a fine
ly-built vessel was the Dreadnaught,
and so admirably commanded, that not
. man of her crew would have con-
sented to ship on any other vessel even
with an assurance Of higher pay. Every
heart throbbed, every breast was filed
with that two-fold confidence based upon
the certainty of having shipped on a
good vessel under a good captain.
The Dreadnaught was about to leave
port on her first voyage, excepting, OF
course. her trial trip, for account Of her
owners, the shipping house of Hollister
q Co.. Of San Diego. Her port of des-
tination was to be Calcutta, which she
was to reach by way Of Singapore. with
. cargo of American manufactured
goods, and upon her return voyage she
was to bring q consignment of East
Indian merchandise for one of the Cali
9ornian ports.
/, Capt. John Allafre was young man,
bust twenty-nine, with an open. manly
countenance, full of force and decision.
He was endowed to high degree with
moral courage. 30 superior to physical
courage-the "two hours after mid
night" courage as Napoleon called it,
that Il to say, the kind which can
calmly face the unforeseen and gather
strength in emergencies. It would be
difficult to imagine finer specimen Of
physical manhood. The fash of his
dark eyes. tho ruddy cheeks. the broad
shoulders and arched chest, the great
strength Of his hands, the springy,
elastic tread, all betokened the pres
ence Of an iron will inside Of an iron
body. And yet John Allaire was kind
and generous to q fault, ready almost
instinotively 20 sacrifice his life for a
fellow creature. He had so much Of
the heroic In him that IL seemed only
q matter Of course for him to perform a
brave act, and he had given an earnest Of
this while still lad by saving the lives
Of several OF his playmstes. In after
years this instructive devotion ripened
into . matter Of faith with him and set
its indelible impress upon the mans
character.
John Auaire bad taken a wife few
years previous 70 the sailing Of the
Dreadnaught-s MAss Molly Manson
an orphan belonging 10 one Of the best
families In San Diego. The young girls
fortune was modest one, but quite in
keeping with the young mans position,
that Of mate ON one of the Hollister
fleet of merchantmen. But there was
good reason to assume that Molly
would some day OF other inherit a large
fortune from rich uncle, Edward
Manson. who was large land specula-
tor and mill owner in the western part
of Tennessee. In the meantime there
were two people to support; yes, three.
for little Walter. Wat, as a pet name,
had come into the world the first year
Of their marriage; therefore the cap
tain-and the captains wife agreed
with him-couldn't think Of giving up
the sea Just yet. Later he would deter
mine what would be the best thing for
him to do, either after Molly had be-
come an heiress or he had grown rich in
the service of Hollister & Co.
Anyway, his career had been bril-
liant one, and be now found himself
captain Of q splendid clipper ship at an
ago when most Of his associates were
nothing moro than first or second
mates. But the fact is his splendid
qualifications were universally conced-
ed. and IL would have been hard to find
q more popular man than Capt. Allairc
either in San Diego or in any other CAL
ifornian port The personal bravery
displayed by him in rescuing ship
wrecked crew on one occasion, and In
his skill and tenacity of purpose in eff
fecting the salvage Of valuable cargo
abandoned by master and seamen, had
made his name known TO merchants and
shippers all along the coast
The firm of Hollister & Co. offered
him the command of the Dreadpaught,
which was all ready to be launched.
Allaire had accepted without the
slightest hesitation, for he felt that he
was qualified TO all the position, and
had been thereupon authorized TO pick
his officers and seamen, such was the
perfect confidence which the house had
IN him. II was under these circum
stances that the Dreadnaught was
about TO make her first voyage under
Ahe command Of Capt. John Allaire.
The sailing of this splendid new
slipper ship was quite an event The
orm Of Hollister a. Co. very Justly en-
3oyed the reputation Of being one OF the
wcalthiest and most reputable shipping
houses In San Diego, thanks 10 the wise
administration Of Its affairs by William
Hollister. q man respected by his CON-
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