The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1893-12-08
THE PORTUGUESE PIRATES.

Ill tnt year WI Out vi but CItW
of the British survey brig, the Advance,
which was surveying the islands to the
south of the Sandwich group, Kingman
bhoal, Palmyra Island, and other shoals
and islands had not been closely sur
veyed and we were spending the sum-
mer in the work. The brig was a craft
Of 800 tons, and being government YES
sci, was under strict discipline. She
was armed with two cannon, and carried
supply of smlll A, rms. In those days
the inhabitants of some of the south
Pacific islands were a bad natured lot,
and nothing Tut the sight of a strong
force would prevent them from making
troublesome visits to a vessel anchored
close inShore.
About the middle of September we
wer AZ Tanning island, when heavy
gale ca ne up from the west and we all
had to run for the open sea to the east.
The gale struck us about o'clock in the
afternoon, and hung to us until noon
next day. During this time we were
running little east Cf lCrth, and hav-
ing all we could do, and when the gale
broke w were at least 200 mi es to the
northeast of our iSant. 1t was mid
afternoon before We got the brig about,
and she mad scarcely been headed back
when a whaehOat came Gown npon US
from the northwest, and after half an
hour of lard work we got her crew
aboard. Teen we heard "a very interest
ing story. There were eight men of
them-a first mate, two harpooners and
! Ave lands. All belonged to the British
whaling bark Penrose Of Liverpool.
Twenty days previously she had run into
Honolulu and discharged half cargo of
oii, and shipped three Portuguese sal ors
to rep ace hands who had been lost at
sea. On leaving Honolulu she had
cruise to the southwark taking u whale
occas onally, and on the day the ga Q
broke she lowered for whales about 200
| miles north of the group we had been
surveying. Three boats were down at
once as the boat ran into school. AS
the breeze was light only shipkeeper
was left aboard, and he was a sailor who
was just recovering from hurt.
The three Portuguese were in the
| Captains boat, which made fast to big
bullwhale within a quarter Of mile of
the bark, and was Immediately struck
and disabled, and the line had to be
cut. Meanwhile the other two boats
had gone to the eastward after the
school, and they had no sooner made
| ldSt Uldu bHciI NlCJlll Idu Ol III lull
speed. Owing to the direction of the
| wind the shipkeeper could not work
down to the Captain. His boat was
wreck In this energy the three Portu-
guese offered to swim to the bark and
return with a spare boat, and they were
told to go. They reached the craft in
safety, but had no sooner got aboard
than the yards were trimmed, her head
was brought to the south, and she sailed
within three hundred feet of the Captain
as she made off. The dark skinned
rascals made no bones of the TACT that
they were running away with The ship.
Indeed, they boasted of it, and derided
and insuted the men hanging to the
steven boat.
1t was heartless, eold-blooded thing
to do. The two other boats were five
miles to the eastward, and 1t was an
hour after the bark made off before the
men cut loose from their dead whales to
fathom the mystery. Taey found the
wreck OF the Captains boat, to discover
that only one single man remained with
( 1t, the others having been pulled down
| by the sharks. By the time ey had
| heard his story the bark was more than
hull Gown, and just then the gaze broke.
The boats were lai he..d-on to the sea
and drifted slowly to the east, dividing
their men. so as to give each an equal
show to live out the gale. During the
night the second mates boat was lost
sight OF, and as it was never heard Of
again, it must have been swamped. Had
we been running course the surviving
boat could 10. have fetched us, but as
we brought about to return to the island
she got the chance to do SO.
As soon as the story had been told our
Captain decided to go in search of the
stolen barn. l. was question, however,
hud ) e outlived the gale. She must
lave received full force of it being
% sholt .!ant!cd she was liable to dis 8.
ter. TIE mai question was whether sbo
would cud or drift. We had adopted the
70. a.pr course, as the brig had abit Of
ilooGi G her ,:eckS when lying head on.
The mate OF the stolen BARK, whose
name was Cummings. felt certain that
| the Portuguese would lot her drift. In
that Gu G he wou.d nave to cover II hun =
red mics o DC an to the westward be-
fore beg ming to look for them. WHAT
Id they want o. thu craft? What could
they do with Ter? Their" was only one
reasonable answer. They would run
her Gown among The southern islands,
find some safe spot to lay her way, and
then have u good time" This meant
eating, drinking, smoking. and having
no work to do They would not dare to
try long voyage, nor to put into any
prominent y, TT. As they wou nee d
the services of the ships keeper, it was
not like Y that they would do him any
harm.
1t was mate Cummings belief that the
PurtJgu Sc would head for Christmas
Island, hundred miles to the south oil
whore we had been surveying and tine
brig course was accordingly laid. On
the afternoon Of the third day after pick.
Ing up the boat, we sighted the bark
dead ahead. We were not over twenty.
five miles from the island. The stoler
craft had heen evi emily taking thing:
pretty easy. She WAS under short Sal
whom we first espied her, altho gh {
weather was fine and the breeze fair
the thieves had no fear of pursuit. ant
eerhaDs all were cal. taii $ except the