The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-03-10
LITTLE CHERUB.

Surely never was there more gallant
skipper than Captain William Innes of
the rakish freighter British Prince, and
never harder boatswain than Charles l..
Lastadius. The skipper is from New
castle-on-Tyne and has followed the sea
80 years, or since he was IL years old.
lie has fine brown beard, and the re-
SonantvOice that comes through it might
be heard above the strongest gale that
ever thrummed on the British Princes
rigging. The boatswain is young
Swedc, who has suffered shipwreck more
than once. But the captain and all the
ships company never thought of him as
foreigner, but as u fellow sailornan
with big heart.
The British Prince when laden has less
freeboard than the common freighter
from Mediterranean ports. Sowhen she
breasts the wintry seas she sometimes
buries her fo'castle head in the ferment.
She had rough voyage from Gibraltar,
and her coal got so low in the bunkers
that Captain lines decided to put in to
st. Michael, in the Azores, for fresh
supply. There he found stancher steam
ships than his that had lost lifeboats and
headgear and had many inches of water
in their holds.
The British Prince made good weather
of 1T from the Azores until she was about
400 miles east of Sandy Hook A gale
came bowling out of the southwest,
conbing up seas that, in the picturesque
language of the skipper, looked like
"granite cliffs" Darkness was lust set
ting in. The cook wanted some fresh
water and, like most cooks, being a
landsman and somewhat timid, he asked
the boatswain to get it for him. The
pump of the fresh water tank is on the
main deck under the forecastle head. 1t
was hazardous to attempt to get at it
while the seas were boiling as they were,
but water must be had, and sailorman
and Boatswain Lastadius determined to
get it. The sailorman got bucket, and
running forward lodged under the fore
castle head. Boatswain Lastadius went
out OH the flying bridge to take the buck
ct from the sailorman when the chance
offered-that is, when there was little
probability of sea coming immediately
aboard forward.
The flying bridge is IL board walk with
stanchions, connecting the fo'castle head
with the forward part of the hurricane
deck. The main deck is seven feet be-
low. The boatswain intended to reach
down, grab the bucket and run aft along
the flying bridge to the hurricane deck,
leaving the sailorman under the shelter
of the focastle head to take another
chance between seas.
II had just got ready" said the boat
swain, "to take the bucket, when the
ship gave a plunge. Hooked up, and there
over the port bow saw such ouch sea
as hope may never see again. knew
it was coming aboard, and l knew had
no chance to get out of its way. If ran
aft, / thought, it would pick me up be-
fore | got off the bridge and carry me
away. So l thought the best thing to do
was to make fast to a stanchion of the
flying bridge. So wound my arms and
legs around it, Rugged as hard as knew
how and lowered my head to take the sea.
Everything seemed to give way when
the sea hit me. l might just as well
have caught hold of rope yarn as that
stanchion. thought it was all I'D with
me and the British Prince until found
myself on the crest of wave striking
out for the ship, which was riding as if
she had shipped only bucketful.
struck the water maybe five fathoms off
the starboard bow. 1 saw the form of
the second officer-Thomas Jones-on
the bridge as I swept along the ships
side. He grabbed lifebuoy from the
rack, and l saw it come sailing toward
me. 1t was good shot, or 1 might not be
telling about it now. The buoy almost
ringed my head. grabbed it and forced
1t over my shoulders and under my arms.
AS was swept aft along the star
board side of the ship saw Captain
Innes running forward. He saw me,
too. for he shouted: Keep up stout
heart. Well save you if we cam But
1t was getting very dark, and was three
ships lengths astern before anything
could be done aboard the ship. My heart
sank, and l gave myself up for lost. l
had been striking out for the ship, but
when saw her going ahead 1 stopped all
effort to save myself. But it takes a long
time to stop and reverse engines, and
pretty soon l saw the ship backing to-
ward me.
"That made my heart bound, and
yelled with all my might and tried to
make some Roadway against the seas.
which sometimes turned Inc over and
over. was afraid that the ship would
back against me, and that l would be
sucked under by her propeller and
drowned or killed by the blades. saw
the propeller whirling in the air when
ever the shin went down intn the tronnh