The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-03-05
THE ToLNA's TROUBLES.



she was very carefully searched by the
customs officers at Honolulu and that
while the searching was going on some
thing was dropped overheard into the
harbor at the stern while the officers
were searching below decks.
The information is brought up by
Augustus Poppercorn, who is an able
seaman by vocation and the late first
and second mate OF the yacht Tolna.
And his guess at what that some
thing was is spelled "dope" in the YER
nacuar, but il better known as opium.
Mate Poppercorn had some trouble with
Count Festetics and left his employ. He
is by no means friendly with that noble
man now.
"It's more than guess, said Pepper
corn yesterday. 81 was the only mate
aboard the Tolna, and | come pretty
near to knowing what was aboard OF
her.
"She cleared as pleasure craft, but
she is loaded for trading, and among the
items of her cargo is-or, at least, was
opium.
"Of this, 500 pounds was dropped
overheard at Honolulu. There ought to
be 1000 pounds left on board. | didn't
know anything about this at first, in
tact, not until they dropped the 800
pounds.
Then | investigated. | knew Count
Festetics was not the man to throw any
thing away unless he was in pretty
tight pinch. / knew the package
couldn't have been rotten spuds, for he
fed us. on them regularly. 1t couldn't
be bad meat for we had eaten most of
that already. In fact, it couldn't be
anything but what it was--just the plain
dope
"And the rest OF it was slowed away
in small packages inside the furled
canvass. There was no good hiding
place for the 500-pound package, so 1t
had to be sunk in order to save the
rest.
"Why did | leave the Tolna? For the
same reason that Captain Wichman and
all the crew deserted the ship at Homo
lulu--because we could not live and
work on wind and were not used to sail
| ing under lady captain.
Captain Wichman was relegated to
the position of master of navigation as
soon as we left Sausalito and the Count
ess assumed command.
Gwen this was not enough. The
navigation master was not permitted
| to steer his own course without inter-
ruption.
1.-The first day out the Count took a
squint through the seXtant. As result
OF his observation lac told us we were a
few miles off the Faralones, and sixteen
hawser lengths, he said, from the Cliff
House.
Captain Wichman thought the Count
probably knew what he was talking
about, so he turned in for snooze.
pretty soon all hands were routed
out by the lookout, who reported that
we were going ashore at Point Reyes.
Neither the Count nor the Countess
had sense enough to appreciate the
gravity of the situation, and while the
half-scared crew was hustling about to
prevent the ship from running on the
rocks the Countess brought her banjo
up on deck and sang a Life on the
Ocean Wave to her own accompani-
ment.
"When near Honolulu the Count
tried his skill at navigation again. He
reported us 500 miles away from the
Islands, when suddenly land loomed ur
dead ahead.
"'I've discovered new island, cried
the Count, and you couldn't get it out OF
his head until we were actually in the
harbor.
"There was plenty OF good ham and
canned stun ABOARD ana wines an,
liquors OF al sorts' put we never go
anything pun hiush ana pao potatoes
ana tailteu hieals.
beiore we leit oausalito tne oouh,
maze bargain LOT al on COW, put
the rancher dldh nave the ANNA
AT the docK Ill tlme, SO we went WIN
OUT II.
'occaslonally the count would com'
INTO the CABIN ana uiue win the cap
: tam. On such occasions he Away,
brought along pottle OF Zlulahdel ana
would drink TO the health OF tn
, captain, never oneflhg the captain
drop.
II think there was ABOUT ten cents
, worth OF grapes taken aboard at sausa
Ito, but the Countess ate them all. w