The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-04-04
LITTLE CHERUB."

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
33 years, or since he was 10 years old.
He has a fine brown beard, and the re-
sonant voice that comes through it might
be heard above the strongest gale that
ever thrammed ON the British Princes
rigging. The boatswain is y young
Swede, who has suffered shipwreckm more
than once. But the captain and all the
ships company never thought Of him as
q foreigner, but as q fellow sailogman
with y big heart. al
The British Prince when laden has less
freeboard than the common freighter
from Mediterranean ports. Sowhen she
breasts the wintry seas she sometimes
bnries her fo'castle head In the ferment.
She had a rough voyage from Gibraltar,
and her coal got SO low In the bunkers
that Captain Innes decided to put in to
st. Michael, in the Azores, for a 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 it from the Azores until she was about
400 miles east of Sandy Hook. "A gale
came bowling ont of the southwest,
combing up seas that, in the picturesque
language Of the skipper, looked like
granite clifs." Darkness was just 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 a sailorman
and Boatswain Lastadius determined To
get it. The sailorman got q bucket, and
running forward lodged under the fore
castle head. Boatswain Lastadius went
out ON the flying bridgeto take the buck
ct from the sailorman when the chance
offered-that is, when there was little
probability of a sea coming Immediately
aboard forward.
The flying bridge is a board walk with
a rope railing run between 2 inch iron
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 fo'castle head to take another
chance between seas.
81 had just got ready" said the boat
swain, .'to take the bucket, when the
shipgavea plunge. Hooked up, and there
over the port bow / saw such such a sea
as / hope ! may never see again. Iknew
it was coming aboard, and / knew I had
no chance to get out of its way. If I ran
aft, I thought, 1t would pick me up be-
fore / got off the bridge and carry me
away. So / 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. / might just as well
have caught hold OF a rope yarn as that
stanchion. / thought il was all up with
me and the British Prince until / found
myself on the crest OF b wave striking
ont for the ship, which was riding as II
she had shipped only q bucketful. ]
struck the water maybe five fathoms o1
the starboard bow. / saw the form Of
the second oficer-Thomas Jones-or
the bridge as / swept along the ships
side. He grabbed q lifebuoy from The
rack, and / saw ii come sailing toward
me. Tit was a good shot, or / might not bs
telling about it now. The buoy almos1
ringed my head. I grabbed it and forcei
it over my shoulders and under my arms
"As / was swept aft along the star
board side of the ship / saw Captain
Inncs running forward. He saw me
too, for he shouted: Keep up a stou,
heart. Wen save you il we cam Bu
1t was getting very dark, and ] was tire,
ships lengths astern before anythin,
could be done aboard the ship. Myhear
sank, and ! gave myself up for lost.
had been striking ont for the ship, bu
when I saw her going ahead / stopped al
effort to save myself. But it takes q Ion,
time TO stop and reverse engines, AMI
pretty soon | saw the ship backing I'd
ward me.
THAT made my heart bound, and
yelled with all my might and tried i
make some Roadway against the seas
which sometimes turned me over an,
over. Twas afraid that the ship woul,
back against me, and that / would b
Sucked under by her propeller an,
drowned or killed by the blades. I sas
the propellerlwhirlifg IN the air when
ever the chit went down INTO the troug|