The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-12-07

a. H. on October %, when the bark was
IN latitude 81 degrees and 90 minutes
hoioh, and longitude 127 degrees and 81
1oes west That afternoon the Cap
soin seemed TO realize how near death
W"s' Inc precautions he took were pecu-
10. "no characteristic of the. man.
Ahs dying Captain first called Mate
norenosen to his bedside. To him he said
am about to die. have here $3.50 in
PERUVIAN money. have certified checks
Ior Much more money, which was OBJ
taineu py the sale of the Oakland's cargo.
Inc money really belongs to me, and is
10 apply to the indebtedness Of tho owners
TO me for money have advanced.
Wan5 you to take the money and the
cnecKs, and keep them. Head the vessel
for san francisco. am dying fast, and
cannot live until the bark reaches San
Diego, as I hoped.'' Fully impressed
with the solemnity of the moment, the
mate answered: ST will, Sir"
Then Capt MoGuier called the steward,
afrer first telling the mate to withdraw
Inc seward of the bark is John Williams.
he. has the look of an honest man, and
doubtless the Captain esteemed him as
such. John Williams had been, off and
on, Tor ten years steward on ships COM
manded by bluff old Capt McGuier. He
had been with him on the bark North
west and on the bark Nonantum. He re-
spected and loved the rough old master.
john" said the Captain, 81 am
about to die. have given all my money
to the mate, and told him to deliver it tc
Henry, the sailmaster, in San Francisco.
The sallmaster is the best friend I have,
and want him to have charge of my
affairs when die. Will you see that the
money and the checks get there all
right?''
II will, Sir" said the steward in
turn.
Thus it was that Capt. McGuier laid
the seeds of the trouble that arose on the
vessel after his death. He passed away
when only the two men on guard were by
his bunk, bnt the mate and the steward
were both mindful of the promise they
had made, and felt fully its sacred nature.
Only two men were in the Captain IS
room, because at the moment storm
was raging outside.
The Captain died as he had lived, feel
| ing the power of the wild sea. 1t was al
most an omep that that very day the
schooner Beulah was spoken. This
schooner left San Jose the day the Oak
land sailed, and had been delayed, just
as the bark had been, by Gains and adj
verse winds. More strange still, the
Beulah signalled that her Captain nae
been sick for two weeks and might die
ard that she was short of pro Visions.
The next day the body Of Capt. Mo
Guier was buried. 1t was stretched oul
upon plank, sewed up in canvas, and
iron Weighing 100 pounds was fastened al
the feet of the corpse The remains Of
1 the kind-hearted old Captain were ther
carried aft, and Mate Lonentsen read the
words Of the service for the first time ir
his life. The body was then consigned te
the waves. 1t shot out of sight the
moment it struck the water.
| What happened the next day there is 6
difference of statement about on boarc
the vessel. The mate says that the stew
ard endeavored to take charge of the ship
and he vows that therefor he will have
the man arrested. The steward, on the
other hand, declares that the next day he
broke the news to the mate that the pro
visions were short, and that the mate
1
insisted that his meals should not be cu
down. Thereupon the steward says, hi
refused to give the mate more of an allow
ance than the sailors would get.
At any rate, as all hands say, there was
wordy quarrel and the mate and the
steward nearly came to blows. The
steward applied an odious remark to the
mate and dared him to do his worst. A:
the men nearly all sided with the stew
ard in the matter, the result was that the
m ate feared mutiny, and did nothing al
all but arm himself From that moment
Mate Lorentsen was never without re-
volver in his pocket, day or night He
slept but little, and then with one eye
open.
/ ~ was q AOAG, oAOW puoodSsO illuO pOI U.
At times it seemed that the bark would
never reach San Francisco Bay. Such a
long, hard trip in southern waters had
made her bottom most foul. When q
gale was blowing the mate spread ever
the maintopgallant sail, and ran before
the wind, and even then the Oakland
made little over six knots In her better
days, when clean, the bark easily sailed
her fourteen knots.
For nearly two weeks the men had
nothing to eat but bread, sugar, anG
coffee. The cook made coffee and the
men had water to drink as well, but very
little. On finally arriving in port the
bark had left 400 pounds Of flour and fifty
gallons of water Another day or so OF
Gains and contrary breezes would have
| brought the men face to face with starva.
| ton. When the bark was towed in the
mate ordered her taken far down below
Mission Rock, almost half way to Hunter (
Point, and, of course, the boat men did
not bother her, and even the quarantine
officer did not find her. This long tow