New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-07-19
A HERO.

hreakwater of Las Palmas Harbor Grand Can
airy. AS the white gig flashed through the clear
green water there ample opportunity TO
look at the vessel and her appearance was by
means pleasing. With her full bows square
quarters, huge upright funnel and rusty SIDES,
she was not an attractive object as. loaded
down 10 the last inch with nitrate from South
America. she wallowed In the long sea slopes
that swept round the end of the hreakwater.
Climbing over the low rail, and forcing my way
through a pandemonium OF swarthy spanish
coal beavers dealers in fruit and tobacco, ana
vendors of canaries. the latter alternately coax
ing and abusing their feathered merchandise
in the vain hope Of making them sing met
Captain Cranton. .
She's not exactly floating paace-but with
fine weather will take you home all right. ana
you can see what deep tramp is like at sea-
said the latter.
clad in greasy dungaree. with A battered en-
gineer's silk cap on his head. thrust on one slde
a gesticuating Spaniard who was irving 10
force bunch Of hard bananas and a half-deau
canary on a grinning fireman. and touching his
grimy forehead, asked:
Are YOU Captain Cranton. SIR?
Yes" said the officer; what is ii you want!
II want to see if there's any chance OF work
Ing a passage home. I'm a boier-rnaker ana
have served 8 fourth engineer. In starving
here" was the answer.
Hin, what are YOU doing in Las Palmas'
then-deserted. suppose" said the captain
NO sir ii was this way. | shipped at Liver
pool aboard OF the COquimbO TO load coal al
Cardiff for Rio, and the night afore she sailed
met Tom Stevenson, who served his hme at
Never mind Stevenson-go on intcrtected
the skipper.
Well we went 10 have partin glass or two
mot too much. sir: about bottle or "hlsKY
atween two OF us-an' when they turned US out
at II, Tom he sits in the gutter. and sez me-
won't go home till morning. ! seq, Don you ne
n fool Tom and a p'leeceman comes. so goes
off and makes down to the coal tips. IT didn't
seem quite th< right tip, but sees big four-
masted boat with a yellow funnel and SEE
That's the Coquimbo--I knows the ugly look
Of her So ! crawled aboard and goes TO Steep
rolling heavy far out at sea. ard when got
on deck l says TO myself. It's another sangul-
nary African boat So it was; and they mace
me scrape paint. and when we got here the
skipper he seq Clear out. and be thankful YOU
amt locked up by the Consul.-and iahueu
without cent.
once or twice. while the latter spat calmly on
the deck. at last he said. half TO himself, me
chief wants another hand with that broken,
down engine of his'-than raising his voice, All
right I'll take you If the chief engineer APP
proves; and see him. Mind I'm not golns
to sign you on and pay more than you're worth
for stamps: but If YOU behave III give you
triae to go ashore with.
At this the man stroed leisurely away. ana
so James Gaythorn became one of the crew OF
the Corona. Then the whistle rang out ana
while the winch ratified and the cable came
clinking. clanking home, went aft and slowed
away my goods and chattels ON coming on
deck again | found we were off. for dipping
her broad bows into the long trade'wind ron;
shouldering off heavy folds of blue water, ana
r1tCnlng
fo-csle head, the Corona thrust her way out
to
The vine-clad volcanic mountains of Grand
canary shining in tn sunset light, grew DINNER
and DINNER then the snOw-crested peak or Ten
eriffe stood cut cold and white against the
.affron aftergow until the last CLEAN dled
away and the faint revolving flashes from the
summit Of the 1seta. streaming along the bun.
bling wake astern. were all that remained OF
the land.
While I Ieane. over the rail. smoking and
watching the foam crawl past-craWl is the
proper word-the chief officer came along, ana
In reply TO my query said
What kind of boat is she? Well, YOU can
eee-about as hard an old tramp as was ever
launched into the German Ocean; besides we We
been knocking about for months. and there's
shells and grass on her a foot long The en-
gneer says his mill is all to bits too. Subse-
uuent experience proved that TINS description
was by no means exaggerated.
Turning out early next morning ! climbed 70
the poop-for the Corona was OF the usual Well
deck build-and could see nothing put an azure
circle above and a sweep or sparkling roam
fecked below. piled into ridges by the fresh
trade breeze, across which the steamer SLOWLY
rolled.
One glance at the water. without locking at the
log dial. was sufficient to show that she was only
going six knots: so climbing down the narrow
rteel-runged ladder | made my way forward
over the slippery iron deck. lodging the spouts
of water which gushed in through the scuppers
at every roll look for the chief engineer Pass
ing the engine-room door. the humping and
changing that ioated up were quite enough to tell
NJ Worn-out Journals and general out Of lnedness
RI one who could interpret it. I found the chief
In his room rubbing his hands with the inevi-
table ball Of waste. and said:
:.Wbat kind Of mill have you g0t""
"Weel" ne said-for most marine engineers are
Clydesdale mer-"there's may be waur Jobs
afoat. but havena seen yin Man. do We no
hear her Iack-clackin' and a-wheeze- wheezin?
There's q third O. the tubes in the port boiler
plugged and a patch leakin,; 1orby the firemen
Gamma keep steam WI they dirt o Goals
Now Ciydesdale man is rarely satisfied with
his engine, and would burn gold If he could get
IT, so did not think too much of this outburst
but had only TO listen TO understand mat the
engine was not what he would have called an
Al mill"
-Four or five days went by pleasantly enough
for to lie back in canvas chair beneath the
shade of double awnings and watch the sun
light shining on the water, and the long trade
wind ridges melting away into curls of creamy
foam and clouds of glittering spray before the
steamers bows. is kind of sailoring that has
many charms.
One afternoon a large iron bark passed close
alongside, flying south before the strong north
east trades-a fairy vision of tall spars and
breadth after breadth Of white canvas, with
courses. double topsais and double topgallants
set. AS she came down upon u.s. end on, with
the blue water roaring away in heavy folds
upder the sharp bows and an eddy Of snowy
foam frothing up to the feet Of gilded Viking
beneath her short steel bowsprit, looking no
more than a thin wedge below tapering cloud
of sailcloth. leaned out over the rail To get
clearer sight. A full-throated chanty with a
swinging chorus drifted down the warm breeze
For there's shining gold in heaps I'm told on
the banks of Sacramento and. loo king under
the hollow of the foresail. | could see group Of
dark figures rising and falling round the heel
Of the masts the lofty royals rose and fiut-
tered like white clouds against the azure sky to
the steady drag of the halliards.
Then she shot past lifting a dripping fore
castle out Of the brine with weather roll and
drove south across the sparkling sea, making
ten or twelve knots hour. while the steamer
slowly thrust along to windward al some six or
seven.
Soon afterward the already strong breeze be-
gan TO freshen up, and when the sun sank. a
glowing orb Of copper beneath a ragged-edged
bank OF dark clouds. leaving brassy yellow
glare glowing across threatening sky and angry
water It was evident we were in FOR bad
weather
The seas were rapidly growing sleeper ana