Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-01-16

Captain Clark.
York at first fatty and Indignantly
refused to take the place, as I rather ex-
pected he would, the pay being small
and the occupation one which a true sail
or considered degrading, but after Civ.
ing the subject days reflection he de-
cided to accept. He put it on the
ground that he stood a better chance Of
getting a ship at Sydney or Melbourne
than at Cape Town. In taking that man
aboard I was making mistake which
I should never cease to regret, but when
one acts according to his best judgment
you can expect no more. may tell you
here that York deliberately lied to me,
knowing that the chances Of exposure
were very slim. He had been third
mate of whaler, but had been broken
and set ashore for insubordination.
Soon after landing he had engaged in q
quarrel and had been out Of Jail only a
day when came across him. In accept
ing the position he had plan in view.
Before leaving the Cape the iron
cages were carefully inspected and thor
oughly overhauled and close search
made of the prisoners. Each convict
was interrogated and examined as to
his state Of health, and not one Of them
had complaint to make. A first class
Indiaman could not have shown clean
er bill Of health. No convict ship ever
resumed her voyage under more favora-
BILE auspices, and for week I was al
most care free. During this time ! had
kept a pretty close watch on the new
guard, York. as I was in duty bound to
do, but had seen nothing to find fault
with. He was cheerful, obedient and
apparently vigilant, and no more could
be asked for. The first thing to excite
my suspicion, or I may better say my
curiosity, was in his asking Haskell for
our latitude and longitude and after
ward consulting chart Of the Indian
ocean which he had brought aboard
with his dunnage. After the noon OBJ
se4vation had been worked out we made
no secret Of it among the passengers,
several of whom had charts and were
keeping the run of the ship. Had York
asked me for the position and told me
he was pricking off the run for his own
satisfaction should have thought moth
ing strange about it, for he was an in
telligent man, and I had an idea that
he understood navigation fairly we'll.
His sailor instinct as we'll as desire to
post himself was excuse enough. lie
had asked Haskell in confidential way
10 give him the figures, and he had COIL
suited his chart in a secret manner.
II don't like the man," continued
Haskell after giving me the above in
formation.
"But whJ?" I queried.
"It's hard to say, but the feeling is
here that hb isn't dead right. he asks a
great many questions, but never an
swers any. He's got very sly way of
pumping a man. He and l haven't
taken to each other at all, but he has
pumped the other guards and some Of
the sailors until he is posted OIL what
ever has happened since we left the
channel. He's done little else when off
duty and not asleep but to ask ques-
tions.
"What particular thing does be seem.
most anxious to know about?"
"Well, now that you mention it, 1
think he's been quite concerned about
the firearms Last night he was EARNING
to some of the sailors about the gold
diggings and wondering why they
didn't cut sticks and make their for
tunes. When they asked why he didn't
fill his own pockets, he replied that he
should leave for the mines is soon as the
ship reached Sydney. I don't want to
raise suspicious, sir, but it looks bit
queer all around. I'm never quite easy
in my mind when it's his turn below. 1"
Haskell had been made captain OF the
guard after the removal Of Hooper, and
his surmises and suspicious were enti-
tied to all consideration. 1t gave me q
very unpleasant feeling to think I had
been deceived in York, but 1 did not act
OH impulse. If he was all right, it
would be a bad thing to jump Oh him
and have to take it all back, and if he
was engaged in plot the correct thing
to do was to lie low and hope to expose
him. Thus it came about that while Dr.
Haxton was congratulating himself Oh
the smooth way in which things were
going had never been more anxious
We had favorable winds and reeled
off the knots for 20 days after leaving
the Cape, and then we got calm, fol-
lowed by gale from the south. On the
very first day of this unfavorable wealth
er Captain Clark was struck down by q
block falling from aloft and SO severely
injured that he was good for week be-
low. This left the whole burden OH my
shoulders. I dent wish to put forward
my Importance, but I feel that should
relate things just as they happened.
The result of the southerly gale was
that we were driven long way to the
northward of our course. When the gale
finally broke and got all observation
and verified it by dead reckoning, l
found that VIC were 800 miles off our
true course. When this information was
given to the captain, who was then only
able to sit up for half al hour at time,
he replied:
UWnIl Ra1nh that ia not much to