Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-10-08

food for the men. Forward of this We're
the water casks, a dozen or more, and
all full. When | came to examine the
forecastle, | found boots, oilskius, SOU
westers and other belongings of the
crew, to prove that they had not gone
away in the boats. Indeed | was sure
before 1 had half concluded my inves-
tigation that every man had persisted
when the brig was wrecked. 1t was
night before l had finished, and ! tum-
bled into the captains berth and never
slept more s%oundly. You may think it
queer that during the day l had scarce
ly glanced around the horizon and given
nc thought to rescue, and that l went
to bed with a contented mind, but sail
ors are prone to take luck as it comes,
good or bad. / had made q miraculous
escape and was fairly safe on the wreck,
and there was nothing to worry over if
not taken off for weeks. Interested as I
was III overhauling the stranger, I
would not have tossed up a penny to be
taken off by a passing vessel.
When morning came again I made a
more thorough investigation of the cab
in. In rear of the captains stateroom I
CHANGED upon a closet which had es-
capped me the day before, and here l
made a great find. There was about
81, 900 in French gold and notes, ST.
200 i'll English goldpieces and exactly
81, 900 in goldpieces just struck off at
the Australian minis. The money was
in two tin boxes, but whether it be-
longed to the ship, her captain or to
other people / could not determine. 1t
was a big fortune to a poor sailor, and I
remember that l acted very foolishly
over the find. ] counted it over and over
again, and when l at last realized that
! was rich l rushed Of deck, with a
wild hope OF seeing a sail close at hand.
But for the money I believe that the
long days and nights which followed
would have been rather contentful for
me, isolated as the situation was. / had
plenty to eat and drink, there was moth
ing to break my sleep, the wreck might
drive where she would, but there was
no danger of her going down. The dis
NoNCAy VI luO AicilCS was OAIOWCo W q
hope Of rescue, and this again by worry
and anxiety. / wanted to 60 ashore to
enjoy my wealth. l feared that when
rescue did come l should be robbed. l
conjured up a thousand senseless fears,
and the upshot was anything but bene.
fetal. / have spoken of the general sit
uation in a careless way. As a matter
Of fact, being a navigator, / took obser-
vations regularly when the weather
permitted and pricked off the drift of
the wreck on the chart. On the average
the weather was fine, but there were
days and nights when gale and sea tum-
bled the waterlogged craft about until
only a sailor could have lived through
it. Instead Of lifting her the waves ran
over her, and at such times the decks
were two feet under water and the cab
in was flooded. The cargo was af1oat
with the water in the hold, and as the
wreck rolled and pitched the timbers
rubbed together and produced noises
which would have frightened landsmen
into fits.
I kept an accurate reckoning, and /
had been on the wreck just 40 days
when / caught sight Of my first sail.
No doubt ships had passed and repassed
m by day and night, but I could set no
signal by day and from the first / slept
all through the night. This sail was
discovered early n morning, coming
up from the south, and her course was
such that she must see me. / had put
the money into bags and the bags into
bundles Of clothing in view Of a rescue,
and therefore had nothing to do but
wait. The stranger, which proved to be
ar English merchantmen bound for In
dia, but considerably off her course,
vas within four miles of me and had
set a signal to gladden. my heart when
a big whale suddenly broke water close
to the wreck. He was followed half a
minute later by u second, which attack
ed him with great fury. The monsters
put up a terrific battle, lashing and bit
ing each other and kicking up a sea
like a gale Of wind. They at first drew
away from me, but after a few minutes
made a circle which brought them back.
What I had feared from the first came
to pass after a quarter Of an hour. Half
blinded by pain and fury, or feeling it.
self overmatched and DESTROYS Of getting
away, II Of the whales suddenly whirl.
ed about and came for the wreck head
on. He wa fully so feet long, and he
came like a moving mountain. I made
sure Of my hold as I saw him coming,
but he struck the wreck on her port side
with such force that I was thrown
across the deck and into the sea beyond.
I heard the crash of planks and timbers,
was tossed about by the waves, rubbed
against the whale as he sounded and
reached the surface to find the wreck a
hull no longer. 1t was simply a heap
Of floating debris. The strange ship
drew nearer, lowered a boat, and I was
picked up as l chung to a plank. The
money was gone, all else but the tim
bers which composed the cargo had dis
appeared, and my adventure, surprising
as 1t had begun, had ended in a manner
strange enough to satisfy even the most
imaginative novelist. I was carried to
India by the rescuing ship, and I know
that the French consul at Calcutta set
inquiries N foot regarding the fate Of
the crew Of the Marie. What they
amounted to I never learned, but have
always felt satisfied that all perished
when their craft was dismasted. But for
the fight between the whales / believe
the brig could have been pumped out
and sailed into port, but fortune is a
jade who robs Jack Tar far oftener than
she smiles upon him.
A Friendly Pointer.