The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-24


whole pack of them into the shade by a
sudden exhibition of nerve. A guns crew.
including several of the BOYS. were en-
Sased in breaking out one of the after
magazines Two of the men went down
in the magazine and fastened cans of
powder to the hoist hook, and the rest
OF the gang were a the head of the maya
zine hatch handling the ammunition as
it came up. The Atlanta wasn't fitted
with electric lights al that time, and the
Sunners mate in charge of the Job swung
a closed lantern in his hand at the head
OF the hatch. He was swinging it SOME
what carelessly when the lantern struck
against one side of the hatch. and the
lamp, already lOOsened, fell from the LAM
tern down the hatchway. 1t fell squarely
on the top of a keg of poWder-a twenty
five pound can. The men down in the
magazine had gone way forward 10 get
another can of powder and they weren't
on hand to pick The lamp off the powder
can and eXtinguish it. The heavy-headed
apprentice boy was at the head of the
match, though and he was the only one
of the gang who wasn't paralyzed with
fear While all of the others stood waiting
for the ship 10 so into the air he slid
down the hoist chain like a cat descending
from tree lie grabbed the lamp. the
wick of which, SIN ablaZe, was heating
the iron can, and blew il out Then he
c3utched The handle of the powder can
with one hand, took firm hold on the
moist chain with the other, and yelled:
Shoot me up out O this quick, you fell
lows above there, quick.'
The lad with the can of powder in his
hand was at the top of the hatch in no
time. He ran FOR the poop as soon as he
made the spar deck and chuc1ed The can.
the lid of which was hot from the wick of
the lantern, over the side into the water.
The lad certainly saved his ship from be-
ing blowed up The skipper didn't punish
the boy for sting government ammuni-
ton as may be taken for granted In
stead, ne commended the lad so highly in
a letter to the department that the bov
received a special letter of praise from the
Secretary of the Navy.
An American sealing vessel bound for
Japan and thence to the Aleutian sealing
waters, got onto the French Frigate
shoals, couple of hundred miles off The
Hawaiian Islands, a few years ago and
began 70 go 10 pieces. An American man
o'-war, making soundngs down in thar
neighborhOod, sighted the wrecked sealer.
and, though the sea was terrific boat's
crew, under the leadership of the chief
bo'sun's mate was put off from the war
ship to SuccOr the sealer's crew The
chle1 DO son mate was not man notable
for nerve. He had, in fact shown the
white feather in two or three mix-ups he
mad had with other chief petty officers of
his ship, and he had lost prestige among
the men forward for this reason. When
the man-o'-war boat got within hun
dred feet or so of the sealer, which was
rapidly going to pieces, the crew of the
succorins boat saw, with considerable dis
gust that all hands aboard the sealer, in
Guiding the skipper, were boiling drunk
ana were standing Numbering to one an
other, waiting for the last lurch of their
snip, instead of making an effort to clear
the hfeboats Of the davits. Ii was imp0s-
sible for the warshps boats to get along
side the wrecked Sealer on account of the
giant seas. The chief bo'sun's mate, who
had hitherto lacked the nerve to lake his
own part in fO'c'sle squabbles, didn't in
tend to let il 90 at that, however. He
leaped suddenly into the sea, and ne had
a navy pistol stuck inLo the bosom of his
mastering shirt when he leaped When
he drew near to the distressed sealer the
seas slamed him against the ships sides
time and again before he was able to
clutch at a rail chain to pull himself
aboard. He succeeded in climbing aboard
finally, however and then he made race
forward to where the crew, including the
skipper and mates, We're huddled around
a rum cask, soaking themselves. The
chief bo' suns mate hoped into the middle
of the gang of drunkardS, whipped out his
big navy pistol, and made the bluff of bis
life. The bluff went.
"Cut away the boats, We sots, and take a
chance or I'll put an ounce of lead into
every drunken dog of yer ne yelled.
He covered The crew with his gun as he
spoke, and his attitude sobered the men.
They numbered out of the fo'c-sle, and, de-
spite their half-helpless condition, they
got two long boats clear of the davits, and
all hands, nineteen men in all of the
sealer's crew, got at the oars in the nick
of time. The bo'suns mate went along
in one of the long boats, and, followed by
the man-o'-W wars boat, they all made for
the American Warship, which was hove to
a quater of a mile away. The sealer went
to pieces ten minutes after the crew had
left her. The crew was taken to Homo
lulu by the warship. The chief bo'sun's
mate was afterWard regarded by his ship
mates as a man who could only be carried
along a certain number OF knots,
Commander Thomas, formerly of the
gunboat Bennington, had his life saved
aboard that ship by Cingalese mess at
tendant in an odd sort OF way. He was
doing a biz Of inspecting on the berth deck,
aft, one afternoon when the executive Off
Ger of the ship came to the head Of the
after berth deck ladder and shouted down
below TO anybody within hearing:
rs the captain below thereH'
Commander Thomas heard the call, and,
without making any reply 10 the question,
started from Inc pay Office for the ladder,
intending to 80 above 10 the main deck 20
see what the first lieutenant wanted. The
hatch right at the foot OF the ladder had
been carelessly lefr open by seaman
who had gone forward for a Bit of gear,
and il was dark on The berth deck. The
commander had his eyes raised to the
head Of the ladder, anyhow, as he APP
preached the ladder. and had he made
another step he would have plunged to the
bottom OF the deep hatch ana been man
gled 70 bits. He was arrested by hear
ing a piercing voice behind him eXclaim:
Damn the slippers eyes! Damn the
shippers eyes"
with his foot still raised to take the step
tAal would have plunged him into the
hatch. Commander Thomas turned his
head suddenly.
Who's thar" he asked.
Then the Cingalese mess attendant,
leaping out of the darkness, had the skip
per clutched by the sleeve and jerlted him
back from the open hatch by main force.
Thomas couldn't quite see inCO Ii for sec