Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-02-18
JUST BAD Gold II fire.
'Alt bf A SAIL0RMAN OF A CALF
IN TIE SOUTH SEAS.
MO-" SAID the man, sitting l;st.

M y, PAID the man, sitting Est
IN lessly on the pier, as he nufred
sway languidly enough at a nine of ne.
.ui'a, shape mo, amt got no heart
20 splice myself to hope and go to the
nlonaike country. Nor no other coun.
.ty' LOT that matter, except git lob
.hat takes me there and paws me for If
ny the month regular. Course. under.
e'anu now man might fall down
wen and come up with bueketful of
goio' but amt the man, That kind
OF luck is meant for somebody else.
once, though, there wasn't any kind of
snap that wouldn't mndertake; but
since the setback we got in the Pacific
Ten years ago next March I amt had no |
WIND In my sails to speak Of and don't |
80 much as keep lookout now to see |
which way we're goin'. If there's land
ahead, all right; but if there amt, all
right, just the same"
The man sitting on bag of peanuts
adjoining the speaker asked a ques
ton.
Didn't you never of that?" said the
man IN response. II thought every
body knowed what blow | got out
there. OF course I'll tell you if you'd
IKE to hear. 1t happened down in the
Pacific somewhere, about $50 degrees
west, 20 degrees south, where the seas
as full of islands as yeller dog is of
heas, and, as said, just ten years ago
come next March. / wasn't in the
sailor business exactly, being a trader
on the seas instid of navigator and
havin' friend in Auckland, New Yea
land, who liked my style, he fixed me
up with a sailing vessel and crew of
fen men and skipper, and we went
sailing around among the islands of the
archipelago looking for bargains, as it
were.
VI guess we'd been splashin' around
In the water for five or six weeks or
such matter, and dom like Riley did
with the hotel when one night the
weather thickened ON us, and by mid
night there was n wind a-blowin' that
would take the hair off the head of a
barrel, and we were skinnin' before it
like a scared dog. BY morning there
wasn't any land in sight, something
that don't happen often among all them
islands scattered everywhere, and our
boat was maxim about 40 miles a min
ute, but she was goin' around in circles
mostly and tearin' up the water worse
than a bull in a chiny shop
"Along in the afternoon the wind
laid down bit, and when we sighted an
island off our weather bow we kind of
beat up to it, or whatever them sailor
fellers called it, and we got in under
the lee of it and found little harbor
that looked like it might afford us
enough py,tection to make some re-
pairs after the wind had got done hav-
Ing fun with us. There was chance,
too, that we might find a bargain in
something layin' around waiting for
our arrived.
"There wasn't any signs of life on the
} island that we could see, but there was
|, plenty of good water and nice fruit,
a. and the boat that we sent off as soon
as we got settled brought back not
only fruit and water, but an animal
that looked as near like one of our rab-
bits as anything could look, and that
tasted the same way. We had about
got ready to turn in, say at nine o'clock
that night, when we heard voices OF
people on shore yelling in some queer
language that none of us understood
The people didn't seem to like us bein
there, though, that was plain enough
and we begun to send word to them that
we were all right, and If they didn't
want us we would get out as soon as
the weather would permit. 1t didn''
soun1sthat way to them, likely, for al
midY,fe1,t they had filed the shore ant
had fires burning all along. We coult
see thew were black and that they
didn't wear any more clothes than wal
needed. and that they were armed witt
bows and arrows and spears and few
old muskets like most of them natives
have The sea was too rough for then
10 try and get at us in boats in the dark
so thew took It out in slingin' stuml
speecbes at us from the shore.
"That's what they slung at first, bu
when we began to yell back at thu
bowlin' devils they changed their tao
tics. and along about three o'clock il
the morning they let off one or TIVE
of their old muskets with roar tina
sounded like war times. We gave then
the laugh on this, but pretty soon the.
got the range, and the iirst thing w
cot SERIOUS about was shot that wen
tLrouoh our first mate and buried it
.olf4in the foremost. They were ounc
halls that were comm our way owe
tbe waves. and every time one of then
III the ship it sounded with dull thu
that meant business clean down to tn
hottom of the sea. After the first IS o
on shots. | don't think they ever msse
ar boat again, hitting either in tn
huIl or the rigging, and six of our me
uot bullet through them somewhere
We got out on deck with our guns an
hanged away ten shots to their one
hut thew had the whole island to hide II
.,biIe our boat was the only thing the
oonld hit except wind and water s
thew counted more than we did.
AN the time the shooting was goln
IN our skipper was trying to get tn
ship headed around SOS we could eseap
e ~ soon as light came, for we woul
10 no in the soup, we knew, If theI
s sotives ever got their boats opt and SUI
,nded us. Our crew was crippled
ya q was hard job lodging bullet
and working ship, but we manage
somehow, and just as soon asst there e iva wa
sun, LIZ II light to show us how to kee
~. .Lo rocks we caught the wind tina
OH 'n st,l blowing a gale and let her g
wa s. ont to the open. We went INK
,,, 'sn. too and the gale got TO b
ISHtniht' IA ,ye lost three men try