The Van Buren press., 1898-08-13
SCHOONER ADRIATIC0

AND IT'S CRUISE.

A DyICE to the person who Is just be
~ ginning a residence In the South
aeas: Seser be surprised at anything.
no matter how extrayagant Or unex-
pecfed or even impossible Il may BE-
Tor II Is In the South seas that the IN
expected fs most certain to come 10
pass, says an exchange. Furthermore.
never believe the men on the beach
who are moved 70 feli you Of a precise
y similar happening somewhere else.
for that is the beach-combing instinct
Of romance. Chanee-piain. uuaided
ebance-may be better counted on to
bring about more marselous things
than vefs eTeT tod IN any sfory Of the
beach-combers beginning. when Sir
Arthur vas governor over yonder in
FfH," or when Shirley Baker was run
ming things down IN Tonga
SO when a strange schooner was
sighted up the coast running down the
trade wind for Apia, nobody really ex-
pected that it would be common
place trader or even a yacht, but mo-
BODY could have invented the eompli-
cation which ii brought, not even II he
mad cudgeled his brains for a day and
half. Yet Apia felt that il had pretty
we'll sounded the depth OF schooner
possibilities when Il had studied the IN
fammatory iBtricaeiea Of the San
1ranciseo schooner yacht Tolna of
Count and Countess Festetics. who will
be ever remembered on the beach az
the titled Mysteries.
The pilot duly displayed on his flag
pole at Hatautu the proper signal for
"a schooner sighted. and started out In
his whsleboat. manned by Savage is-
land boys. 20 meet the incomer. Apis.
being interested In coming ships. met
TO take a drink, and figured II out that
no vessel was known TO be under char
ter for the .'each except one Of the
FIRMS copra bArks. last heard Of In
Delagoa bay. A soon az the strange
sail appeared in sight around the point
spyglasses were brought 10 bear.
As each glass was coaxed into work
ing order and leyeled on the newcomer,
II was confessed that no one had ever
seen the schooner before. and even the
flag was In dispute, some saying II was
Italian, and others Greek, and there
was no way of settling II nearer than
by going TO one Of the consulates and
asking to look at the colored flag pic
ture In the dictionary. As she came
colting In through the pass, and an
chored well In toward the shore, IL
was easy TO read her name, Adriatico.
This left the dispute about the flag
AS balanced as ever, for II one Of the
geogrnphers at the bar could prove
her flag Italian, because Italy was
washed by the Adriatic sea, another
could employ the same argument In
favor Of Greece.
Very soon another flag went up, the
yellow flag OF quarantine, and the
health officers boat was seen pulling
10 the landing stage. lie was met
with questions about the schooner,
and the disease.
"She's the Adriatico, and I don't
know where she comes from or any
thing about her. There are six pco-
pie aboard, and they all have very
high fever; In fact, they are fighting
mad. They surrounded me as soon as
| got aboard, and the only thing |
could make out was: Captain del
puerto' which was the burden OF their
cry. So ! ran up the yellow flag, be-
cause have known that hghting fever
TO be contagious, and / guess the po-
lice win be needed aboard"
With the chief - police the collector
Of customs went Off to the schooner.
The six men renewed their hubbub,
and IL seemed that very nearly every
tongue was current aboard the vessel
except the English and German, which
are needed in Apia. A very little
broken English showed the chief OF
police that there had been no end
Of trouble aboard. and arrests were,
therefore. needed. One man seemed
TO be skipper, and he was the man
who had the shattered English.
OF him the chief OF police asked
which OF the party were the sailors,
for when there Is trouble aboard ship
the crew Is always arrested. He point
ed out two men. who were promptly
pissed over the rail and into the boat
alongsde. Then for the first moment
they became quiet, possibly simply
exhausted, possibly awed by the three
fat half-castes who wore clubs and
German silver stars with the inscrip-
tion M. T." Next the man with frag-
mentary English pointed out another
angry disputant, and he, too, was
passed over the side and suppressed
himself. With his prisoners the chief
was just about 10 pull of 70 the ca
boose when two OF the three who
were left aboard jumped into the boat
and into arrest, leaving only the man
who had the few words Of English to
transact the necessary business with
the collector of customs. Ths yellow
flag was hauled down, the ship was ad-
mitted TO pratique, and hve-siNths OF
her company to jail