The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-02-28

| Dumbless and dropped some shot so
close 20 her that she hauled off.
"A Russian gunboat, with the Cap
| tain of the Port on board came along
| side of US. / don't remember the name
| of that officer. and would not try to
pronounce it if I did. When he came
on board the Flying Childers he told
Captain Giles that We had done enough
and that his men would take charge of
the vessel That was good news for Us
| and we sat around and smoked our
pipes, watching the Britishers standing
down toward their fleet and the Rus
sian sailors getting ready to remove tho
cargo.
The Russians couldn't do enough for
us. We went up TO ST. Petersburg and
lived on the fat of the land. Not a
vadki shop III the city would take a
cent from US, and we had any num-
Der of entertainments in our honor. It
was trying cruise, and 1 don't believe
would go in another one.
STARTING HOMEWARD.
After the cargo had been removed,
Captain Giles was advised to strip his
ship and lay her up until after the war
was over. Besides the English fleet al
| ready of Cronstadt, the French fleet
| was coming up. and there would be
| very little chance of our getting cut
safely. Old Captain Giles was not the
kind of q man to show, the white feath-
er, and he wouldn't listen to tying his
vessel up. i brought her in here he
said, and by God! I'll take her outl
| I'VE we're there three weeks after the
cargo was taken out of her. We bal
! lasted her tween decks so as to carry
| the weights up. AS we We're waiting
to pick cur time, We had our canvas all
ready for start at any moment. Ths
| Captain of the Port was one of the
cleverest men | ever saw He kept his
men ready to come down and haul us
OIL The British fleet was then lying
about ten miles off. They We're formed
in two llreS from north to south
the time we had getting into the
place was bad enough, but we didn't
relish going out in the face of that fleet.
with the prospects of going to the boz
tom. Captain Giles said go. and nobody
murmured.
one evening, when it looked very
| threatening, the Captain Of the Port
came on board and said to Captain
dlies: III you are going al all, you had
better start now. / would advise YOU
not to go. but this is your night
Then, said Captain Giles, Wen slip
| through them tonight or the FLYING
ChlldefS ii so to the bottom, and We'll
Keep That lag where it is all the time
| The Captain of the Port insisted or
hauling us out, and doing everything
untll we cast loose. His men came on
| board and hauled US out about half a
| mile INTO the open water. The enemy
was so far off, they could not see what
we were doing from where they lay,
ana we felt no uneasinesS about that.
After getting from under the forts we
attached four six-inch hawsers to large
iron buoys two before and two aft.
Every sail had been set by the Rus
slams They wouldn't let us do any
| thing. The sails tapped in the wind
and the ship pulled at the buoys until
we thought she would pull them out
of the water. We waited until it be-
came dark to make the start. 1t was
the longest wait l ever experienced.
and the men never said word. They
We're On deck and stood near their quar-
tiers. waiting for orders to get under
way.
IN DARKNESS AND STORM
| Captain Giles and the mate Chis
name was Blackwood, and he was a
State of Maine mani went up aloft to
take the bearings of the most northern
OF the English ships. They were very
accurate about it, and felt very conf
dent when they came down. Captain
Giles said: Well, we'll get under way.'
The Captain of the Port said that all
the canvas was set, and asked if there
was anything else he could do 1t
was raining and blowing gale, and
every time l looked at the canvas we
were carrying ! felt we would not stay
afioat more than half an hour. The
men all felt uneasy, and for the first
time they muttered dissatisfaction, but
not when Captain Giles was around
for they stood in awe of him, and, be-
sides, they had confidence in him. II
was a long wait.
Captain Giles said he was ready to
leave. The Captain of the Port called
all hands TO quarters and after shak-
ing hands with them babe them good
bye and wished them safe return to
their own country. AS he turned
away l heard him say to Captain Giles
that he wished there were $4,000 such
men in the Russian Navy. The Rus
slams We're ordered to their boats and
as they got clear of the ship they lay
on their oars to see what we were 60
ing TO do next.
Everything is ready, Sir called
the mate.
"A man WAS placed at each of the
hawsers with an ak. The second mate
and 'bosn' were stationed in the
10 castP, while the quartermasters
watched the aft hawsers.
All ready. Sir
Cut away together called the Cap
tain.
Three blows of the axes on the
hawsers and the Flying Chlders was
clear and on her way lowell we didn't
know where The buoys were lifted
almost out of the water. Once she was
clear she made like a hound out of a
leash. We had a picked crew all
Americans, who had served in the
navy, and they handled her as If we
We're simply on practice cruise. Once
we were under way the men settled
down to work The only sounds were
those of the creaking of the masts and
yard-arns and the straining Of the
ropes. 1t was pitch-dark. We couldn't
see thing.
Captain Giles steered her a course