Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1898-01-27

| SeIIluS very close 10 ner-a Dig, 1OuT-
masted box, of full 300 tons.
"starboard little there, Dunn"
said Mr.. B. to the man at the
wheel; "starboard little; let her
come up point or two"
"Ay, ay, SIR" answered the helms
man, and the ship hung obedient to
the order, sufficiently to have cleared
the junk.
"Starboard, sir, starboard! or we'll
be into that junk, sir!" roared Hart
from the foreyard to the officer of the
watch; but Mr.. b had no idea of
doing anything of the kind. He remem-
bered the Chinese pilots advice: "If
anything gets in your way, give it the
stern"
Port, there, Dunn, port" was his
order to the helmsman, in sharp, de-
cisive manner; "over with it--quick's
your play. Down off that foreyard,
men; down with you!" he continued;
but he wasted breath in giving the last
command, for the sailors on the yard
had heard the order given to port the
helm, and knew that it meant a COL
l1slon with the big junk. BY the time
the ships head commenced to swing
for the Cinnamon, they were all on
deck
The second mate was terribly white,
but as cool and collected as though he
were merely washing decks, instead of
coming big ship, Flying list" with
a stiff breeze, to deadly collision with
another vessel crowded with human
beings.
There was no tremor in his voice, as
he called out to the man at the wheel:
STEADY so, Dunn; starboard a little,
starboard!" and the next instant. as
the BE rushed fair for the junk's
waist, his shout, Hold on all-hold
ON" was as clear and ringing as ever
had been his order to clew down top
sail. The watch below was sleeping
still, for though it has taken me some
time to write this account, yet not
more than five minutes actually elaps-
ed from the time the junk was first
reported from the foreyard before we
left her wreck behind us on the ocean;
and not a half minute elapsed after
the order to port" was given before
all was over.
The alarm on our own vessel was
hardly less than that on the junk. The
watch below, including the captain and
mate, rushed out without stopping to
rig themselves up, and the Chinese
merchants added their jabbering to the
confusion. Capt. R hurried up to
Mr.. B, who was now standing on
the taffrail, looking astern at the
helpless junk, and inquired: =.
What is the matter, Mr.. b?
What is it, sir?"
ooh, not much, sir!" was his an
swer. "a Chinaman got in the way,
and I knocked the sticks out of him
that's all, sir"
The shrieks could be plainly heard
astern still, and Capt. Rs kind
heart was moved to sympathy at once.
"Oh, Mr.. b" said he; chose
poor creatures-how could you be so
careless, sir?'
1T was not carelessness, SIR" re-
piled the officer; at wasn't my fault
that I knocked down his masts. 1
tried all could to give him the stern
fair in his waist. 1t was an accident
that I didn't do it-not bad manage
ment."
"They may be sinking, SIR
Every likely-hope so, anyhow"
Blue lights and rockets were shown
from the crippled junk, and answered
by others from all points of the COM
pass. But we kept on our way neither
knowing or caring what became of her,
and at sunrise not a sail was to be
seen of all the fleet we had run
through during the night
The junk may have been only a fish
erman; but her movements were very
suspicious, and she had very big
crew for a peaceful trader Whether
she was sunk by the force of our blow,
or got safe into port to repair her dam
ages, is more than I can tell. But we
congratulated ourselves during the rest
of our passage on our escape from
Chinese pirate, and had no sympathy
to spare for those who must have been
killed by the fail of her mast along the
crowded deck.
Our Chinese cabin passengers thor
oughly approved of Mr.. BIS style
of dealing with the junk, and seemed
to be all of opinion that if our ship
had been lifted up sufficiently to clear
her Ito do which we should have had
to shake the wind out of our sails),
that the junk would have shot along
side to leeward, and our voyage would
have ended then and there. The China
men had no pity for their countrymen,
for they would have been the first vic
tins had we been taken.