The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1899-11-03
A BRUSH WITH sAVAeFs
Capt. Slecum Finds q New Use ro-
CIHpet Tacka.

Capt Joshua SlocnM, II his SOLITARY
voyage arounG the world in the sloon
Spray, found a new and exciting nse
Tor carpet tacks. In the Century Mag.
anne he thus describes an encounter
with the natives Of TERRA del Fuego:
canoes manned by savages from
Fortesque now came in pursuit. The
wind falling light, they gained on nae
rapidly till coming within hail, when
they ceaser padding, and bow-legged
savage stood up and called to me
"Yammerschooner! yammerschoonerl
which Is their begging term. | said
Nor. Now, was not for letting them
know that l was alone, and so I
stepped into the cabin, and. passing
through the hold, came out at the fore.
scuttle, changing my clothes as went
along. That made two men. Then
the piece of bowsprit which l had
sawed Oft at Buenos Aires, and which
had still on board, l arranged for.
ward on the lookout, dressed as a sea-
man, attaching line by which could
pull 1t into motion. That made three
of us, and we did not want to yam
merschooner;" but for all that the saw
ages came on faster than before.
saw that, besides four at the paddles
IN the canoe nearest to me, there were
others i'll the bottom, and that thew
were shifting hands often. At eighty
yards ] fired u shot across the bow of
the nea est canoe, at which they all
stopped, but only for a moment. See
ing that they persisted in coming
nearer, l fired the second shot so close
to the chap who wanted to "yammer-
schooner" that he changed his mind
quickly enough and beloved with
fear, "BuenO jo via Isla," and sitting
down in his canoe, he rubbed his star
board cat-head for some time. | was
thinking of good port captains ad.
vice when l pulled the trigger, and
must have aimed pretty straight; how
ever, miss was as good as mile
for Mr.. BLACK Pedro" as he it was.
and no other. leader in several bloody
massacres. He now directed the course
of his canoe for the island. and The
others followed him. l knew by his
Spanish lingo and by his full beard
that he was the villain l have named,
renegade mongrel, and the worst
murderer in TERRA del Fuego The
authorities had been in search of him
for two years. The Fuegans are not
bearded. ... . At night, March 8, at
anchor in snug cove at the Turn,
every heartbeat counted thanks. Here
l pOndered on the events of the last
few days, and, strangely enough. in
stead of feeling rested from sitting or
lying down, | now began to feel faded
nj L, hot af
stew soon put me right, so that l could
sleep. AS drowsiness came on | first
sprinkled the deck with the tacks that
my old friend Samblich had given me,
and then | turned in. l saw to it that
not few of them stood business end
up; for when the Spray passed Thieves
Bay two canoes had put out and fol
lowed in her wake, and there was no
Disgusting the fact any longer that |
was alone.
Now, it is we'll known that one can
not step on a tack without saying
something about it. A pretty good
Christian will whistle when he steps
on the commercial end" of a carpet
tack: a savage will howl and claw the
air, and that was just what happened
that night about twelve O'Clock, while
was asleep in the cabin. where the
savages thought they had me-" sloop
and all. They changed their minds,
however, when they stepped on deck,
for then they thought that 1 or some
body else had them. had no need of
a dog; they howled like a pack of
hounds. l had hardly use for a gun.
They jumped pell-mell, some into their
canoes and some into the sea. to cool
off, suppose, and there was deal of
free language over it as they went. |
tired the rascals salute Of several
guns when l came on deck, to let them
know that I was at home, and then |
turned i'll again, feeling sure that |
should not be disturbed any more by
people who left in so great hurry.