Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-06-15

newly out of port, with ali ner compile
ment hale and sound and with well
nigh 500 men fit to carry arms.
GAS we rose her hull above the plain
of ocean we saw it was pierced for ord
nance innumerable, for pieces both great
and small; but, though this was some-
what discomforting, her lowness in the
water was such that fears were swamped
as they rose to the surface, for there
was surely yellow ballast enough in her
holds to make us all rich men for life,
even supposng that none of us was
killed, and as out of our small SO
third, or perhaps half, might lose the
number of their mess during so hot an
engagement rs the one wherein we
were entering promised to be, there
would be the greater share for the sur
vivors. So all were eager for the cast of
fortunes dice box, which might bring
them their death or might render them
independent of mariner trafficking for
the remainder of their natural lives.
1.-THE don was ablaze with banners
and ancients ensignsl, and on the am.
pie belly of her forecourse was depicted
the head of st. Catherine. her patron
ess, with all the gauds and embollish-
ments Of the master painters art. She
was replete with carvings and gildings,
with high fore and after castles, with
close quarters and with all the Spanish
devices for naval fertilization, and in
good sooth she was as brave ship as
ever breasted Atlantic or lured honest
English buccaneer to plumber.
THUS far had writ before we came
within shot range. Our fellows. as Is
always their wont, had set a cask of
strong ale abroach in the waist and
were feasting and making merry, for
fear lest the hap Of war should take
from them other opportunity CT doing
that same again. The don, seeing that
his heels were too dull to give us the
slip, triced boarding MEETINGS up to his
lower yardarms, opened his ports and
ran ont the guns, and in fine made all
ready for action. He was willing enough
to run had chance been given him to do
so, but now that he was cornered had
no notion of yielding his treasure with
ont battle. But as this fell out as we
had anticipated we were in nowise dis
mayed nor surprised, but cleared our
pipes with loud voiced drinking song,
worked round to windward Of him and
held on to within musket range with
out throwing a shot.
1.-The don had been burning powder
for a good half hour before our culverins
and falconets hurtled back their mes
sage, Indeed his great ordnance on both
broadsides had been splitting away at
one and the same time, so that we
guessed at the confusion that was rag
| ing in his tween decks and took COM
fort therefrom nightly, remembering
that one small ball driven home is
worth a dozen score of heavy ones
which miss their bourne. Owing to the
closeness of our approach, the don S
gunners could not well depress the muz-
zles of their pieces, by reason of the
narrowness of the gun ports; so that
, even the few shot whose direction was
true had too great elevation and whis-
tied harmlessly over our mastheads or
sang through the upper rigging, and
save for a cheesehole punched in the
main topsail and lee fore topmast
backstay shot in twain we We're not ii
whit the worse for his pelting when at
length we began our own
"Having run up into such short range
before gave the word to fire, we hacked
him through and through with our very
first broadside, and the groans and yells
from his tween decks told us that we
had made commendable slaughter but
by this time the arquebusiers in his
roundtops had steadcd down to their
work and were browning my gun crews
somewhat too cavalierly. So babe my
fellows load up with bar and chain
shot, knock out some of their Quoins
and have at the don's rigging for all
their skins We're worth, which salute
the galleon acknowledged by bowling to
us with his foremost head, which had
been twice hit by shot fro : my main
deck culverins. Roundtop .hd sharp
-'sooturs, furcyard and the great belly
ing course with its gaudy painting
came down by the run; the galleon slid
up head to wind, in spite of her timo-
neer's every effort. and we had her at
our mercy.
"After this l ran ahead and in a
series Of short tacks raked her with
alternate broadsides, to which she could
hardly reply with gun; for her bow
chasers were masked by the rattle of
wreckage, and when any of her people
sought to remove this they. too, were
mown down by our incessant fire And
had the fates permitted me to carry on
this game of, long bowls, she must per-
force have yielded Internationally.
But when another half dozen broad
sides must have reduced her word was
passed that the powder had run COM
pletely out for we had come into action
with but a poorly stocked magazine,
not having found opportunity to re.
e. A.[KF