The San Francisco call., 1899-09-24

essa several wrecks on this reef Years
NGc tho American ship CnGmpIain was
,ost, with most Of her hands, and still
later the schooner Sailor Boy piled her
belT up there And, worse sim, the pilots
hint in q mysterious way at many unre-
corded casualties. There iB no saying
how many ships may have been lost here
and never heard OF, said q captain.
once f. ship strikes she would be done
FOR, with all hands and months later she
would be posted at Lloyd's as missing.
"But would not the wreckage which
washed ashore afford traces Of herr"
No wreckage would wash ashore" was
the brief reply. 1T would ell so north or
south, according to the way the current
was running; but it would not reach the
beach"
our bad luck continued all through Sun
day Though we CrCised well to the
southward against a fresh breeze. not a
SAT- adorned the horizon Then, toward
dark Il fell calm, such a damp, dreary
soulless calm as one reads about In mys-
tertous tales of the sea
Now and again from ont the moisture
laden darkness would come q strange,
shriekius sound, something like the noise
mace by siren. Then the calm waters
of the ocean would be lifted up and
monster whale would rise close beside our
little schooner wondered what would
happen II 1t rose underneath US. All night
long these bTutes tossed around US, some
times, Ia their play, lifting their huge
tails nigh out Of the water and bringing
them down with q resoundtnB crash,
ing IN ell directions.
"Once, said Captain Jordan, "as we
sat smoking on the rail of the cockpit
g whale lifted its tail right over the side
bring 1t down on our deck"
Then tne talk drifted naturally into the
subject Of sea Berpents, but as 1 wish TO
keep within the strictest srnits of truth
] viii not repeat the yarns l heard Old
BIZ Kelly, the boat-keeper, who was
with Perry in the Constitution, knows an
infinite variety OF sea stories, and why
should he not, FOR few men have had q
wider and more varied experience OF the
sea. Tall and wtry, his lean face tanned
by long exposure, he still stands erect
and alert, in spite OF his 74 years. Think
OF his career, ya landsmen who sleep
comfortably every night In your soft
beds. For stXty-four years. ever since he
was g lad Of 10, he has roamed the face
OF every ocean. Ten times he has round
ed the stormy Horn; he has gone Whal-
ing IN the tropical South Pacific and fish
ing in thc bitter cold OF the Bering Sea
He has fought for his country, too, and
receives a well-earned pension from
Uncle Sam. He served on board the tur-
ret ship Monadnock during the naval at
tacks on the Southern ports, and was
present at Mobile. New Orleans and a
dozen other bloody actions. His luck was
with him, and he came through without
scratch. long and trying life, yet to-
day he ia as hale and vigorous as ever,
and when II comes to reefing the main
sail lays out on the boom and handles
the reef earring with ell the agility and
dexterity OF the youngest seaman
Monday morning found Us of the light
ship, having travelled just twelve miles in
seventeen hours, and here we lost our
first pilot, for, just before breakfast, the
San Jose from Panama, came steaming g
along at a tremendous rate, as II her
existencs depended upon reaching port at
the earliest possible moment She hardly
cared TO pause for q pilot. though Captain
Murphy, breskfastess, leaped into the
yGwi and was on board in a few minutes.
1T is easy enough boarding now" said
when I went on board the San Juan. q
sister ship, it was a different story. II
was blowing howt4ng northwester and ]
had grave doubts as to whetheF It woul6
to Kelly. I can do It, SIR he replied,
with q pair OF sculls' He went with me
In the boat, handling her himself, and
held the vessel until the pilot-boat crept
I'D under RsT Ice and K.siIY got back sats<