Willmar tribune., 1899-10-11

"a this. The srsst sto oru which suddsaly
sprang on the coast the night Of Augult i s
1878, and which lasted for more than three
days, was Of such nature that it has been
set apart by historians az worthy Of espe.
.cial mention, both from ito results and its
more than fendish force.
ss As have said, the absence Of the bulk OF
Lord Howe's feet had enabled the Fhan.
tom to drift through the fog and from the
bay in comparative safety. and this abgence
was due to an attack planned against the
French who were besieging Newport by
water, as the patriots under Sullivan were
doing BY land. The British Genera. Pigot
was in desperate straits when Howe ap-
peared of Point Judith, and, had the Eng
lish admiral been possessed Of the sluggish
and procrastinating nature of his brother
(lately commander of the British land
forces in America), he would probably have
been day or two later, and Pigot would
have followed the example of Burgoyne at
Saratoga and laid down bis arms. As it was,
Howe arrived in the nick of time, and the
French sailed out of the harbor to fight
him. The English took to the ocean for sea
room in which to maneuver, but from all I
could ever gather, each was mortally afraid
of the other. The French followed. For
two days they played about, either seeking
to get the weather gauge Of his opponent be-
fore opening hostilities. Here at last there
must have been fought battle which might
land probably would) have altered the com.
plexion of the war; but the storm stepped
in, and, after damaging and patty wreck
ing both fleets, drove them asunder Howe
returned to New York to reft, ind
DEstaing gathered his scattered ships and
sailed back to Newport. What my fate
would have been had the tempest held off
leaves little to guess, as, had my hoped-for
programme been carried forward, l would
have run into network from which there
could have been no escape.
BY the same storm which had prevented a
conflict on the sea the patriot force on land
had suffered well-nigh as severely as the fleets.
What with ruined ammunition, destroyed
stores and demolished shelter, the ferocity
OF the hurricane even causing several
deaths, Sullivan's army was in forlorn and
desperate state, and, though in no condi-
ton to make an assault, the gallant COM
mander furthered preparations to that end.
knowing, however, the ticklish temper of
our allies, the attack was postponed until
the French should return, an event which
occurred on the 10Th of August. Mighty was
the JOY ct the patriots as D'Estaing sailed
up the bay, but the JOY was shortlived, for,
glv'ng his damaged ships as an excuse, he re-
fused to remain at Newport, and, turning
away, sailed for Boston for repairs, leaving
Sullivan with discouraged and rapidly dis
SNluinr o1ocn ko h. L I
Of the British.
But, barring the storm, of these matters
knew nothing then nor for some time after
their occurrence. Now I stood and strained
at the wheel, squeezing the vessel into the
wind as close as she would 60, having an un-
reasonable objection to making the least
southing in the course. And yet was un-
certain as to the exact point to which was
steering, possessing no compass save the
telltale which was set into the cabin CELL
ing and out of reach of my eye. If escaped
the pitiless and treacherous sands of the
coast of Long Island I would be well con.
tent, and by holding to the present tack
had little fear Of disaster from that quarter.
figured that we had made half the length
of Long Island up to the time we had been
}overhauled and the calm set in, and that in
wind for the most part light. If this was
SO, at the rate which we were now going I
hoped to enter Vineyard sound by noon on
the morrow, barring disaster, and q hours
from the present would see me at my own
hearthstone. The thought Of it warmed me,
and great was my need of warmth of some
kind, for l was as empty as drum, tagged
by excitement and lack of sleep, and lad not
known comfort for SO long that my memory
of it was misty.
But by midnight even the feeting comfort
OF thinking was gone, and soon after in feel
ing was little better than block Of stone,
That which had gone through might not
be reckoned by time alone; it seemed the
experience of years. In my half-dazed state
l felt that had been an outlaw for years;
for years I had been fleeing and each day
fenced with death; for years known and pro-
tected the girl and her brother; and for
years, it appeared, must I stand and face
this bowling wind which bore against mo
like living thing.
The tempest, which had come In the teeth
of smiling day, was marked as we'll bs
capriciousness as by violence. As the ghast~
illness of early dawn broke in the east, and
l gradually awoke to the fact that morning
was at hand, the wind fell as though
chopped off or as if we had suddenly shot
into the lee Of a vast wall. In half senne-
less fashion, like man under drug, tried
with fruitless efforts to shake off the feel
ing of utter carelessness which had fastened
to my senses. With the calmness of abso-
lutte Indifference marked the sudden drop
ping of the wind, though knew full we'll
that it portended an increase of the gale.
but when, for how long, from what quarter.
or with what force, the Almighty alone
knew; as for me, I cared not if it blew tho
vessel out of water. With the same dull in"
difference I marked our new danger and
every detail attending it. With the sudden
calm we were at the mercy of the long,
green, foam-capped pillows which charged
toward US like moving hills. They came not,
like rollers, with the regular swing of tho
ground swell, but every surge was the head
waters Of q mighty dam broken loose, its
crest made up of a mad, throbbing mass Of
liquid torn into shreds and cross seas by its
own weight and violent motion. The face
of the world was vast tumult of yeasty,
ash-colored madness cut by the darkness Of
it's hollows; terror (if could have felt it),
not horror; more sublime than grand.
more awful than sublime.
-. ITO Be coNT1NuED.1
Equal to the Str1in.
1ne If the most i'm nosinrr objects nn