Evening star., 1900-01-20
THE WRECK OF THE MASCOT.


Tn. huge fore and aft sails of a three
h7a-t.d schooner swung lazily to starboard
half flIed with wind. and the graceful craft
gIided from the harbor of Batavia in the
Island Of Java, toward the sea. She was
th.. schooner Mascot, British. Liverpool
Capt I.oomi<. laden with coffee. and had
cleared for Philadelphia, in the United
States with commission to touch at Samoa
and at EU+nos Ayres en- route ON board
were two men who for months had been
awaiting an opportunity to ship aboard a
han+waTd- bound vessel of any dcSCrlI-
ton for the bark that had brought them
l., that far corner of the world. one aS mas
Ter and the other a. mate. had pSeu ae-
b. s,rnycd by fire while lying IN the harbor.
and with it had been burned everything
they possessed.
I:.rt3fyi4 had not been a pleasant place in
which To- Initer during those blistertng mid
summer days. The bubunic plague ragea
Viru'-utlV. Men and wOmen-natlVeS. near
IN all 10 he sure-droppei dead in the
streets almost without warning Business
WIS at a StandStill- Ships bound IN. OBJ
served the warning signals and Scudded
sf5twarG again without dropping anchor,
and il had seemed if the two sailors
Wrr. fated 10 remain there always until the
Mascot pnked her nose through the MORN
irc mist one day in August. and came to
anchor of the kraalJund meaningless
name for 4 detached wharf, which lies
about thirty fathoms off the western eX-
tramity of the harbOr- With the schooner
in boarding her. and finding that she was
ShortirdnIed. Were readily accepted by the
bluff and hearty master. one as mate and
rh,, other as able seaman.
.-.Ntraid of the plague shouted Capt
I.onnIiS. when. before leaping the rail they
warned him Of the danger which threat
rued all who anchored in the harbor of Ba-
tavi4. God bless you, lads, it is every
where. this voyage. Its the lubberly
plague that has made me shorthanded.
Both my mates and two of my men have
hoo tod hon hilr
reckon the rest Of us are fireproof. Come
aboard come aboard. lads: if You want to
sign articles. I'm your man. Are you Eng
li~hmeu2
w sir, Americans" replied of
them That is. my friend here is really a
Norwegian Thorgensen by name; l was
$ S"huyIkill of Philadelphia. burned in this
hlrb"r eight weeks ago, My name is Grad
dock
..AnI you wish to. ship with me, eh2"
That we do. sir
Thr arrangement was speedily concluded
CTadioCk became first mate of the schoon-
~. and the gigantic Norwegian gladly ac-
copied place in the fO'CaStle. The Mascot
hs,i arrived from Sumatra (where one of
her crew had contracted the pldguel in bal
i,-I. and her captain was determined as
soon a. he could take on a cargo of coffee,
'n ship his cable and be off. Fate willcd.
however, that he should clear in due form
vf law. and the day came when the
schooner put TO sea. Her course was laid
through the tOrtuuus sea Of Java. through
the Torres strait and thence across the
Coral sea between the New Hcbrides and
tht. Santa Cruz Islands to Samoa
Fer week all went we'll Then. without
warming. that terrible palsy which preccdes
tn relentless stroke Of the plague seized
th- captain in its awful grasp. and in two
hours he was corpse. During the sue
c-eiiIs night sailor peri<hed in the fo'-
castle another followed at midday. and
s'ill another ere the had set again. and
nr thu seventh day after the death Of the
Al L
themselves sole survivors Of all VINO had
-ail"d out Of the harbor of Batavia aboard
The schooner Mascot. fourteen days aguue
They were at that time about eighty miles
n the eastward Of Torres strait fer the
schooner w slow and she had been sev-
'Eal times hecaimed- They consulted long
and earnestly regarding the best course To
pursue. now tnat they We're alone aboard
vessel much too bulky for Two mon to ham
de in anything more than Il lady breeze.
To turn back was out Of the question. since
what GrtlH wind there was in those lati-
iHdsS at that season Of the year WIS al
ways contrary. and besides they had expe-
I!cn""d quite enough Of Batavia 1t was
possible that they might make an Aus
t1rtlitH port if they could sucCte ed in cross
ma III" Coral s-a and striking, The northern
arm ri the south equatorial drift. which
nislk~~ 10 the southwark on either side Of
the southern Australia current. by which.
Toy several hundred miles. ii IS divided in
tH ain. on the other hand. if they could
SicC"td in crossing the Coral sea without
accident they would be much nearer Samoa.
aud-welL they tossed coin and decided
upon The original destination.
Neither had experienced any symptoms Of
.he plague. and both believed themselves
exempt. They, however, took the precaution
thoroughly 10 fumigIte the schooner, in the
hope that they might speak some craft
which would afford them assistance.
They passed through Torres strait and
ont upon the Coral sea. and there for
days AMI days. they h1ated idly in a dead
A4N Tf-lt thav7 7al into
until they almost ceased 70 keep note Of the
flight Of time, Ior bothered themselves with
fhe Customary midday observation at a
ttni" when latitude and longitude could
change only by so small n fraction that #
became a seemingly useless task. Time
enough - take their bearings when there
was hr""Ze enough to render them valuable,
-h.'y thought. But they forgot or they did
not know. the Influence of the counter cur
rents which make through the Coral sea,
Influenced by sudden and fierce tempests
and hv suhterranean convulsions which
abound in that region.
Experienced sailors both everything on
board was prepared for emergencies. Axes
were laShed within easy reach Of the had
wards. where they might be seized upon
aui used at moments notice. should one
%; those sudden tempeSts descend upon them
uuawIrcs. Even the topsail haIyards were
Splcei and led TO the deck. and the stay
{, --sssji and the TWO jlbs were furled and
housed Also despite the intense heat. they
la;teu-d the matches for rough weather
and - had everything in readiness for
hurricane,
w could take her into Liverpool where
she belongs. Grad said the confident Nor
w-sian, one evening, when they We're
smoking their pipes on the after deck.
Thrr,. was not a breath Of air stirring and
had NOT been for weeks and already they
W-r" more than three weeks out from Ba-
tayI4-
we cannot take her three fathoms with
"u' wind replied CraddOck, testify
But that will come after q while -