The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1901-05-10

and by and by began the music Of the
calker's iron and mallct. When every
stroke of the aX or hammer was Il
stroke nearer to frccdO:H. there was
little chance that the work would be.
come weariSome.
Our Spanish slaves Were useless cX-
cept for p0rtcr's work. and OF the
English none had served an actual ap.
premiership to the carpenters trade.
Yet such was the energy which our
captains enthusiasm infused into cv-
cry man of us that. incredible though
1T may seem, |. John Topp. soicmn!y
declare that the schooner Scourge kiss.
ed the waters of the harbor three
months ana four days after the first
timber OF her keel was laid on the
stocks
What sE0ut we raised as her stern
swoopcd ioyously down to meet the cl-
cmcnt she was destined for! Eagerly,
as though finging from her graceful
sides the dishonoring taint Of earth,
she embraced IL" water. Her forward
rush was stopped by the stout warp of
| cSparto grass which bound her, and
she swung sharply round to q stand
| still And before the wave she threw
up had spread dozen fathoms we
| made simultaneous rush upon her
clever red pollcd architect and hoisted
| him high above our shoulders.
And when we had had enough of
| cheering for Captain Alec Ireland some
Of us were uncomfortably hoarse, while
rs for the old man he could not laugh
above whisper.
But the Scourge was mere hulk so
far and not we'll fitted fighting shin,
and so it was to work again without
premature holiday. Masts had to be
made and stepped. rigging to be de-
signed and set UP and sails to be cut
and stitched from the uupiCllings OF
older sails. And these laborS, with tie
fittings below and the shaping of spars
and such like, were not the work of n
day or week. All hands took part in
them except the old man, who was
deeply engaged in the construction of
some Internal engine near the mouth
OF the harbor the use of which he OBJ
stinatcly refused TO tell us.
Almost all the powder on the wrecks
of the Spanish ships had been spoiled
and handful or so from the heart OF
each barrel was all we were able to
secure, but arms, small and great, and
body armor we found in abundance,
enough to have supplied two such ships
as the Scourgc.
One would have thought, moreover.
that the great Spanish bomLard, which
the old man kept trained on his prison
erS in the caves was rs heavy Il piece
as reasonable man could desire. But
Alexander Ireland was not as other
men. He argued that with our small
crew, fight ut long bowls would h2
our only chance. and SO he set TO worl;
to devise y weapon which would enable
us to do this. He made drawings ana
then a model in wood froal which he
fnShinnod u mold OF moist sand 'Thrn
{tcr1fc IN .Ur,St.-, 'iS '''''iS''"
furnace and CrammCd it with tho bra'
zen fragments CT these pieces mixed
with charcoal and from SA!pWr!GAt
turned himself to the trade or gun
founder.
And must own that il was Il dcad!y
weapon which he turned out. FOR al
though the gun had nCnc of that orha'
mentation wLich one looks FOR III q
piece that is to earn high reputc, sun
1t could not fairly be Judged by the
standard of other weapons, because II
differed from every gun that had hith'
erto been cast. 1t was fcarfully cum
bersomc in the breech and down to
where the hunnions lay. but from that
point forward it tapered throughout
| tho whole of it's enormous length,
which was full foot and half be-
yond the fathom, until just round the
| muzzle it swellcd out to form a stronS
ring. He made carriage for 1t, TOO,
and planted it right amidships between
| the masts The piece could be fired
| from large port on either sluc' OF
| over the bulwark if need be; so that
except directly ahead or astcrn, It's
deadly pclting commanded every point
of the compass. With this poWrriu!
weapon and the culvcrinS and ialco-
nets moUntcd Oh ether brCadSid~ ""
had rs much artillery as we could man
But the puwt!c: rOom w@S empty.
This was most serious gap III ON
defense aLd one which for lack OF ma
teriais we could not remedy. Oh'
lester indeed said that we could Se'
charcoal from the woods and sulphul
from the Spaniards' oaths, so that We
required only saltpeter to start ou
manufactory. but even on this shown;
; we were. no better off, for we had no
, the saltpeter There was nothing 10
1t, therefore. but to run our hrst pTi|
by the board and take her hue al
thrust fashion and then to use Ia
powder she carried to load our WeapSA
. against her friends.
We had, it is true, saved Few Ian
=, fuls of the precious black dust frci
- | +ho oarro cl-'s hold and nj one time ia