The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1901-08-03
A MODERN JONAH.


him spout" cried half dozen people
near the after wheel house.
Bill Hawkins, the red faced quarter
master, lifted his eye momentarily from
the flag he was mending and scanned
the water.
"Humph," he said, deprecatingly, "only
a little chap. Your big whales don't get
down into this latitude. Still, little
whale is better'n no whale at all an I've
got hankering after whales on gen'ral
principles. Got picture of one that
Sam Coil drew hung up over m bunk
now"
what makes you like whales?" asked
the man who always spoke first.
Taught me religion" said the quar-
stock in religion till they showed me.
Yer see, it was in IL, when was bos'n's
mate of the full rigged ship Silver Spray,
bound for Boston from the Clyde. We
went along easy enough, with a fair
wind and Just a gentle swell for about
ton days. Then one night, Sam Coil, the
b6s'n, says t me, says he, Bill, d yer
know somehow or other l don't like the
looks of that there sky
"'What's the matter with the sky?
says 4; / didn't see nothing in it t get
scared at.
"Tts dull and murky round the cor
ners,' says Sam; an I'll lock myself in
the brig if we don't catch trouble fore
midnight
"Well to be brief, sirs, we did, just as
Sam said. By six bells the Silver Spray
was rollin' like raft; at seven bells, she
was running Under bare poles, 'cept for
her jb and foresail, an by midnight
she was duckin' her head in every sea
like train goin' full tilt at tunnel. Her
deck was three inches deep with water,
comm both ways, and there was four
men at the wheel. Dawn came creepin'
out of the east at last, but it weren't no
better. Nothin' happened, though, till
watch. Sam was bracin' himself near
the lee rail, tryin' t light his pipe when
side swell caught the Silver Spray and
turned her over like chip with nail in
It. Her rail went plumb under an Sam
went with it.
Man overboardv yells, Man over
boardp and We all made a rush for one
OF the boats. Just as we had her clear
Of the davits, ready to lower, we saw
Sam in the water close to the ship.
Don't yer come, we heard him
shout, don't yer come. There's whale
after me, and he'll land me before you
can. Yer might get some bits of me by
gettin. the whale, but it amt worth
while
He yelled some more, but the wind
veered and carried the. sound of his voice
out to sea. Just second more an he
went downward like lead on log line.
The whale, gasps the mate, it's got
him.
."Breathless, we kept watchin' the place
where we seen Sam last. and pretty soon
lnere shot up from the sea a stream of
water ten feet high. Then great shiny
black back followed it for a second and
then both disappeared.
For twelve hours, sirs, that ship was
ne gloomiest hulk you could imagine
everywhere there was some sign of
Sam. Sans pipe on the deck, wedged
u col Of rope; Sans kit down below,
eac SANS empty seat at grub time. We
kS1eot all about the storm and it let up.
ine next night was calm, but cold. Ice
eefgs in the neighborhood. 1t was my
turn On deck, and every fifteen minutes
Ve iested the temperature of the water.
forty-three, says Tom Smith as he
colder :
"Up forward the watch was sniffin'
9e air an peering out into the blackest
y sSsIkness the Atlantic can get over it in
em parts. Yer couldn' see anything off
&c ship 'cept the foam close alongside,
smls the pinnacle light looked like the
open I'D Of a galley stove. Well, sirs,
!ast q was going below, Tom Smith
u@e up t me and toched m arm, kind
Z stisnge like. l couldn't see his face,
~ .s Judge it was pale, cause he was
shaldGs all over.
Dyer hear it?' he says in wobbly
Hear what?' says I.
Smgln'. says he.
In the fo'c'sle? says l, I'll 60 below
No says he; mo, not in the fo'c'sle.
oM here,' and he pointed off over the
q beam into the dark.
There, he cried again, dyer hear
Sll! Dyer hear it?'
~ this time l was getting kind OF
ueepy m'self, cause, sure as you live, a
1and. mighty much like singin' was
attn itself at us out of the night.
~. It's the SIRENS says Tom, leaning