Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-02-21
HEROIC SAILORS


OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES RaERGEERRaEa
chung to the rope. Alas! the double
weight was more than the much.tried
rope could bear: II broke half way,
and the poor woman and the sailor
were both swallowed in the eddy. Cap
tain Baker and three seamen remain
ed. utterly cut off from hope or help,
The men in best condition hurried of
in search of help. but long ere their
arrival the waters had flowed above
the head of the brave and faithful
Captain. A tablet in the dockyard
chapel at Portsmouth commentaries
the heroism OF Captain Charles Baker.
From the cold fogs of Newfoundland
let us turn to one of the most beauti.
full of all the tracts of old ocean, that
of the caribbean Sea, where the In.
tense blue of the tropical sky is re.
flected in a sea of still deeper blue,
sparkling and dimpling under the full
power of the sunbeams. and broken
by the wooded islands, forming tho
most exquisite summer scenery in the
world.
Treacherous Tropical Sea.
But these most beautiful OF seas ara
also the most treaCherous. This Is the
especial home of the hurricane, and OF
the brief. furious squalls that rise al
most without warning, except from
the slight indications in the sky which
only an experienced eye can detect;
and from the sudden sinking of the
mercury in the barometer; but this
often does not take place till so imme-
diately before the storm that there is
barely a minute in which to prepare
q vessel for an encounter with this
most terrific of her enemies.
In these seas. in the August of 1926,
the little schooner Maggie was cruis
ing under the command Of a young
Lieutenant named Edward Smith, in
search of piratical vessel which
had for some time been the terror OF
the western shoes of the Island OF
Cuba. The 26th had been a remark.
ably sultry day, and toward evening
the Maggie lay becalmed of the Colo
rades rocks, when, at about s o'clock,
n slight breeze sprung up from the
west and the sails were spread. but
In less than an hour the wind shifted
to the southwark, and a small, dark,
lurid vapor was seen under the moon.
This was the wellknown signal of
coming peril, and instantly Mr.. Smith
was summoned on deck, the sails furl.
and the vessel made as ready as hu.
man skill could make her for her
deadly encounter. The cloud was rap
idly increasing. and for a few seconds
there was a perfect stiffness. till upon
this came rushing. roaring sound.
toe at at Itt In hn Of n
breath, nearer and nearer, while the
sea, still as a lake elsewhere, was be.
fore the black wall that moved head.
! long on, dashed into one white sheet Of
foam, flying up like fakes OF snow. II
was upon them! The Lieutenant's
voice was heard calling to cut away
! the masts; but even then the ship
was on her side, and in a few seconds
more she was gone from beneath the
crew. A gunner's mate, named Meld'
rum, saw for one moment, by the light
of a vivid flash of lightning. the faces
of his comrades struggling in the
water, then he swan clear Of the
eddy made by the sinking ship, founC
something floating, and, grasplng at II
obtained first one oar and then an
other. The guest, having done III
| work. had rushed upon its way, AM
, the sea was as still and calm as II III
late fury had been only a dream.
Medium listened breathlessly fol
some sign of his shipmates, and pres
emily. to his great relief, heard voice
asking If any one was near It wal
that of Mr.. Smith, who, with six more
was clinging to a boat which had float
Oh ola Of 90 hnf
to her in their first joy, that she a
once capsized and though all tn,
ships company, twenty-four in mum
Der, were clinging to her, some were
! stretched across he keel, and she wal
! thus, OF course, utterly useless eXcep
as a float
Sailors Show Obedience.
Mr.. Smith ordered them all to qui
their position and allow her to h
/ righted They obeyed, and he thel
, placed two in her to bale out the wa
} ter with their hats, directing the 9th
ers to support themselves by hanging
round the gunwales till the boat coulC
!. be lightened enough to admit them
I Just as the baling had commenced on
Q of the men cried out that he saw tn
u I'M VI dlht hoiiOi VI wv
n coming a prey to the monster mad
2 the men forget everything; they sirius
: gled to get into the boat and upset
q again. Again, however, the Lieuter
n ants firmness prevailed, the boat wa
n righted, and he babe the men splas
d the water with their legs by way G
d frightening away the enemy. All wen
}. on well, and at length the boat wa
n able to hold four men-mOrning ha
y come, and hope with II, when, G
" about 10 o'clock. the cry, "A shark!
@ shark" was renewed, and at least A
r teen of these creatures were anon
II them. once more, in the panic, tn
!, boat was overturned, but after tn
k first moment, the calm, unflinchin
7 voice of Edward Smith recalled tn
: men to their resolution; the boat wa
|. righted, the two men replaced, and tn
\ others still hung outside, where tn
4 sharks, at first in a playful mood, cam
to rubbing against the men, and eve
X passing over the boat. At last CT
of agony came from one of the me
whose leg had been seized by shar
and blood once tasted there was lit
more hope; yet still Smith kept h
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