Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1902-11-23
THE nHDs ATrAcKHD oAITAN nrYER

TIE birds ATTACKED CAPTAIN nEYEM
me; ! sleep. and In my dreams I am
haunted by H. The horror u n man
alone In a yeasty waste % waves. calm
nud collected as be trcads the water.
while around him hoyers a hungry flock
~ glhatrus-cs They dash at the an.
protected head OF the swimmer. stab
him viciously with their sharp boaks
mock DIS misery with disc0rdant cries.
swoop down la twos and thrccs. peck
Ing as they pass until the face Is red.
dencd with blood.
lie raises his hand to beat at the big
birds but they rs horcely at the On.
gers and bite them 90 ribbons see
one strong beaked creature dash direct.
~ nc the eyes of the man who Il fight.
Ing Tor life against such tremendous
odds. When the bird rises. the face Is
too fearful a sight Tor words. I turn
away sick and half falntlng and when
look again the man has disappeared.
but the white winged alhatrosscs re-
main TO remind me that the sight was
not n cruel trick Of the Imagination.
We might have saved our captain
but FOR the birds As Il was we could
only look nc him helpless al the mercy
OF both the waves and the rayenous
demons OF the air. unable 10 40 to bis
assistance.
We had left Newcastle. Australia. In
the early summer with a cargo Of coal.
We had our full crew OF thirteen
men, and everything pointed 20 n pros.
porous voyage. our captain. Paul hey.
er was clever seaman and a good
master. and a sailor can ask for moth.
Ing better
We had been out of sight OF land Tor
some time when a heavy wind set In.
raising a head sea which broke over
our bows and caused the bark TO rock
violently.
The day after this storm set In a VIC.
lent rush OF long swells tossed the Ger.
mania ~ lerccly that her cargo shifted.
She listed TO port aud threatened with
every lurch 10 keel over
There was no time to be lost and the
captain. who stood at the wheel. shout.
cd FOR a volunteer 20 go below and cut
away stanchion to allow a more even
distribution Of the cargo when the bark
rolled toward the stnrboard side.
The men crowded ON deck aud were
for making n dash for the four Hfe.
boats, forgetting that not one Of them
could live la sea like that.
Mate Hulke seized an AK and went
below.
The men. with the terror OF drowning
facing them I'm any case huddled TO-
gether and waited the result The
blows OF the az came muhied from be-
low. aud finally when she rolled back
part u the cargo was thrown TO the
half empty side and she righted
The men cheered and. seeing the
ship once more scuddlng along. hurried
below TO raise partition and prevent
another shifting OF the coal
Captain Boyer had never left the
wheel, and only once his hand released
the spokcs. That was when the men
started Tor the boats. With one hand
he stoadiod the helm, the other he
clappcd to his pocket The men knew
there was more than one way OF dying,
30 they recovered themselves.
After the cargo was rlghted we sped
along nc eight knots an hour and the
sea appeared 10 be trlne less rough.
stu u was hard night. and took
the wheel while the captain lay down
after his long siege.
Tho next day dawned clear Early
In the afternoon Captain Boyer came
on deck Tho Gcrmanla seemed 20
have stoadicd down and was behaving
splcndldlN
THAT was close call said thQcap-
tain, "and the towards would have left
the old boat 10 go 10 the bottom"
I nodded. "Iffthcy were all like
Hulke," fald De, "therc'd be fewer
boats lost"