Bisbee daily review., 1903-05-26
PROTECTING FOG
Iorlginal.l

peilation, there was one man aboard fer who would have been a most ap- ptopriate decoration to a yardarm. This
 was Dixon. called "Crocky" Dixon. Crocly was a SObriquet that he GC- 4Ji-ed when it became known that everything weaker than be that cams in contact with his powerful jaws must
 Gc crushed. He was a mild looking lit tie man. slender as q girl and upon oc- caSion quite as much of a fury as a girl scorned. In 1865, when tEe Ala bama visited the Indiaa archipelago, Dixon deserted and made things lively for that region for long time.
 The best thing in the way of a cruis- CT Crocky could get was a small
 schooner, which Ec named in honor of his late commander, the Raphael E.
 Seumes. How or from whom he took
 her doesn't pertain to this yarn. Dixon
 was sitting in the cabin one evening at anchor in Singapore strait with a bottle of wine beside him that had
 been intended for the table of an Eng
 fish uobleman.
 There was but one light aboard, and q tarpaulin stretched across the sky light lntcrfered with its being seen. The pirate was waiting for day, and when day came he proposed to snap | lls jaws above and below bark that ! was trying to get through the strait without pilot and was consequently llying up nights.
 lt may be supposed that those ! aboard the said bark, the Pelican, were | s.u.,.bcr:ng. innocent of danger. By no | means. Captain Burt had seen the
 Semmes crawling along the surface
 of the water the evening before ard { suspected her. Had she been recoS 1 uizcd for q pirate all CT board the | bark might have taken to the boats | during the night. They certainly would 1 have done so. for the captains daugh- [ ter, the bride of his second officer, was ! with him on her wedding trip. Cap { tain Burt decided to send this second | officer In charge of four men in the ! dingey ten miles up the strait to q ! United States gunbOat with request ] that the stranger be investigated. That | the captain regarded the mission an | important one is manifest from his | sending the young husband, who would hold tlle safety of his bride of para mount importance.
 When day came tue bark was shut I in by a fog But Dixon had noted her [ position by the compass the night be-
 fore and. getting up her anchor. pro- i posed 10 feel for her. Captain Burt had | suffered night of anxiety, and the more he thought of the schooner the mora he believed that she was piratic- ! ally inclined When he found the man ! tie of fog thrown oyer his vessel he gave orders that not q sound should
 serve as guide to any one trying to
 discover her whereabouts.
 About eight bells in the morning the i captain was standing on the quarter deck. astern. and heard voices and the | sound of oars approaching. They grew ! more distinct. and presently Crocky' s { voice struck the thick air. voliey of { oaths aud orders. together with sutfi- | clent reference to what he was about, to convinCe Captain Burt that he was i being hunted for by a pirate The ap- [ Droaching boat or vessel passed per haps a hundred yards astern of him, and the sounds grew indistinct.
 : The captain in agony-for he knew . the pirates would rcturn-renewed his l caution to. all aboard his vessel to ! maintain absolute silence. then waited | for the next time tue pirate would pass him Not having n gun aboard. defense
 would be useless He did not have to
 wait long. when CrocEy. disgusted at ! having missed his object. pulled back nearly over the same track, this time passing th. baris's stern again and a trihe nearer. Every soul aboard the
 Pelican now knew that pirate was
 passing back and forth in the fog and
 if their vessel was discovered all
 would have to walk the plank. As the
 schooner went by they stood huddied
 together amidships listening tO CrOcky
 pixon's blood curG!ng language. not
 daring 10 whisper. Fortunately once
 E,era he missed them.
 When Crocky came back hn put his
 schooner of few points and passed
 far beyond tiic Pelican's bow. It was
 lucky that he did %. for by this time
 the fU- had Ferceptibly Jhlnned
 Dixon had slipped his cable on start
 ing out to find the Pelican, and when
 he pulled back the second time. though
 he missed the bark again, he ran on tO
 the cable buoy This was great ad-
 vantage. Having the compass direc- tioi.. I.e made another effort. Those on
 board the Pelican when they heard
 him coming knew by the sound that he
 would surely strike them. Then t oc- z cured tc Captain Burt that there was
 tide in the strait, which was then
 r-nniag in. and. though he knew the
 pirates would hear the cable slide
 through tLe hawse pipe h. gave orders
 to have it slipped. Dixon tho moment
 Le heard the sound knew well enough
 what the captain was about and, cal
 culaGn2 on the tide turned her nose
 slightly in a curve On came the pirate.
 following the exact direction of inc
 drifting Pelican. Captain Burt stepped
 down from the quarter decs and tool;
 his daughter in lis arms. convuIseG
 with agony. All hope was gone.
 Suddenly every one started. Close by
 sounded i steam whistle. As suddenly
 the sound of oars ceased. The whistle