The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-03-11
PIRATE Is CAUGHT
Commodore Sampson Of Excelsior
Learns What It Means to
".* -, Be Blanketed.
Novice Describes His First Ride on
an Ice Yacht-Beats a Train
'-.H 81. -. 81 g.. -... ..rgg
r. .-.r@ Hollow. T.

+ Hollow.
1.-The wind sits in the shoulder Of our
SAIL young man, and if you you are go
ing with me get into these togs."
1t was Commodore Sampson of the sEx-
celsior Ice Yacht club who spoke, and his
invitation is not a thing to be disre- |
Sarded For he is a great man among ice
yachtsmen having maintained his place |
at the head of Minnetonka ice boat navi- |
gators for the past seventeen years. New
York and Chicago papers have related his
deeds, and his portrait has adorned their
pages. s.- ...' l@...,... |
He brought forth things dark and mys-
FERROUS in the way of wraps There were
| overshoes and leggings fur coats and fur
caps, gloves and mittens. The coat which
he gave me was modelled after the Eskimo
garment, having fur hood to cover the
head and face. He himself similarly
| clad. Together we descended the steep
1 bank to the lake. where the Red Dragon
rode quietly beside a buoy. - = ::
| The commodore looked over the rigging,
| examined the sails, took up the slack ii:
| the stays and commanded me to help push
| the craft out from the. shore. We had
not pushed the boat far when an off-shore
wind caught the sails and we sprang
aboard to escape. being left behind.
The Red Dragon, like any standard ice
|
solid structure of oak, iron and steel. Her
runners are twenty-five feet apart, her
keelson is about forty feet long, her boom
is eight inches in diameter, her mainmast
is sturdy timber towering thirty feet
above her runner plank. The entire craft
weighs little less than ton, and car
| ries about 900 feet Of SAIL
AS we retreated from the shore, the
wind grew stronger and the yacht flew
over the ice like a gigantic gull.
Now you'll want to lie kind of low
in the cockpit, young man, for when we
| turn. the boom swings around quick. and
1T would knock you gally-west if it struck
you. You see there's nothing fancy about
this boat. 1 don't spare money work
to make her strong and speedy, but don't
care for style. There are boats that We'll
come across to-day that cost heap more
than my beat, but that's because they've
got more varnish and pretty stripes on
them. There amt one that has better
material or better workmanship. There's
one improve ment that Tn thinking Of,
though. I'm going to put on a skysail.
You see, these other fellows are practic-
ing all the time and sometime they're
going to get just as cute at sailing as
am. And If l want to keep at the front
I've got to get little more sail onto
my boat
These words were shouted into my ear
for the fierceness of the gale the f1apping
grinding of the runners as they sped over
the ice rendered ordinary speech -inaudi-
BILE
We now entered a portion of the lake
which was dotted with the trim sails of
other boats.
'"rhere's man that I've been trying to
get after all day, but he keeps away.
Now I've got chance to pass him..
The Red Dragon leaped forward and
crossed the bow Of the helpless craft.
you are something like a pirate said
l. You seem to take a wicked delight
in running down another boat
ooh yes, they call me the pirate the
commodore answered, with great relish
for the title. '''T There comes that dunn
med old pirate!' they'll say. Blankets
everything he comes alongside Of - -. '.
What does blanket mean?'
'Why, overtaking boat and getting
just to the windward of her and shut
ting off the wind from her, don't you
see? That's one Of the tricks Of sail
ing. Now watch me pass this fine boat.
See the varnish and gilt on that boat:
See? And see how helpless the fellow
looks. sitting there? He amt mad al all,
z is he? I saluted him; but he never
answered. Amt It, mean to pass him
that way?'
How fast are we going, now, commo7
dore?"
*>"A little less than a mile a minute but
= we've been hitting it off at more than a
mile a minute several times this after
noon. and this amt glare ice by any
II means. either You see that clubhouse
/ yonder? Well. that's three miles away.
Now see how long it takes us to get
there" ~ .. 49, g..
We were there almost before had bur-
rowed into my pocket and got my watch
out. The next day made journey on a
train, and 1 could not help noticing how
slowly the train Travelled compared with
the speed we had made the Red
Dragon. Commodore Sampson had his
sorrows, too. however, for there was
abroad that day huge craft Of different
class, which carried many hundred more
feet of canvas than the Red Dragon, and
was navigated by Andy Peterson, vet
eran sailor, to whom there nothing
new in all the seven seas. The commo-
dore saw this huge bird lurking upon his
. starboard, but he did not avoid her
Swiftly she bore down upon us. The com
modore spread his last inch of sail, COM
manded me to lie low not to catch
the wind, and did the like himself. But
it was to no avail. Peterson crept crafti-
- | ly upon our wake, and we could now see
the whites Of his eyes. =. ..
"She hasn't any walk-away. though, il
| she does carry 800 more feet of sail thar
do. Sometimes in a stiff wind can sal
| away from her, even," said the commo
dore but there were tears in his voice.
Peterson crept up until he was almos
| alongside, and then learned what it was
| to be blanketed. The Red Dragons sail:
| Tapped idly. the life died out Of her ane
we nearly stopped Peterson passed on
Our sails filled again, but it was useless
; to try to overtake the enemy, for the odd
I against us were too strong. 'css,.,.t r.
After three hours of exciting sport.
was landed in port, and as I returned t.
the hotel thought now understood TO
the first time what Kipling meant in tn
| lines: r' -. '- :s%' -, .