The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-01-06

heard II from his own lips.
In the year 1853 he was returning
from Australia He did not tell me
what had taken him there. but sus-
pect he went in search of health. He
was in a sailing vessel-the BLACK
Swan was her name. There were
other passengers men. women and
children. One night there was a crash
a horrible grinding SOUND. recoil. and
the Black Swan" quietly settled down
to the bottom OF the ocean. Whether
the disaster was due to n collision or to
a sunken rock was never known. All
was over in five minutes. and Julian
Lorraine found himself swimming tar
life, yet without a hope u saving i.
In swimming, az indeed IN every
manly exercise. Lorraine was all but un-
into a small boat, which, it appeared,
was gone when he felt a hand on his
collar and was pulled all but insensible
into a small boat. which, it appeared,
was the only one lowered, or, at any,
rate, was the only one that had sue
/ ceeded in getting away from the wreck.
The sea, fortunately, was compare
lively smooth or the tiny boat could not
have outlived the night When the
morning broke Julian Lorraine saw all
that survived OF the ship and her
freight
Himself, four sailors. three women,
and baby IN armsl
The sailors were pulling, not from
the hope of reaching land, but to keep
the boats head to the waves. The
mother, with her child clasped to her
breast, and the two other women, were,
crouching in the stern sheets.
In the boat were cc7en biscuits and
a small keg of water.
With the light all turned to Lorraine
for advice and aid He was man of
commanding presence, to whom people
of a lower organization would natur-
ally turn in difficulties. He assumed
the responsibility.
He told the men to step the mast and
hoist what sail they thought safe, and
then to steer as close to the wind as
! possible He assured them that land
was not far off His only reason, he
informed me, for taking this course, was
that he hated the labor of rowing. Any
hope Of their lives being saved he
secuted.
However, before night-fall, they did
reach land-a bare rock, but land
BY this time one of The women was
lying in the bottom of the boat, moan.
ing, like one in agony Her com
panions of the same sex were exchang-
ing frightened glances. The poor thing
was carried ashore, and the true state
CT affairs communicated to the men. A
tent or screen was by the aid of the sail
and the oars hastily rugged up, and in
an hours time there were ten human
beings instead of nine on that barren
rock But not for long. Before morn
ing the number was the same as when
they landed, only that the place of one
of the women was taken by crying,
prematurely born infant.
The rough men and women did what
they could for the poor little wretch.
The woman with a nursing baby gave
it portion of what was rightfuIly her
own child's
This, in Julian Loraine's opinion was
the most rash and misplaced expression
of false sentiment he had ever met
with.
Toward the evening of that day they
scraped a grave for the mother They
did not fill it up at once, thinking that
bye and bye the child must be laid in
her arms.
AT one time it seemed that it must
be so. The sailors and the women, no
doubt, thinking that a gentleman is
nearer heaven than themselves.
brought the poor little wailing atom
to Lorraine. and asked him to chris
ten it.
With death so close at hand to all.
it was not worth while making any
demur; but l can fancy the mans syn
ical smile as he sprlnkled water from
a large shell on the child's head He,
Julian Lorraine, doing a priests duty,
and doing it for the pleasure OF other
people.
However, so far as he knew how, he
baptized the child and thinking that a
name was indispensable, with a kind
of grim humor, christened him, for it
was boy, Julian.
After all, no one else died, not even
the strangely born baby. The next day
a sail hove in sight Such signals as
the shipwrecked party could make were
seen, and men, women and babies were
soon in safety on board homeward-
bound ship.
No one, not even her fellow passen-
gers. knew the name Or anything about
the woman who had died. Her clothes,
such as she wore. bore no mark. Her
husband, If on board, had gone down
in the BLACK Swan" What was to be-
come of the child?
Lorraine Settled this. Perhaps he
thought the child had a certain rdicu-
lous claim upon him. lie was no mig
gard with his money. He told some
one-he would not hays taken the
trouble to see about it himself-to find
e - i