The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-02-26

fore reaching the village they came
upon a pile of. stakes. Each seized one.
and the dozen men who swarn1ed out
OF the novels to bar their way did not
dare to come to close quarters The
rear was well guarded. There were
twenty men slowly crawling up on the
American as he reached the bank and
though most of them had muskets or
pistols they feared to open the battle
| AS the party reached the steamer the
| natives drew off. The captain, mate.
engineer, fireman and all the crew
We're Egyptians.
They are robbers-river pirates
| they viii capture the steamer and muir
der US air. walled the captain as he
| caught the shouts of the retreating
natives.
Lets figure a little on that" replied
the colonel he joined the excited
group on deck Did you ever have a
row with pirates before?"
Never! They are making ready 10
open fire on US from the first hut!'
We'll. If you've had no experience.
let me run things for awhile. Fighting
pirates can't be much worse than riot
ing Indians. The first move is to get
the boat clear Of the bank
But We've no steam,''
Then let her drift Get out those
poles and heaVe her Off
The steamer was carried a hundred
Roadway, and then the anchor was
dropped She was within musISet
range of the huts but was safe from
sudden rush. AS soon as the anchor
was down everything nova bic WAS car
ried to the StarbOard side to protect
| the cabin from bullets but the place
| had not been made reasOna hl4 safe
, when fire was opened. Ihe flying bull
lets drove the crew to their Quarters
| and the officers and passengers into
the cabin, and for the first time the
people of the ring" had an opportu-
nifty to thank the colonel for coming to
their rescue. Smiling as he remem-
bered the last snub. he hurriedly re-
piled:
Eyes. ye@aH riEht-aIl right. We've
got Jackrabbit for a captain, and it's
ten to one the crew are in with the rob
Der gang 1 want TO pay the engineer a
visit
Ten minutes later he was back with
the chief engineer He had the native
by the neck, and the fellow was white
with fear. AS ne was Whiried into A
corner and warned not to stir on peril
of his life the man from Dakota ex-
planned:
He disabled his own engines to Jay
US UD here. His assistant is making
| repairs and the firemen are Chucking
in coal Nice little plot. but I think
We beat it. Now, then, who has got
DistOls?''
he IOuT men OF the ring had
VOlVeTS in their trunks, and the same
was the case with five other male pas
senSers. When the weaD Ons We're
brought out and loaded two men were
sent down into the engine room to act
as a tonic on the assistant and his
firemen. About this time the mate be-
gan to act qUeeTly and he was hurried
into the corner with the other prisoner
and Sir George detailed to guard them
The Honorable Blackman took his
place before the quarters of the deck
hands, and then. by Colonel JOSlyn'S
directions, the rest of the armed men
got such cover as they could and oD-
ened fire on the robbers who were
skulking along the bank 1t was not
prize target shooting. but il drove the
fellows back and lessened the fire. II
did not take fifteen minutes 10 fix the
engines. and when they were pro-
nOunced all right there was enough
steam in the boiler to go ahead with.
But they were not to get out of il 50
easily. The thieves ashore saw how
things We're progressing, and they sud
denly ceased their attack and ran to
flatbOat lying against the bank above
the village A full score of them
jumped in and cast off. II they reached
the steamer they were strong enough
to carry her by boarding. There were
calls for the crew to get up anchor. and
calls for the captain to take the pilot
house. but neither was responded to.
Z
the captain trembled in his cabin.
Colonel Joslyn again came to the res
cue. With a hammer he knocked the
shacl1le pin out of the chain and let
the anchor go, and then going to the
pilot house he took the wheel. Bullets
fairly ramed about him, driving all
others to cover, but he was not hit.
While the flatbOat was still fifty feet
away the steamer began to move. The
robbers had planned to grasp her an
chor. chain and swing alongside, and
| as she headed away from them they
/ rent the air with their fierce screams
and concentrated their fire on the man
/ in the pilot house. Colonel Joslyn hid
from view, but it was only for a mo-
ment. AS soon as the fiatboat had
| drifted past he not only got up, but
h.2 called to Sir George, the honorable.
! the marquis and all others who could
come. In fifty words he told them his
! plan. Two minutes later the steamer
was describing a circle. When she had
| half-completed il she was headed for
| the robbers craft. They fired and
shouted and used their oars. but she
came driving along and struck the flat
boat on her port quarter and tore her
stern away. As she struck there was
a fusiilade from the cabin windows
Looking back in the steamers wake
the passengers could not discover even
q single swimmer 1t was a complete
annihilat ton. When he realized this
the captain regaiBed his courage. the
raate ateBped sulkinE and the engineer
begged TO be sent about his duties II