Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-03-29
Copyrigl
NJ
Continued.

Continued.
With swelling sails and flying the
Venetian flag the Orio Malipietro kept
her course. A light breeze was blow,
ing, contrary for the Turks, but favor:
able for us, so that we approached
each other but slowly. The Turks had
fred only four times, and our vessel
had not been touched. Armed with
pistols and cutlasses, our little band
lay upon the deck close to the side
awaiting whatever might be In store
Tor us, and as we so lay l could not
lsmiss the hope that no harm was in
1ded to us, that our alarm was i'll
~ Aded, and as minute succeeded min
ute. and still the Turk did not open
fire upon us, expressed my opinion
to the captain, who lay at my side, but
he vouchsafed me no reply.
The left horn Of the crescent Of
Turkish ships being now quite close,
the intention Of the Turks was per-
ceived, for the foremost vessel left
her fellows and bore right down upon
US, still, however, without firing.
"They hope to take our property and
lives undamaged, but remember
death, not captivity" These were the
last words I heard the noble captain
speak. After few minutes Of almost
breathless silence the Turkish frigate
foulcd the lee side Of the Orio Mali
fnfr nd rrytt ehn of
triumph, an overwhelming force of
Turkish sailors leaped aboard the fri:
gatoon. And then ensued a most
bloody hand-to-hand fight, Of which,
at first, the Venetians had much the
better. Our enemies were too close
upon us to permit of the employment
of any weapon but the cutlass, but of
that we made very effective use, for
being close to the side of the vessel.
and our whereabouts unknown to the
first party of Turks who boarded us,
they leaped as it were upon the points
of our blades, and so suffered great
loss. But the odds against us were
thousand to one, and with fatal effect
thC L ohho iiootSu " oNNhSC thC uClSdI
Of their fellows. Captain Perugia fell
dead at my feet, his heart transfxed
by the broad blade of ferocious Turk
whom he had partly disabled; nearly
all our little band were dead or dying,
and above the din of the fight resound-
ed the shrieks Of the women i'm
prisOned below.
felt faint and sick, and was besides
bleeding from wound in my shoul-
der, yet miraculously, in some way
which / am unable to describe, l con-
trived to back out from the fight and
flee below to the women whose condi.
tion was truly pitiable. did so not
because of cowardice, for l believe /
fought as well as any man, Venetian
or Turk. that memorable day, and GER
tainly from the moment the frigatoon
was boarded had abandoned all hope
of escape, but the warning of the no.
BILE Perugia, "Death, not captivity"
still rang in my ears, and l resolved
that my last minute should be spent in
an endeayOr to save these unhappy
creatures from so horrible fate.
reached my cabin, and with mighty
effort pulled away few of the bales
so as to allow the door to open wide
enough for me to enter sideways, but
I had to contend with the strength Of
the women within, who, not knowing
but 1t was the enemy who sought ad-
n1iffonnn nr11n1 thu 1nnp hn nth
way with all their might. AS I en-
tered the cabin, and before I could
speak to it's frantic occupants. the
Turks rushed down the companion and
began to remove the bales. I stood
close by the side of the door, and the
first who entered laid low with pis.
tol shot in the head. My triumph,
however, was short, for the next in
stant fearful blow from a mace
stretched me at full length on the
floor, yet was I only partly stunned,
Icing conscious of yelling Turks all
around-of Anita and her maid being
bound and carried out, and of my own
ankles and wrists being bound in such
brutal fashion that the blood started
from my flesh. And then kind nature
came to my relief and remembered
no more.
November 19.-I was never able to
ascertain how long remained uncon-
scious, but this know full well, that
when 1 came to myself again I was
prisoner aboard a Turkish frigate.
Va wound in my shoulder had been
aud dressed, and my wrists
anlkel <unbound, but my limbs
were hugely swollen by the barbarous
usage to which they had been sub
jected, and the least movement occa-
stoned me acute pain. Two young
Turks, hardly more than boys, sat
watching me intently, conversing soft
ly in their language, of which / com.
pretended not q word. was lying in
a rudely furnished cabin, not unlike
dismantled gun-room, and looking
around me l perceived nothing of my
own; companions, my girdle contain
ing my money and papers, the Vene-
tian merchants chests Of sequins-
everything was gone. The terrible in
cidents which Immediately preceded
my present miserable condition, and
the horrors probably awaiting me,
crowded vividly upon my mind, and,
exclaiming vehemently against my ill
fate, fell into delirium, and SO re-
manned for know not how long.
When again I recovered myself I
was reposing on pallet on the deck