The San Francisco call., 1906-08-05

II F YOU should go into Delagoa bay,
on the east coast of Africa, today
and mention in shipping circles
the name of Captain Henry j.
Howes, late of the Sea Witch, now su-
perintendent of the Sailors Snug Har-
bor. Quincy, Mass. you would get some
such reply as this:
Captain Howes of the Sea W1tch!
Why, that is the man who ran the
blockade of large part OF the BRUSH
feet during the Boer war. Yes, SIT,
scooted right by them in the night ana
came in here and delivered a cargo OF
flour that was worth almost its weight
In gold
The officers Of the British fleet haven
got over scowling about 1T yet, ana
the jolly coastwise captains ana the
firm that owned the -four haven't got
over laughing about it, For IL was
more in the nature of huge JOKE tnan
Ii was war maneuver. NOT si!ol
was fred, and when the English ON
GERS came aboard the stanch schooner,
which was safely anchored within the
neutral zone in the morning, they
found the captain asleep in his punk.
The adventure hadn't kept MIN awake,
although he had run the gantiel OF
half a dozen men o. war and NOBODY
which, with their searchlights out ana
a double watch, were laZily sneaking
about those waters. confident that they
had out a net that would catch any,
thing larger than q rowboat
Sitting on the piazza or the sailors
retreat, overlooking stretch Oh green
field and beyond that the blue waters
of the bay. the captain told the story
over again with broad grim on ms
face He is now 20 years old, although
he does not appear TO be 90.
Yes, said the captain, ! ran the
blockade and by dong so got nyselI
heartily hated by the Brltish navy,
1t wasn't SO much the fact that | got
by with the flour, although, as things
were then. that irritated them. but it
was more because l got by at all, And
the joke of the whole matter is that
did II almost innocently
Almost innocently. said the captain.
and 1T was Impossible to tell whether
that was merely a twinkle that lighted
up his eye or the faintest sort OF
wink. He got through almost lnno-
Gently, but nevertheless he got through
Il had just unloaded cargo after
long voyage when the representative OF
an English firm came to me and wished
to charter the boat to load up cargo
of -four for Delagoa Bay and Natal
took the commission and sailed for
almost through with that end of it
when 1 went to Sydney one day on
business. When I returned / was met
by some friends who said: Have you
seen the papers. captain? NO, an
swered. Well, l guess you won't get
into Delagoa Bay on this trip. The
English have established blockade
there, they said.
THAT didn't worry me much, and so
I answered: All right; We'll see. But
are you going to SAIL? Why not? I've
been commissioned to take cargo of
-four there. and I'm going. If I'm held
up, why, I'll go on. But certainly they
can't hold me up in port here.
"At that time the port of Delagoa
Bay was about the only point of COM
munication with the Boer troops. 1t
was a Portuguese port, but the English
had taken 1t upon themselves to es-
tablish the blockade three leagues out.
They had no right to do so, but rather
than allow provisions to get in there
they preferred to stop all boats and pay
the damages.
II heard a good deal about it before
I started, but there is no sense in look
ing up trouble before it comes to you.
| sailed all right and met with series
of nght winds in the great Atlantic
blight to Cape Luen and after that
heavy gales After getting into the
all the way across until off Madagas-
car l sighted Inyack on February IL
at 7 p M
This light is about forty miles off
the bay and 1t was right here that
Captain Howes had to do little think
ing The entrance TO the harbor is
dangerous one. being full of reefs and
shoals. and he was not familiar with
the course. But he had good charts
and knew the surrounding waters very
we'll Among other things he knew
that If he waited where he was there
was a good chance that the current
hereabouts would drag him many miles
off his course and delay him several
weeks.
In the distance he saw the lights of
several men of war. but il was dusk
and he was apparently unnoticed. AL
though a heavy sea had been running,
the wind died down and the moon
broke through the clouds. The first
mate came up to him for orders.
II think" said the Yankee captain.