The Nevada County picayune., 1906-12-14
IA Yarn from Jim Bonnet
BY ]. c, HUMMER.


 man calls me one l know what to do, but when he thinks Pm o1e 1 can't have a reason for pluggin' i'm. Now, in telling this here yarn vc no cause to lie for l don't figger very big in it and besides if anyone of you ever meet Paul Snowman he'll tell the same yarn; for why? Because he was on the bark, too. But here's the yarn: The Phoebe Clement was bound, in ballast, from Boston to Savannah where sine would load lumber for the La Plata. When we made our last squint at Cape Cod the wind was fair nor west and 1t kept in that quarter un- til we were off Long Island then 1t came out strong from the nor-east.
 It kept gettin' wuss all the way down and jest as we had got past the Virginia capes it fairly split it. self. Capt. Snow made big mis- take in not putin into Hampton Roads when he'd a chance and l guess he knew 1t, too, but 1t was too late. Work as we did, and a man works sprv when he's tryin' to live little longer, we found the wind and the drift was surely pushin' us on them bloody Diar1ond Shoals.
 Capt. Snow was a good navigator and he handled that bark under close reefed tops'ls as well as any man could, but he had a most unreasonable craft in the Phoebe Clement. She never wanted to do anything that was asked of her and then when a man has a square rig ger on to a lee shore he has job on his hands to get her off. When 1t comes to coastwise tradln give me a fore and after.
 The skipper had brought his little son with him on this voyage. He was a taut little kid and all of us were fond of him. The captain had lost his wife and this little boy was the apple of his eve.
 When l heard the skipper nut ter, "poor little fellow, only ten years old,' then I knew he was thinkin' of the little boy down in the cabin and that he'd given mp hope.
 It was just at dusk and things were desprit with us when l saw a great green wave rolling down on us from win'ard. l shouts warnin' and jumps into the fore rigging. The men in the waist saved them selves by grabbing whateyerd hold 'em fast, but the man at the wheel went over the rail as the bark hceled down the shock of that mighty wave. The skipper was clinging to the backstay but when he saw the man at the wheel go over he sprang for the spokes Somehow he missed his hold and in a minute he was banged against the cabin house and swept over it into the sea.
 I had given up all hope and ex- pected to go plumb down with the bark, but she commenced to right slowly. Her fore and main top masts had snapped like pipestems and that eased her although the spars were slammin' against her side. Stowman ran 10 inc wheel and we sid down from the rigging and began cutting and slashing at the mess of tangle of ropes which held the spars 10 the vessels side.
 Where's the Skipper?9 whispered she mate, to me.
 Hes gone oycrboard,' l replied, in a low voice.
 I wonder why it is that 8 man al- ways speaks low when he m danger of death. l suppose he's saving of his voice for excuses to God Almighty about the kind O life he's led.
 We were in an awful shape. There wasn't enough of the lee rail left to make a decent fire and both boats were smashed to pieces.
 What in Gods name are we goin' to do?" muttered the mate.
 "Why rig a storm sail in the main," sung out Stowman; "for Gods sake do something to try save our lives"
 The mate gave the order. "It's no good" he muttered, ''the drift