The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-06-23
A FIRST SEA TRIP.

Cabildo building, few evenings ago, and to keep from drowsing under the influence of the gentle breeze, laden with the perfume of flowers, which blew from the direction of Jackson Square, fell to spinning yarns.
 It came Officer David CroalPs time, and the white-haired veteran regaled the group with a stirring tale of the tlger-infested Indian jungle and of the Chinese coast, when the Yellow sea and the neighborhood waters still boasted of buccaneers-no of the Henry Mor- gan or William Kidd stamp, it is true but pirates, nevertheless, murderous yellow cut threats, who lurked about in mat-sailed junks, and who were ever ready to convert a weaker ship into a shambles for the sake of booty.
 T was a mere lad when l left my 1 home in Scotland and took to the sea" Officer Croan began, titling his chair back against the cement wall, and fan ming the mosquitoes away with his hel met, "and it wasn't long before I was on an East Indiaman, running between London and Calcutta. I didn't particu larly like the ships officers, neither was in love with the long run around the Cape, so I determined to change my berth.
 My first Introduction to Captain Henley, of the clipper ship Sultann came about in a rather unusual way. was standing in front of a public house down near the quay, in Calcutta, when the captain called to me through the open window of the place. l entered, cap in hand and the gruff skipper asked me if I cared to make a few ex- tra shlllings had hours to spare, and as my pay was small, l announced my self as being ready for any extra sill Ter that came my way.
 ''The captain didn't take me into his confidence to the extent of informing me what my duties were to be, but l pointing to a basket under the table at which he had been sitting, bade me take up the thing and follow him. I did so, and Captain Henley led the way to the quay, where two Sepoys, holding muskets in their arms, waited for him. A ships yawl was moored at the steps leading from the stone-faced embank- ment, and into the ships yawl we tum- bled the captain entering first and seating himself in the stern to manage the tiller. The Sepoys deposited their muskets in the bottom of the boat and took the long oars, while l sat in the bow, with the basket between my knees.
 "The boat was headed out into the Ganges river, and turning, went against the stream for about a mile, when the captain steered to the shore opposite from the city, and effected a landing in a thick jungle For the first time since leaving the tavern the cap tain spoke: I'm off for a bit of a hunt, l my lad; you stay here in the boat and hold the lunch basket carefully he said, and then he plunged into the thick underbrush, the Sepoys at his heels He called back the warning in severe tones: Don't slop your hand about in that water, or you'll be yanked overheard by crocodile; this isn't the Thamts, you know
 "I quickly jerked my hand from the river with a shiver of horror, but there was no cause for alarm, as the armor- plated saurians were not in that partic- ular vicinity just then. I stayed in that boat for an hour or more, and could hear occasional musket shots, but nothing stnrtling occurred to break the monotony of the thing, until had be- come thoroughly tired of sitting alone in the boat holding my hands. The thing that did transpire, though, was exciting enough to serve for a couple ot days inactivity, and the memory of il causes my blood to jingle even now
 q heard a shout of terror, uttered by one of the Sepoys in the jungle, evi- dently not hundred yards from the boat, and then a noise between a roai and a howl. I knew what the roaring sound was; I'd heard it before in the menagerie across the river in the city heard it, yes, but not with the note o1 fury and ferocity in it that it had tha' day It was the cry of the tiger, oi some other large beast of the cat fami
 ly, and in the instant my blood turned to water, as I foresaw the possibility of the beast coming my way, if pressed too hard by the hunters.
 'The shout and the howl were SC close together that they were almos
 merged into one, but the sounds hat hardly become echoes when the bang O
 a musket rang in my ears. The repor was followed in quick succession by two
 similar crashing detonations, and I haC
 sense enough to figure it out that tht
 captain and both his attendants haC fired their pieces, and that the proba
 bllities were that the Sepoy who hat
 vented the yell of fear had escaped wounds from the animals claws anC
 teeth.
 ''I heard nothing more for abou twenty minutes, but finally I coult make out Captain Henleys advancinl , form between the olose-set trees. Tn
 captain left the jungle fringe ant
 walked through the reeds to where tn
 boat was tied, and to my astonishment : l saw that he carried in his hand lit tie tiger cub, Captain sHenley ap preached and passed the cub to me
 telling me to hold it carefully, and as
 uring me that it would do me no harm
 The kitten was beautiful little thing and when l placed it on my lap. i
 rolled on it's back, kicked it's down, paws playfully, and nibbled at my fin
 ger, with small, though rather sharp teeth.
 "The captain, leaning on his musket
 waited for the arrival of the Sepoy
 who could be seen moving laboriousl,