Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-10-24


life line, stopping occasionally to duck
below the -;,il to avoid the boarding
seas. AT last the man hauled himself
up. 1t was Willis. s4
ss Mr.. White he said, touching the
rim of his cap COOL '' we don t get
IN, that sail the mast win so. 81
lissI may hold, w Hills, Z the officer an
swered. Anyhow, it would be useless
to send men aloft III such d gale. !,
ss Some one must do it, said the sail
or obstinateIy .'Send me, q Z &
1t can't be done. i would simply
be sending you to your death. Z X
Suddenly both men ducked involun-
tarily and crouehed against the mast.
IA high, dark wall of water was APP
preaching the rail- 1t crashed upon
the deck and swept over them. The
vessel careened frightfully
Once more Willis touched the rim Of
his round cap. q Mr.. White, it means
forty -four lives. If you won't send
me- he 1huttered, = am going any
way" q isss IA
Struggling with the wind, he made
his way to the weather shrouds and de
terminedly hauled himself upward. He
was blown like a. leaf against the rat
lines. All hands watched him, yet in
their anxiety there was scarcely a
tinge Of hope. They thought him half
crazy to attempt such a thing. Sup
pose he passed the foretop in safety
and reached the topgallant yard he.
would instantly be blown into the sea.
When he was not completely hidden
by clouds Of salt spray 1t could be seen
that Willis was slowly and persistent
" crawling aloft, paying no more at
Stention to the fearful lunging and leap
ing OF the Tigress than to the shadowy
abyss OF boiling foams below him. He
mounted the shrouds Of the topgallant
mast and after clinging there for q
few minutes wormed his way along
the spar until he reached the weather
caring and then laid hold of the dam.
gerous sail. 5 sgs " g3S'
| The wind shrieked and howled. 1t
seemed an impossibility for the man
7 to keep his place on the foot ropes OF
the Veering yard, and It seemed In
credible that he should be able to do
L anything with the boardlike, frozen
canvas, which constantly bounded out
of his grasp and then leaped toward
3 him In an attack that was terrible In
!, its grotesqueness.
/ Nevertheless his pluck, wariness and
great strength served him well. Keep
ing clear of the waste of sail which
4 blew OF to leeward, he managed to
furl the canvas inch by inch An
q hourtwo hours passed. Finally he
[ reached the mast. Should he now
venture out to the end OF the spar on
! the other side he could never escape,
so felt the watchers anxi ously, with
one thought. They shouted to him to
I come down. Willis, however, did not
answer them. He rested for perhaps
u o quarter Of an hour and then attacked
I the canvas once more, furling from the
/. mast. to the outboard, thus keeping
safely to windward of the Tapping
belly Of the san @ .5.5 3is 4. IA sSI
1 After Eve mortal hours Willis low
cred himself to the deck. Exhausted
as he was, SO that he could scarcely
stand, he made his way aft and re-
Y ported to the lieutenant with the
/ formality of an old man -of-war's man,
@.AH secured aloft, sir" Then, ignor-
ing the cheers Of the crew, he went to
his bunk in the forecastle
The storm had not vet done its
worst, But the Tigress rode 1t out in
4 safety Her engines were repaired
and, word having been received that
4. the lost members Of the Polaris ex.
| petition had been picked up by q
whaler, the vessel proceeded to the
States. There one OF the first official
/ acts Of her commander was to write
to the secretary Of the navy an nc
i count Of Willis heroic action.
q As q result Willis was made q boat
4 swain In the navy and received besides
q cash present the medal Of honol
L awarded for unusual and uncalled fol
4 daring and devotion to duty. Carl Ho
yey in New York Tribune. ~
Fire, Air, Earth and Water.
The doctrine that man Is made Of Thu
8 -. - r. g. a