The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-12-10
FISHING SCHOONER
kss|LOOPED THE LOOP
Stood on Her Nose and Turned
a SOmersault.
Big Sea Lifted the Rather Out Of the
Water, Turner Her Over and
Not life Lost.
READ 1T AND ORDER THE GROG

This Is tale of the acrobatic stunt
schooner.
IL was told by Captain Ezra Hold
en-, of the fishing schooner Caroline
He had discharged his fish and given
his whole crew shore leave. He sat
on the cabin hatch cover, smoking
a b,ackened clay pipe and breathing
the soft spring air with evident salts
faction When Captain Joseph Ma
her of the schooner Bridget Brown,
clambered aboard and settled him
self near him. he fairly purred with
contentment.
Spring is here all right" said
Captain Ezra.
ut is that" said Joe. what with
gale and fog and fog and gale small
chance was there to do any fishing.
Faith, half the time when III be get
tin ready TO put on the boats I'd
find that Bridget tryin' TO stand Oh
her head. II sure has a bad winter "
''Stand on her head was it?" said
Captain Ezra. Vessels have done
worse than that and come through
IT,"
Indeed" said Joe. "Is II vessels
you mean or circus clowns?"
81 was in vessel once that did
as clean a somersault as any Clown
said Captain Ezra. "And here | am
to tell about It,"
TITS a fine veracious witness you
are" said Joe with a grin.
WELL" said Ezra, there's them
that say my words are as good as
my bond"
Just about as good" grlnned
Joe.
ut was the schooner Rather OF
Gloucester" continued Captain Ezra
"Jim Bearse, of Chatham. was hel
master. and Andy Leighton, of Glou-
cester, was her owner. We was run.
min down from the Bay of Islands
with a cargo of frozen herrin', and
all hands was snug below save the
man at the wheel. which was me. II
was a black night and a wild one
and I was lashed fast. Do you mind
Cash's shoal. of Cape Ann. where the
steamer Portland went to pieces?"
so that's where you steerei her.
said Joe.
well. there's sixty or seventy
fathoms on either side of them, bu,
it's bare four fathoms in the shoals
It's so shaller I've seen kelp CROWN
on top of the water, and when there's
a blow and the big seas come rollin'
in. it's sure cruel. The skipper was
of in his reckonin', fer he wasn't the
man to go near the shoal KNOWN it,
"Fust thing I know a big sea lifts
the vessel. and her nose hits the
shoal.
It's all on thinks I, but a sec
ond later a wave lifts the stern up
till I'm iookin' straight down on the
shoal and the vessel is standin' on
her nose.
Then over we go, and I give up
all hope. There comes a jerk, and
] see she's standin' on her masts and
the huh is clean out of water. Then
there comes another sea. and down
/ go into the water while the bow
rises. Straight up. and the masts
snap off near the deck.
81 didn't see any more, for was
under water, but when | came up,
there she lay on an even keel, with
her bow toward the shoal and her
stern away from it. and the sea car
ryin' her safe away from the place.
"She pitchpolei clean over that
shoal and come down safe. OF course,
her deck was mass of riggin', bur
the boys come runnin' up from be-
low. They had been stood on their
heads and bumped against the cell
ing and back 20 the floor again, and
didn't know what to make of II. But
not a drop of water did she take and
her seams we're as tight as a drum.
And We soon cleared the wreck away
and rugged a jury.
Next mornin' we fell in with a
vessel that towed us to Gloucester.
II was a narrer escape, just about as