The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-04-22
CHAPT Err |.
In Which Reains Adventure.


fathomable mystery abiding upon the
face of the great deep, the constant
marvel of huge, heaving leagues of
watery solitude. secret and profound,
must ever remain so vast. so mex
plicable, as to be beyond any interrOg-
RtOry Of the fnite-the strange. the
unexpected lurking everywhere. To
others, mere ldudsmen. confidently
imagining that all phenomena can be
reduced within the contracted limits
of human comprehension. | need say
no more than hat Witnesses still sur
vtve to corrOborate the principal Incl
dents of this story. which ] now pur-
pose writing in the full glow OF a mem
DRY still dominated by the events to
be recorded.
1t had come to be the 5th day Of
April, the year 1879. I. John Stephens
aged "a, occupied a rather comfort
able sea- upon the shaded balcony Of
that large. ultra-fashionable hotel at
Valparaiso, which. as travellers will
recall. ciinSs TO the steep hillside over
looking both the city and harbor be-
meath. | was alone. not having as yet
ordered the serving of the evening
meal
A gayly attired military band was
playing noisily in a nearby plaza. and
through the intervening distance | was
able to distinguish plainly the patri-
otto notes of national music. even
hplj1uDI
voices, mingled with an echo of
cheers. was borne to me on the rising
night wind, and | leaned above the
low railing to gaze down. Slightly in.
terested. as a regiment OF Chilean in
fantry-regulars of the line from
their white trousers and stiff hats
swept swiftly past the hotel corner in
rapid time, to disappear suddenly
over the steep crest in the direction
OF the quay. Far away. toward the
right, where the long row of gray
stone barracks was still dimly visible
against the darker background of sur
rounding hills, was TO be discerned
glimmer of steel as squadrons Of cav
airy and artillery engaged in dress
parade, their numerous banners flap
ping against the sky At the moment
these several occurrences served to
awaken the meresl interest, tending
rather to bring home to memory a
freshening knowledge of the despera.
tion of my situation
II can all be told in few words:
was persona non grata to the Chilean
authorities, with apparently every pos
sibie avenue leading forth from the
country fully and effectively barred
While personally unknown to those
officials, thus far successful in mask
ing my movements under the guise of
q foreign gentleman of leisure tenn
porarily resident at a fashionable
hotel, ! nevertheless discovered it i'm
possible to break through the Gordon
OF watchful government spies and
shake the Chilean dust from off my
feet. A rapid explanation will suffice
A native Of Massachusetts of excel
lent family connections. together with
prospects of furure wealth. | early de
veloped the unrest rainable propensi
ties of a rover. and after a vain effort
to turn my reluctant ambition toward
one OF the learned professions my par
ents, despairing of ever doing better
finally consented to apprentice me to
the sea. Unfortunately for the reali-
cation of their more secret hopes.
took to that hard, adventurous life as
q duck to water, so that at the end Of
five years service had risen
through the various grades. to the hon
orable position of first officer in the
old Leyland line, my steamship being
the Vulcan, trading between New
York and South American ports.
Soon after | attained this berth my
father died suddenly, leaving behind
him a fair amount of property, a good
lv share Of which came TO me in cash
1t CHANGED that, during a previous
voyage, passenger on board had sue
ceeded In interesting me deeply in Ger
tain mining operations which he was
conducting under a Bolivian conces-
sion. Finding myself in possession Of
abundant means, and experiencing
that occasional disgust for sea life
common to all sailor-men, | embarked
with boyish enthusiasm in this new
enterprise, not only investing a CON
siderable amount of money but like
wise giving the company my personal
services as assistant superintendent.
Beyond doubt our concession was
an extremely valuable one, but as we
were soon destined to discover. II
came to us with an unfortunate flaw in
the title, there developing a spirited
controversy between the constituted
authorities of Bolivia and Chile. over
which country the territory involved
belonged. From harsh words in pub.
lie, and the private exchange OF dip
S0natic notes, the argument rapidly
advanced to blows. and was finally re
ferred to the arbitrament OF the rife.
As our financial interests were en-.
tirely Bolivian, and our invested money
at stake, 1t was no more than natural
that we should openly ally ourselves
with that struggling faction which the
Chilean authorities promptly de