The Columbus journal., 1909-12-22
CHAPTER I.


the sea in ships" To them the un
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.
atory of the finite-the strange. the
unexpected. lurkings everywhere. To
others. mere landsmen. confidently
imagining that all phenomena can be
reduced within the contracted limits
of human comprehension. l need say
no more than that witnesses still sur
vive to corroborate the principal incl
dents of this story. which l now pur-
pose writing In the full glow Of mem.
ory still dominated by the events to
be recorded.
It had come to be the 5th day Of
April. the year 1879. !. John Stephens.
aged "a, occupied . rather comfort
able seat upon the shaded balconys Of
that large. ultra-fashionable hotel ut
Valparaiso, which. as travellers viii
recall. clings to the steep hillside over
looking both the city and harbor be-
meath. l was alone. not having a. yet
ordered the serving of the evening
meal.
A gayly attired military band was
playing noisily in q nearby plaza, and
through the intervening distance was
able to distinguish plainly the patri-
Otic notes Of national music. even
believed that q medley Of shouting
voices. mingled with an echo of
cheers. was borne to me on the rising
night wind. and l leaned above the
low railing to gaze down, slightly in
terested. as q regiment of Chilean in
fantry-regulars of the line. from
their white trousers and stiR 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
store barracks was still dimly visible
against the darker background Of sur
rounding hills. was to be discerned q
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 merest interest. tending
rather to bring home to memory q
freshening knowledge of the despera-
tion of my situation.
1t can all be told in few words:
was persona non grata to the Chilean
authorities. with apparently every pos.
sible 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 q fashionable
hotel. nevertheless discovered it i'm
possible to break through the Gordon
of watchful government spies and
shake the Chilean dust from OF my
feet. A rapid explanation will sufice.
A native Of Massachusetts,. Of excel
lent family connections. together with
prospects of furure wealth, l early de-
veloped the understandable propensi-
ties of a rover. and after, 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-
zation Of their more secret hopes. l
took to that hard. adventurous life az
q duck to water. 30 that, at the end of
1lve years service, I had risen,
through the various grades. to the nom
orable position Of first oficer 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 fair amount Of property, a good.
ly share of which came to me in cash.
1t chanced that. during a previous
voyage. a passenger on board had sue
ceeded in Interesting me deeply in Ger.
tain mining operations which he was
conducting under . Bolivian c0nces-
sion. Finding myself In possession Of
abundant means, and experiencing
that occasional disgust for sea life
common to all sailor-men. I 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
Nvm A~-k
were soon destined to discover, 1t
came to M with an unfortunate flaw In
the title. there developing . 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
lomatic notes. the argument rapidly
advanced to blows. and was finally re-
ferrod to the arbitrament Of the rife.
As our financial interests were en-
tirely Bolivian. and our invested moaey
at stake. II was no more than natural
that We should opealy ally ourselves
with that struggling faction which the |
Chilean authorities promptly de-
nounced a. insurrectos, and proceeded
to crush.
1t wAs something Of . comic opera
war. resnlting In two or three skir- |
mishes wherein ill-equipped and poorly
omcered paisanos were pitted against
regular troops Of the line. and. a No
received from Bolivia no more sub |
stantjal aid than vague promises. our
resistance. though rather stubborn. |
was soon overcome. When tho 0nal
Wild stampede for safety cam. I dfe-