The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939, 1909-05-12

eiation.I
We were on our way from San Prs.
cisco TO Bcring sea for seals Never
did I sail with such forebodinsS j;
was late In the season, and We had.
picked up crew In San Francase..
such as NO odieer would be pleased a..
sail with even In fair weather. NJ
FIRST mate 1 trusted implicitly, but M
second was new to me. and knew III
tie Of his ontecedents. The men hsC
been spending some time ashore BE-
tween cruises. frequenttng the loves
dives In the city. and when they earn
aboard they were drunk.
II was q bleak day that No Sailoc
and the weather didn't improve On
acquaintance. Ny ship was q, Sa1et
and required constant handling alan
A fine mist or q sleet fen most Of thr
time, and the rigging was thick WIN
ice. The consequence was that eGsSy
time n man was ordered alott he either
went with a growl or refused to 50 II
al. Ny Hrst mate. whittemore, ana
were kept busy most Of tho ttmr
threatening. cursing or even knocking
them down With any implement thar
came handy. As for Harden, the sec.
ond mate. If he gave q man IN order
and It wasn't obeyed he gave Il T.
some one else.
One day, when we were beating
against biting northeast wind ant
tho clouds were splitting snow. whiIr
standing on the after deck saw thr
men gathering on the forecastle. J
knew trouble was brewing and, giving
whlttemore a meaning look, directed
his attention for'ard. As for Hardan.
he was below, though had he been On
deck / should not have placed any
reliance on him. Next / saw 4 man
Of the crew Of the name Of Billings
urging his shipmates to follow him
aft, starting himself. going few steps
and returning for more argument A
few followed him on some Of theGc
incipient advances, but the bulk Of the
crew hung back. Finally. after .
harangue that I could not hear, b.
made another move, and all but two
or three Of them went with him.
It's not a pleasant sight for one
man with no support but . single
comrade out on n blustery ocean b
see knot Of men. doubtless With armS
concealed. coming TO murder him !
made up my mind TO sell my life -
dearly as possible and uncovered 4 4e-
volver had carried ever since setting
san. whittemore came and stood BE-
side me.
The men had reached the compan-
ionway when one Of them caught sight
Of something on the port quarter. 9th,
ers turned to look, and one By one
they stopped. Thinking It safe to do
80. turned my own eye in the direc-
ton they were looking md saw ship
coming athwart our course. It was
she that had arrested the men. Those
bent on mutfny don't want any Wit
nesses. They stood peering at her.
and as she drew nearer It was plain
that she had suffered rough usage.
her masts, all except her foremost.
were gone. and that had a single Sail
set. No one was to DO distinguished
on deck until she came within haIlfnS
distance, when through the flying
snowdakes one person was discover
able.
At the wheel stood q helmsman. The
ship scudded across our course not q
hundred yards In advance OF Us, and
only the one man was to be seen. BE
was motionless except for the rolling
Of the ship. I hailed, but he neither
answered nor turned even to look at
US. BE was not plainly visible and
only SO for a few moments. for no
sooner did he reach the nearest point
to US than snow squat hid both him
and his ship. and when It thinned the
vessel was but few indistinct lines.
Sailors are the most guperstttfous
people in the world, and my crew was
Of the lowest and most supersttE0us
type of sailors. I could see by their
appearance that they considered the
passing vessel q phantom and the
wheelman ghost.
Here was my opportunity. Drawing
my revolver and motioning White
more to follow me. / walked briskly
forward. On reaching the forecastie
I covered Billings with my revolver
and ordered him to walk aft he look
ed at the men for help. but saw that
they were cowed and obeyed the or
der. I marched him down the gang
way, and IN a few minutes my mates
had him disarmed and in irons. The1
I went again on deck and told the
crew that II they wished to escape 4
hanging when we reached port they
had better return to duty at once
Most Of them obeyed With alacrity-
Those who showed signs Of giving I'm
ther trouble l had put In irons BY
the very men they had been infuene-
ing to mutiny.
The wind howled that night and the
next day we got IN observation. Find
ing that I was far out Of my course,
put her OF considerably. sailing In the
dfHaoff0VA 90 tba 4,