Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1910-08-04
SAVED BY A WHALE.
OLD eAiLoR TELLS eTRAMoG
STORY OF egA ADVENTURE.
Monster Of the Deep Upssts eoats In
Which Pirates Were About %
Attack Helpless Vessel ln
the Dark.

New York.-'It was In the year l8l6
that I was bound to the ivory coast
on the English brig Plowboy. Captain
Scott commander" said an old lake
sailor who had spent his early days
on whaler. "6he was q dry craft.
vol found. but very slow. and. a.
though those were risky days along
the heather coasts. owners u crafts
were stingy about arming them for
protection. We had two old six pound
ers. which had been purchased at .
sale OF condemned ordnance, and tan
or a dozen muskets and cutlasses a
but little value.
I'VE called at the Canary islands ON
our way down the coast, and there We
got the cannon out Of the hold and
mounted them on their carriages.
I'VE got light and banning winds
along the Barbary coast, but were
nearing the tropic. when one afternoon
an hour before sunset o strange sail
was seen standing out from the coast
to cut US on. She was also Q brig
and from the very first sight Of her
there was no doubt In our minds but
that she was q pirate. We altered our
course two points TO the west and
then began to get ready for her. We
had no sooner set about loading the
guns than It was found that our can
non balls was all too large for the
bore. Not one Of them could BE- made
to At.
This discovery took the courage out
OF US. and Il was only In the hope that
we might kill q few Of the pirates be-
fore we were all sacrificed that We
loaded with bolts. pieces Of chain and
such stun in place of solid shot. The
discharge would be effective 1t close
quarters.
"The stranger walked up ON IN ct
a rapid rate. and when darkness came
on he was not more than four miles
away. Our captain went into the rig
gine with his glass for q long sQuint.
and when he came down he called
us aft and said there was no longer
any room to doubt The stranger was
a pirate, and there was no hope OF e.
Gaping him.
AT that very moment the wind.
which was OF the land. began to fall,
and ten minutes later we hadn't
enough to blow q feather. We could
no longer see the stranger owing 10
the darkness. We knew that he must
have lost the wind first, and that he
was all of four miles away. II the
calm held throughout the night he
would have to attack In boats, II At all,
and we then stood some show Of beat
ing him on.
| believing that this would be his
plan, we made the best preparations
possible.
Midnight came and we had heard
nothing. The fog was now very thick
and every man was listening intently
to catch the FIRST suspicious sound.
when all Of q sudden there was .
terrific crash followed by shouts and
shrieks- Then another crash. more
shouts. and a splash In the water as
II an iceberg had rolled over.
From midnight until dawn every
man stood at his post When day
light came we saw the pirate brig
about two miles on Between the two
vessels was lot of wreck stun. which
the captains glass made out to be the
| shattered remnants Of several small
boats. Only four men could be oh
served aboard the brig. and a. the CAP
tain was watching them they got into
fight. One was killed. one ran BE-
low. and the two men left ON the
deck got q white cloth from the cabin
and sent It aloft IN place Of a flag.
I'm about half an hour we got the
wind and ran down to her. lowered .
boat, and went aboard. ] went IN the
boat and followed the mate on deok.
where we were welcomed by two men
who spoke English.
"One of the men was an English
man. the sole survivor of an English
vessel wrecked on the Barbary> coast
Ave years before. The other was m
American. who had deserted his ship
at the Cape Verde islands three years
previously and while making q voyage
In q coaster had been captured and
spared by the vessel he was now on.
The dead man and the one below were
native Algerians. az were most of the
briggs crew.
"On the previous night, when the
wind went down. they got out In their
boat and towed the brig about q mile.
The entire crew. with the exception
Of the four men, then armed them
selves and the boats set out to attack
us. What followed could be pretty
safely guessed at The four boats
were In company when q whale struck
at least one of them as he came up.
He must have thrown this boat many
feet In the air. He might then have
fallen on the others. or shattered them
with q rap of his hukes. but that he
destroyed them the evidences was be-
fore US.
mot q man had escaped, and In
stead Of being captured and forced to
walk the plank, a. We had reason to
expect, we had turned about and CAP
tured the piratical craft without firing
o shot She was fine craft. can
tell you, having over $4,000 worth OF