New-York tribune., 1912-02-11
A CAPTAIN UNAFRAID

DESTROY us. they came at us as if they were
aimed bv old Jupiter himself, with wholesale
murder in his heart Perhaps we were not
struck, because we were on our beam ends
more often than on an even keel We rolled
and pitched so that | expected 10 see the
masts 60 by the board at any minute. And
| almost hoped they would; for It would
have greatly lcsscncd the danger.
Next to the fiery fusiladc, the thing that
gave me most concern was the possibility
that some Of the boxes would get adritt and
the dynamite be exploded either by con-
Cussion or friction. We had been under a
blazing sun for more than a week, and !
knew that in very warm weather nitro
glvccrin mcltS and nuns together in the com
position with which il IS mixed into sticks,
in which condition it is likely to be exploded
bv "a Slight lar. / had personally directed
the slowing Of the cargo, and 1t was well
done: but it appeared that nothing couIa
long remain secure IN such a bu'icing as We
were getting. Ny anxiety on this point be-
came SO keen that along toward the middle
of the night | went down into the hold tO IN
vcs,igatc. ! could not send any OF the crew.
for "DYNAAlITE" was stamped IN large
letters on every box, and al sight Of that all
Of them would have been over the side as
quickly as they could lower q boat did
not wish 20 see them 60 10 almost certain
death in the raging sea. nor was ! ANXIOUS
10 be left 10 navigate the ship alone.
II turned on, that ! was none too soon
with my inquiry; for some Of the boxes were
lust beginning 10 work loose and rub against
one another II was no easy task 90 secure
them. single handed and with the ship con-
s,antlv irving 20 turn turtle, but with the
aid Of Tenders and strips Of canvas ] finally
made everything fast again, $50 That ] naa no.
further unca-iuc-s ON that score. That Was
think. ID, ,igkIi-h position Cos ] have ever
been in.-wi,h boxc, Of dynamite under and
around me and the ships ,lmh,r- screaming
and groaning Ike ten thousand devils,
crashing thunder, blazing lightning and %
dclugc Of water above; and outside Cd mighty
sea that was tossing the vessel about EE" a
wa,h'ub. l. was not % situation ln which "n.
was i'm any danger ID; falling asleep
With thcDyming Of the sun the lightning.
thunder. and rain ceased as suddenly a- they
had opened hos'li'ins, the sky cleared until
soon there was no, cloud IN sight, and 'h.
trade wind LrcozcI mp over our quarter.
Tha, is way the cnIlvcnng elements have
in the Tropics.
WYE reached Colon in twelve and a half
" davs from New York. including the
night wc were hove 20 IN the storm, and an
other one when wc went 10 The other c&-
,remc and were bcoalmca, which was tramp
steamship time.
When The crew saw the hundreds nt hoNc.
Of dynamite coming out Of the hold, some Of
them probably would have tried 20 murder
me # they had not found themselves suffer
ing considerably from heart failure. Their
.y.,,irn, terror. when there was no further
cause. for alarm. was calculated % provoke
r-,r.N. Irt did not laugh much, for my
Conscience was troubling me and was not
.,,. an ..migr,abl. under the rrproaoHiuI ana
accusing glan..s that were beng igyeIcd a'
,,. Fer the frs. time in my life had de-
r,lr~a,.'v lied. and the realization Of that
i..., ,r.luccd q now and decidedly unp',as-
an, i,o..,i,D If we bad been blown up, !
.r,rrf have been as much responsible for
,b.d,a,h of every man on the ship as though
I had murdered him. ! offered no cXpIana-
,;,o. or apolomos, but, as ] watched our
deadly cargo going ashore, ! determined
,L,. tbrrc would be- no more entries oi lhal
I.;,,d or nv logbook. was born with hatred
fnr = liar, and never since then have ! toId
,n rrtruth tha, could possibly hurt anyone.
When il has been % case Of telling damaging
,rnrhs or living viciously, ! have kept my
lbs closed what YOU don say can '"''''