Norwich bulletin., 1912-08-02

and whatnet. had a dream one night He dreamed that the Alabama bore down on his little ship and smashed her into a million pieces. The ere" laughed at the dream when the cap | tain told it the next morning but neY- ertheless they all felt 8 slight tremor run through their hearts at the tell ing. The Palmetto sailed on throusn the forenoon hours till about noon the man in the crows nest bawled Ship ahead Four points sou-sou' east or words to that effect May looked up and saw the ship. He approached the | captain and remarked that he guessed | the dream was about to be fulfilled. | Evorybody laughed little. but 1t was a mirthless laugh. When the Dig snip came close enough the eight men on I board the Palmetto saw the Stars and Stripes floating from the masthead. | They rejoiced and approached nearer. | when a shot was fired across the | bows of the Palmetto Then the Stars | and Stripes fiuttered own and the Stars and Bats was run up instead.
 To Death With a Full Stomach.
 Terror struck into the eight hearts. The crew of the Palmetto began to | wonder if death would come to them. l Youthful May 1ocosely enjoined his | captain to be brave, and he himself set blase example by stepping into the
 commissary department and devouring
 two dried peach pied, looking uneon-
 eerned the while. Between mouthfuls of pie he remarked that if he was go-
 ing to Davy Jones locker he wanted
 to go with full stomach.
 An them two pies give me the
 heartburn for a day and a half,
 chnckled the old seaman, with twin
 kle of his blue eyes. Which statement
 makes 1t plain that he did not meet death immediately, as his companions
 thought would be the fate of all of them. Instead. the eight were taken
 aboard, put in irons and allowed to
 watch their ship burn until the butter , and cheese and wine went down in 6 sizzling mess toward the bottomless sea.
 Wouldn't Fire on the Flag.
 For a long time May wore his irons } jauntily, and did what the captain told him to do, except one thing. He re- , fused to help fire into two union mer- } chantmen which were taken a few 3 days later. He informed the little captain-a man who weighed 1zt pounds and wore his mustache waxed 3 that he was not a traitor. to the ] cause and never would he aid anybody . to fire on the Stars and Stripes. No g sir, by Godfrey! not if he died by slow Q torture. This proud boast was almost t fulfilled, for the Alabama ran out oi = provisions 8 few weeks later and tht | prisoners went IS long days withou : food or water-er, well, that is, they
 lived on nothing but few crusts ant
 water. Finally the Alabama handed itl @ prisoners over to a British man O wa t off the coast of Portugal and the crev | Of he poIr1A fn |, q America.
 t Adventure With a Hurricane. | Without time for a fresh breath. il r the little parlor on Oakland avenue
 the scene was once more shifted sud - denly, and very wildly. The visito now saw the flat calm waters of tn 0 South sea The barometer was fallin e fast and the dead quiet presaged bu y one thing-a hurricane. The ship wa blown around by the awful, tearing '- dead-straight rush of air until sh
 was broadside and tipped over on he o side. For eight hours the hellish winC ID which had power unmeasureabl, '- swept the sea and drove the sufYerin
 ship to loo'ard. She was just an ounc es too heavy to be blown completely owe
 and at the end of the eight hours tn
 wind let up and she lighted hersel
 The computing instruments mad e. known the unbelievable fact that tn
 big boat had been blown sideway lg through the sea for 40 miles in eigf ss hours. which Is at a rate of five mile st an hour-an occurrence never befol Id recorded in the annals of seafaring le Shooting a Watsrspeut. 9- Straight winds are not the only kin T. that blow on the seas, and the old ts le has seen some of the worst storms tn;
 ever blew the lid off the ford hate = At one time giant waterspout swooJ
 ed across the water toward his shi
 The roaring thing bore down on ther Y. and the men aboard gave up hop
 Then May conceived a wild plan ar f. dashed aft to get his musket He ain
 ed his gun at the giant column
 water which was towering above hil
 and-Whang! The concussIon of u rt shot against the waterspout broke .e and the whole thing collapsed, causiI nST such high seas that the ships deck VI rvyt swept by waves. But the little bal ad was saved, and May was the hero U the hour.
 6" All True Tales.
 id Charles May, who has been mate, h. many good ship. and sailed the hi; CT seas OCT. has never experienced an ye thing impossible. His stories soul ,ld SlA0ns05 Dul lhoy are ITue-OI COur S. they are true. Probably there " is never again be a pirate ship to be ", down on a small merchantmen al ys capture the trembling crew, one
 whom Is very full of dried peach pi
 but 1t happened in 1883. There is sm,
 likelihood that any ship will ever iul blown on her side 40 miles in eig lse hours through a south sea, but it U .ss doubtedly was done once. There a ay many things which have taken pla -es on the distant sea with few persons in witness them that may never happ ng again. yet they are interesting wh w. they come from the lips of those " He have experienced them and especia he so when they are told by Charles M, 5i- able bodied seaman.