The Washington herald., 1915-01-03

Island Of Tristan da Cunha, on Decem-
Der 6.
had made rapid progress on her voyage.
for winds had been strong and fair and
her rig was large enough TO drive her at
good speed.
Like all vessels of her model, which
was long and narrow. the ship had q
tendency to roll deeply, and the voyage
had been far from comfortable. The
meridian of the Cape of Good Hope had
been passed on December IL, and thence
onward the cruiser had experienced heavy
winds and confused seas, many Of which
came on board.
Christmas dinner was served with an
extra bill of fare, or dslicacies taken
from prizes, but owing to the rolling of
the ship the dishes could not be kept on
the table.
To add to the discomfort Of the adven-
turers on board the Shenandoah, the
ships deck leaked like a sieve, keeping
wet the cabins, bedding and even the
clothing of the officers.
Two Women and a Child.
AS the ship was wallowing along under
short sail in a heavy sea on December
2s a sail was sighted astern. The cruis-
er's progress was checked until the
stranger came near, when a gun was
fired across her bow to bring her to.
The vessel proved to be the Delphine,
bound for Alxyab for a cargo of rice
intended for the Federal armies. She
was in ballast. but had on board n
quantity of machinery intended for shelf
ing rice.
Lieut. James I. waddeIl. commander
OF the Shenandoah, in his journal. gives
an amusing account of incidents con-
nected with the capture of the Del
phine.
When Capt Nichols, of the Delphine,
was informed that his ship was a prize
and would be destroyed, he said, My
wife is on board, and it may be the
death of her to move her. The report
of your gun has made her very III"
The Shenandoah's surgeon was sent
aboard the prize to visit the invalid.
He returned with smile on his face.
Mrs. Nichols had a child, boy of six,
and there was another woman on board
the Delphine. the stewards wife.
The transfer OF women and child in
such a rough sea was rough business,
but Mrs. Nichols approached 1t fearless
ly. She insisted on carrying along with
her a canary bird in a cage.
II was necessary to lower her over
the side Of the DeIphine in a bos'n's
chair and to hoist her on board the
Shenandoah in the same way on a whip
from the yard arm.
With perfect self-possession Mrs. Mich
OILS entered the chair and directed the
sailors when TO hoist and when to lower
away: thus she was landed safely on the
quarterback of the Shenandoah.
Vigorous Mrs. Nichols.
Lieut. waddeIl, of the Shenandoah, was
in the act of leaving his cabin when he
met the prisoners from the Delphine. led
by Mrs. Nichols.
Il was surprised he writes, ''to see
tall, finely proportioned woman Of
twenty-six. in robust health, standing be-
fore me, evidently possessing a will OF
her own; and 1t soon became evident that
she would be the one for me 10 manage
and not her husband.
Mrs. Nichols asked in a stentorian
voice If I was the captain and wished
to know what intended doing with them
and where they would be landed"
Lieut.. waddell replied that he would
land them on the Island of St Paul If
they liked, but Mrs. Nichols knew the
inhospItable character of that spot of
volcanic rock in the South Indian Ocean
and replied, Never! 1 would rather
remain with you,'
When the crew of the DeIphine had
been transferred 10 the Shenandoah the
captured bark was set on fire and head
ed down the wind.
With no one at her wheel she ran for
a short time, when the flames reach
ing her sails, they were consumed as in
a flash, and she drifted out of sight in
the strong wind and heaving sea, a mass
of flame and smoke. Several of the Del
phine's crew volunteered to serve on the
Shenandoah. whose complement of sail
Crs now stood at forty-seven, as against
twenty-three when she left Madeira. The
difference had been made up by men from
prizes.
HumOr and Philosophy.
In the "reminiscences of three different
officers who served on the Shenandoah
mention is made of Capt. Nichols and
his interesting family. The captain took
the loss of his ship very much to heart,
and was pacing the deck of the Shenan-
doah moodily when Lieut.. F. T. Chew,
who was on watch. approached him and
tried to comfort him with some cheer
ing words
Captain" he said, Just think that If
at daylight this morning you had
changed your course a quarter of II
point. you would have passed out of our
reach and sight .-
To this the Bangor skipper replied:
That shows how darned little you
know about it. This morning at day
light I just did change my course
quarter of a point and that's what
fetched me here"
Capt. and Mrs. Nichols and their little
son Phineas were given a cabin. Phineas
was a bright lad and greatly interested
the Confederate officers. Capt. Nichols
told Lieut.. waddell that the boy had
pointed out 10 him at the beginning OF
the voyage the tenth verse of the twen-
ty-seventh chapter OF the fourth Acts Of
the Apostles. The verse is as follows:
And said unto them: 'Sirs, perceive
that this voyage viii be with hurt and
much damage, not only Of the lading and
ship. but also OF our Iives.'r
Capt. Nichols expressed some contri-
tion over his statement about his wife's
health at the time OF his capture, but
adding. Il didn't think lie under the
circumstances was wrong"
The Shenandoah, called at the Island
of St Paul for fresh supplies. The Of
foers brought of fish, eggs and a few
chickens and also a penguin. Some one
pinned a rag around the strange bird 3
neck like shawl Like an old woman.
for all the world,'' was Mrs. Nichols
comment.
Put Ashore at Melbourne.
Continuing her course eastward, the
Shenandoah reached Hobson's Bay,
Australia. on January Is. and anchored
near Melbourne. Several books that Mrs.
Nichols brought on board were given
to her with but one exception. That
-