The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1920-05-06

II
tomorrow ! shah have cut sufficient
build for my employees better homes
! than the rude shacks and lighthouses
they now occupy; then / shall build
myself a fine residence with six
rooms, and the room that faces the
bay shall be the parlor. When can
afford it, shall build more houses.
I shall encourage tradesraen to set up
in business in Sequoia and to my city
shall present church and a school
house. We shall have volunteer fire
department, and If God is good, !
shall, at later date. get out some
long-length fir-timber and build
| schooner to freight my lumber to
market. And she shall have three
masts instead of two, and carry half
million feet of lumber instead of
| two hundred thousand. First, how
| ever, ! must build a steam tugboat to
tow my schooner In and out over
| Humboldt bar. And after that-ah,
well That is sufficient for the
present"
Thus did John Cardigan dream. and
as he dreamed he worked. The city
of Sequoia was born with the Argo-
naut's six-room mansion of rough red
wood boards and dozen tbree-room
cabins with lean-to kitchens; and the
| tradespeople came when John .Cardi-
| gan, with something of the largeness
| of his own redwood trees, gave them
| ground and lumber In order to en-
courage the building of their enter
| prises. Also the dream of the school
mouse and the church came true, as
did the steam tugboat and the schooner
with three masts.
| At forty John Cardigan was younger
than most men at thirty, albeit he
! worked fourteen hours q day, slept
eight, and consumed the remaining
two at his meals. But through all
those fruitful years of toll he had
still found time to dream, and the
| spell of the redwoods had lost none
of its potency.
At forty-two Cardigan was the first
mayor of Sequoia. At forty-four he
was standing on his dock one day,
watching his tug kick into her berth
the irst square-rigged ship that had
ever come to Humboldt bay to load
cargo of clear redwood for foreign
delivery. She was big Bath-buit
clipper, and her master lusty down
Easter, a widower with one daughter
| who had come with him around the
Horn. John Cardigan saw this girl
come up on the quarterback and
stand by with a heaving-line In her
| hand; calmly she fixed her glance
upon him, and as the ship was shunted
In closer to the dock, she made the
cast to Cardigan. He caught the
i light heaving-line, hauled in the
heavy Manila stern-line to which
1t was attached. and slipped the loop
of the mooring- cable over the dolphin
at the end of the dock.
''Some men wanted aft here to take
up the slack of the stern-line on the
windlass, sir" he shouted to the
skipper, who was walking around on
top of the house. THAT girl can't
haul her In alone.'
"Can't. I'm short-handed." the
skipper replied. Jump aboard and
help her."
Cardigan made long leap from the
dock to the ships rail. balanced there
lightly a moment and sprang to the
deck He inserted belaying-pin in
the wIndlass. paused and looked at
the girl. "Raise a chantey," he sug-
gested. Instantly she lifted sweet
cOntraltO in that rollicking old ballad
of the sea-"Blow the Men Down."
Round the windlass Cardigan walk
ed, steadily and easily, and the girls
eyes widened in wonder as he did the
work of three powerful men. When
the ship had been warped In and the
slack of the line made fast on the
bits, she said:
please run ford and help my
father with the bowlines. You're
worth three foremost hands. Indeed
didn't expect to see sailor on this
dock"
II had to come around the Horn
to get here, Miss" he explained, "and
| WHEN u uIdSl HdSu tuOuty W pay lot
his passage, he needs must work It,"
I'm the second mate" she explain
ed. I'VE had succession of gales
from the Falklands to the Evan
gelistas, and there the mate got her
in irons and she took three big ones
over the taffraiI and cost us eight
men. Working short-handed, we
couldn't get any canvas on her to
speak of-long voyage. you know. and
the rest of the crew got scurvy"
You're a brave girl" he told her.
"And you're first-class A. b." she
replied. IF you're looking for berth.
my father will be glad to ship you"
SORRY. but ! can't 60" he called as
he turned toward the companion lad
der. I'm Cardigan. and | own this
sawmill and must stay here and look
after It."
There was light. exultant feeling
In his middl%aged heart as he scamp
Il o~od alone Tho Hooty The I'LL Ia