Part 12 (1/2)

THE CAPTAIN'S STORY

At the close of the ith Great Britain, in the year 1815, I took coe, Esq, then a wealthy and respectable merchant at Middleton I sailed froust, bound for Turk's Island for a cargo of salt, and, on the 5th of Septe the season for hurricanes in that region, it was thought o around into a small harbor on the south side of the island In order to reach this harbor, we had to go through a narrow, crooked channel, with rocks and dangerous reefs on every side, but, with a skillful pilot, we h safely, and cao of salt On the 9th of September, a day that I shall ever reitated, and said that there were strong indications of an approaching hurricane, and advised me to make all possible preparations to encounter it

We therefore quit taking in salt, andas possible At twelve o'clock, ale commenced, as the pilot had anticipated, and continued to increase until six in the rew more and more violent until our cables all parted, and ere left to the ot the shi+p before the wind, as the only course we could pursue In doing this ell aware of the dangerous channel we had to pass, and et to sea clear of the land But this hope soon vanished In about twenty minutes after we started, the shi+p struck a rock, which knocked off her rudder, and set her leaking badly The rudder being gone, we of course had no control of the vessel She came around side to the wind, and at this moment her ing that attached it to the hull, and it floated off, and the foreain a little before the wind All hands were soon set to pu, but we found that in spite of all our exertions, the water rapidly increased in the hold

The appearance of the elements at this time almost baffles description

So violent was their co for support Not a word could be heard that was uttered I had to cons, while I stood on the quarter-deck holding on to the cabin doors In this situation I endeavored calmly to reflect Here ere, as we supposed, on the open ocean,--in a teone--boats all lost--and the shi+p settling under us froht of water in the hold The sky was black alht above us, and the waves beneath, and around, and over us--for they dashed at quick intervals, like so many furies, across the devoted shi+p--seemed ready to drown us ere we sank into their dread abyss The voice of the gale as it howled through the rigging,of timbers, and the roar of waters as they struck the vessel, was an aail, as it appeared to me, over bodies devoted to almost instant death Destruction seemed inevitable It would not, to all hu down, down--inch following inch of the fated vessel in rapid succession--down reraves in the reat deep

I descended to the cabin, and attehts--oh, how they flew at once to my wife and children at home! I attempted to pray, and for the first time since I had left my pious mother I _did_ pray--foriveness through Him who is ever ready to hear the penitent!

The water had now got on to the cabin floor, I therefore placedon deck Shortly after this the wind shi+fted, and in a few minutes the shi+p struck with a tremendous crash I rushed on deck, and at once saw rocks fifty feet high, and perpendicular, but a few feet from the after part of the shi+p, which now soon filled ater, and rolled over toward the land At its fore part, and at the only point where we could by any possibility have been saved, the rocks descended gradually, and the foremast leaned over the, and, swinging ourselves on to the rocks, made our way up the precipice on our hands and feet, and, reaching the suht, in holes in the rock, shelter from the tempest, which still continued so violent that no one could stand upon his feet

Our escape happened about ten o'clock in the ale had so moderated that we could stand We then crawled out froether, found that all were safe except my brother, as mate of the shi+p, and he, we supposed, was lost, in atteet on shore We soon, as was very natural, approached the precipice to learn the fate of the shi+p Nothing was to be seen of her but plank, ti, all in one confused, broken ainst the rocks It was truly to us a most deplorable spectacle We had no resource in the vessel; not a thing of value was left

As night was approaching, alked along before the wind toward the south part of the island, and there found, by the side of a huge pile of rocks, a hole or sort of cave, about eight feet square and five feet high Here we all crawled in, wet and cold, but with hearts grateful to God for our wonderful preservation As ere packed very close to each other, the natural warmth of our bodies soon relieved us considerably froht as co caale had much abated, and we could see some distance We found that ere on a s, half a mile wide, and about ten miles from the place we left the day before It was covered e rocks, with here and there a small patch of soil, overrun with prickly pear, and inhabited by no living ani lizards and small poisonous snakes We had been now over twenty-four hours without food or water Of the latter article, on searching around, we found a little in the hollows on the rocks, but it was about half salt, having been ale had thrown from the ocean quite over the island, and the more we drank of it the more thirsty we became As to food, ere soon convinced that this was out of the question Toward night, we found a cask near the beach, standing on one end, with one head out, which held about two gallons of water, that had rained in

This was not salt, but smelled badly We, however, scooped out with our hands about one half of it, and left what reot some relief fro-place for the night

When we crawled out on the followingwe found that the weather had beco at a short distance fronal, nor any for leaving the shore This being the third day of our distress and privation, soer Others suffered more from thirst We, however, cheered each other with the faint hope that so would appear for our relief We wandered about as we had done the day before, seeking for water but found none We had nothing to dig with but our hands; these we used, but in vain; no water appeared

Toward night ent to the cask, and drank what reht, all an to shade every countenance Very little was said, and we passed the night well as we could, pressed by hunger and parched by thirst Morning caain we all left our shelter The weather continued fine and clear Themyself very feeble, I took my seat on some rocks near the cave, at a point fro on the water, and with a lingering hope that so would appear for our deliverance

About ten o'clock, an object looht it was a boat, but could not at once tell It approached, and soon I saw it distinctly It _was_ a boat, with one sail, and was steering directly for a low beach not far fros at this moment were so overcome that I lost all power of utterance I could not, at first, rise froth, however, shortly returned a little, and I got up and made all the noise I could Some of the men near at hand heard me, and came up I at once pointed to the boat, which was now near the shore They shouted to their companions, and ere all soon at the beach near where the boat was landed A black ot out of the boat, and caht him for water To my surprise he had none, but instead of it had a bottle of ru these on shore, and, taking theave each of my cre of the ru a little our parched ues I then opened the letter It was from my warm and faithful friend Mr Tucker, of Turk's Island, and it read as follows, o my name:

”To Captain ----, or any other unfortunate person or persons whoislands Come as many as can safely and, should any be left, I will find means to convey those that remain”

The twoall of us at once, as ere nine in nuht overload the boat We could not, however, bear the thought of leaving any behind We therefore all got aboard, shoved off, and made sail We had a fair wind, and a smooth sea, and at six o'clock arrived safely at the harbor we had left Many persons ran to the beach tothe rest was our deliverer, Mr Tucker

The next ave me a brief history of what had taken place with hiale Many of their houses were levelled to the ground, and some were blown into the sea Their cisterns, their only dependence for water, were mostly destroyed Even the cannon mounted on a small battery were disreat distress Every vessel and boat, that floated about the island, were blown to sea or destroyed Out of the twenty vessels that were at the island on which Mr Tucker lived, when the gale came on, only six were heard ever from after Five out of these six recked on adjacent islands, and every soul on board three of these perished The gale was said, by the oldest inhabitants, to be the ion We re passage in a shi+p bound for New York, reached that city safely on the last of Noveton, Ky, was only a cluster of cabins, one of which, near the spot where the courthouse now stands, was used as a schoolhouse Onealone at his desk, busily engaged in writing, when, hearing a slight noise at the door, he turned and beheld an enormous wildcat, with her fore feet upon the step, her tail curled over her back, her bristles erect, and her eyes glaring rapidly about the room, as if in search of a mouse

McKinley's position at first coht and involuntary motion of his chair attracted the cat's attention, and their eyesheardthe audacity of wild animals, attempted to disconcert the intruder by a frown But puss was not to be bullied Her eyes flashed fire, her tail waved angrily, and she began to gnash her teeth She was evidently bent on er, McKinley hastily rose, and attempted to snatch a cylindrical rule from a table which stood within reach, but the cat was too quick for hi furiously upon hian to rend and tear with her claws McKinley's clothes were soon in tatters, and his flesh dreadfully th and ferocity filled hie her fro, sharp teeth were fastened between his ribs, and his efforts served but to enrage her thehis blood flow very copiously from the numerous wounds in his side, he beca what else to do, he threw hiainst the sharp corner with the whole weight of his body

The cat now began to utter the most wild and discordant cries, and McKinley, at the saether sent forth notes so doleful as to alarenerally the first to hear and spread neere now the first to coe and unearthly was the har before venturing to enter At length, the boldest of the ever the corner of the table, she at first supposed that he was laboring under a severe fit of the colic; but quickly perceiving the cat, which was now in the agonies of death, she screaood heavens, Mr McKinley, what is the ravely replied, turning round, while the sweat streaht, fatigue, and pain

Most of the neighbors had now arrived They attee the dead cat; but so firmly were her tusks locked between his ribs, that this was a work of no small difficulty McKinley suffered severely for a tith fully recovered, and lived to a good old age He was heard to say, that of all the pupils that ever came to his school, the wildcat was the ht two Indians than one wildcat

AN INCIDENT IN FRONTIER LIFE

A daughter of Boone's, and a Miss Galloere ahborhood of the fort, when a party of Indians rushed fro their return, took theirls quickly alarht men, and pursued the enemy So ot several ht with great keenness by woods a trail at all tiitives, and fell upon them so suddenly and so furiously as to allow theirls were rescued, without having sustained any other injury than excessive fright and fatigue The Indians lost two men, while Boone's party was uninjured

[Illustration: THE PURSUIT]