Show A SAILORS NEW YEAR YEA I 1 I 1 BY 31 QUA D MU all rights righta reB orvea 1 at 7 on the mornin g of jan 1 1858 tile the british brig adventurer from the cape do de verde islands to the river orial passed a small bark baric at a distance of about half a mile she had been in sight for a couple of horns lits and d her actions had created no little talk aboard the brig when first sighted she had altered her course coarse by three or four points in the course coarse of 10 minutes initiates she was heading as before A bit later she was off again etwas it was as if her crew was divid divided ed as aa to her port of destination audas and as the crafts each otherie other we were puzzled bithe by the lubberly loohs looks of 00 L things aloft she was under short sail in a fair breeze her yards aeo wera cot L at properly braced and our oar first idea was that she BIO had bad sickness aboard and was short handed wo we shortened sail expecting pecking pec ting she would efly diya a signal of distress but she kept hot her course coarse and did not even return our salute salate our mate mr hobson had bad the glass on her as we 0 came opposite and he held it to his face over 15 seconds when he turned to lo the illo captain who had bad just come on deck slid and exclaimed why sir BIT therease there ther eare are three or four men on her decks wearing the uniforms of cayenne convicts convict sl 1 the captain seized the tha glass for a look and speedily satisfied himself that such was the fact and five minutes later the adventurer had come about andaas and was in chase of tho the bark let mo me explain to you yen that our brig was a government craft engaged in harbor and coast surveys andaas and was armed with two guns or on a side and a long tom mounted amidships from the tha surveys s irv ys made by this craft beav between sell tho the years 11 1853 and ISO all tho the rivers and bays along the east coast of brazil were nvere charted sa s1 sho io carried a crew of 41 4 1 men and while surveying y 11 up 01 tile tha para and the amazon had been attacked on several leveal occasions by then the vicious minded natives we had no BOO come about than there was great confusion on od the decks of the bl bark more sail was made on baher her but in a bun bungling ling fashion and aad it was ivas plain plainly 1 y c evident vider A that she wanted wante a toes to escape cape us ns I 1 heard captain johnson saying in to mr hobson that she eho v was as certain lya french merchantman and he believed she had bad been seized by the convicts at cayenne she was doubtless in of a sailor but there were not enough sailors smock them to do things in shipshape fashion numbers of inea started to go aloft but stuck at the crosstrees cros and such sails 13 as were ivere cst loose were n not ot sheeted home todo to do their best we walked up tip to her hand over liand hand and in half an hour were within biscuit toss and our captain was hailing to know what avas wrong if the he answer was plain enough without words when wo passed her only seven or eight men could be seen on her decks now they fai fairly ly swarmed with men all but five or six six of whom were in convicts dress As a matter of fact there were just 90 00 of them it was useless for them to reply to the hall hail under linder such circumstances and for a minute they were silent as they gazed at us then they suddenly found their voices P and the yell they uttered in ili chorus was enough to mice make the hair curl they screamed and cursed and danced about shaking hiking their fists in a defiant way and it mus must t have become clear to our captain that he had a desperate set of men to deal with our brig was sheered in a bit closer and a demand made that the convicts surrender they could plainly see that we gewere were a stron strong crow crew and had guns but the demand was received with yells of derision the leader of the gang V whom horn we had not before identified now mounted the rail and in broken english warned us to keep off or take the consequences quen ces ile he boldly declared that they were esc escaped aried convicts from the penal settlement referred to and having got safely to sea they would fight to the death sooner than be re taken iio he added that an english shipham ship had no business to meddle in tile the matter and though we carried guns he was waa not in the least afraid of us every man of tho the go 90 as I 1 T may mayl tell ellyon you had haal been transported for a serious crime and nowhere else could ono one have got to Z A RA fit TO kerp KEEP OPP OFF gether a more villainous Alla inous crowd the worst of tho the lot however looked honest and mild tempered tem pared compared to that follow fellow they had elected as aa captain he i was a giant in statue as dark as a spaniard and hi his fice face was waa that of a savage wild beast we were eo near that we could look into his eyes and catch Us lis ferocious expression and I 1 think every man of us realized that ho be would have to be killed before the brig c could bo taken the defiant attitude of tile tho convicts seemed to put our captain in an in embarrassing position but after it ii ul menta thought lie he called out to the fellow on tho the rail you roust have captured the brig r ig to get away from cayenne what has become of the crew dea deal 1 every one of them killed and thrown over boardl ardill shouted tho the fiend in hi answer D do you on paean to lo m say r you murdered aej ca captain P t inato and all hands yes tesi ull all the crew but weve got get the captains cap taina wife anil and liar her sister aboard 1 now ow you vo got the news and you sneer sheer off and go your own way Lota let a french ship pursue us and retake us ng wo we tere compol ieti to the distance Itle tween us to prevent accident from tile the lubberly manner in which the brig was wag stee et Fud bat we reduced sail 10 as to keep abreast of her ami the captain and ids hid of officers fleere descended for or consul consultation I 1 dont know whether they iram tinned their right to interfere or ha uial cussed the lest of aft tho the brig but they were not 1 absent I sent over a quarter 4 of an hour when they came on leck r wo got the order cordei to load with solid bhelt aud and in 10 minutes every man and guit was ready for action one ol of tho convicts convicts was aloft with wita a glass glas es and could plainly noto note overy every movement aboard of us u and our captain who was wae dikova kovA li posting us reported that the fellows had themselves with wita rifles and revIl re vers and were wera erecting shields against vao the bulwarks bulwa A solid shot wu was t aa V H I 1 A LASHED TO tile strouds fired across her bows as a summons 0 to hea to to and as a warning of what t waa in store for her if she did not but bet the roar of the gun was avis followed by a chorus A of yells and three or four bullets came whizzing over our heads the brighid brig widened tho the gap until out 0 of f rifle range and the captain then said to the crew of lou long tom III 1 I want vant to save the women if they are I 1 aboard and though yonder rascals are a desperate lot I 1 dont want to sink them tim aim to strike a 1 her er above the water line A bev shot may take the fight on ont of them the first shot passed between lier her tore fore and mainda mainmast st without to touching anything thin but tile the second smashed her but bul barks and killed two men A third an and a fourth were tired fired bogli of the arm m creating taa havoc yoe aboard and wo were looking for somo some tok token of surrender when th the e bark da tk ported her helm and canio bearing tip on our quarter we had the weather gauge but she had been thren three or four points off the tho wind the fellows were evidently demerin determined ined to get near enough to to use their rifles but with their poor seamanship they stood no show wo gave the brig more tail sail and after a couple of tacks tack were off her he quarter an and d sending solid shot aboard again there was great confusion among the condic convicts ts and wo were hoping for a signal when the wretches brong brought h t the women on deck we could see aei them very plainly without a glass and their presence put a stop to our firing filing as the convicts had expected while we continued to gaze across the waters one of the women was lifted above the starboard rail and lashed to the shrouds of the mizzenmast and a minute later the other waa similarly secured inthe shrouds of the mahi mainmast mast atvas it was a scheme to stop I 1 our fire and every man inan groaned in spirit as lie he wondered how our cur captain would take lake it iia he must have realized that there was but one course open to him and after 1 bit ho he said to tho the captain of our big AS 0 gun gan aim at her foremast and try to cripple her she must either cither surrender or ill sink her during the next nest 30 minutes wo we freal six sis times the foremast was carr carried aed away about 20 feet above the deck her forward deek deck plowed by two shot and the yawl on her stern davits smashed to splinters A shot which crashed through her bulwarks bulwa between her main and mizzen maats was waa reported f from OM aloft as striking down seven or elighil eight of uio the villains but with their craft lying a wreck in the trough of the seas they continued to shout defiance at us we suspended firing to give them a chance to der but they had determined to die first tho the crew of a man of war could have carried the brig by boarding though it would have been a desperate fight but we were not strong handed enough to attempt such a thing tile tho unfortunate women must muot go down if the convicts did but death would bo be preferable to our sailing away and leaving them in the hands bands of tho the monsters wo we changed chanced our shot to shell as we loaded long tom again and the gun was pointed to strike the hull one after another five shell were sent into the bark barit each one tearing a great hole and carry ing wounds and death and wo we had re loaded for the sixth time when it was seen that the craft was settling away wo we had our oar eyes on her as she was heaved up broadside to us by a wave her decks alloi t awash there w was as a wild cheer from ill the convicts half a dozen rifles were discharged and as the lark bark dropped into tile tho trough the waves ran right over her and she settled away with the heaviness of a block abilock of 0 granite we ran down to the spot but there was waa no one to rescue living and dead had bad 1 been drawn down to together other |