Show A SEA BLACKBIRD THE F FATE ATE OF A SLAVE SHIP IN THE GULF OF GUINEA I 1 drifting for day days tiny reach of 1 a cargo of eg roea and obliged to sup ply them witt by a a hurricane copyright by charles Cli arica 11 1181 1 it was in the fifties beloro steamers had bad superseded the great australian line liners rs and the big ships plying between england and india I 1 was a midshipman on board an india packet called the sea king the difference between a midshipman so called and an apprentice lay jay in the fact that the former were petty officers and learned navigation ion and arid seamanship from the quarter deck while the tile latter were fo castle leastle h hands ands and helped to perform the actual work our ship carped carried three midshipmen and our respective fathera fathers had to pay a smart sum to place us where we were at that time the running of slave ar cargoes from the coast of africa was confined solely to the arabs and the cabana cubans w with ith now and then a cargo for some south american port we left calcutta with about passengers and of this number there were about fifty army officers some had resigned on account of wounds or ill health othera others were w ere on furlough and cohere others still had been exchanged into home regiments there wa was also a party of five sportsmen ghobad been doing the jungles of indu india for two or three years at cape town we took on board thirty more passengers and among them was another party of sportsmen who had been up in the lion country wo we must have had bad a full hun hundred drej men among the pas passengers senOrs when we left the cape nothing out of the routine occurred antil I 1 I 1 we were well wel I 1 above st paul I 1 de loanda and halt half ways wa across the gulf of guinea then wo we raised a sail dead ahead which v bich wis was standing to tho thi west having evidently come coine out from the coast we i weri were within four miles of her when the tile breeze wil which ich had been light nil all the morn ing died flat out and left both craft heaving hcan ing on a glassy sea our officers had given the str stranger auger a sharp looking over and it was the unanimous opinion that she was a suspicious character she was va a topsail sch fec hooter painted a grayish white and having a great spread of canvas and when mr grayson Gri the chief officer came down from aloft after a long inspection through tho the glass ho he faid said to captain robson ro ive seen reen twenty of the Cuban black birds in ivy time and it if sties not loaded with slaves then im a blind man the captain agreed that abbe he was a slaver england as you perhaps know did more to suppress the slave aa 0 trade than all other nations combined she had five cruisers to one off the african coast and he overhauled our hauled ne five times as many craft as any other nation but for her efforts very tery little would have been accomplished at sea As soon As tho the strange craft craf was pronounced a slaver there was great indignation dig nation among our p passengers a majority of the men being anxious to go oil in the small boats find capture her this project did not meet with the views of our captain at all while la he would like to have seen her A prize to a cruiser he hid had no notion of interfering with her ler moo move indents I 1 heard him say to a major shaw w who ho was anxious to lead an expedition that the schooner was wits doubtless armed an ile I 1 with cannon and an 1 carried a largo large crew ind and that any interference with her would be lie a serious matter nobody dreamed of the calm which wis was to follow although our position was close to the equator etwas it was summertime summer time in those latitudes but not oppressively el hot not I 1 tho the slightest movement ot of air was felt for tho the rest of the day and as pas passed ed the day BO so passed the night next morning it was seen tint that tho the two crafts nearer together by behalf halt a mile or armore more there are writers who call this movement of vessels m leno it is elm ply their drift alie barger ano drift the latest fastest and arid had bad wo ive been to the north of the schooner the distance would have in been en increased by hilt half a milet milcah as both of ofus ugere were drifting to the north tn in nn an ocean mir current rent after breakfast major shaw wanted to pull off to the unknown on some sort of errand and thus settle lier her identity but lint captain was firm in ili his refusal indeed as he be sun surveyed bcd the horizon and consulted the glau gla u and satisfied himself melt hi that the calm was to continue he lie grew uneasy all day tho tile sea king xing row rose and fell on the glassy ground the regularity of a pendulum and when night came we were within a couple of miles of the schooner tho gl ler so near that every ever detail could bo be noted everything about abo her that th t she was built and fitted out fur for speed only nine or ten felt men could bo be counted for her crew and they lounged about as billet hnat bals aoa woul I 1 under tinder the circumstances tharald Tha alto had lad a long tom gun amidships we did lid not doubt although it was covered in lafrom from actual bight sight f there were also good re na sous sons to belleve she jamea parri oll I 1 othar metal ns im wetland that t the IT n abe at men in seen on cri ald lul 1 decla did not t alt ball 1 f her herbrew orew olt the evenal evening elii debond day the captain and mate held a long con its A ik after li wenger t ato the ca in room and he ald said miach miacu to each one in ili turn t the strange craft is a d slaver and lias has a cargo aboard in order to carry as many negroes roes as possible they fi burc on fresh water it this calm continues another day we shall have a visit hit from him lean Ican spare him lima a couple litno mom those may in liv 1 do I hi him ill it not bic will vill I 1 attempt to take a supply I 1 y by force fore cannon but we can raise raie at t least firearms among us its and I 1 fight him off when daylight came the drift of tho the ships had shortened the the slaver acl ir did not arox half a milel awai but lie le actual badii cs fetco N times that figure iho had heard queer night arid our people figured that they had had bad gangoff gerocs at anten inte ala 1 I s ir and htiu sluice il water 0 er ii alio e hold to sava jlii th m as a s nicca as ag pow possible iliIN if there hid ax any doubt of her eat e odor which came to us about sunrise would have dl it many could not t detect it but there were at leant twenty aboard who got t 11 not the slights st breath or nit wan w efti aftring the nio wort f n I 1 i ff one oo occasion aslon aate r the capture of au ail ai arab ib dhow by a cri cruiser jiser I 1 was on a ship which ci cased crossed tl W alq idles ara and yet wo we got g ral hodor j 1010 A M at I 1 i fome bome of the in meir veri inide isack A after ter breal breakfast arem att ii ett hesto a all passer nsf the th cocks knowing that the feta ier ads wa ing us through his glasses and desiring to present a bold front to if was to be day with oufa a puff of 0 air and abd hotter than the preceding ones it was 10 when we wo saw them lower a small hoit from the stern of the schooner and four men enter her she x ayne me at a smart warned ar 1 a 0 14 1 I a nv ay dinv inv 71 off our q a arte 4 J II ellot the ship called the man in the stern sheets aa a he be stood up lip Illel lol the captain blob koa son 1 I 3 r la r f f r wear we anra to al art r tt wasef in the and hope you can spare ua us a few casic wil ats your aargot cargo gold d dust palm oil ivory and fura furs we have been up tho tle niger for several mouths months on a trading boyage 0 1 1 af 1 wo cirii r 4 1 I 1 Is 1 3 DO bound or 1 4 tile ok rt r n a er 4 but afi the t abree b rea man eg egi altu I ti 4 h lards villainous ft I 1 to tui yoi ll 11 ct clar er b eyes ayes on beey T bibio brou u glit 11 t the otar with arnava them so stroda blat every e eay n nose s could 11 now detect it captain awas abslunt spoken man after a bit of thin thinking kina he lie replied 1 I am satisfied that your schooner is a cuban uban C slaver and that she has a cargo aboard of her now its ft A trade you are engaged in and id like to see every mothers son of you swinging at the yardar ml Ilo however wever out of pity PAY for the poor blacks ill spare yon you three casks I 1 cant do more go back to your craft and ill hoist them out and tow them half halt way and ana about the pay your money is accursed and I 1 wont handle the man forced a laugh waved his lis hat as a salute and his lis boat returned to the schooner we got over the casks lowered a boat and towed them halt half a mile away and before noon they had been hoisted in on the schooners ners deck it A quart apiece for the thirsty people aboard of her ler I 1 heard the captain say to mayor shaw and if this calm holds Is we e are bound to have hat e a row with that fellow to the fourth day of the calm passed quietly away when night camo came it was figured that we had decreased our distance by a quarter of a mile that night to keep up appearances of a bold front there was music c and dancing on the deck but while homo some danced others peered into the darkness and arid guarded against a surprise the fifth morning dawned without a it e cloud loud or a breath of air and we were now within less than a mile of the schooner the current was setting us both to the northeast or upon the coast As I 1 said before being tho the larger body we wi were drifting the fastest and in a couple of days more roust must overtake the schooner on this 3 it day 1 just before noon the blaver slaver began drawing water rater and sluicing down his cargo and we could plainly hear the shouts and yells of the degrees negroes at 2 oc lock in the afternoon he lie allowed them to come on deck in gangs and ne we knew that we should shortly tear bear from him again aih situation had become BO desperate as to oblige him to throw off oil all reserve e it was about 5 in the afternoon when the same boat and tile the same officer approached us ng As before you e what our cargo if Is captain said the man as ho he stood up and pointed to hia his craft the schooner is a black bird and has biggers aboard not one has lied died yet but there a drop of water left for them you must spare us more water or not one of them will e ever or see cuba out captain was about to reply that no not t ano another ther pint could be spared but the passengers appealed to his sympathies and a sort of public meeting was held we had bad wines rum brandy beer and could certainly spare more water without stinting ourselves sooner than we the blacks sacrificed everybody was willing to go on halt half allowance the result was that we made up about gallons of a mixture of rum an and dwater water and the slaver towed the casks away As boon soon as darkness came the dee deep V sea be a lead was cast and bottom was found at feet hawkers hawsers Haw sers were i ere bent to a couple of r small mall anchors andee and ve soon had the satisfaction of fin knowing owing that our drift was checked the dawn of tho the sixth day showed the 8 schooner not hot more than a mile away the fellows had got onto on to our trick and adopted it deiy ery promptly the day pissed passed quietly away the slaver alai er sluicing his between decks and parading lis gangs as before at daybreak on tire the momin g of the fth the barometer bai ometer indicated a change but sky and sea gave ga 0 no evidence of it about sunrise ri we th e blacks could bo be heard raising a row probably demanding water and an hour later the phot pivot gun whose predence pretence pre tence we bad suspected was uncovered and loaded and pointed at us at the same time three ports were M ere opened and the muzzles of three smaller cannon run out ont and antl trained on our ship the clavers bl sl avers crey also 1 iso increased from ten to tw twenty euty alve men inen and wo we realized that a climax was as at hand land they proposed to save their own cargo at any risk too the officer who had find v lisi I 1 s tedus twice before now appeared forab for the 0 thirl time having hi ing tho the ethree villains at the oars he ile said they were again out of watell meriand and must haye hato 4 supply ho did lid not lot m ahk k if any more could bt bei spared but commanded captain robson to hoist out ten casison on penalty of being fired into to to the surprise of everybody ei cry body the captain humbly agreed and called out to tho the fellow send all the men you can sparland spare and make it short job of it but I 1 want none of you abo gaboardi ardi the boat returned to the schooner and half an bour later three boats eacia con taming fh fire e men were lying oft off our quarter wo had bad meanwhile been pretending to be very busy the pretense was maintained after their arrival one cask was holsted out and drifted clear and arid they were looking for a second when the sun w was as suddenly blotted out of eight sight night NJ abt seemed to come again and a white squall broke with the scream of a thousand locomotives it was the forerunner of a hurricane whit li ew swept ept us up to cape Capo vera and WO 00 miles beyond belond mot not one of the boats reached tho the schooner the craft herself lew flew away before us into the thickness but later ien tha eky ley bleared buforo the an dia cotar bel acri J S lh had boie gou 0 down with hll efi on board I 1 i I 1 |