TWO TALES Or TROUBLE. 19 



disaster followed another. They were most excellent men, gave me 

 the very best service that was in them, were capital sailors, and oblig- 

 ing, diligent and efficient to a very high degree. Of course, like all the 

 West Indian negroes, they are to a certain extent like children and 

 have to be treated as such, but are most appreciative of kindness and 

 responsive to it. The life of these poor fellows is a pretty hard one. 

 My captain, who is an unusually good man. told me that during the 

 previous summer he went through four months without being able 

 to obtain any work at all. ( )ne of my crew, who lived at Governor's 

 Harbor, on one of the outer islands, from which nearly all the best 

 negroes in Nassau come, had strained his back in unloading a 

 vessel, his wife had lx.-en ill, two of his children had died, and I 

 really do not see how the poor fellow had lived. When he came to me 

 the signs of starvation were deeply marked on his face. My contract 

 did not cover the feeding of my men but, on going out for all day, 

 1 always took lunch enough for them and for myself and, instead of 

 carrying water, took a number of partly green cocoanuts. the liquid 

 inside of which is always cool and refreshing. When a nut was 

 emptied, poor Sweeten would say, "Will you please hand it here, 

 Chief?" and make up some of his arrears of food from the creamy 

 flesh inside. When I bade him goodbye he was fat and shiny, but I 

 fear the future has some hard times for him and for them all. 



One day we were down by North Key when it began to grow 

 very black on the northern horizon. I got in the lines and started 

 for the harbor, but had just crossed the bar when a tremendous squall 

 struck us. We had no ground tackle but a rather light grapnel, which 

 was sufficient for all ordinary purpose?, but far from big enough to 

 hold the boat against a very high wind. We got under a slight lee by 

 the lighthouse point and anchored, but promptly began to drag. Then 

 the crew hoisted the foresail double reefed, hauled in the grapnel. 

 and tried to beat up the harbor, but with this small canvas the In >at 

 would not come about, so we had to anchor again iust in front of 

 the Colonial Hotel. The wind continued to increase until the waves in 

 that sheltered harbor were running six feet high and two boats, which 

 had been anchored near by. broke their moorings and went on the 

 rocks a quarter of a mile west of us. Then the "Kestrel" began to 

 drag her anchor, pulling it through the sand for a while, then bringing 

 up when the fluke caught a point of rock. It seemed pretty certain 

 that we would pile up on the rocks, where the other boat< had gone. 

 and, though there was no danger to us except that of a complete wet- 



