240 KRIDEE'S SPORTING ANECDOTES. 



" Was I?" he echoed, looking sideways at us, 

 while he kept his swarthy face turned like a 

 wall towards the box, in which Fred was now 

 lying; "you see, sir, we left Annapolis that 

 morning bound for the Potomac for a change of 

 ground ; the wind was west when we started, 

 but soon hauled to N. N. E. and then back to 

 north, blowing a regular persimmon gale. I was 

 at the helm Tom painting decoys, when the 

 sail jibed and she came head to in spite of us 

 shipped three seas in less than three minutes 

 a hogshead of water at each sea lost all the 

 decoys overboard started the sunk-box tore 

 mainsail from the gaff, and had to run into Cove 

 Point harbor, eight miles from Patuxet river, 

 where we lay snug enough until it had spit its 

 spite." 



"A good harbor that?" we asked by way of 

 passing time. 



" Ay," said he, " the best on the Chesapeake 



a perfect basin but d n that swan and the 



hen that hatched him ! I don't care for the 

 value of the bird, sir I've seen acres on acres 

 of 'em at a time, mixed in with geese, but by 

 the North Pole, it was enough to make a man 

 forswear father and mother and turn Turk to 

 lose the shot." 



