Big Game at Sea 



zen of much intelligence. I heard the most remark- 

 able story about him from an old friend, himself a 

 character along the coast, Captain Sam Littlefield, 

 who made many voyages to the river Platte. " One 

 year," said Captain Sam, whose inimitable Yankee 

 dialect it would be impossible to reproduce, " I was 

 running a schooner from Boston up the coast, and 

 one day, when about five miles off the Isles of Shoals, 

 I heard a hail, ' Schooner ahoy ! ' I was regularly 

 struck dumb, as there wasn't a sail nearer than five 

 miles. I called the boy and asked him if he heard 

 anything, when it came again, * Ship ahoy ! ' and this 

 time my name, ' Sam/ jest as plain as could be. I 

 stood there in a regular sog for a minute, and I 

 reckon that boy was nigh scared to death. I looked 

 all around, and there, about one hundred feet to wind- 

 ward, I see a head as it rose on a sea. I luffed a 



mite, an' in a minute I see it was Daniel P . 



4 Ahoy, shipmate ! ' he sung out, as cheery as if I'd 

 met him a-walkin' down the street. ' Ahoy ! ' says I, 

 givin' her a push up into the wind ; * won't ye come 

 aboard,' says I, 4 or,' says I, c are you goin' the other 

 way?' l Wai,' says Daniel, now alongside, *I was 

 a-goin right ashore, but seein' as you've come along 

 I'll join you,' and with that he caught the line I 

 tossed him and in a moment he climmed aboard as 

 fresh as a daisy. 



" This," said Captain Sam, " was ten miles off- 

 shore, and he'd swum about five miles and would 



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