Jan. 17-188$.] 



\&1 



QRiNDA. — Cruising Cutter, Designed akd bpht'bt E. L, Williams, 1888, 



TIP, TOUGH, BROTHER AND THE HARRY LESLIE 



rpHE Gang have read with interest the many cruises that have 

 i appeared in the Forest and Stream, and hoping others 

 migh t find some pleasure in reading of a run across Cape Cod Bay 

 under adverse circumstances, the following is sent' 



The Harry Leslie is a most wonderful craft, and great credit is 

 due to her builder and designer, a Cape Cod fisherman. She is a 

 pinkey- stern schooner of about 30ft. load line, with large cockpit 

 for fishing and a small cabin forward containing two bunks and 

 enough floor room for two more. She has very hollow lines for- 

 ward, a long bow and very short run. Had her rigging been as 

 solid as her hull, there would have been no cruise worthy of men- 

 tion. 



The schooner had been chartered by the Gang for a short run 

 around the bay. There had been easterly weather for several 

 days, and every morning about daylight two heads appeared at a 

 second story window in a small town on the Cape, gazed critically 

 at the horizon and returned to bed. At last the sun rose clearly; 

 then everything was bustle and commotion. The Infant was 

 awakened and sent out to skirmish for the remainder of the crew. 

 They were finally assembled at the shore, but when counted over 

 to be sure that none were missing, the Tough was nowhere to 

 be found. He finally hove in sight and shipped as able seaman, 

 leaving bis catboat at an anchor to shift for herself. They still 

 lacked a tender and a compass, but Mr. Parker's sharpie was 

 pressed into service and Uncle Jim kindly provided the other 

 article, prophesying that the fog would all return by sunset. As 

 he was always making such unpleasant remarks, it was taken 

 little heed of, but it proved only too true. At last all the stores 

 were aboard, the anchor on deck, and the Harry Leslie was run- 

 ning down the harbor with a, light S.W. wind over the starboard 

 quarter. 



The Gang consisted of Tip, who was the heavy man and had 

 pulled the winning oar in many a race, Brother and the Tough. 

 The rest of the crew was composed of the Infant, Brother's 

 small cousin, an irrepressible child of some twelve summers, 

 Faro, a Philadelphia schoolmaster, and the Lamb, an asuiring 

 civil engineer from St. Louis. 



After Mr. Parker's sharpie had been hauled on board, as she 

 was a large and heavy craft to tow, a council of war was held 

 upon the quarter deck and Brother chosen captain. It certainly 

 was a great honor, and as the occasion called for aspeech Brother 

 responded manfully and closed his remarks with, "And now when 

 1 speak to you you don't want to walk, and you don't want to run, 

 but you want to flap your wings and fly, goll darn yer." 



A fine run was made to Brewster, and it being low tide the 

 whole crew were taken ashore in a horse cart over a mile of mud 

 flats, no other mode of conveyance being practical to visit that 

 historic town. The anchor was taken aboard about sunset and 

 sail made for Provincetown, but there being a moon and a rattling 

 S.W. breeze right abeam, they expected to be in that harbor in 

 three or four hours' time. The moon arose about one hour after 

 sunset, and with it Uncle Jim's fog, and plenty of it, too, so the 

 compass and a lantern were produced and placed on the cockpit 

 floor before the wheel. That compass proved to be a valuable 

 article in the inventory and needed constant attention or it would 

 point obstinately at the bow, no matter how much the course was 

 altered. The Lamb tried his hand at steering, but the compass 

 troubled him as it did the others. If he fixed his mind upon the 

 compass he forgot the wheel, and vice versa. He then took 

 Brother's advice and tried to keep her on a true course by the 

 wind with an occasional glance at the compass, but this was a 

 failure also, so he invented a method of his own, he stood up back 

 to the bow, and did his best to keep the moon directly over the 

 stern. It was a great deal of work and involved constant revers- 

 ings o£ the wheel, but he stuck to it manfully for an hour, when 

 he reluctantly resigned his position to Brother, 



This course had been held about four hours, and Brother, feel- 

 ing the importance of his position and fearful of running by- 

 Wood End into the open water beyond, sent the Tough aloft to 

 try and catch sight of the lights over the fog. After spinning 

 round and round the foremast head with the roll of the boat for 

 some fifteen minutes, the fog thinned for an instant and he 

 reported a bright white light right abeam and to leeward, but 

 could tell nothing more, as the fog shut in again. Up went the 

 wheel, the booms were gybed over and the schooner began run- 

 ning in tor the harbor. About twenty minutes passed and then 

 the fog lifted for another short period, and the light was discov- 

 ered to be Highland Light, showing over the land. Booms were 

 once more gybed to starboard and the old course resumed, Brother 

 at tho wheel, the Tough half asleep and propped up against his 

 shoulder, and Faro on the lookout forward. This state of things 

 had been in progress about fifteen minutes when Faro gave a yell 

 of delight announcing a buoy dead ahead, and Brother jumped up 

 in time to see the bowsprit entering between the poles of a deep- 

 water fish weir, but it was too late; the schooner was rushing 

 along with the wind abeam aud all lower sails set and crashed 

 through. Mr. Parker's sharpie being in tow, passed on the other 

 side of a pole and fetched up all standing on the bight of her 

 anchor shode which was used for a towline; it parted, and the 

 anchor, describing a beautiful curve through the air, alighted on 

 Brother's shoulder, making a large and deep dent on the exact 

 spot where the Tough's head had rested the moment before, 

 Down went the wheel, and as she came in stays the foresail was 

 lowered and back she went through the weir after Mr. Parker's 

 sharpie. In the midst of the excitement the Infant rushed on 

 deck and kicked over both lanterns and compass in his frantic 

 endeavors to ascertain the cause of the commotion, Mr, Parker's 

 sharpie was discovered at last and sheets trimmed flat on the 

 port tack. 



The Tough was sent forward as lookout ,'on account of his good 

 eyes and nautical knowledge. For a few moments peace and quiet 

 reigned, and then came his cry of "Hard down! another weir 

 dead ahead." Down went the wheel, the sails filled on the star- 

 board tack for about three minutes, when again from the lookout 

 came "Hard down! another weir dead ahead." In every direction 

 the bow was turned a weir was sighted, so at last the anchor was 

 dropped and daylight waited for impatiently. 



At last it came; the fog cleared oft' and there was Provincetown 

 about two miles distant, but the schooner was in the midst of a 

 perfect labyrinth of weirs. Weir after weir stretched out into 

 deep water, seemingly miles in length and about two hundred 

 yards apart. The Gang gazed around them, overcome by bewil- 

 derment, but finally recovered sufficiently to hoist the jib and 

 mainsail, get up the anchor and slowly pick their way into open 

 water, when the foresail was hoisted and the schooner stood in 

 for Provincetown, close hauled on the port tack. The crew 

 started on shore as soon as the sails were furled to see the town 

 first breakfasting at the Central House. The Lamb, who had not 

 passed a pleasant night, gave one look at, the mutton chops as 

 they appeared in the doorway, rose and passed out into the office 

 where he laid down on the floor to await the return of the' 

 healthier ones. 



At about noon a return to the boat, for the trip home was pro- 

 posed, but Faro, the Lamb and the Infant decided that thev had 

 had about enough of a seafaring life, and concluded to ship for 

 home on the freight train, so the crew dwindled to the Gans itself 

 and the real cruise began. 



Tip, Tough and Brother returned to Long Wharf, and found to 

 their surprise the coroner calmly awaiting their arrival as he 

 had discovered their flag at half mast and had come down as 

 soon as he could procure a jury, supposing of course there was a 

 corpse on board. The Gang gazed in astonishment at their noble 

 craft, and discovered the American flag floating proudly from the 

 maintopmast, where Infant had hoisted it on the staysail halliards 

 in his own innocent little way. The coroner was taken one side 

 and his fears set at rest upon the subject, but he appeared greatlv 

 disappointed at his loss of business, and departed mutterine 

 curses, not loud but deep, at the "cussedness" of small boys 



A bottle of wine had been wagered with Faro that theGane 

 would breakfast with him the next morning, so all sail was made 

 for the twenty^mtle run across the bay before a light easterlv 

 wind. All went well for about two hours, when the wind 

 freshened so the staysail had to be taken in, and the fog returned 

 Then it began to rain in torrents, running down the masts and 

 dripping from the booms and sails by the bucketful. The breeze 

 gradually petered out until at dark it was a dead calm, and still 

 raining hard. About nine o'clock it cleared off, the wind came 

 round to the S,W., dead ahead, and there was Sandy Neck Lieht 

 right over the bowsprit end and about eight miles distant 

 Tough was on the lookout, Brother at the wheel, and as Tin had 

 turned in, it was decided not to wake him until the moorings 

 were reached and to glory in his surprise. So sheets were 

 trimmed flat and everything settled down for the long beat to 

 windward. 



The breeze kept freshening and the old oraft soon had hei> 

 scuppers awash, and Mr. Parker's sharpie was tearing alone 

 behind, the tow line as tight as a bow string, and ten feet of her 

 bow rising majestically into the air. The Tough gazed out to lee 

 ward and discovered what appeared to be an Irish pennant stream- 

 ing out into the darkness, but upon closer inspection it proved to 

 be the lee main shroud, which had become unhooked it was 

 finally secured just as the jib sheet parted and the Harry Leslie 

 came up into the wind. The thrashing of the canvas awakened 

 the heavy man, who turned out in time to catch the flying blocks 

 Now that jib sheet was the pet invention of the owner, leading 



