Washington telegraph., 1851-02-26
A TERRIBLE TALE OF THE SEA

A TERRIBLE TALE OF The SEA.
The loss of the Magpie, in 1926, was
distinguished by circumstances of remark
able horror She was small schooner
under the command of Lieut.. Edward
Smith, and was sunk by sudden hurrl-
cane in the West Indies, in spite of every
precaution to prepare for it.
cat the moment of the vessel going
down, a gunner's mate of the name of
Meldrum struck out and succeeded in
reaching pair of oars that were floating
in the water; to these he clung; and
having divested himself of part of his
clothing, he awaited in dreadful anxiety
the fate of his companions.
"Not sound met his ear; in vain his
anxious gaze endeavored to pierce the
gloom, but the darkness was too intense.
Minutes appeared like hours, and still the
awful silence remained un5rOken; he felt,
and the thought was agony, that out of
the twenty-four human beings who had
so lately trod the deck of the schooner,
he alone was left. This terrible suspense
became almost beyond the power of en-
durance; and he already began to envy
the fate of his companions, when he heard
voice at no great distance inquiring if
there was any one near. lie answered
in the affirmative and pushing out in
the direction from whence the sound
proceeded he reached a boat to which
seven persons were clinging, amongst
whom was Lieut.. Smith, the commander
of the sloop.
so far, this was subject of congratu-
lation! He was no longer alone; but yet
the chances Of his ultimate preservation
were as distant as ever.
"The boat, which had been placed on
the booms of the schooner, had fortunate
ly escaped clear OF tine sinking vessel,
and if the men had waited patiently,
was large enough to have saved them all;
but the suddenness of the calamity had
dence. Several men had attempted to
climb in on one side; the consequence
was, the boat keeled over, became half
filled with water, and then turned keel
uppermost; and when Meldrum reached
her. he found some stretched across the
keel, and others banking on by the sides.
"Matters could not last long in this
way; and MIR. Smith, seeing the impos-
sibility of any of the party being saved if
they continued in their present position,
endeavored to bring them to reason by
pointing out the absurdty of their con-
duct. To the honor of the men, they
listened with the same respect to their
commander, as if they had been on board
the schooner; those on the keel immedi-
ately relinquished their hold, and succeed
ed with the assistance of their comrades
in ryhting the boat. Two of their num-
Der Cot into her and commenced bailing
with their hats, whilst the others remain
ed in the water supporting themselves
by the gunwales.
.sOrder being restored, their spirits be-
gan to revive, and they entertained hopes
of escaping from their present peril; but
this was Of short Duration; and the suffer
ings which they lad as yet endurer were
nothing in comparison with what they
had now to undergo.
"The two men had scarcely commenc-
ed bailing when the cry was heard OF
"A shark, a shark No words can des-
cribe the CONSERVATION which ensued; it
is well known the horror sailors have of
| these voracious animals, who seem ap-
priced by instinct when their prey is at
| hand All order was at an end; the boat
| again capsized, and the men were left
struggling in the waters. The general
safety was neglected, and it was every
man for himself no sooner had one got
hold of the boat than he was pushed
away by another, and in this fruitless
contest more than one life was nearly
sacrificed.
"Even in this testible hour their COM
mander remained cool and collected; his
voice was still raised in words of encou-
ragement, and as the dreaded enemy did
not make his appearance, he again sue
ceeded in persuading them to renew their
| efforts to clear the boat The night had
passed away-it was about ten O'Clock
on the morning Of the 2Sth: the bailing
had progressed without interruptions: a
little more exertion and the boat would
have been cleared, when again was heard
the cry of The sharks, the sharks But
this was no false alarm the boat second
time capsized, and the unhappy men
were literally cast amongst shoal OF
terrible monsters.
"The men for few minutes remained
uninjured, but not untouched; tor the
sharks actually rubbed against their VIC
tins, and, to use the exact words of one
of the survivors, frequently passed over
the boat and between us whilst resting
on the gunwale. THIS, however, did
not last long; shrek soon told the fate
of one of the men: shark had seized
him by the leg, dyeing the water with
his blood; another shrek followed, and
another man disappeared.
but these facts are almost too horrible
to dwell upon; human nature revolts from
| ...;l.lo n ,,iotnro. 1uo 11ill fhar fore