Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-04-10

ieit Dy those TO whom scenes OF suOiIin'lv
are familiar. Thus thinking, walked to the
after-cabn and entered
Oh, God of beaven'
Had not my hand clenched ..the door with
grasp which mortal terror haG made con-
vusive, should have fallen to the floor. |
stood Eailed to the spot. For there before
me stood crowd of people--men and wo-
meh--caught in the last death struggle by
the overwhelming waters, and fastened to
the spot, each in the position in which death
had found him. Each one had sprung from
| his chair at the shock Of the sinking ship,
and, with one common motion, al had started
for the door. But the waters OF the sea had
been too swift for them. Lo! then-iome
wildly grasping the table, others the beams,
others the sides OF the cabin-there they all
stood. Near the door was q crowd OF people
heaped upon one another-some on the foor.
others rushing over them-all seeking, madly
to gain the outlet. There was one who
sough. to Chamber over the table, and still
was there, holding on to an iron post. 30
strong was each convulsive grasp, SO fierce
the struggle OF each with death, that their
hold had not yet been relaxed; but each one
stood and looked frantcaly TO the door.
To the door--good Godl To me, to me
they were looking! They were glancing at
me, all those dreadful, those terrible eyes!
Eyes in which the fire of life had been dis
placed by the chilling CLEAN o. death. Eyes
which still glared, like the eyes OF the man
lac, with no expression. They froze me with
their cold and icy stare. They had no mean.
ing; for the soul had gone. And this made
it still more horrible than it could have been
in life; for the appalling contorton OF their
faces, expressing fear, horror, despair, and
whatever else the human soul may feel, con-
tras,ing with the cold ard CLASSY eyes, made
their vacancy yet more fearful. He upon the
table seemed more fiendish than the others;
for his long, black hair was disheveed, and
| hoated horribly down--and his beard and
mustache, i'll loosened by the water, gave
him the grimness of demon Oh, what
wo: and torture! what unutterabe agonics
appeared in the 'despairing glance of those
faces-faces twisted into spasmodic contorA
| tions, while the souls that lighted them were
writhng and struggling for life.
| needed not the dangerous sea whichever
when we touched the steamer, had slight y
rolled. Down in these awful depths the
swell could not be very strong, unless it
should increase with ten-lold fury above
But it had been increasing, though had not
DtiCe it, aud the motion of the water began
| 10 be felt in these abysses. Suddenly the
steamer was shaken aud rocked by the swell.
At this the hideous forms were shaken and
] fell. The heaps Of people rolled asunder.-
| That demon on the table seemed to max. a
! spring directly towards me. / fed, Shrieking
all were after me, | thought. rushed out
with no purpose but to escape. | sought to
throw off my weights and rise.
NV weights could not be loOsened--l pull.
ed at them with frantic exertions, but could
not loosen them. The iron fastenings had
grown stiff. One OF them | wresled off in
my convulsive efforts, but the other still kept
me down. The tube, also, was lying down
still in my passage-way through the machine
rooms did not know this until had ex-
haused my strength, and almost my hope, in
vain efforts to loosen the weight, and still
the horror of that scene in the cabin rested
upon me.
Whore was Rimmer! The thought flash
ed across me. He was not here. He had
returned. Two weights lay near, which
seemed thrown off in terrible haste. Yes,
Rimmer had gone. / looked 'up; there lay
the boat, tossing and rolling among the
waves.
| rushed down into the Smachine-room, to
90 back, So as to loosen my tube. | had
gone through passages carelessy, and this
lay there, for it was unrolled from above as
went on. went back in haste to exlricate
myself; could stay here no longer; for il
all the gold of GolcoAda was in the vessel
| would not stay in company with the dread
ful dead!
Back-fear lent wings to my feet. hurri.
cd DOWN the stairs, into the lower-hod once
more, and retraced my steps through the pas
sages below. | walked back to the place in
! to which had first descended. 1t wus dark
a new feeling Of horror shot through me;
locked up. The aperture ,oas closed!
| Heavens! was it closed by mortal handl-
Had Rimmer, in his panic flight, b!indly
t thrown down the trap-door, which now re
I membered to have seen open when descend
t ed9 or had some fearful being from the cabiI
: that demon who sprung towards me -
+; started back in terror.
!. But could not wait here; I must go;
must escape from this oen of horrors.
i. sprang up the ladder, and tried to raise tn
d door. 1t resisted my efforts; I.put my hel
meted head against it, and tried to raise it
the rung os the ladder broke beneath me, bu
0 the door was not raisedj my tube came dow
d through it and kept it partly open, for it wa
a strong tube, and kept strongly expande
X BY close wound wire.
is | seized bar of iron, and tried to pry
is up; raised it slightly, but there was no wa
to get it up further. | looked around, an
s, found some blocks; with these | raised tn
# heavy door, li:tIe by little, placing bloc
in, to keep what had gained. But tn
m work was slow, and laborious, and | hu
1t worked long while before had it raise
four inches.
ul The sea rolled more and more. The sul
d. merged vessel felt its power, and rocked
I'd Suddenly it wheeled over, and lay upon i
side.
in ran around to get on the ideck above,
w try and lifI up the door. But when | eau
to to the other outlet, knew it was impossibl