Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1856-04-03

y hnse clothes were quite too thin to shield him
frnn ;he bleak weather, ssnk Under the
ci ubincd effects OF culi sni hunger, and
his body was committed 10 the deep. Then
a Somin oied IN the arms ul her husband
snd little daughter, Ind her corpse was also
silcntls dropped into ,hs sea. The fourth
t,y came. sne S',A Il the same angry sea,
,he same .esdsn sky y--no ray Of hope any
wh,re visible. The cold was so intense
that i, almost iroze the marrow, aud not
drop of weter oou.d be obtained, while only
small quantity Of food remained. Human
n,ture could not bear IN much longer against
this exposure aud privalion, when, just as
they wcse about TO give mp all hope, the
wiud lulled, and 10! a brig hove In sight.
She was not very Ear off" and the, pull.
Cd 90. her with might and main. Signals
we're slsu made. For eome time they seem
I'd 10 gain upon her, but she did not see
them, and the wind freshenipg, she was
soon out Of sight. With her went all hope.
a burning thirst soon tell upon all of them,
and needless of young Nye's earnest ap-
peals, they fell to drink salt water. This
only Increased their thirst, and they drank
eagerly and repeatedly of the fatal fluid -
What followed is the old story Jf delirum
and death. One by one they grew mad
and maddcr; bosonght each other to kill
them; then they dreamed Of sitting OF
sumpiuous feasts, and spoke Of the rare
hainties which Knocked their grasp; of the
dslicions beverages, which they in vain es-
sAyed to quaif. A, length worn out with
the intensity Of their physical and mental
suffsrlngs. they grew moro subdned, their
hsggard features became rigid, their wild
ewes assumed CLASSY look, and their
shrunken forms seemed gradually to subside
the next lurch OF the boat tumbled them
of the seat dead! Such were the sights
which young Nyo witnessed daily. AS they
died, he threw their bodies into the sea, as
bong os his strength lasted. He says that,
although HE thirst was of the most agoniz-
ing character he not only warned his fel-
low sufferers against drinking salt water
but showed them how he obtained relief by
simply rnsng his mouth occasionally. They
were hopeless and desperate and would not
listen to him. The boatswain grew deliri.
Gus, and died within .welve hours after
drinking it. In his delirum he was most
violent. He attempted to throw the oars
overheard, and did succeed in throwing over
the bucket with which they baled out the
boat. Nye did his best to quiet him and
stop him from drinking more sen.water; but
he struck him a severe blow upon the chin,
inaictng wound which has not yet healed
up. Mrs. Atkinson was nlso very violent
and, being of u strong constitution, 1t vas
long time before she expired. Our In.
or
Cured about this time is very ndistinct-
But. from what we could gather, on the
sixth day there were only himself, a small
woman wrapped up in two blankets, and
the little girl alive in the boat. Before sun.
set the child died, and on the day following
the woman breathed her last. He had
strength enough to throw the body OF the
child overboard but that Of the woman, to.
gether with the bodies of three others, was
SO coled up under the thwarts that he was
unable to cxiricate them Feeling strong
sense OF crowsness creeping over him, ne
fastened a red shirt and q white shirt TO an
oar, and hosting 1t to attract any passing
vessel, he coilcd himself up in the stern of
the boat and dozed away the hours. Occa-
sionally he would rouse himself, and bale
out the boat, and then lay down again.
lie did not sleep, but the time passed in
kind OF waking vision. Occasionally he
:eIt Iigh,-headed--ap began to dream of
being at fome in New-Bedford with his
family. Fearing that he too might be de-
llrious, he fought against these influences,
and kept himself awake by various means.
At first the sight Of his ghnstly companions
i'm, diatr nd ha
came oppressed with gloomy f1rebodings.-
He resolved To- shake these feelings Off and
hope for help even TO the last, thinking 1t
better to 60 to the next world with ali his
senses about him than to die a faving ma
MAC. Thus resolved. he bore up bravely
and to the end. On the 2Bth of February
a ship hove in sight of the lonely boy. He
says that he saw her before those on board
discovered him. and he was sure from the
fret that they would pick him up. Thu,
vessel was the packet ship Germanin, Capt.
Wood, from Havre, bound to New York
When Capt. Wood deserted the solitary
boat, he ordered one Of his own quarter
boats to be lowered, and sent an officer TO
see what it contained As they approach
ed him poor Nye gronned For Jesus Christs
sake, take me out this boat" They did
take him out, with womanly tenderness,
and with the boat and its fearful load in
tow, rowed back to the ship. The young
sailor was quickly transferred to the COM
Portable cabin of the Germania, and his late
companions, already far gone in decompo.
si,ion, were thrown into the sea. The
boat was half full of water, and the bodies
washing nbout In il had covered the seats
and aides with blood II ia wooden life.
boat, about IS feet long. After being
thoroughly cleaned, It was hoisted on board
end brought into port.
Under any other treatment than that
which he received on board the Germsnia,
young Nye would not bave lived to see his
home sgsin. But Capt. Wood aud his lady
took him into the cabin and nursed him
with parental tenderness. Ills feet were
soddened with saltwater, aud SO badly frcst-
bitten up to his knees, that they feared
modification would ensue. Fortunately
there we're several cows on board, aud Mrs. |
Wood made poultices OF bread and milk aud