Delaware weekly Republican. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1841-188?, 1857-10-01


y saying that each must take care Of himsol
d lhey b'de each other final adien. Snbs
It quentiy they were picked up by the barque !,
y len, where he witnessed their meeting. 1
T also saw two brothers, named, Harris, fro
Q Missouri, about the same time. They eat
a nad about $4,000 in yaise. They brougl
a tnelr valise on deck, placed il between then
I clasped hands, taking seats on either side
a 1t, and in this position went down with the ye
i sell.
5 Mr q. says that he put his gold on him /
+. such manner that he could, in a moment, re
lleve himself of its weight, in the event OF II
, proving TOO much for him to sustain. He is
, man oil undoubted GOODNESS and courage, an
10 the possession Of these qualities, under
klhd Providence, he undoubtedly owes his life
r JOHNNY, DID you EAT SISTERS GRAPHS p
psychologists probably will be able TO ac
J count fer one fact that has come to our know
edge connected with this night of terror. W
heard passenger describe his sensations inthi
: wise {; "l guess had been in the water abou
iour hours, and had floated away from tn
rest Wnen the waves ceased to make any nois
ana heard my mother say, Johnny did yo
eat SISTERS grapesi' I hadn't thought of
LOT twenty years at least it had gone clea
out oil mind. had sister that died of con
sumption more than thirty years ago, an
when she was sick-I was boy Of eleye
years or so-a neighbor had sent some carl
not house grapes. WELL those grapes wer
lett IN room where | was, and-I ought I
nave been skinned alive for it, little rascal tlls
, was--l devonred them all. Mother came t
me after l had gone to bed, when she cpuldn'
find the fruit for sister to nioisten her mout
with IN the night, and said, Johnny did yol
eat sisters grapes2' did not add TO thu
meanness of my conduct by telling a lie.
owned up, and my mother went away in tears
Dut without fogging me. II occasioned me
gualm OF conscience for many year after
Dnt, as said, for twenty years at least had
not thought of it till when was floating aboat
benumbed with cold, heard it as plain as ey-
er heard her voice in my life--I heard her
say, Johnny, did you eat sisters grapes p
don't know how to account for it. 1t did not
scare me, though, thought it was message
Of my death.''
CAPT. HERNDoN--THE SAVED.
Mrs. Captain Small describes the demeanor
OF Captain Herndon as sad but firm; he found
tlme TO say to her, "Oh Mrs. Small, this is
SAD, am sorry | could not get you home
safe." She says, :" Some OF the ladies sue
ceeded In saving their money and valuables.
remember one young lady, to whom her father
handed $4,000 to keep for him ard take with
her; but she, thinking it was too heavy, gave
1t back again. The father was lost. There
We're five ladies in the same boat with me
rough, aud we were obliged to bail out all the
way. The chief steward, who had bleeding
OF the lungs and was quite feeble, was in the
captains room with the ladies', to be taken off
with them in the boats; but he refused, saw
ing he preferred remaining on the steamer.-
one old gentleman was saved. 1t seemed to
be the general desire to save the feeble, sick
women and children.
THE woRTHLEsNEss OF GOLD.
Ii is stated by many of the survivors of tho
Oentrai Americas passengers that there was
seldom so large an amount of money owned
by passengers as was in tho case of those who
came by the Central America. Many were
persons of large means, and there were but
very few whose immediate wealth did not
amount 10 hundreds, while others reckoned
their gold by thousands of dollars. The great
est portion of the passengers were returned
miners, some coming hither to invest the cap
ltal they had realized in hopes to live a life of
greater ease as the result of their industry,
and Others to get their families and once more
go TO the land Of gold. But as the storm con-
tinued to rage, less and less of god was
thought of, and when, on Saturday il became
evident that they Nvcrs Hksiv ut any moment
to beIburied beneath the waves, wealthy
men diyested themselves of their treasure belts
| and scattered the gold upon the cabin floors
telling those to take il who would, lest its
weight-a few ounces or pounds-should carry
them to their DEATH Full purses containing
in some Instances 81, 1000, We're lying untouch-
ed on sofas. Carpet bags were opened by men
and the shining metal was poured out on the
floor with the prodigality OF DEATHS despair.
One of the passengers, who has fortunately
Deen rescued opened u bag and dashed about
the cabin S20,0O0 in gold dust, and told him
who wanted TO crafty his greed for gold to
take 1t. But it was passed lIy untouched as
the verieSt dross. A few hours before he
would have struck down the man who would
have attempted to take grain of that which
he now spurned from him.
EXHAUSTION FROM LABOR AND LIQUOR.
Many of the persons who were carried down |
by the Central America were in their cabins
and state-rooms, some exhausted by the con-
tlnued tax upon their physical energies in bail
ing the vessel, and others, it is said, intoXca
ted. Those who were unaccustomed to hard |
work were now tatgued, and to stimulate
themselves to new efforts liquors wero freely |
passed along the line Of men, and were ltrge-
ly partaken of. Some indulged to such an i
extent that they were at last stupetied, and |
were carried to their State-roOms by their
friends to recover their normal condition.
WOMEN VINO LOST THEIR HUSBANDS.
Mrs. Rndwell, of California, lost her hus-
band. She came originally from England, and
has no children. She is woman well advan-
ced in life, and was very feeble at the time OF
the disaster. She did not leave the ship till
nearly all the women had gone. She was one
of the three in the last boat, in which the n
gineer left the ship. She wanted her husband
to go with her, and applied to the captain for
permission for his company. She was refused,
she said, very kindly, but firmly, Captain
Herndon told her that no man could leave the
steamer till all the women had gone. Just be-
fore she went down into the boat her husband
took her by the hand and babe her good bye.
lie told her that he would try and meet her
again, but that perhaps he would not be able.
She never saw him again. She understood
that he was lost on the raft about Il O'Clock
at night.
Mrs. NJ. E. Swan, of California, was another
of the Indies who lost their husbands. She
has child little over year old. She states
that she was severely injured before the ship
wreck by being thrown out OF her berth and |
bruisng herself against the floor. She was
unable to walk without aid when her turn |
came to go into the small boat. Her husband |
assisted her to the side of the ship, having /
first bade her an affectionate farewell. She |
went down three times into the water before
she was put safely into the boat. She was put
10 bed after. getting on board the brig, where
she was unable to rise without help for the
space of days.
A WIFE WHO WOULD NOT LEAVE HER HUSBAND.
Mrs. Mcneil, ofLockport, N. Y, lady who
had been recently married, and whose husband
was on board the steamer and was finally lost
refused at first TO leave the vessel unless he
could go with her. He came into the cabin to
persuade her to go without him, but finding
her resolutr in her determination, came again
shortly afterwards and said tha- he would go
with her This was q pretence on his part to
secure her rescue. He accompanied her to
the side of the vessel, assisted in lowering her
into the boat, but bade her good bye, and said
that he could not follow her then. The boat
showed off and it was the last time she saw or
beard of him, except that lie went down with
the hundreds Of others who perished on that
fearful night.