Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1857-05-02
VOL. XXI.
A MAN OVERHEARD.

| 1t was one Of. those thunder and light
ming gales at night. when for moment all
would be as light as day. and moment
after. 80 dark that you could not SEQ an
oars length from the vessel. The captain
was forward, and all hands except the cook
and myself were aloft.
The ship was pitching msdly, and tho
waves were topping sometimes as high az
the yard arm, and then dipping away with
whrl under our keel that made every
timber in the vessel quiver. The thunder
was roaring like ten thousand oannons.
and every now and then, as I said, half
the sky would be lit up in o stream of FIRE
that glared over the top Of the waves, and
glistened on the wet deck, and tho spsrs-
lighting up everything soplain, that could
see the mems faces at the main top and
catch glimpses of the REFERS on the yard
arm.-elinging like death-then oil would
be horrible darkness. ...r' ...-,...r q
You could hear the spray splitting a.
gainst the canvas, and the great waves
beating on the weather bow, and the howl
ofthe wind through the rigging, and now (
and then, when gasket gavG way, and
the sail bellied 10 leeward--you could
hear the canvas sitting like the crack of
o musket. ''-' ..."''' "
You could hear, too, the capt4in for
ward, screaming out orders, and the mate
in the cross-tree screaming them over, till
the lightning came, and the thunder, both
together, and deadened their voices, as if
they had been a pair of little chirping spar.
rows : -ys.I ID ,.-irrc5 LIT 15rcLncds
1t wasi in one Of tho flashes thatI saw o =,
\ hand on the yard-srm lose his foot-hold as .
the ship gave plunge, but his arms were
cleuchcd round the spar. Before l could
see more, the blaekness came over, and the
1 thundoabroke with q crash that half deaf
ened me. 1 thought heard something
like q tiny howl, as it died off, and sure
enough. at the next fash of lightning that
came in a moment, what should l see on
thetop of one 'nf the waves alongide, But
Tom Meeks; the lightning glared on his
face, 30 that | could see the look in the poor
fellows eye.
As g58d luck would have It, he had
caught hold of one OF the studdng sail
sheets, us he fell, and as he pitched, could
see it slipping of the coil, upon the, deck. !,
l shouted like mad-'a man overheard
and just in time to catch the rope, when
we could see nothing again. was boy
then, and couldn't hold by the rope-the
sea WAS too high, and the man too heavy
for me.
+, shouted and shouted, and felt the sweat
starting all over my forehead, az the rope
slipped out through my hands. Poor Tom
, had been our mess mato for year, and
:. we all loved hin.
Presently the csptsin left his aft, and
. took hold with me, just as the coil was
nearly spent, and we pulled upon him
', and the cook came, and we three hauled
together on him. Poor fellow it must
have been desperate work for him, for
, the ship was drifting at prodigiOus rate,
= and we pulling up at the same time; but
= :. he clung Ike man.
~ By and by, at fash, We saw him on Q
,, crest three oars length from the vessel.
- Eold on, my man !" shouted the cap'
tain.
). "For Gods sake, be quick" said the
" man, and went down in a trough of the
y, sea. And we pulled the harder, and the
&c captain all the time calling to him to keel
IL up courage and hold strong. But in tn,
hush, we could hear Tom say
,u ii can't hold out much longer--i an
~ most gone" :,
~ ~ We called out the more to'him to holt
" on, and presently we got him where "
no could most lay hold of him. and were onl
ne waiting for a good lit of the sea, to brin
him up, when the poor fellow groaned out
dts no use, can't-good.bye !" and
wave tossed the end Of she rope olea
~. upon the buwarks.
,st At the next flash we saw him going dow
bo under the water.
bS never shall forget how he looked-f f
nS 'n we saw him plain-when he said 'goo(
an hye," and let 50 his hold.
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