Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-03-15

| 10 this place made NY way anu tooAeu
down. I.h6ard the Bplashing Of Water, and
Thought could detect faint sound hks
the inoomingIOf q tiny Jet OF stream. At
hrst see nothing, but % soon as became
used 70 the dim light, could distinguish
the faint outlines Of the boy at some dis
tanoe from ne. he seemed to be sitting on
Ghe broken 6ooF With his feet stretched out
against 9 oask. I called out 10 him and
! Thought hO looked up.
l. iJack, are you there o.
eyes, help me For Heavens sake help
met Bring men and lanterH--the ship
has sprung leak u tta.e Z
hesitsted, and he added in a more Gag
er tone:
snake haste-TI try and hold Il till you
come back d0n 1oH 1
oIlWalt6d 10 hear no more, but hurried On
deck as sooh as possible, and returned
with la' ard three men. Three Of
the timbers were completely worm-eaten to
tAa very heart, and one Of the outer plsnks
4Aad been broken andwould burst in any
m0ment the boy might leave Il, whose feet
1 were bFaoed against the oask before him.
! Half.apdoIeh little jets Of water we're
streaming In about him, and he was wet
10 the very skin. l saw the plank must
burst the moment the strain Wes removed
| from itso made my men brsoe themselves
up against il before lifted him up. Other
men we're called down with planks and
spikes, and adzes, and with much care and
trouble, We finally succeeded in stopping
the leak, and averting the danger. The
plank which steve in was six feet long and
eight inches vide, and would have let in o
stream Of water Of that espsciiy. ItWould
have been beyond cur reach long ere We
could discover it, and would have sunk US
in very short time, knew 1t must have
been where the iceberg struck us,
Jack Withers was taken TO the cabin
where he managed to tell his story. Short
u after put him in the held he craWled
forward, and when he became used to the
dim glitter that came from the headlights,
be looked shout for q snug place to lie in,
for his limbs were sore. BE went 10 sleep,
and when be heard faint sound, like wa
ter streaming through small hole, he went
10 the open place in the cargo and looked
down, and be was sure he saw a small jet
Of water springing up from the ships bot
tom. he lesped down, and in few min
utes found that the timbers had given
wholly away, and the stream was inoreas-
ing in size. BE placed his hand upon the
plank and found It broken, and discovered
that the pressure Of the water without was
pressing il inward. BE had sense enough
70 see that If it gained an inch more it
must al 60, and the ship would be lostsnd
perhaps all hands perish. He sSW, too,
that If be could keep the broken plank in
its place he might stop the incoming food.
So be sat himself upon it, and braced his
feet against the oask, and then called for
help. But he was 50 far away, so low down,
with such dense mass OF cargo about him,
that his voice scarcely reached other ears
than his own. Some men heard him but
thought he was talking to himself
And there he sat, with his feet braced,
for four and twenty hours, with the water
squirting in tiny streams drenching him
10 the skin. he had thought several times
Of going to the hstchWay and calling for
help; but be knew that the plank would be
forced in if he left ii, for be could feel its
heaVe beneath him. His strength was
falling hin-his limbs were rseked with
pain-but he would not give up. asked
him if he should not have given up if ]
had not come as did! He answered that
he should not have done il while he had
life in him. he said he thought not Of
himsef-he was ready to debut he
would save the rest if he could-and he
saved us, surely saved rs from Wstery
grave.
That boy lay sick almost unto death; but
nursed him with my own hands-nursed
him through all his deliriun; and when
his reason returned, and be could sit up
and talk, / bowed myself before him, and
humbly asked hrs pardon for all the wrong
I had done him. He threw his arms aSSe.st
my neck, and told me that if world be
good to him, he would never give me cause
for offence and he added as he sat up
again, tsI am not 8 coward could not be
a ddgBl Gol e ~
From that hour never forgot those
words, and from that hour never struck
g blow on board my ship. / make them
feel that they are men-thst regard them
90, and that wish to make them as com
Portable and happy as possible; and have
denoe, give no undue license, but make
my crew feel that they have friend and
superior in the same person. For nine
years sailed in three different ships, With
the same crew. A man couldn't 30 hired
to leave save for an officers birth.
And Jack Withers remained with me
thirteen years. BE was my cabin boy; one
Of the foremost hands; my second mate
and the last time he sailed with me he re-
fused the command Of new barque be.
cause he would not be separated from me.
But he is captain now, and one Of the
best this country ever afforded. Such, gen.
tleman, is my experience in government
and discipline on shipbosrd.n