The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-12-30
4 Thrilling Incident AT sea.

The Charleston correspondent Of the
New York Times, while at sea on board
the dispatch steamer Eliza Hancox. Wit
messed the following thrilling incident:
| Just as darkness was closing around "a.
pilot Hardiz, Of the Hancox, discovered
off to seaward larger fragment Of the
wreck than any We had yet seen. and
made the suggestion that we should rnn
down to 1t and ascertain if it supported a
human being. Capt. Post acceded. and
We had scarcely changed our course when
a thrill of Joy passed through all on board,
at the sight OF poor creature running
frantlcally around his narrow raft like an
imprisoned animal in cage, and waving
his hands imploringly Ever and again
the man would be hidden from our view
as a mighty wave with curling crest. curled
| over bis frail support. The Hanooxs boat
was lowered and calamity manned by VOL
unteers from the crew, who did not weigh
the risk to themselves in Drawing the an
cry sea, while they sturdidly pulled tow
ard the shipwrecked sailor. With some
difficulty they laid their boat alongside the
raft, with not only getting the living man
on board, but, in obedience to their bu-
name impulses, bringing off the ghostlv
corpse that lay bOund to the wreck beside
him.
The boat returned in safety to the Han
cox, and after the rescued man had cot
the chills ont Of his bones, by the aid of
hot coffee and warm clothes, he told the
| following story:
His name he gave IS John r. Cruise. Of
Dorchester, New Jersey, and said that he
was hand on the schooner r. 3. How
lett, of Philadelphia The vessel had
been lying two months or more inside
Charleston bar, with cargo of coal for
the bl0ckadlng feet, and had been recent
iy anchored IN the channel-wsy, and used
as the inside lightship Her crew let was
AS follows:
Captain-James Brewer, of Absecom.
Nj
Mate-A, Il. Dean, who hailed from
some port Clown East"
Crew-Ches. Winslow. of Port Rich
mond, Penn; Lewis Mulcott, or Millyille,
n. j.; John Z. Cruise, of Dorchester. n
j.; Enoch Turner, and another seaman
who had left the schooner q dav or two
before.
Cruise, continuing his narrative, said ths,
on Friday morning about 9 O'Clock, they
experienced the full fury of the hurricane.
The stock OF the anchor which held the
schooner broke through the force of the
gale, and the vessel began to drag. An
attempt was them made to let 20 the other
| anchor, but the chain fouled at the hayse
hole after two and halt fathoms had
| run out, and it was impossible to extrjcate
| it. In this plight the vessel began to drive
toward the northern bar, when Captain
Brewer made an effort to get her under
sail, but she would not "wear," owing to
the dead weight of the anchor, and moth
| ing further could be done to save her from
going ashore. Presently she struck, and
the first blow knocked her stern complete-
ly out. Keeling over on her biles. the
second blow snapped all her lee timbers
like pipe stems, and in half an hour after
wards she was broken to pieces. The en-
tire company got on the foremost while it
remained standing, and when it fell all
managed to secure small pieces of the
wreck, but the sea ran SO high, and an ebb
tide setting oil shore, made it impossible
for human being to long escape drown
ing under such circumstances.
For an hour or more Cruise and his CON.
panions battlefield the waves, gradually be-
coming separated by the angry sea, and
the last that he saw of them convinced
him that not one of them could hold out
great while longer
Dean, the mate, was on a piece of the
poop deck, and Cruise Grifted near him,
succeeded in getting upon it, thus obtain
ing better support than the deck plank
which he had seized when the vessel went
to pieces. Upon this small piece of the
deck he and his companion were carried
out 10 sea, passing through the breakers
off Stono Inlet, where they were several
times washed off. Dean had been severe
ly bruised on the head by plank when he
was thrown into the water, and only sur
vived the injury ard his desperate circum-
stances until 10! o'clock on Friday night.
For hours before his death he was sense
less and helpless; and Cruses strength
was nearly exhausted in bis attempt to
hold him on the raft. After the decease
of his companion, Cruise Invested him Of
his clothing, to add to his own comfort,
and dashed the corpse to the wreck, hay.
ing already contemplated the horrible ne
cessity OF feeding upon it, if another day
passed without relief came to him. When
"a