The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1867-06-05
Horrible Story.
SHIP OF DEATH FLOATS INTO A PORT
OF TIE SHETLAND ISLANDS.

A SHIP OF DEATH FLOATS INTO PORT
OF TIE SHETLAND ISLANDS.
Since the time when tho Ancient
Mariner told tho terrible talc of the
curse laden ship, with her crew of
ghastly corpscs,no moro thrilling story
Of tho sea has been related than that
of tho whole ship Diana, that recently
drifted into one Of the Shetland Is
lands.
A year ago she left the Shctlands on
u whaling voyage to the Arctic re-
gions, having on board fifty mon.
From that timo nothing more Sg7
heard of her. The friends OF those
on board became alarmed. Money
was raised and premiums offered to
tho first vessel that would bring tidings
of the missing ship, but all to no avail.
Hope was almost abandoned.
On the 2d Of April, the people near
Rona's Voc, in one of the Shetland
Isles, were startled at sccn@ a 4hast-
~ wreck Of II ship sailing into ,hc har-
Dor.
Battered and icc-crushcd, sails and
cordagc cnt away, boats and spars cut
up for fuel in the terrific Arctic win
ter, her decks covered with dead and
dying, the lost Diana sailed in like q.
ship from Dcadman's Land. Fifty
men sailed out Of J.crwick in her, or
a bright May morning, last year. All
Of the fifty came back on her on the I'd
of April, this year; the same, yet how
different
Ten men, Of whom the captain was
one, lay stifcncd corpscs on the deck
thirty-fivc lay helplcssly sick, and
some ding; two retained sufficient
strength to creep aloft, and the other
three crawled fecbly about the deck.
The ship was boarded by the island
crs, and, as they climbed over tho bull
warlis the man at the wheel tainted
from excitement; one Of the sick men
died as he lay, his death being an
nounccd by the fellow occupant Of his
birth fccbly moaning: 'rTakc away
this dead man." On the bridge Of
the vessel lay the body ofthc captain,
as it had lain four months, with nine
of his shipmatcs by his side, all de-
Gently laid out by those who expected
soon to share their fate.
The survivors could not boar to sink
the bodies of their comrades into the
sea, but kept them SO that when the
last man died tho fatcd ship that had
been their common home should be
their common tomb. The surgeon of
the ship worked faithfully to the last,
but cold, hunger, scurvy and dyscntc-
ry were two much for him. The brave
old captain was the first victim, and
died blessing his men. Then the others
fell, one by one, until The ship was
tcnantcd only by the dead and the dy-
ing. One night moro at sea would have
left the Diana a floating coffin. Not ono
Of the fifty would have lived to tell the
ghastly tale.
DErIHNo His PosIr1oN.- The "Fat
Contributor," while at Nashville, re-
Gently, was requested to define his po-
sition on politics, which he did in IL
letter TO "John Happy" of the Nash
viilc Banner, as follows
81 am aware of the necessity Of
h''oh i''S IuSt "ucTc llltl SHaluS III
these times which try mems solcs---
as we'll as the upper leather. TO be-
gin with, / am an old Henry Clay
Whig of the Polk School | believe
in the Hard Cidar Platform of 1910,
during which L cast somewhat color
Ell vote for Jackson. voted against
the assassination of Lincoln. I favor
cd the Name Law until they fired on
our flag, together with our fag-stoncs,
when | went in for vigorous prose-
cution ofpcacc. I am in favor of wo-
mans rights, if it is good-looking
woman and she Wrttcs to nc. don't
know much about the Monroe Doe
trinc, and as for horse doctoring, I
don't know anything at all, [
wouldn't vote to oblige Mormon to
have more than one wife and am op-
posed to introducing cholera into the
territories. go in for a tax on wa
tcrfalls, and am willing to allow ch;''
mons representation in Congrcs11 ~. '.'o
basis of population. Fin"Hy!' am IN
favor of allowing the ,ssso 20 Vo'o ~
the South-it is IT, only way TO mako
treason odor0,~
p..,yERns OF JOSH BILLlNGs.-
Truman nature is the same all over
the world, 'ccpt in New England, and