The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1871-08-03
In a Horrible Situation.

eS US Will LuIS stOTy. hlIuOuSu lE udo
been published before, many years ago,
it will interest our READERS, few of them
ever having seen it:
A, small schooner was chartered in
New York, in 1887, to take company
of players to Texas. Itforget the mana
gers name, but he with his troupe
contemplated junction with Corri,
who was of some standing as n
public caterer in the Jodng Sepublic.-
Among the company were Mr.. and Mrs.
Barry, Mr.. ana Mrs! Gibson, Mr.. Page,
Mr.. Doug5hasrty, a Nj, N Williams, with the
manager and several others. The little
craft was caught in gale, off Cape Hat
teras; a heavy sea struck her stern and
forced her head into the wind her bows
we're seized by the wind, and she went
! down stern first. Being Light freighted,
she soon rose to the surface, keel upward.
The captain, with alhhis little crew who
we're on deck, were swept away like so
much chaff; but the suddenness of their
destruction was mercy compared to the
.saaHHesipgs endured BY the Sunfortunates
in the cabin. ,.i--, ~ ;.
+ The c;oSmaiPaannionway oSmaiPaa had been left open
and the rushing water. soon, ,engulfed the
inmates, already sorelY bruised By the
loose furniture and luggage that knock
TED against them in tie gcapsize, 4 When
the water IN the cabin reached its level,
it was found that by. standing on
the beam F6F s-lroof.tree, there vas a
8ancancy Of about six inches be-
tween the top of the water and the bot
tom of the cabin overhead. Consequently
full grown persons could only find beath-
ing room by holding their faces in a
horizontal position, but, we're liable to
lose their standing every instant. from
the rolling of the vessel in the trough Of
the sea. But few of the passengers could
avail themselves of this tantaliziug as
sistance for any length of time; the
weak-bodied and short sized men grad
ually sunk, maugre all the assistance
that the stronger class could render.
The husbands fought with death most
manfully in behalf. of their wives--but
were unable to save them. One Of. the
ladies had an infant, and intent upon its
salvation, literally drowned herself in
endeayoring to hold her babe above the
water. Thrice did her husband dive and
rescue all he held dear onS earth; and
thrice be was compelled to let them sink.
|, Now, affirm that no imagination can
picture scene of more perfect horror
than the floating chamber of death pre-
sented to the survivors, who were strug--
Cling to maintain life for few, seconds
in almost hopeless agony. Without a
ray of light to cheer them-dashed- from
side to side as the vessel gave to the fury
of the sea, with the dead bodies of their
wives and co-mates rolling about them
the bowling of the storm without render
ing the despair within more terrible, by
forhidding the hope of: :rescue-the occa-
sional moments of silence interrupted by
the muttered prayer or sagonized suppi-
cation of the sufferers, with the bubbling
struggling deaths of the victims, as they
writhed about the limbs of the survivors
all this is truly horrible; no romance
can equal it, and the annals of suffering
cannot afford a parellel case -. =. IA
Death was gradually. dwindling the
number ofthe passengers, when one Of
them proposed. to dive down under the
companion ladder, swim along beneath
the deck, dive still deeper under the bull
.warks, and come up, in the eopen sea BY
the side of the capsized hull: The attempt
was difficult to practiced swimmer, and
but two of the survivors were able to
swim at all. There was also the chance
of being caught in one of the sails, or
get entangled in the rigging-and, sup
posing all these difficulties conquered,
what certainty:was there that the swim
mer would be able to secure a holding
place on the hull in the fierce, raging
sea ? But, on the other side, the scheme
afforded hope Of escape, while certain
death awaited them inside.
The best swimmer volunteered to make
the first essay, and if successful, he was
to knock loudly upon the upturned keel.
He made several attempts before he was
able to clear the ladder; at last, he sue
ceeded in getting out of the cabin, but
they waited in vain for the. encouraging
sound One of them declared he heard
wild shrek mingle with the gale shortly
after the adyenturer- disappeared. An
other ventured, and was fortunately
thrown on the hull by q wave as soon as
he reached the suface. He kicked loudly
against the side ofthe craft, and in a
few minutes beheld another of the suffer-
ers struggling furiousiy to reach the; hull
he was successful. The third and last
appeared, and also gained a hold upon
the vessel; but he was too exhausted to
remain He fell off during the night,
and Williams and: ;Dougherty were the
only survivorsgof thatill-fated company
ond -erou ..-..', 80 80 B.