Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-11-27


weighed sixty pounds; button of his satin
coat; and all books written about them.-Pdrj$
Letter.
Mark TWAIN TO the Humane Society.
The following letter of Mark Twain has been
published;
On BOARD CUNARD STEAMER BATAVIA,
At Sea, November 20, 1872.
To the Royal Humane Society;
Gentlemen; The Batavia sailed from Liver.
pool on Tuesday, November -. On Sunday
night strong west wind began TO blow, and
not long after midnight it increased TO a gale.
| By O'Clock the sea was running very high; at
af-past seven our starboard hulwarks were
| stove IN and water entered the main saloon; at
| a later hour the gangway on the port sde'came
| in with a crash and the sea followed, flooding
| MANY of the state rooms on that side. AT the
| same time a sea crossed the roof of the vessel
AMI carried away one of our boats, splintering
| it TO pieces sand iaklng one OF the davis WIN 1t.
| AT halEpast nine the glass was down to % 50,
| and The gale was blowing with a severity which
the officers say is not experienced oltener than
once in five or ten years. The storm continued
| during the day and all night, and also all day
yesterday, but with moderated violence.
AT p. NJ a dsmasted vessel was sighted. A
| furious Squal had Just broken upon us and the
sea was running mountains high, to use the
| popular expression. Nevertheless Captain
| Mouland Immediately bore up for the wreck
| (Which was making signals Of distresS), ordered
out a life boat and called for volunteers To a
| andsman 1t seemed like deliberate suicide TO 20
out in such storm. But our third and fourth
officers and eight men answered to the call with
a promptness that compelled a cheer. Two
of the men lost heart at the last moment, but
the others stood fast and were started on their
generous enterprise with another cheer. They
carried a long line with them, several life buoyS,
and a lighted lantern, for the atmosphere was
murky with the storm, and sunset was not far
Off
The wreck, a barque, was in pitiable condi-
ton. Her mainmaSt was naked, her mlzen-
mast and bowsprit were gone, and her foremost
was but stump, wreathed and numbered with
ruin OF sails and cordage from the fallen fore
top and fore-top gallant masts and yards We
could see nine men clinging TO the main rigging.
Inc stern of the vessel was gone and the sea
made clean breach over her, pouring in a
cataract out of the broken stern and SpOuting
through the parted panks of her bows.
Our boat pulled 300 yards and approached the
wreck on the lee side. Then it had hard fight,
for the waves and the wind beat it constantly
back. | do not know when anything has alter
natey so stirred me through and through and
then disheartened me, as it did TO see the boat
every little while get almost close enough and
then be hurled three lengths away again by
prodigious wave. And the darkness settling
down all the time. But at last they got the line
and buoy aboard, and after that we could make
Jul uOtulu3 ulOlG. Dub plGStHliN We ulSCONGTSu
the boat approaching us, and found she had
saved every soul,-nne men. They had to
drag those men, one at time, through the sea
to the liie-boat with the line and buoy-f0r of
course they did not dare TO touch the plunging
vessel with the boat. The peril increased now
for every time the boat got close TO our lee our
ship rolled over on her aud hid her from sight
But our people managed TO haul the party
aboard one at a time without losing a man,
though said they would lose every single one
of them-l am therefore but poor success as
prophet. As the fury of the Squall had not dI-
mnlshed, and as the sea was so heavy it was
feared we might lose some men ii we tried to
hoist the life boat aboard, SO she was turne
adrilt by the captains order, poor thing, after
helping in such q gallant deed. But we have
plenty more boats, and very few passengers.
10 speak by the lor and be accurate, Capt
MOuland gave the order to change our ships
course and bear down toward the wreck at 4.15
P. NJ; at SIS our ship Was under way aga
with those nine poor devils on board. That is
to say, this admirable thing was done in a ire
mendOuS sea and in the face of a hurricane, III
SiEty minutes By tbe aCdtch-and if your honor
able society should be moved to give to Capt
Mouand and his boats crew that reward which
a sailor prizes and coYets above all other dis
hnctiOns, the royal humane socety's medal
the parties whose names are signed to this pa
per will feel as grateful as if they themselves
were the recipients Of this great honor. Those
who know him say that Capt. MOuland has
risked his life many times to rescue shpwrecked
men-n the days when he occupied Il subordi-
maize pGstion-and we hopefully trust that the
seed sOwn then is about TO rIpen to its harvest
now.
The wrecked barque was the Charles Ward,
Capt. Bell, bound from Quebec to Scotland with
lumber. The vessel went over on her beam
ends at O'Clock Monday morning, and eleven
men were washed overheard and lost. Capt.
Bell and eight men remained, and these our
boat saved. They had been IN the main rigging
some thirty.one hours without food or water,
and were so frozen and exhausted that when we
got them aboard they could hardly speak, and
the minds of several of them were wandering.
The wreck was out of the ordinary track of YES
sells, and was 1900 miles from land. she was in
the centre OF the A lantic. Our lilebOat crew oil
volunteers consisted of the following: D. Gies,
third officer; H. KYLE, fourth do; Nicholas Fo-
ley, quartermaster; Henry Foley, do; Nathan
el Clark, do; Thomas Henry, seaman; John
Park, do; Richard Brennan, do
The officers tell me that those two quarter
masters, the Foley brothers, may be regarded as
sort OF permanent UOtltnteerS-they stand al
WAYS ready for any splendid deed OF daring.
John Park is sturdy young sailor, but young
as he is, overheard him say, "Wei, that's the
third time Eve been out on that kind of an ex-
petition" And then he added, with kindly
faith in his species that did him no diScredt:
"But IFS all right; I'll be in a close place like
that myself some day, and then somebody will
do as much for me, reckon"
When our liieboat first started away on her
mission, it was such a gallant sight when she
pinnacled herself on the feecy crest of the first
giant wave that our party OF passengers grouped
together on deck with one impulse broke out
into cheer upon cheer Officer Gillies SAID after
| ward that ABOUT that time the thought of his
| wife and children had come upon him, and his
| heart was sinking a bit, but the cheers were
| strong brandy and water 10 him, and his heart
| never event back on him" any more. We
| would have cheered their heads off, only it in
| terrupted the orders so much Really and truly
these men while on their enterprise were safe at
no time except when in the open sea between
| the vessels; all the time that they were near
either the wreck or our own ship their lives
| were in great peril.
II have been of any service toward rescuing
these nine shipwrecked human beings by stand
ing around the deck IN furious storm without
| any umbrella, keeping an eye on things, and
seeing that they were done right, and yelling
whenever q cheer emed TO he the important
thing, ! am glad, and am satisfied. l ask no
reward. would do it again under the same
circumstances. But what | do plead Tor, and
earnestly and sincerely, is that the ROYAL HUI
name society will remember our captain and our
| llieboat crew; and in so remembering them,
| increase the high honor and esteem in which the
| society is held all over the civilized world
In this appeal our passengers all join with
| hearty sincerity, and in testimony thereof will
slgu their names Begging that you will pardon
me, stranger, for addressing your hunored
society with such confidence and such absence
Of ceremony, and trusting that my motive may
redeem my manner,
] am, gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) MARK TWAIN (Sam' L. Clemens),