New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-12-12
Mr.. Summers Narrative Of a Thrill.
Ing ancident at Sea.

NC" oFk Spechl gives the following thrill
ing incident in Mr.. Charles Summers home
ward voyage, as related by Mr.. Sumner
himself:
We put to sea at Queenstown and enjoyed
pleasant weather till Monday, the 18th.
Then gale arose. Capt. Kennedy told me
that, in one hundred and thirty-three vow
ages he has made across the Atlantic, he
never saw its equal. The sea pounded our
noble ship without mercy. 1 lay sick in my
berth and could hear the hammering of heavy
waves on the solid iron which surrounded me.
They stove in two of our boats and broke
staunch iron staunchions like pipe stems.
The water came into the cabin and state
rooms through the ventilators. All the ships
OF that line are we'll ventilated, and thereby
hangs tale. The air ventlators let in water
likewise. There was hardly a passenger
whose berth was in a fit condition to sleep
in. had an entire state-room, and the sofa
and two berths were all soaked The officers
gave me temporary accommodations in some
distant recess of the ship, which could never
have found myself. They led me there and
put me to bed. 1t was small and dark, but
still it was dry; and here entombed myself,
and heard the waves pounding against our
noble old ship. 1t was while was in this
seclusion on Monday that the boats were Wis.,
lieu SO VIOLENTLY Dy waves.
On Tuesday did not get up. Tremendous
waves were rapping against the side of the
ship, and it seemed as if they would stave
uneasy that night, and the sea ran high.
On Wednesday, at noon, a vessel was
sighted in the horizon, her mizzcn mast gone
and her flag with the Union down, signal of
distress.
The Captain at once bore down upon her,
and as we gradually drew nearer her condi-
ton became more apparent.
1t was about one o'clock before the pas
sengers became aware Of it. was at lunch
and hurried on deck and there full before me,
at distance, but still absolutely before me
as in flame, was this terrible picture of a
ship dismantled and with q certain number
of human beings standing upon the top of the
cabin. The cabin was elevated above deck over
which the sea was washing, and there they
were huddled together. Captain Blanc told
me aftsrward that they had been forty-eisht
hours in the rigging. They had divided
themselves into two squads and had climbed
to the masthead. They had accumulated
water and provisions up there, but to be in
that position forty-eight hours must have
been terrible.
The ship was without rudder, drifting to
and fro, and her sails were split and actually
flying like so many ribbons as the hull rolled
restlessly about. What an immense area
these poor fellows must have travelled in the
air! 1t was terrible! The Captain in de-
scribing it to me, said the deck at times was
fifteen feet under water. The ship was
loaded with timber, and they knew she could
not sink as long as she held together.
The danger was that the constant pressure
of the masts upon the hull and keel would
force her apart, and then she would be mere
disjecta me1,6rr.
They saw our ship at 10 o'clock in the
morning. 1t was the first glad sight they
had seen for forty-eight hours.
Captain Kennedy called for volunteers to
man the life-boat. The first boat was quickly
manned and commanded by the second
officer. 1t was touching sight to see that
boat leave the side of our steamer, she
seemed so small thing to battle with the
huge waves.
The passengers crowded on deck, and
looked after her. She reached the wreck in
safety. The officer drove her forward upon
a towering wave; she neared the side of the
drifting ship, and five men leaped upon her,
then she was headed again toward the
steamer. The five rescued men were landed
safely on our deck, but the boat lost her
rudder, and was unable to return to the
wreck.
The second boat was under command of
the third officer. 1t reached the wreck and
three men leapcd aboard, then large wave
carried it off. Two more of the sufferers
were dragged aboard by ropes. One Of these
was negro.
The boat was large enough to take more,
and the officer proposed to pull alongside
again, but the bow Oarsman became stricken
with panic and his panic infected the whole
Ia folyo
more, if we touch that ship again we shall all
go down.
Pull! shouted the officer; strike for the
wreck again. He held her rudder to the
wreck, the oarsman gave the word to pull
from the ship again, and the officer was pow
erless. He had seven poor suffering Great
ures in the boat, and the sea was running
very high. He submitted to his men and re-
turned to the steamer. The panic-struck
oarsman was the first to strike our deck.
There were still men clingng to the wreck,
and another set of volunteers were called for;
but the sailors hung back. Then two Of the
saloon stewards came forward and offered to
go. One of them took the bow oar, and the
officer says he managed it with great skill.
AS soon as the wreck was reached, three
men leaped aboard. The captain and one
man were still on the wreck. "Pull againv
shouted the officer, and the noble-hearted
stewards brought her alongside again. The
captain was the last man to leave the shM
The passengers of our steamer were all very
much touched by the scene, and in the even
ing at dinner, at the suggestion of many, I
called the attention of the saloon passengers
to what we had that day witnessed. My re-
marks were followed by others, who sug-
gested that contributions should be made for
our heroic sailors and the poor fellows who
had been shipwrecked.
A committee was appointed, of which /
was the chairman, to collect and distribute
contributions. In few hours we had COL
lected upward Of eS4-four hundred and
twenty dollars. The next day we held ses-
sion of our committee to decide as to the
proper method of distributing the money.
There were many things to be considered,
and we conducted the business in true con-
gressional style.
The session lasted three or four hours, and
we had before us Captains Kennedy, and
Blanc, and the two officers who had COM
manded the boats. We finally decided on the
following distribution: We gave two pounds
to each of our own ssamen, except those who
had practically mutinied, who went to the
wreck, and to them we gave nothing. To
those who went to the wreck twice we gave
four; to each of the stewards who, not being
sailors, did seamen's duty, we gave four
pounds. To Captain Kennedy we gave ten