Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-04-10

THE LAST Hours OF Mr.. AND Mrs.
FISHER. regret to say that, at the
hour of the present writing, the prob
abilities are that the bodies of Cyrus NJ.
Fisher and his wife, Mrs. Mary J. Grip
ley) Fisher, will never be recovered.
This will be apparent from the state
ments hereafter given, although later
advices may bring additional facts and
dispel the uncertainty-not to say mys-
tery-which has been thrown around
Mrs. Fisher 1t is true that Captain
Williams, in his testimony, Saturday,
stated that the body of Mrs. Fisher was
brought ashore and identified by him,
and we have had other statements to the
same effect; but the weight of testi-
mony is that it was that of another per-
son, bearing a strange and striking like
ness to her. Every incident connected
with their last hours naturally possesses
a peculiar interest not only to the i'm
mediate relatives of Mr.. Fisher, but to
our entire community; we, therefore,
CLEAN from the statements of survivors
the following particulars The steward
says that ''the rigging was full of men :;
have hcard since that there was one
woman there, but | didn't see her; as |
left the compauionway, Mr.. and Mrs.
Fisher and Miss Merritt were standing
there; | Suppose they never got out. -
The statement of 5. w. Nick-himself
u cabin passengers more explicit, and
seems to leave no room for doubt that
both Mr. and Mrs. Fisher were swept
away into the open sea. He says that
after he had reached the deck and, to
use his own words, was endeavoriug to
make the best effort to save my life, as
| looked down the cabin stairway | saw
/ Mr. Fisher and his wife making for the
upper deck; the water was then filling
up the state-rOOms on both sides, and il
seemed impossible for any human being
/ below TO escape death Mrs Fisher call
ed upon her husband to save himself,
+ but be refused unless she was also saved
and thus both of them lost precious
time-she paralyzed with fear and al,
most frozen, he too faithful to leave her
/ to perish and satisfied to die with her q
moment ended that, for an immense
wave dashed over the bulwarks and the
two disappeared from sight forever; this
wave, too, ended the suffering of those
! below, for when it had passed away
scarcely sound could be heard either il
the cabin or steerage." Among the
many sad and touching scenes connected
with their loss, related by the surviving
cabin passengers, who have reached Bos
ton and New York, is this one
''Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus NJ. Fisher. OF
Nergennes Vt, who were among the
lost. were general favorites with the pas
sengers. They escaped from their state
room to the deck and thence to the rig
ging. the husband brayely protecting
his wife as best he could. As the excite
| ment increased, and the vessel was goinl
down, the boats were upset and unfitte(
for use, and the chances of escape grew
less and less hopeful with every passini
moment, Mrs. Fisher besought her hus
band to leave her and save himself; witt
tears in her eyes she begged him to &c
into one of the boats, but he would not
The crowding of men and women int
the rigging. the numbing of their limb
by the cold, and the exhaustion con
sequent upon the frequent sweeping owe
them of the waves, proved too much 70
both husband and wife. The latter wa
the first to give up, and, despite her hus
bands eXertions, she was swept into tn
sea. Powerless in limb and despairin
in heart, the husband retained his plac
few moments only, yielding to th
force of a huge wave that came crushin
along with resistless force, and fallin
into the water within few feet of tn
place where his wife disappeared.