The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-12-29
LOST AT SEA.
Shipwreck and Rescue on the New
foundland Coast.
DARKNESS ON THE Vastly DEEP.

DARKNESS ON THE Vastly DEEP.
Loss OF A VESSEL AND EIGHT PEOPLE
HEROIC RESCUE OF THE SURVIVORS OF THE
sToRM-ToUCHING INCIDENT.
A st. Johns special to the New York
World says: About four o'clock in the af-
ternoOn Of Monday, Nov. %, small coast
ing vessel, named the Water witch, left St.
Johns bound for Cubids, small port on
the northern shore of Conception Bay. The
run was a short one, being little over forty
miles. Soon after leaving the harbor a
| strong gale from the southeast set in, &C
/ companied with a dense fall of snow. As
darkness closed in the gale increased in
violence, hurting the snowfakes on its
wings, and driving the huge Atlantic waves,
with sullen roar, far up the dark cliffs. The
night was intensely dark. The little YES
sci, with twenty-four souls on board, four of
them women, was battling with the waves,
endeavoring to double Cape st. Francis at
the entrance of Conception Bay. Unhappily
the captain Rugged the shore too closely,
and at $3.50 o'clock the startling cry from
the lookout was heard, Crooks ahead 2"
The words had not passed his lips three
minutes when the vessel struck against a
rock with great force. The captain and
two men leaped upon a low shelf of rock
that was dimly visible in the gloom, rightly
concluding that this was their only chance
of saving their lives. The water was deep
at this spot, and the vessel rounded, but
was presently hurled q second time against
! the rocks a few yards distant from the place
where she first struck. Here nine more men
leaped for their lives, and managed to cling
| TO the surface OF sharp slanting rock, over
which at times the waves were breaking.
The Waterwitch reeled under the tremend-
Gus blow,
| STAGGERED BACK FEW YARDS AND SANK,
carrying down with her eight men and four
women. The situation of the poor fellows
who were now clinging to the rocks was
terrible in the extreme. Strange to relate,
the vessel had been carried into a small inlet
called Horrsud's Gulch, a little north of
Pouch Cove. The entrance of this gulch is
but few yards wide, and had she struck to
| the right or left of it not a soul could have
| been saved, as the shore Is a steep wall of
rock. The rock upon which she captain and
two of the crew leaped is a small projecting
shelf on the north side of the inlet, while
that to which the others were clinging is on
the opposite side. The position of the latter
was fearful to think of. They were
holding on to a slippery, slopiag rock, only
few feet above the surface of the water,
and barely large enough to give them room
to crouch on its surface. The spray dashed
over them with every wave, and at inter-
walls heavy sea broke over the rock as,
huddled together, they clutched 1t for dear
lie. They dared not move, for the sea was
all around the rock and few ieet off they
could see dark, perpendicular cliff shoot
ing up 600 feet into the midnight air. TIE
huge waves were laundering at their feet,
and the snow storm roared overhead. A
few feet from them they knew that some of
their nearest connections lay
DEAD AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.
The position of the captain and his two
companions was not quite 30 perilous, as
they found it possible, though at great
risk, to scramble up from the shelf on which
they first found footing. They heard the
voices of their companions on the other side
of the gulch, and cheered them by telling
them that they were about to make an at
tempt to scale the rocks and bring them
succor. The nearest house was at the dis
lance OF q mile and the men had no knowl-
edge of the locality, but with desperate ef-
forts they clambered mp the steep rocks,
forcing their way painfully through dense
brushwood where there was no path. At
length, almost exhausted, they reached the
summit. 1t was pitchy dark, and they
had no notion of the proper direction,
but hearing q dog bark. they followed
the sound and at length reached a
fisherman's cottage on the outskirts of
Pouch Cove Village and swoke the inmates
sad tale and described as well as they could
the place where their companions were
clinging to the rocks. Soon more than half
the village was astir; ropes and other ap-
plisnces were got ready, and rescue party
mustered to ssve, il possible, the ship
wrecked men. The Rev. r. M. johnson,
minister of the Church of England in
Pouch Cove, accompanied the party, bring
ing with him Hurricane lantern" which
he fortunately possessed, and which was
invaluable in such circumstances, and also
some cordials to revive the sufferers. The
task that laid before the rescuers was a dit
ficult and perilous one. They had to force
their way through
PATHLEss WOOD AND PIToHY DARKNESS,
and they could not conjecture where the
sufferers were to be found. With wonder
full instinct, however, they managed to reach
the top of the cliff, at the bottom of
which the ship-wrecked men were des-
perstely clinging to the rock. Their cries for
help family reached the ears of their deliv-
erers out of the dark and awful abyss, 600
feet in depth. "Help! helpi for Gods sake
ropei we can't hold on much longer"
What was to be done? The sufferers were
not visible, the exact spot where they were
could not be made out in the darkness.
The wall of the rock was an almost perpen-
dicular height of 600 feet. There was but
one way of saving them. Some one must
90 down into the dark chasm, at the peril
Of his life, swinging at the end
of the rope, over the edge of the
precipice, and thus try to reach the perish
ing men, get a rope round each in turn, by
which he may be dragged up the fearful
height. It was desperate expedient, but
it was the only one, as the wretched men
must soon perish by Id and exhaustion,
or be swept back into the sea. The rescuers
look for a few minutes into one another's
faces. Who will 60? A stout-hesrted fish
erman- "a true hero Alfred Moores by
nsme-volunteers for the perilous under
taking. Fastening a stout rope round him,
he is launched into the black abyss. Three
times, however, he had to be drawn up
again, being unable to get near the sufferers;
but, on descending the fourth time, he finds
a slight
FIssURE IN THE FACE OF THE CLIFF,
a...<. ...laiah Ia L. Iorrrorod I'll no nonnaa