The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-10-01
THIRTY-ONE HOURS ADRIFT.
The story Of the Only survivor OF the
Propeller Jquinor.

Ross. arrived in port last night. bring
ing Reuben Burr, "A survivor of the ill-
fated Equinox, which went down during
the storm Of Friday under circumstances
which rendered il almost impossible for
any OF the crew or passengers to escape.
Burr was picked up - miles ;. ;. W.
Of Mantou Island Saturday morning.
Tie was floating on the pilot-house, and
had been thirty-One hours on the water.
The poor fellow WAS in "A very exhaust
ed condition. Every attention was paid
10 his wants, Captain and crew striving
which should do most for him. No one
could have been kinder 20 him. and
Burr, who is afine-lOoking young fellow
Of about five and twenty, seems much
touched with the kind treatment he re-
ceiycd AT their hands. The Captain and
crew unanimously gave up days pay
for the purpose OF putting him on his
feet again-an act which speaks vol
umes for their humanity.
After narrating some facts regarding
the laundering Of the vessel, which have
heretofore been published. Burr gave
the following interesting statement Of
his own personal experiences:
~ was for'arS. The Captain blew
the whistle 10 stop the engines, and
cried out for the imen 10 leave the wheel.
| came aft then, and tried 10 lower the
boat on the starboard side, but the ship
went from under Us, and we were wash
ed away. The Captain and myself
swan together side by side for short
time, and we then got hold of fender
boards. which kept us ailoat. The pilot
4. a a
10 get on it. The cook passed by, and
said he had better try to get on with me,
but he replied, {" No, | am all right.
He went to leeward Of me, and disap-
peared out Of my sight. The second
cook, who had life-preserver on. got on
the pilot-house with me. We managed
to get clear of the wreck, and then lost
sight Of the others. The sea kept wash
Ing over Us, and il was ali we could do
To keep on We stood side by side un-
Ill the break Of day. and had fearful
time The other man seemed rather
cheerful felt little down. told him
two or three times there was no
chance Of being saved, but he
kept saving we would come out all
right. We were both cold and wet.
and scarce knew what 10 do 10 keep up
our circulation. We held on by one
hand, and pounded each other with the
other To keep warm. Nv companion
seemed 10 get weak toward the break of
day He complained Of his legs being
tired. and sat down. ! told him he
would last longer if he stood up, and
pulled him to his feet again. He stood
awhile. but every time the sea struck
him his hands gave way from the post
There was no keeping on his feet. lie
sat down perfectly exhausted, one Of his
I legs sinking TO the floor of the pilot
house. When day broke we sighted
I two schooners He kept telling me to
hail them. saw they were too far of
/ for Us 10 attract their attention 10 Us.
but to satisfy him kept shouting for
help. He was getting weaker and
weaker. and could not help him in any
way At last he gave one shout for
| help. and his hands completely lost their
power, and hc was not able To straighten
up. tried to pull him up. but he rolled
back and simply groancd. His foot
came out Of the hole in the floor, and
the sea washed him OFF the pilot-house.
! grabbed him and pulled him on. An
other heavy sea came, and washed him
completely out Of my reach. lie threw
up his hand slightly. and then sank.
| That would be about half-past 3
/ Friday morning. thought my
turn had surely come Nv strength was
failing fast. and had To make q strong
effort TO keep standing. knew if gave
way il would be all over with me.
stamped my feet as hard as ! could To
keep warm, but Just a. was M nv last
struggle | saw something like a
blanket floating up from the floor !
pulled il up and found il was a blanket
and white spread. This discovery
was n perfect blessing 10 me. had no
strength To wiring out much of the wa
ter. hung them on the posts for a
short time, aud then wrapped them
around me. They seemed TO warm me
little. and nerved me to keep up.
But still shivered with the cold. The
time dragged on to midday. How il
passed cannot tell. NV only thought
was u keep warm. At noon | saw two
schooners. but my heart sank when |
realized that they were too far of ia
heed nv cries made up my mind 10
pass another night Of il. but hoping all
the time something would come To save
me. was little warmer during the
afternoon. and had somewhat recovered
my spirits But the shiyers still crept
over me. The two schoOners were all
saw that day. When the sun went
down | became cold again. and shook
50 could scarce maintain my hold Of
the posts. | had 10 stamp my feet
again to prevent losing the power Of
my limbs The sea began to 90 down
At night. and that helped me a little.
After dark pulled the blankets
closely round me laid my head against