The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-08-08
Terrible Story from the Sea.


schooner (named after himself,
having OIL board d general cargo
from Newbern, North Carolina,
met with peculiar and terribly DIS
tresslng accidents. The schooner
cast anchor at the loot VI South
street, Philadelphia. Presently
her yaWl boat caIne ashore, mannec
by the captain and Ole man, ahd
brlnglI Z, III addition To the t"o
h,lng, hive dead bodies. They
we're Jho,e OF Tie vile, two SONS
and two baby daughters Of the cap
tain, all of whom had died under
circumstances so peculiar that adj
ed interest Is gwen Thereby To d
tragic event. Perhaps the cap
taln's story, told III his own way,
most nearly expresses the rough
eloquence Of his grief, which no
written version Can do more than
approximate: II sailed for the
North Carolina coast last fall ana
Traded III oyster tor ii spell, running
into Norfolk and York River, ana
gong ~ Baltimore once. | took
my sons with ME. Joseph, HIM
that lays thar III that box, he was
sixteen, liz Il hand, and Frank, who
was eleven, as cook. In February
my wife CAME down with the twllo
AMI met Inc IN Norfolk, and | had
Il state built In the cabin,
and then | went down to Viii
mlngton, where | had ii charter to
carry $4,000 feet of lumber To
Newbern, and ten thousand barrels
of pitch to Wilmington. On the
Sd of June | got freight to Baltl-
more, and passed into the Chesa-
peake on the 10th. 1t blew pretty
stiff and | came TO anchor on Fry
my Pan Shoals. The twins, Fan
ME and Julie, four years old within
Il week, we're "a playin' on the top
of the afterhouse, l was forward, Il
payIn' out cable and helpin' to stow
the jib, when | heard IA scream
from mother. went rushin' aft.
There was he two little ones
a-goln' down and oatin' out with
The tide. The boat was on the
davits, swung in-board, and there
was no chance to get her out, SO
She and | went overheard at the
slime minute. But we was too late.
I'he little one were gone. We
had hard work in getting back to
the schooner, but we did, and then
we got out the boat, and the next
morning we found the bodies Of
them both, one In the wreck OF Il
bark on the Virginia shore and the
other on the beach.
II had them buried at Hampton,
near Fortress Monroe, and then
went TO Baltimore. One day dur
ING the next week Frank was help
ing Joe send a new throat halyard
block aloft. Joe was at the cross
trees aud Frank on deck. The
block got loose from the boys hand
and it struck Frank fair on the
head, fracturlng the skull. He
del on the 18th. Then mother
ana Joe both got the typhOld ana
die , one on the 18th the other on
the 3lst. You see there was five
inside of two weeks. | went to
Hampton and got the two babies.
| took the other three with me,
and I've just got here to-day. Yes,
sir, it is pretty rough. There was
six of us, but I'm all that's left.
I'm going to bury them all down
home. | live not far from Leeds
Landing, and have little house
and Il few acres there" The after
noon train bore the bereaved coast
ing captains sad burden to its LAS
resting place. Il wanted to bring
'em back, don't you see :" he said.
My Oldest child has IA little grave
down there. I'll put them all to
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