The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-08-20
A FOR LIFE.
A Woman's Graphic story of the
Wrecked Steamer State Of Virginia.

"A VSONluILb UTdphA StoIy u Nho
Wrecked Steamer State Of Virginia.
Daniel Clark and wife, ofBuffalo, were
on board the oceen steamer State OF Viz
ginia when she ran ashore at sable
Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia.
When they arrived in New York they
told theirnarratives to q Herald reporter:
Mr.. Clark is an intelligent person who
has done business in Buffalo for a num-
Der Of years, and his wife is 4 quiet look
ing middle aged lady of slight figure,
who was still suffering from exhaustion
and the injuries sustained when she was
thrown into the water from the capsized
surf boat. When asked to relate her
experience she said, with a good eX-
preston: at is twenty-five years ago
this month since my husband and my
self cmigrated to this country, and we
were going to pay first visit to our
friends in the old country when we were
slipwrccked. The shock was so great
that since then whenever l see a boat
and water I get a palpitation ofthe heart.
| do not feel like ever venturing on u
long voyage again, but if | do l /
suppose l would rs soon trust my life
with Captain Noodle as with any one
else. When the State Of Virginia struck
in the fog on that Saturday night there
WIS no panic on board; eve the ladies
expressed their beliefthatthe ship would
soon float. There were many of us in
tears, as we all realized the danger Of at
tempting to land through the surf. On
Sunday morning, about ten o'clock,
there were fourteen of us, all women or
children. who were lowered into one OF
the surf boats which came alongside
from the island. When coming toward
the breakers the men in charge of the
boat turned it and attempted to bring It
to land stern foremost. Then a great
billow struck us. and it seemed us ifthe
boat was going up in the air on end.
The surf was rolling mountains high.
Then the boat turned right over, and
we I'LL went into the water together. L
was so dazed by the s%uddenness OF the
catastrophe that | was only partially
conscious. Ireally cannot now describe
my peculiar feelings. l went under the
boat. and while in that position l a
aged to get hold of q life preserver.
When | came up it was on the opposite
side of the boat, and | managed to get
hold of the keel. The next wave
righted the boat, and Immediately an
other huge billow struck it and swept
me clean over. Then I was carried by
the waves again toward the lite6oat,
when q man got into it and stretched out
n of his hands. Mrs. Moulin, Of New
York, who was struggling in the water
beside me, seized hold of the mans
other hand. He dragged US into the
boat, but in an instant we were again
hurled out by the breakers. | saw my
companions about me struggling IN the
water but did not see them drown.
"Just before we reached the breakers
I saw a boat behind us in which was my
husband. I have not the slightest idea
how I reached the land, O nave 1 any
conception of the manner IN which l got
Il life preservcr on me while under the
keel of the surf-boat. When ! was able
to collect my thoughts | gazcd around
me. My clothing had been nearly all
stripped from my person by the waves
Then | saw the bodies of Mrs. Walker,
ofElmira. and Miss Coleman, of AlbanJ,
on the beach, where they had been cast
IN bv the breakers. Both were quite
dead. When l was getting into the boat on
leaving the ship one poor woman who
WIS drowned, and whose nameI did not
know, asked me for q pin. l gave it to
her. and she pinned her money to the
waist of her dress. When we were pre-
Earring to ret into the first boat, Captain
Noodles daughter, q most interesting
young lady of twenty years OF there
abouts. was urged by her father to enter.
She chung to his neck, and, kissing him,
refused to be parted. He urged her to
20 into the boat and save herself. Final
" she reluctantly gave her consent.
Then the boat was lowered. but imme-
diately Miss Noodles feelings overcame
her, and she begged piteously to be al
lowed TO remain and share her fathers
fate. She was pulled again on board,
and so her life was saved. We were
rowed away. Afterreaching land | was
unconscious for 4 long time. | was so
much overcome by fright and suffered
SO much from my injuries that I could
scarcely realize what had taken place.
1t seemed all like a dream to me. L
supposed that the boat following us was
also swamped. / knew my husband
was in it and / was more than over
loved when I came across him twenty
six hours afterward. When Mrs. Wide
strand, who was in Jul boat, was
thrown up on the beach she had, as she
supposed, she son John in her arms. In
q frenzy of excitement, on struggling
through the surf to the beach, she ex-
claimed, i have him, I have him. al
tie same time clinging t%enaciously. to
the strap of his little ulster. 10 her
horror she then discovered that the but
tons had become unfastened, and that
in her struggles the child had slipped
out of his coat. Her grief, when she dis
covered that he had fallen from her
grasp and had been drowned before her
eyes, when she thought him saved, was
uncomfortable. We did all we could in
our sorry plight to comfort the heart
broken woman"
Mr.. Clark seemed to have the events
which occurred Immediately after the
ship struck wildly portrayed in his
memory. "A few minutes before the
ship struck" said he, Captain Noodle
had given orders to alter the vessels
course. He evidently knew he was ap-
preaching land. When we struck the
shock was slight. None of us felt much
alarm, as;the captain thought we would
float off with the midnight tide. The
fog was very dense. and all this time
the engines were being reversed !;
but we were wedged in the sand and
seemed to settle into it further and
further. I was in the second boat, fol-
lowing the one that vas capsized. l
cannot convey to you my feelings of
anguish when I saw that boat full of
passengers, my wife among the number,
hurled into the seething waves: The
officer in charge Of u boat, when he
saw the catastrophe, gave orders to re-
turn. When we again got on the deck
of the ship there was intense excitement.
I cannot begin to faithfully portray it.
We sympathized with those who had
lost friends, and all Of us embraced each
other rs if we were brothers and sisters
and thanked God that we had been
spared. 1t was a time of supreme sus-