Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-07-04

pOsed to run in there. All rlght
said the sherman. Look out for your
heads, gentlemen, I am going to jibe
her! Now, jibes or jeers were all the
same to us, for not soul on board
knew what it meant; but we took care
of our heads nevertheless, and sud-
denly the boom dashed with great force
from one side to the other, and in a mo-
ment over went the boat, and over went
!. and down, until thought I should
never stop! How deep Isank I know not,
but after awhile 1 found myself ascend
ing, and on approaching the surface, l
remember seeing the .alderman's
brother sitting astrile of the bottom
of the boat, with bottle in his hand,
like a Jolly old Bacchus astride of a
puncheon.
recollect beating the water franti
cally with my arms, fer l couldn't
swim. / tried to recollect all that l
had heard about treading water, and
moving your legs as though you were
walking-of throwing yourself upon
your back and having no fear-all very
we'll and very easy of accomplishment,
no doubt, except tie fear; but the lack
of that being absolutely necessary to
the success of those life. saving meas
ures, my efforts entirely failed. Be-
sides, l have q peculiar propensity for
carrying about me q large sum of
money--almost invariably in gold, too
and on this occasion 1 was encum-
bered with the weight of several, hun
dred dollars, which interfered with the
natural buoyancy of the human body,
and added to my downward tendency.
/ succeeded, however, with great diff
Guilty, in divesiing myself of portion
of the money, for it was valuelcss then
in comparison with life, and l must
have come up Sc cond tune, as I was
subsequently found entangled among
the ropes under the boat. l recollect
nothing, however, but fearful rushing
noise in my ears; and when this ceased,
the most delightful emotions succeeded.
They were just such sensations as l
once experienced after swallowing an
opium pill. The loveliest scenes that
the brightest Imagination of an artist
ever conceived passed before me.
There were trees whose verdure glowed
in rays of imaginable glory flowers
of gorgeous hues, such as earth never
saw. There were mountains and val
leys, whose velvet slopes of the bright
est emerald were dotted with butter
cups OF shining amber, and daisies
that sparkled like diamonds. Birds
fitted to and fro, with plumage Of the
richest colors, and filled the air with
musical warblings so delicious, that
my spirit seemed elapsed in elysium."
Then methought I heard q distant
sound of human voices, blending in
ravishing harmony; and one, sweeter
than the rest, sang in gentle tone that
| fell like breath upon the ear
| Hark they whisper, angels say,
Sister spirit come away.
After this all was a blank; and the
next sensation was one of exquisite
pain that extended to every portion of
my system, as though the current of
life had become stagnant, and was be-
ing violently forced onward. There
were sharp pains in every joint, and
the surface Of my body seemed to be
punctured by myriads of needles,
which entered every pore of the skin.
But the agony suffered about the
region of the heart was intense, excru.
ciating, indescribable. When these
sensations had partly passed over,
first awoke to consciousness, and, OPEN
ing my eyes, recollect experiencing a
longing desire for hearty draught of
porter, but was unable to ask for it. I
heard rumbling noise, and felt a
jarring motion; but it was several
minutes before | realized my true sit
uation, and could tell whether I was
in this world or another. I then dis.
covered that was in q railroad car;
that was entirely naked and packed in a
large quantity of salt; and that my
mouth was filed with large lump Of
it-as they stick lemon in the mouth
of sucking pig after its untimely
decease. My body was terribly sore,
and my limbs so stiff that it was with
difficulty I could move them. Some
persons were standing around me, but
in the dim light 1 could not recog-
nize them and. indeed, could
1 have done so, 1 was too weak and
faint to afford them any indication of
it. was perfectly sensible, however,
and wildly recalled the fearful ad-
venture 1 had passed through. On
reaching New York, was placed in a
carriage and conveyed to my residence,
and for some time lay on my bed "like
seaweed on clam" and for several
days expectorated nothing but brine.
Indeed, what with.the salt subsequently
applied outwardly and inwardly,
must have been something in the con.
QitiOn of ,ot'a wife
Everybody said that I had had mar
row escape, which readily believed.
and the particulars were afterwards re-
counted to me. 1t seems that all the
other parties chung to the boat, or to the
mast and sail, and were rescued by
some persons from the shore; and,
when all hands were mustered, was
found to be missing. They say that
quite fifteen minutes had elapsed from
the time of the accident, and my fate
was supposed to be sealed. At the mo-
ment, however, when they were about
leaving the scene, some one CHANGED to
see my straw hat floating by the side
OF the boat, and knew it at once, and