St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-09-10

ricane August %, near Florida Straits,
and went in pieces Sunday morning.
Portions of the wreck, mail bags, and
about dozen bodies have been found
washed ashore. Six of the crew have
arrived at Jacksonville. 1t was said
to be a terrible storm form the north
and east, and that many other vessels
were ruined or greatly suffered by it.
Below we give statement of A. R.
Owens, one of the passengers of the
Vera Cruz, who was saved
HEART RENDING SCENES.
At ! p. m. Saturday the captain was
heard to remark to Harris, the first
officer, Il have roticed that the barom-
eter is falling rapidly. We are going
to have hurricane" Orders were then
given to cut up and throw car for a
Mexican railroad overheard, and also
barrels OF oils, cases of acids, and cases
OF vegetables on the deck. The real
blast of the cyclone struck us on the
port bow about 25 to p. M. Saturday.
and lifted the ship almost on her beam
ends. From this time it became next
to impossible to walk about without
cllnglng to chairs, tables, and the other
stationary furniture of the cabin, and
as all the movable objects in the saloon
were quickly thrown from port to star
board, the walking was exceedingly
dangerous. The wind was northeast,
and the vessel was steering south by
east. During the evening three sky
| InI,to in tho in, cnlnnn iaI
away, and the waves poured considera-
bic water into the saloon and state
rooms, setting all adrift. By midnight
the passengers generally were sitting
or lying on the floor of the saloon con-
versing with and assisting each other.
Gen. TOrbert had been washed out of
his state room, which was the first on
the port bow, early Saturday evening.
He then came to me in the saloon. He
had been thrown against table in the
afternoon and had cut his right cheek,
which troubled him considerably, as it
had bled freely, but he was in the best
of humor, speaking Il cheering word
here, assisting man here and attend
ing TO the women and children every
where. He lay Oh the saloon floor part
of the night, bnt was flooded out and
then came and lay with me, bringing
his waterproof, which we threw over
us to protect us from the water drip
ping in the top and sides.
Torbert and myself were lying in
my berth talking and quietly awaiting
the worst, when at l2 minutes past Il.
IN. the sea broke into the engine-roOm
and through the saloon, making
crash, like battery of artillery, and
striking terror for the instant into ev-
eryone, dashing saloon passengers, ia
bles, doors and loose furniture together
and into the water knee deep. The
general came to me Immediately after
this with Master Wallendge, about nine
years old, and said, "Romeo, you and
l must take this little boy and care for
him between u.s." l allowed he had
but Is minutes to live, and argued that
it would be mercy to let the little fell
low 60 down with the ship, but the
general kindly insisted and said, Il
cannot leave this little fellow behind.
You and l must save him. Take him
until come back" The next minute
the sea came into the saloon more ter
rifically than ever, filling it waist deep
with water and smashing most of the
port side. The little fellow and myself
were rolled over among the chairs and
tables, and lost him, but he was pick
ed up and brought to his father. 1
called to Torbert to come to the deck
with me. He said, 81 will go aft and
meet you above" never saw Torbert
again alive. The passengers now
crowded into the social hall, which was
at the top of the saloon steps. Here
fhau Sui1 foVaNvall fA W
adjusted their life preservers and ex-
tended sympathy one to another. New
er before perhaps was there a set of
passengers so quiet and unexcited I'M
der circumstances so appalling. Mr..
Attridge brought his little boy to me
and said, ''Mr. Owen, will give you
$1,000 in gold if you will take my son
and get him to land" 1 said no. L did
not expect to live five minutes after
the ship went down. l told him it
would be mercy to himself and son to
go down as quick as possible. l told
him could see nothing to hope for in
storm like this. l said, Let us look
at it as if our characters on the worlds
page were about ended"
Miss Sadie Fay asked me in the
sweetest manner to take care of her,
but L said to her and to the others that
nothing could be done but to stick to
the ship until we were washed from
her and then cling to fragments as long
as possible, and this plan was carried
out by every passenger.
1t was 6 a. M. that the ship went
down, breaking in the middle and fill
ing the sea with fragments of stores,
trunks and merchandise. To say there
were 100000 pieces of wrecked
stores all clashing together five minutes
after the ship went to pieces would be
gross exaggeration, but even with
such statement no idea could be con-
ceived us to the state of the case. Men,
women, children, horses, cats and rats
were mixed in and went in, through
and over this mass. The waves
were so feet high, not in swells and
ridges, but in peaks like sugar loaves.
Four peaks beating like surf tore into
each other. When we went up on one,
1T was not to go down on the other side,
but to be turned over at the top and
sent rolling through the air to the OPP
posite one, and so back and forth. This
lasted about two or three hours, after
which the waves took Il more natural
character, and came in swelling ridges,
and we whirled down and over them
to the opposite side. Gen. Torbert was
I picked up 10y Charles Smith, one of the
crew, about Is minutes after the ship
sank. He was weak and could crawl on
the fragments only with assistance.
When the fragment on which he
was turned over a minute later, Mr..
Smith came up on another piece and
never saw the general again alive. The