The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-05-01
Y1sstins three nas's ON Rsfs at ses.
|sAvSp Br yRssSL rkoM RIcHxokD--1BE
sUerxRJNGs OF THE ONLY KNOWN SURVIVOR
or rHK CREW OF THE IfzzfE n MERRILL


sUsrIRJNGs OF THE ONLY KNOWN SURVIVOR
OF rHK CREW OF THE LfzzIE n. MRRkiLL.
NEW YORK, April 29.-Captain George
Beat, the only known survivor OF the crew
OF the brig Lizzie "a. Merrill, which foun-
miles ea.t OF Cape Hatteras, has sent state
ment TO J. w. ElwalI, OF No. South street,
the New York agent Of tie vessel The
brig belonged 10 4. j. Southard, OF Rich
mond, Me-, and was Of 450 tons. She
sailed hence on January 3lst for New
Orleans, with q crew OF nine men. On
February 9th Captain Beal was taken of
raft on which he had been floating three
days, tn. vessel having gone down with the
crew. He was very much exhausted In
mind and body, and 1t was several days be-
fore he could give an account OF the wreck.
When two DAYS out gale struck the vessel,
which began TO leak. The gale continued
that night and the next day. About 8
o'clock In the morning, while all hands
were a; the pumps, a big sea came aboard,
stove the deck, and Oiled the vessel. so that
she sank In five minutes. Captain Bea
tried to launch the life-boat, but was car
ried down with the vessel before he suc-
ceeded.
~ sank to considerable depth," the
statement goes on, "and when i reached
the surface again l saw the boat about
twenty wards to the leeward OF me, with the
second mate aud one sailor in il, but they
could not pull TO me, as they had lost the
oars. | got on some pieces OF wreckage
which had broken from the deck OF the af.
ter-house. They were about S feet long and
broad. On these gradually drifted away
from the life boat. Had the mate and bis
only companion In the boat even light bill
let Of wood they could have turned their
boat so as to reach me. At one time l
formed the resolution to jump of the raft
and swim to the boat, but the distance was
too great and the sea was running. To-
wards night threw up my hands
every two or three minutes to en-
courage them, and they returned the
signal. We must have been mile
apart then and the gap was widening. AS
night fell and they began TO fade from my
sight felt that it was our last separation.
bad few crackers i'll my pocket, but
could not eat. My arms and legs became
numb, and began to fear that i would be
washed off before morning. The night was
so long that thought 1 would never see the
light again. was seized with intense thirst,
and kept my hair, face, neck, and cnest wen
moistened. At daylight not an object was
in sight, but the sea moderated. Ate two
biscuits and bad one left. At nightiall
tainted. l was aroused by a sharp pain In
the left arm, and found it was caught be-
tween the planks. -,
At 2o'clock on Friday afternoon the 9th
OF February, a sail bore down on me. L
was hardly able to signal it. At O'Clock
boat was put out and l was taken aboard
the schooner Harold Haariager, Captain
Kundsen, bound from Richmond, va, to
Rio Grande del Sui. after having been
eighty-one hours floating on the eight'foot
planks.
Three weeks later Captain Beal was tians'
ferred 10 the British bark Vigilant, Captain
Sheppard, which took him to Queenstown.
Nothing has been heard Of the two men IN
| the life boat,