Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-09-09
full value, principally in English com
pilies.


coming on with such suddlDue and force
as 10 almost throw the ship on her beam
ends. From this time, he says, IL became
next to impossible to walk about without
clingipg 10 chairs, tables aud other
stationary furniture of the cabin, ard ~
all movable objects in the saloon were
walking was exceedingly dangerous. Mr..
Owen continues:
"General Torbert had been washed out
of his siateroom No. y, which WIS the
first on the port how, early Saturday even
ing He then came to me in the saloon
room No. 81 He had been thrown against
a table in the afternoon and had cut bis
right check which troubled him con-
siderably, as it bled freely, but he was in
h's best aud kind st humor, speabii
cheering word here, assisting II man there
and attending to the women and children
everywhere, He lay on the saloon floor for
part of the night, but was flooded out,
and then came and laid with me, bringing
his waterproof, which we threw over us to
protect us from the water dripping in
from the top and sides. The purser came
hurriedly below, calling for General Torbert
and said thnt the captain had sent him to
tell the passengers to come and assist the
crew or the vessel would 20 down. We
Immediately got up. | went TO the deck
and the floor of the engine room. where l
assisted to pass the buckets for an hour.
Captain Van Slice was in line near the top
passing water while / was there 1t WAS
of no use. The sea was continually
breaking over the vessel and coming down
in large quantities between decks. The
donkey engine was working, but not To
any purpose. After this / went 10 the
saloon and told General Torb6rt that we
were going to pieces and fast filling and
nothing remained hut for us to got fe
preservers upon the women. General
Torbert's face hurt him 30 that he did not
go to pass buckets.
"There was no such thingas excitement
on board-eyen the children were quiet
and reasonable. Each assisted the other
III arranging life preservers, and General
Torbert was like sunbeam, laughing and
joking with Ill while he assisted them.
The storm at this time was most terrific.
Such waves, wind and rain can never be
described. The ship listed to her beam
ends at every wave, and it was just posi-.
Bile to crawl from one place to the other.
The storm was 30 thick that we could not
see 100 yards ahead, and the rear OF the
wind and beating of the rain was like the
rattle of musketry. General Torbert and
myself were lying in my berth talking and
quietly awaiting for the worst, when, at
4. II a. m., Sea broke into the engine
room and through the saloon, making
crash like battery of artillery, and strik-
ing terror for an instant into every one,
dasbing saloon passenges, tables, doors
and the loose furniture together and into
water knee deep.
The General came to me Immediately
after this with Master Wsllendge, about
nine years old, and said Romeo, you
and l must take this little boy and care for
him between us.' / allowed that he had
but fifteen minutes to live, and argued
that it would be mercy to let the little fel'
low 90 down with the ship, but the Gen
erRl kindly insisted. and said, ' / cannot
leave this little fellow behind you and
must save him. Take him until | come
back The next minute the sea came
into the saloon more ierritically than ever,
filling 1t waist deep in water and smashing
the most of the port side. The little fel-
low and myself were rolled over among
the chairs and tables and lost him, but
he was picked up aud brought to his
father. | called to General Turbert to
come to the deck with me- He said, 4
will go aft and meet you above | never
saw General Torbert again alive.
Mr.. Paris, first officer, the second
mate, and one or two more of the crew
took to the arboard bow boat aud were
killed before the boat could be got free
Mr. hillar nd hiu apf,ipaaFu ut hp no
ship till she sunk. The quartermaster,
William O'Neal, and u sailor, name un-
known, stood at the wheel until the ship
sunk. The captain never came near the
passengers during the storm, nor did he
send to inquire into their condition, and
it may be sincerely hoped that no other
passengers may be left 10 so thoughtless
and Indifferent man. 1t was u O'Clock
Il. III. that the ship went down, breaking
in the middle and filling the sea with
fragments of stores, trunks aud merohan-
disc.
80 say there were 0,0O0, 900 pieces of
wrecked stores all clashing together five
minutes after the ship went to pieces
would be gross exaggeration, but even with
such a statement no idea could be- con
ceived as to the state of the case. Men.
women, children, horses, cate and rats
mixed in and went in, through and over
this mass. The waves were 80 feet high,
rot 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 it was not to go down on the other
side, but to be turned over at the top an6
sent rolling through the air to the opposite
one, and so back and forth. This lasted
about two or three hours, after which the
waves took more natural character and
came in swelling ridges, and we whirled
down and over them to tine opposite side.
General did not go down with the
steamer, az Mr.. Owen afterwards learned
for he says
General Torbert was picked up by
Charles Smith, one of the crew, about Ii
minutes after the ship sunk. He was then
weak and could crawl On the fragments OF
the wreck only with assistance. When the
fragment on which he was was turned
over. H minute later, MIR. Smith came up
on another piece, and never saw the
General again alive The wind was sc
terrific that when plank, raft, box oi
trunk would reach the top OF wave ii
was whirled through the air with force
| terrible TO behold. Among the living and
| dying l never passed II person who was
not bleeding from some wound inflicted
| by passing fragments, and half of them
were dead or dying within IL minutes
after they took to the waves.
MIR. Owen was washed ashore neal
Daytoua sixty miles south of St Angus
tine, OIL the farm of MIR. Botefuhr, Mr.
Owen continues: General Torbert's body
| waa wash, Il usbnrp at New Rritaiu Mon
day morning. about six miles above Mr.
Botefuhrs farm He was found by Mr.
Pitts floating on the surf. His body wa'
warm, his heart was beating and the blooc
was flowing from wound over the right
eye. He had evidently REACHED the break
ers sound and we'll, and there had been
struck by the fragment he was on anf
stunned so that he was drowned before b,
reached the shore. l went out in boa
after his body, which, when recovered
was buried under the palmetto groves OF
Mr.. Boteturh's farm, on Wednesday morn
ing, at daylight, on the lst day of scpLem
Der. The strictness of quarentihe regula
tions did not permit his body to be
removed to Milford, Delaware, where h,
resided, until November"
GENERAL ToRBERT.
General Alfred r. A. Torbert, who, a
will be seen above, was among the lost
was born in Georgetown, Sussex county
in 1888, and was consequently in his 47tl
year. His father was Jonathan Il. Tor
bert, methodist local preacher, and for
mer cashier of the Farmers Bank a
Georgetown; his mother was Mis-
I l,.. Ii. af al