The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-09-15
A Rescue ut Sen.

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the west coast of Ireland. For some
hours low barometer had given warn-
ing Of coming gale. The breeze was
fresh on y o port quarter, with long
following sea, over which, under the
impulse of propeller and canvas, the
beautifully moulded hull Of the great
steamship rushed like locomotive,
raising a roar of thunder at her bows
and oarving out the green, glass-clear
water with her stern into two oil-smooth
combers, which broke just abafs the
fore-rigging and rushed with swirl
and brilliance of foam to Join the long,
glittering snowine of tho wake astern.
There was piebald sky, the blue in 1t
tarnished and faint, and under it, like q
scattering of brown smoke, the scud
went floating swiftly. In the south and
west tho aspect of the heavens was
portentous enough, with leaden dead
moss of color and line of horizon as
sharply marked as n ruling in ink. The
gale was evidently to come from this
quarter; and, sure enough, before eight
bells in the afternoon watch, it was
blowing a hurricane from the s. S. w.
The fury Of the wind raised tremen-
(lous sea. Tho Parthia ran for a time ::
but running is not the remedy pre-
scribed to captains who are caught in Il
circular storm and shortly after o'clock
the helm Of the steamer was put down
and her head pointed to tho seas. The
passengers were below, considerably
battened down by order of Captain
McKaye; tic commander of the vessel
80 that they should not be washed over
board or drowned in the cabins, for now
that the steamers bow was pointed at
the sea, she was one smother of froth
from the eyes to the ruddor-head. Her
curtseying might have looked graceful
at distance, but it was tremendous
experience to those who had to keep
time to her dance. Every now and
again she would "dish" whole green
sea forward-taking it in just as you
would dip pail into water--a sea that
Immediately turned the decks into a
small raging ocean as high as mans
waist. AS she rolled she shattered the
furious tide against her bulwarks, where
1t broke into smoke and was swept away
in clouds, like volumes of steam. for a
whole cabin-length astern. The grind
ing and straining of the hull. the
hollow, mufliod, wbratory note of the
engincs, the booming of the mighty
surges against the Tesonanu fabric, tl,.
screaming of the wind through the IRON
stiff, standing rigging, and the enduring
thunder of the tempest hurtling through
J the sky, completed to the ear tho tre
mendous scene Of warfare submitted to
the eye in the picture of black heavens
and white waters, and struggling,
smothered, goadcd ship.
The Parthia lay hove to for six hours,
at 10 o'clock at night the gale broke,
the wind sensibly moderated, the
steamer was brought to her course and
went rolling heavily over the immense
and powerful sen swell which tho cyclone
had left behind it. Sunday morning
came with benediction in the shape of
warm, bright sun. But the swell was
still exceedingly heavy. It was shortly
after two bells g o'clock when the
lookout man reported vessel away on
the leo bow, apparently hull down. AS
she was gradually hove up by tho ap-
proach OF the Parthia, those who had
sailors eyes in their heads perceived
that she was vessel in distress, and
that if any human beings wore aboard
OF her their plight would be miserable
She was water-loggcd, and 30 low in the
water that she buried her bulwarks with
every roll. She had all three masts
standing, but her yards we've boxed
about anyhow, her running rigging in
blghts, with ends of it trailing over
board. Her canvas was rudely f1rlcd,
but aho had fragment Of foretop- mast
staysail hoisted, rs we'll as storm
staysail, and she looked to be hove to-
Her aspect, had she been encountered
as derelict, was mournful enough to
have set sailor musing for an hour ;
but whom it was discovered that there
were living people on her she took an
extraordinary and tragical Significance
No colors were hoisted to express her
condition; but then no colors were
neodful Her story wanted no better
telling thar was found in the suggestion
OF tho small crowd OF human heads on
hor deck watching the Parthia in the
dull and steady lifting of the dark vol
umes of water against her sides, in the
gushing of clear cascades from her
scuppcr-holes as she leaned wea,ily
over to tho fold of the tall swell that
threatened to overwhelm her. and in
tho sluggish waving Of hcr naked spars
under tho sky. Twenty-Five people
could be counted aboard of her. All
these had to be saved, but it was very
well understood by every man belonging
to the Parthia that they could only be