Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-10-15

II the life-preseryers are not at hand,
heave him your chair 1t will float him
safely until he can be rescued. If child
falls overheard any swimmer would run
little risk in picking up his chair and
jumping with it from the rail. 1t would
be a perfect support to him and his bur-
den while waiting for boat to be low
ered.m ro6 y,ea {, ll,pI,5
" You may even ask passengers to
keep cool'whefi a vessel Is laundering at
sea-" replied another commander. S'I
have seen some curious things in my
seafaring life, and have learned that a
vessel given up for lost will sometimes
rally as wonderfully as man given up
to die by his doctors. Ten years ago l
went safely into Chicago on'a vessel
which the Captain gave up for lost 100
miles away, ! have seen cases where a
steamers rtidder has been carried away,
one of her wheels disabled and most of
her lower deck cargo washed out, and
yet just when all hope was abandoned
the gale fell OF change Of wind gave
her shelter. / have been on schooner
with both masts and bowsprit gone,
rudder gone, bulwarks gone, six feet Of
water in the hold and a'!gale blowing
fifty miles an hour, and yet here / am
to-day.v'Noi living soul came ashore
from the Alpena, and yet know exactly
how everything happened. The gale
was brewing when the Alpena left port.
Affair." over oil the other shore twas wall
ing and circling and gathering strength.
The night wore on and thesteamer Kept
her course, but almost as suddenly as
the blow of u hammer that hurricane
struck her. : | was out myself that night
on one of the largest propellers on the
lakes, and we got d hurricane blowing
at the rateo seventy miles an hour and
seas running twenty feet high right to.
gether. We ran straight into it for an
hour, or at least kept head on, but at
the end of tha5time we had to turn and
flee, and men who had sailed the lakes
thirty years were pale for the first time.
4" Reused from sleep by the shrieks Of
the gale and pitched about the heavy
seas which threw spray into the mouths
of the smoke-stacks, the passengers
gathered in the cabin. There were white
faces, ashen lips and wringing of hands,
and now and then woman walled out
as q lurch of the vessel caused the fog.
bell to send its dismal notes out upon
the midnight sea. l''n '.L ID
~" | knew men who were on that Graf
that night who would be brave in the
face of death, They cheered each Other
as the gale increased and at every lul
they raised fresh hopes that the wors
had passed. Long and bitter was thu
struggle, but the Alpena was doomed
The seas must have rolled through hei
upper cabins from end to end. Piece
by piece shewas wrenched apart, anC
when there was no longer any hope mel
and women made ready for the awful
moment. .f-...t
"Do you remember that the wave
cast several dead bodies ashore whicl
were supported by life-preserversp Per
haps every passenger had made read,
in this manner when the boat was over
4 whelmed, but the chill air and colde
waterwere fresh enemies. The strong
est man was chilled to death in tw,
hours. Had it.been midsummer scor
of passengers would have lived unit
picked up or cast on shore. In this cas-
passengers had no chance left. TIL
gale, the sea, the chilly air and waite
were against them, and not soul es
capped. Take the same gale in August
with brave, cool men to cheer and d
rect, and even women and childre
might have been saved. "-DetrOH Ere
Press .t..' A'