Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-02-09
A Romance Of the Rea.

The British steamer West Indian. which
arrived at Baltimore in the early part of
January, brought from Jamaica the ne Is
of one of the most heartrending mar1s'e
disasters which even the present tempes.-
uous winter has caused. About the middle
of December the British barque Fontabelle,
Captain Nixon. sailed from Jamaica for
London, having on board a crew of TWEEN
ty-five men and ten passengers, including
the captains wife and three children, and
two young couples, who had been marr;.s..
only six weeks before. The voyage
opened with promise the wind was fair
and gentle, and everything indicated q
quick and pleasant passage to the Englisl
shores. The West Indian seas, however,
are treacherous, and when one day out the
wind fell and the vessel lay Lecalmed.
rolling laZily upon the long waves. Fcur
days after sailing, when every sail was set
to catch the hstless breeze, hurricane OF
rrodiglous fury fell without warning upon
the barque, and stripped her of masts and
rigging In ten minutes time. The gaze
increased in fury, and the dismasted hulk
was driven violently before 1t, being re-
peatedly swept by huge waves. which mo-
mentarily threatened to sink 1t by the very
weight of the tons of water which they
threw on board. The passengers and
crew, abandoning hope, crouched under
the bulwarks, and through the long night
listened to the bowling of the wind and the
shrieks OF anguish, as, one by one, their
numbers were diminished by the relentless
seas. Vivid flashes of lightning al times
illumined the scene. making its details more
terrible. With every flash the passengers
who crouched in the stern could perceive
one of the young married couples clinging
to the wreck and TO each other, the hus-
band standing over his wife to shield her
from the force of tine waves. One wave
of unusual power struck the pair and tore
from the body of the young wife the night
clothing in which she was wrapped, where
upon the husband, stripping off his own
clothing, fastened it about his wife, and
leaving her bound securely to the side,
plunged down into the hold, at the risk of
his life, and brought up for her more suit
able attire Just as the dawn was break
ing the climax came. A tremendous wave
hurled tie vessel highIn air; it came down
crashing upon reef; another torrent OF
water struck the deck, and the captain
and ten men, with the young bride, were
hurled into the sea- As she was torn from
her husbands arms the latter appeared
stupefied. but the next moment he leaped
after her with II terrible cry, and he, too,
was swept away aud out of sight of the
Mortified survivors. To these the prospect
of instant death was not to be avoided, and
Il oil, To fhair fast apd watched
with despair the slow crumbling of the
vessel beneath the blows of the sea. About
noon the storm abated, and the survivors
began to gather little courage. The
night came, and the other brIde. overcome
by exhaustion, died in the arms Of her
husband. Day dawne1 again, but only to
arouse one of the seamen, who, craZed by
thirst, leaped into the sea before the eyes
OF his hoITlted companions, and sank for-
ever. In the clear water they could see
his body descend, until, thirty feet below,
them, it lodged in a hollow of the rocks
Toward higss. TIA wiad ae.s=. ->--TT---S->
storm RACED sofiercely that, when the morn
ing came, seven more had been swept away,
and only the mate, one seaman and the
captain wife remained alive. Late in the
afternoon of this awful day vessel hove
in sight, perceived the plight of the sIrviv-
ors and sent crew of SIX men 10 rescue
them. But the pitiless sea had not yet
been appeased with victims wave over
turned the boat when il had almost reached
the barque, and the entire crew were
drowned in the surf beneath the very eyes
OF those whom their bravery had vainly
attempted to save. Another boat was sent
off, however, and at great risk brought on
board the men and the woman who mad sat
with death for eight and forty hours.
THIS is but one of the terrible tales which
are every year brought home by those who
go down TO the sea in ships, and which
make the romances of imaginative writers
seem like idle tales. ltiS rai ely that ship
wreck occurs which is attended by more
distressing details, but the seas are full of
terrors, many of which are known only to
those who die in them, and whose fate is
never known. Such narratives as these
give lively stimulus TO the imagination In
thinking of the multitudinous wrecks from
which no survivor has ever come, and
which go to swell the chapters of romance
of the mysterious and threatening deep.