Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-10-19
sAnrALE OF TnE SEA.
The Wreck OF the Thomas j. Lam
easter-Heartrendi Account OF
the Suffering and Death of the Un-
fOrtunates on Board.


It was announced in these columns that the
schooner Thomas J. Lancaster, which sailed
from Boston on the 21st instant for Savan-
nah, with thousand tons OF ice on board,
consigned to Messrs. Haywood, Gage & Co.,
had been wrecked off the Carolina coast.
She was one of the finest, as well as swift
est, schooners owned in Philadelphia, and
being almost newly built, was rated Al by
the underwriters. Captain George l.. Hun
ter was young but experienced Captain,
forty-two years of age, a good manager,
well educated. and devoted to his young
wife and family, which, owing to the hard
ships Of his life, he had rarely permitted to
accompany him on his long voyages. On
his last trip however, the cabin of the Ian
caster was fitted up like an ocean yacht es-
pecially for their reception, and Mrs. Hun
ter and her three children-the youngest a
baby girl of eighteen months; the second,
George, six years, and the eldest,
Ednar, eight years, accompanied him.
From the Philadelphia Press we obtain
the following graphic account Of the suffer
ing and sad fate of those aboard the ILL
fated vessel:
The surviving members of the crew
state that the Lancaster had a very fsvora-
BILE though slow. passage for a number Of
days and experienced no rough weather.
On Wednesday evening, October 5th, the
vessel sighted Cape Hatterss, and the sun
went down with indications in the clouds Of
a coming storm.
DROWNED AT NIGHT.
Captain Hunter remained on watch until
| midnight, when he was relieved by the
| second watch, and the vessel was left in
| charge Of the first officer, NJ. Carlton, who
was thoroughly familiar with the coast and
| it's terrible reefs. Captain Hunter went TO
| his cabin, which was a large apartment,
occupying the whole width Of the vessel.
| His wffe's stateroom and the children's
| room opened from it. About three hours
| sfterward-at 800 o'clock in the morning
| the Captain and his wife were awakened by
| the shock of the vessels striking full on a
reef, and in a second the lights went out and
| all was dark. The raging OF the sea as 1t broke
over the vessel told the Captain that the
| looked-for storm had come. The vessel
rolled heavily, and with great difficulty he
worked his way to the deck. There was
| not light on shore, and with every tnroll-
| ing sea the great ship was lifted and hurled
| again on the hard beach. The head swung
| round to the west, leaving the broadside of
the vessel exposed to the full force of the
waves. The forecastle was filed with
water and deserted by the crew. In the
| Captains cabin Mrs. Hunter CROPPED about
| in the dark for clothing for herself and the
children. who were too frightened to speak
| or cry out.
| The scene was described yestt rday
| brokenly, but IN a manner so graphic that it
is painful tn the listener, by Mrs. Hunter,
who has suffered tearlesslY and almost in
silence since she awoke from sleep in the
darkness and terror of the storm.
GAS soon as 1 could" she says In one part
of her narrative, as related by Press re-
porter, "I came on deck, for the water In
the cabin was waist deep, and l was afraid
the children would be drowned. l heard
| Captain Hunter say to the mate: Carlton,
you've lost my wife and children Then ]
felt that we should all be lost. was put
in the windlass room, and when that filed
was dashed to the bow OF the vessel. l held
the baby in my arms"
THREE HOURS OF DARKNESS.
One of the crew continues the story as
| follows: awe had been taking in sail when
the vessel struck. The life boat had been
klaunched over the port rail, and the second
mate and three men got into 1t to prevent
its being dashed to pieces against the vessel.
| The boat was almost Immediately swamped,
and a new three and one-half inch rope
holding it to the ship parted. The second
mate and one seaman held to the rope and
were hauled in, the former being hurled
against the vessel with sufficient force
to break his leg. The two sea
men were lost. The vessel began
to break up, and all hands took refuge
| in the rigging. After that no effort was
made to launch boat. At O'Clock in the
morning the sea was sweeping over the en-
| tire length of the vessel, ard or Of the
waves, striking Mrs. Hunter, carr away
the baby and the other little girl (meaning
Ednar). The Captain saw her and jumped
| after her from the forecsstle. l never eX-
pected to see him again, but he was not lost.
| He came back after half an hour, but with
out the child. She must have been carried
out of his reach. You have no idea of the
force of the current on that coast. The next
day, when the life saving meu came, they
| fired q cannon-shot and rope across the
deck of the vessel. The ball fell into the
/ sea twenty feet beyond the ship, and carried
the rope away with 1t on the current before
any one of the men could make it fast. II
we had made fast to that rope all on board
would have been saved. The Captain was
hurt by the sea, and could hardly move. He
| had Mrs. Hunter carried up in the rigging
ard dashed there above the light boxes. The
little girl (Georgie) was tied on top of the
bowsprit. The matches had been torn off by
the sea and the cargo Of ice floated out and
was knocked about by the waves.
THE CAPTAIN AND HIS CHILD.
"The Captain was badly injured, and
| crsWled out on the bowsprit to take care of
his child. He lay down close to the little
| girl and chung to the canvas. This was early
| in the forenoon Of the next day after we
/ Il
| covered the wreck about a. m, and two
hours later the life guardsmen from
Station No. IS came to US. With three
| horses and eight men they hauled the life
car four miles down the beach from the sta
| ton. The mortar was loaded and fired, but
the rope and six pound shot were carried
away by the current. Twice the gun was
reloaded, but the vessel lying head on, made
| It difficult to throw a line across the deck.
After working two hours they succeeded in
getting the whip-line only two-thirds of the
way, owing TO the swiftness of the current.
| The vessel was lying about three hundred
yards from the beach. The land at that
point is only about half mile wide and
barren. On the other side there is an inlet,
separating the island from the main land.
The sea washed over the island from
ocean to inlet, catching up particles of sand
| and sending them whirling over the low
huts like waterfall. The life guardsmen
were IN constant danger of being swept
into the sea. All through the day the crew
chung, nearly frozen, to the rigging Of the
| vessel while the hulk was going to pieces.
| Captain Hunter sent his colored steward
| Herden aloft to remain with Mrs. Hunter.
Two Of the Captains ribs had been broken
in the effort to save his daughter Edna, and
he had hardly strength enough to cling to
the bowsprit where George was tied. In
the afternoon the crew from Station Ia
| arrived, and the surf boat was pulled down
| to the beach to have 1t ready as soon as the
| sea moderated. One seaman jumped into
the water, and second, taking hope at the
| others success, tried to follow him and was
| drowned.
HANGING BY THE TOES.
awe watched the life guardsmen on shore
all the afternoon, but when it became dark
again we could see nothing. The sea fell 8
little, but the vessel was now so low in the
water that every breaker swept over her.
Herden was talking to Mrs. Hunter almost
all night, cheering her spirits, and when she
became numb from cold and hunger he
rubbed and chafed her limbs. The last
saw of the Captain was just at nightfall
He was lying PROSTATE on the bowsprit,
with his arms locked underneath the rope
and over the little girl. Once or twice be
spoke to the crew and tried to make his
voice heard by Mrs. Hunter, who was tied tC
the mast nearly twenty feet above him
After dark he fell from the bowsprit, proba
bly, from sheer exhaustion, and was carried
- Al