The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-02-24
a Romance or tho Hea.


| arrived at Baltimore in the early nart ot
January, brought from Jamaica thu news
OF one OF the most heartrcndng marine
disasters which even the present temncst.
uous winter has caused. About the middle
OF December the British barque Fontabcllc
captain Nixon, sailed from Jamaica for
London, having on board crew of twcn
ty-nVc men and ten passengers, including
inc captains wife and three children, and
t"o young couples, who had been married
only SIX weeks before The yoyapc
opened with promise; the wind was fair
ana gentle, and everything indicated a
4"lcK anu peasant passage to the English
shores. The West Indian seas, however
are trcachcrous, and when one day out the
"ind lcll and the vessel lay Lccalmcd
rolilng lazlly upon the long waves. Four
Gays after sailing. when every sail was set
10 catch the listless breeze, hurricane os
rrodiglous fury fell without warning unon
Inc Darque, and stripped her of masts and
rigging III ten minutes time. The gnlc
increased i'll fury, and the dismastcd hulk
was driven violently before 1t, being rc.
pcatcdly swept by huge waves. which mo-
mentarlly threatened to sink 1t by the very
weight of the tons of water which tbcv
threw on board. The passengers md
crew, abandoning hope, crouchcd under
inc bulwarks, and through the long night
listened to the bowling OF the wind and The
shrleks OF anguish, as, one by one, their
numbers were diminished by the relentless
seas. Vivid flashes of lightning at times
iilumincd the scene, making its details more
terrible. With every flash the passengers
VINO crouched in the stern could Dcrcrivc
one or the young married couples clnpinr
10 tho wreck and to each other, the bus.
Dand standing over his wife to shield her
from the force Of the waves. One wave
oi unusual power struck the pair and tore
from tho body of the young wife the niph
clolhing Ill which she was wrapped, where.
upon the husband, stripping Off his own
clotnlng, fastened it about his wife, and
leaving her bound securely to the side,
plunged down into the hold, at the risk of
ms h1e, and brought up for her more suit
aplc attire just as the dawn was break
ing the climax came. a tremendous wave
hurlcd the vessel high IN air it came down
crashllig upon reef; another torrent of |
water struck the deck, and the captain
ana tcn men, with the young bride, were
,iuflea INTO Inc sea. AS she was torn from
her husbands arms the latter appeared
scuPcncd, but the next moment he lcnpcu
after her with terrible cry, and he, too,
was swept away and out of sight OF the
ho!rllicd survivors. 10 these the prospcc,
VI y, instant death was not to be avoided, and
they ciung 10 tllelr fastcnings and watched
WIN despair the slow crumbIing of the
vessel beneath the blows of the sea. About
noon TIC storm abated, and the survivors
pegan 10 gather little courage. The
night came, and the other bride, overcome
itny{ -
husband. Day dawnei again, but only to
arouse one of the seamen, who. crnzcd Nv
thirst, leapcd into the sea before the ewes
them, it lodged iii d d" Hollow Of tmufoGas.
Toward night the wind again rose, and the
storm ragged 80 ficrccly that, when the morn
ing came, seven more had been swept away,
and only the mate, one seaman and the
wife remained alive. Late in the
afternoon of this awful day Il vessel hove
in sight, perceived the plight Of the surviv-
ors and sent a crew Of six men to rescue
them. But the pitilcss sea had not yet
been appeascd with victims u wave over
turned the boat when it had almost reached
the barquc, and the entire crew were
drowned in the surf beneath the very eyes
OF those whom their bravery had vninly
attempted TO save. Another boat was sent
oil, however, and at great risk brought on
board the men and the woman who had SAT
with death for eight and forty hours.
This is but one of the terrible tales which |
arc every year brought home by those who |
go down to tho sea i'll ships, and which |
make the romanccs OF imaginative writer's
seem like idle tales. ltis rarely that Il ship |
wreck occurs which is attended by more |
distressing details, but the seas arc full of
tcrrors, many of which arc known only to
those who die in them, and whose fate is
never known. Such narratives as these
give lively stimulus TO the imagination III
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.