Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1882-11-11
exhausted, and the captain came to
the cabin door and said
TIE SINKING sHTP.


have to save yourselves as best you
can"
i The scene in the cabin for several
hours before this announcement had
been beyond description, and you
/ may imagine how its thrilling colors
were heightened when this dread
/ announcement twas made. Besides
our company, a French Opera com
pany and large number of CONNER
cial passengers there were about 40
lewd women, going from New York
to the fast houses of New Orleans.
They took on terribly from the mo-
ment the storm became violent,
prayed, cried, and berated the crew
/ by turns, but most Of the respectable
ladies seemed perfectly resigned to
their fate and showed a great deal of
courage, and many of them went de-
liberately to their staterooms and
calmly awaited their fate.
miss Kay was one of the number,
and it was with great difficulty that
! got her even to make the effort to
reach the deck. BY great exertions
| carried her up and got her hold
on the life line, as | supposed into a
place of comparative safety, but just
as | turned to look about for the
life-boats, the ship gave lurch, the
baggage-room door burst open, the
trunks tumbled out, throwing us
apart, and she was lost. Shortly af-
ter the ship went down and | was
whirled around in the vortex like a
| top. ! grabbed hold of the hurricane
deck, that had separated from the
ship as it went down and as it raised
little above the water / struck out
| from it and was clear. AS it sank it
just grazed my back, but it did not
have force enough to take me under,
and | had another chance for life.
The waves were rolling housetop
| high and the sea was filled with de-
bris from the wreck, and / was in
danger of being knocked in the head
from the floating trunks and timber
from the wreck that was being toss
ed about by the angry waves, 1t
was just growing daylight as | got
free from the wreck, and grabbed
a large trunk with ropes around it,
and kept that in front Of me as a
guard to ward off the floating bag
gage and other things that rode on
every wave. | was an excellent
swimmer and used to the water,
which aided me very materially. AS
the day broke l saw piece of the
deck floating near me, and | swan
to it and got on it; there were then
several people sitting on it.
1.-THE scene as / crawled up on that
piece Of deck beggars description.
The water for long distance about
was filed with the debris of the
wreck and with dead bodies, many
of them terribly mangled; then, too,
every piece of wreck large enough to
bear up a human being held one or
more struggling men aud sometimes
women, hoping against hope to save
their lives Twice every person on
the piece of deck where | was was
washed off, and the second time all
were drowned except myself. Pres
emily it went to pieces and l was
again thrown into the sea, but caught
piece of lumber and floated with it
for time.
IMAM THE LIFEBOAT."
"Finally | saw lifeboat contain
ing some of the crew, and / swan
for it; as | grabbed its sides one Of
the sailors raised his oar to beat me
off. | grabbed him by the leg aud
he fell lengthwise of the boat and l
crawled in. The crew Of the vessel
had acted like fiends the moment the
captain had announced that the yes
sci must go down. They robbed the
passengers Of money and jewels
wherever they could, and at the Ilast
moment took possession of the life
boats and kept everybody out Of
them that they could intimidate. /
got in by force, but had hardly sue
ceeded before the boat upset and we
were all again thrown into the sea /;
we righted her, however, and the
ocean getting calmer we were able to
keen her unrioht with great exer-