Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-06-23

the sweet gentle wife that he left behind
him, and IS ne described her il glowing
/ terms his listeners leaned forward with
! their elbows on Their knees, and one old
! pilot took OF his hat and laid it on the floor
as the young man described the lovely face
/ Ike that OF at angel, and spoke OF the
! golden hair and the eyes ike the blue OF
/ heaven
Bus after awhile deep melancholy
took possession Of him, and he hardly spoke
to the rest. And he was often seen to
wander up and down the beach IN the
evening after the days work was done.
He became the subj C. OF conversation,
and the villagers all solemnly agreod-and
especially dlo tae old lawyer conclude
that ne was out OF his element thai that
was no place for him
Still the days dragged by aud the rain
came drearily down sail the Indians in
their canoes padded their way over the
smooth surface OF the river, and still the
river carried Old Time in MS invisible boat
down to the ocean.
One day al Indian came into the store
and informed the people therein that big
| canoe was out on the ocean. They went
/ out, and sure enough on the far horizon,
and leetle to port OF Sand Island. as
a rough old sailor expressed it, was a sail
! The sail moved across the mouth OF the
/ river and many were the conjectDres as to
| whether she would come INTO the river or
| not. At last the question was settled
when the vessel rounded the north end Of
| the sand-spit on the bar. Ia tWo hours the
! vessel, with all sails set, passed within a
/ quarter of mile Of the town, and went on
/ up the river. The vessel was a beautiful
/ clipper packet; ore Of the splendid line Of
packets that sailed between this country
and France sixty years ago one of those
veseels that were fitted up like
palaces that were built of oak and pine
and were fastened with copper bolts. This
was the Silvia de Gras, and she had a
majestic appearance as she moved with
al sails set onward up the Columbia.
! Every spy-glass in the city was levelled
/ at the vessel as she glided onward. lady
on the poop-deck was waving handker-
chief, and spy-glsss showed to the young
! clerk that this was the wife that he had
| left in old England. The day had been q
! bright one, and the sun was sinking at the
mouth OF the river through heaven Of
| golden clouds.
The young husband got into the life-bost
with four companions and rowed up the
river after the vessel. The sun sank,
and the clouds OF gold in the west took a
| crimson hue.
1t was suddenly noticed that the vessel
! had stopped. She had struck upon q hid
| den rock. The vessel remained In the same
position without moving, The boat reached
her, and the young husband seized upon a
rope that was hanging from the bow Of
the vessel in order to keep the boat in 20.
sition The ebb tide was rushing rapidly
around the bow Of the ship forming whirl-
pools in its course.
During the voyage from England the
| young wife had had a constant PRESENT.
ment that she would ind that her husband
was dead, for she had never heard from
him, and this had induced her to 60 in
search Of him and now after a long sea
voyage, which had lasted thirteen months,
she, with ineXpressible JOY, saw his face
! again.
The young man while holding HIS boat
| in position was looking up into her face,
and had Just commenced to speak to her,
when the tide coming around the bow Of
the ship caused the boat to lurch to one
side, and ne was thrown into the river.
He lost his hold upon the rope and was
carried down with the tide. One shrek
from the young girl and she fell insensible
to the deck. The young man rose to the
surface, sank, rose again, and yet third
time, and was then lost to sighj.
The young girl was taken ashore in an
insensible condition. Some men living in
a log-oabin deserted it and gave it up to
her. An old Indian woman who had
worked for some of the officers of the com.
pany, attended her during her sickness,
which lasted two weeks Day after day
the rough inhabitants would come stealth
lily to the old cabin, lay their hats on the
ground and wait silently until the old In
dian woman happened to come to the door,
when she would tell them how the young
girl was. They would 20 away then, shaking
their heads mournfully as they went Dur
ing most of this time she was delirious.
| The long continued anxiety, followed by
the unexpected sight of tie one she loved,
and that followed by his death at the mo-
meut Of her greatest happiness, had been
more than her gentle nature could stand.
! In her delIrium-so the oldest inhabitants
| say-she seemed to think that she was on
an island IN the middle OF the ocean, and
/ that her husband was being torn from her
| arms by sayages who intended to murder
| him.
But death cast his soft mantle of eternal
sleep over the poor weary form at last, for
| one evening. as the sun was sinking down
/ through the sky Of FIRE that hung over the
mouth of the great river, a ray OF sunlight
! coming through the old log.cabin-a raw
which had been resting on the poor weary
face and playing II the hair of gold, grew
! dim, and more dim, until It had gone, and
the night had come, and to her the night
OF death
The pretty eyes. blue as the blue light of
/ heaven, mad lost their look of WEAKNESS,
aud their look Of sorrow forever. There
was 10 more suffering, no more pain for
/ her-she was dead.
The next morning the body OF the young
husband crlfted upon the beach.
Preparations were made for the funeral.
! Two csn0es were placed side by side, and
boards were placed between, forming a
/ platform. On this the community placed
/ green boughs. The carpenters OF the
/ packet ship made two pine oofiins The
remains OF the young people were placed
on these, and they rested side by side
/ above the platforms on the canoes. This
/ was taken IN tow by the hfe-boat, and the
! inhabitants took canoes, and the ships
company their boats, and this little com.
pany rowed slowly and silently around
''Smith' Point" and up Young's river. A
number Of Indians IN their canoes followed
/ grimly and silently in the rear.
Near narrow gorge in this river, be-
meath the shadow of tall fir trees was
found a little green spot, and here a grave
was dug The oldest man in the eommu-
nifty read the burial service, and the unfor-
tunAte young pair were lowered to their
eternal resting place.
The hull of the old Silvia de Gras with.
stood the shock of the wind and the wealth
er for many years. 1t is said that people
sailing by the old ship st midnight in their
boats, have heard the despairing cry OF
the young girl, and on moonlight nights
the sailors have been seen pulling At the
ropes Of the vessel. But these mysterious
visitors are TO be seen no more, for the no,
bic vessel has at length given up the bat.
tie with time. a few years ago the last