Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1885-09-25
A TALE Or The SEA.
Narratiss of the Only Survivor or the
Steamer "Speke HALL"
-

tCeylon Obsorver:l
When cams To the surface after being
washed of tie bridge, I and Quarter.
master Usher were clinging to the same
iife-buoy, and l saw the funnel of the
Speke Hail. just going under water. Boats
AMI everything hal been smashed to
pieces and washed away; and, indeed, if
the boats had been available, they could
not have lived in such water. Catching a
spar, abandoned the Nfe-buoy to Usher
1t was dark at the tiIte, and l could not
see him, and saw nothing more of him or
any one else. AT daylight 1 managed to
secure another spar. l lashed the two
spars together with my belt, crosswise, so
that was able to sit on the center. I
could not have held on much longer to the
single spar, because every now and then
e spar would fall above me. and my head
would go under water. When daylight
set in the sea and the wind had eon,
down; 1t came on to rain. ! had sou'-
wester on, lucki y, and / held it up til
caught about cupful of water. | believe
That saved my life; for had swallowed a
good deal of salt water, ami my mouth
was parched.
II saw nothing that day except pieces of
wreck floating about: On the morning of
the second day l saw the smoke of a
steamer long distance off. She passed
on without seeing me. l saw On, or two
others during the day, but they were still
TOO far OF. About the middle of the Sec
ond day shark came rushing along at a
great speed. Itwas not a very large one
about nine feet long. l was sitting on the
cross piece with my feet underneath. The
shark rushed over one piece of wood. and
fancy he got the other arm of the raft in
his teeth, because he stopped suddenly. I
had piece of stick about three feet long
which 1 picked up, thinking it might be
useful for hoisting my cap on as q signal.
poked him wi b this stick and he cleared
Off at once, and never saw any thing more
or him. That night steamer pa >sei quite
close to me. 1 could see all her lights, but,
the night being dark, she did not observe
me. l hailed her, but she was too far of
TO hear me: doz.d off once or twice; but
whenever dozed, fell into the water. I
didn't feel much Inconvenience from the
sun. MY hat saved me- On the morning
OF the third day l saw steamer and a
sail. l took my coat off and and hoisted il
on the stick, and tried to attract her at
tention. She altered her course, and came
straight toward me, and fancied she had
seen me; but presently she altered her
course and steered away from me. had
almost given up hope then.
Later in the sams day another and
much larger shark visited ma, but did not
come within the circle of the raft He
was tremendous fellow, twenty feet
long at least, and gave myself up for
lost when saw him. Nothing more oc.
Cured until the evening. The sun began
to get low, and could not see anythin
all round the horizon, and mads up NV
mind for another night. 1 must have gone
Off into longer doz, than usual, for | fell
OF the raft on my face, and when I got
up again the French steamer Peiho
seemed close on me, as if it had s;runt
out of the water. 1 had nothing to signal
with but my hat. l held it UP as h n as
l could, and one OF the soldiers on boar
saw me. boat was lowered and an ofii-
Ger and four men came over to me, and
took me on board, whore they treated ne
very kindly"