Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-04-02

to her fingers. Sunday, as daylight
came, she fancied she heard u little
\ church bell ring. She prayed and soon
felt calmer. Having tasted nothing
since Saturday, she made her first meal
on board, which was confined to half a
biscuit and a small quantity of milk.
The experience of Sunday was much
like that of the previous afternoon.
The storm continued unabated in
fury. In the course of the day another
heavy lurch brought down the COM
panion ladder. She had not sufficient
strength to replace it, and was thus
practically imprisoned. By standing
on a chest fastened under the ladder
she could look out, and every day cast
her eyes over the sea in search of land
or passing vessels. Sunday closed
dark and stormy and the prospect of
another night of terror was so over
powering as to induce that calmness
which accompanies despair. Monday
morning she again drew upon her
scanty store of biscuit and milk. Snow
and hail had given place to rain: Find
ing a piece of rope she fastened it to
that which hung from the roof and
made a convenient loop in which she
could rest one elbow at a time. This
helped her remain seated and her bis
tered hands got better.
The Captains watch hanging on a
nail in the cabin had ceased to go at
1890 Monday. Whenthe lonely woman
fancied the day had advanced to
about that hour she woundit up. This
she did daily until her release, when,
as she somewhat triumphantly said,
the watch was found to be not so far
wrong. The presence of the watch,
too, was a source of quiet comfort.
Searching around the cabin during the
moments when the lurching ceased,
she found a stout sailors jacket, which
she put on above her shawl. Thus a
sufficientdegrce of heat was maintained
in her body to prevent any serious
shivering, which in the night might
have been very dangerous.
Monday night, like the two which
had preceded it, closed dark and cheer
less. Tuesday morning brought no
improvement in the weather. The
same scanty meal was again partakcn.
Toward the afternoon the weather mod
Grated. and it was possible to sit with
out holding the rope. The cold in her
extremitics was the chief aus of the
old woman's suffering. Wednesday the
sun was shining brightly, and continued
so all day. There was in this a glim-
mer of comfort, and the poor, lonely
creature sat down to her last meal on
board with the last half of her biscuit
and drinking from a bottle of milk.
She then climbed upon the box and
looked out. 1t was midday, and the
bow was directed toward the sun.
Looking behind, to her momentary
delight she saw land which she knew
by the sun to lay northward, and that
the course of the vessel was for the
time southerly. She described the land
as a range of low hills with much high
cr snow-covered hills in the distance.
The course of the vessel soon left them
far behind. By Thursday morning the
craft had lost every rag of sail and was
drifting stern foremost. More cheer
less hours passed. Early Friday norm
ing the wind sprung up. The sea was
violent, and hunger and horror again
! oppressed the old woman. Her thirst
increased and she eagerly licked drops
from the cabin windows. Through
Saturday the storm continued, but after
midnight, then one hundred and sixty
eight hours having passed, she felt
the first Indication that either
help OR destruction was at hand. The
vessel began to strike violently on
some submerged rocks, and with the
rise and fall Of the sea she found a bed
now on one inclination and then on IL
other. The timbers began to break and
strain, and as the vessel struck rock
after rock the noises produced by the
humping, the shifting Of the furniture,
and oscillation of the mast which now
began to give way were to the prison.
er most demonstrating.
When Sunday morning broke, weak
and exhausted as she was from starva-
ton and exposure, and notwithstand-
ing that the vessel was still rolling
among the rocks. Elizabeth Mouat con.
trived to raise herself once more Upon
the box and to look out. Here at last
was land. The vessel was still beating
along stern foremost. At about eight
o'clock the Columbinc ran upon a
shingly beach, leaned over to one side,
and remained fast, the mast in the same
minute going over into the sea with a
loud crash. AS the vessel leaned tow
ard shore the water in the hold made
its way into the cabin and soon rose to
a foot.
The place where the Columbinc came
to land after its cratic voyage across
the North Sea was the little island of
LepSoe, on the coast of NORWAY, twelve
miles north of the fishing town of
Aalesund. This island is four miles
long and two broad. consisting mainly
of n huge rock one thousand six
hundred feet high with, at several
places, narrow seaboard powders.
Where the Columbinc stranded there is
only a very short stretch of shingly
beach, and had the vessel struck a few
fathoms either to the east or west of
the identical spot on which it now lies
it would only have been dashed to
pieces against the precipitous rocks
and become an irrevocable wreck, and
Elizabeth Mouat would have been
killed.
The solitary passenger was now
eagerly looking out from the hatchway,
which stood breast high to her from
her footing on the box beneath. She
was able to see yOunp lads who had for