Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-08-11

was wrecked, anu am on'y JuSt arrlFtu III
London"
"Cuthbert Shawl do not remember the
name in the list Of passengers" said Mr..
Hunter II will refer" and he was about
| to summon clerk
"You will not find my name in your list
I was rescued by the Elizabeth in the Eng
lish channel last July, day or two after she
sailed from the Thames. was on board an
English brig of war called the Cleopatra
She engaged French frigate and was sunk
by her. Some of us got clear of the sinking
hull by means of the boats, and on the fol-
lowing day the Elizabeth came across the
boat was in and took me on board.
Permit mo to continue my story and re-
late the object of my visit Ny tims is very
short in London.
"All had gone prosperousty with the Eliza
beth until We were drawing near the latitude
of the Gulf Of Guinea, when one Friday
evening furious gale set in from the west.
1t obliged us to run before it, and for a
whole day we were driven helplessy, but Oh
Saturday night the captain, not daring to
run to the westward any longer hove the
ship to, in doing which she was STRUCK by q
sea that swept away the galley, stove in the
bulwarks and carried some Of the men over
board. At the same time we lost one of our
| masts
Gentlemen, you will probably have re-
ceived full account of this disaster from
the mate It is enough if tell you that, on
the Monday morning, finding the ship leak
ing beyond our power to keep her afloat, the
men took to the boats; but was in feeble
health, and, in the selfish rush, was beaten
off ipconci1>la onH for nnartar
of an hour I lay; when, coming to, found
there was another man left on board-one of
the Indian princes attendants. ] sprang up
and hallooed after the boats, which were
sailing rapidly away-the gale had broken
on the previous afternoon, and the sea was
comparatively smooth, If I take no account
Of the heavy swells, and then, perceiving
that the ship was rapidly sinking, and the
occupants of the boats either did not or
would not heed me, prepared myself for
death-which, God knows, at that time had
no terrors for me- for / had endured more
than many hearts could have stood without
breaking under"
Observing the pause, Mr. Hunter pro-
duced bottle Of wine from q drawer and
filed glass for the young fellow With
kindly eyes and much sympathy be encour-
aged him to proceed
aGentlemen, while I stood awaiting the
moment Of death, which conceived newt
able, the Indian, appearing to observe ME
for the first time, rushed up to me and, with,
many wild gesticulations and unintelligible
words, dragged me to the stern Of the vessel,
where, to my joy, saw a small boat sus-
pended She hung by ropes at the head and
stern, and motioned to the Indian to
slacken the left hand rope while l released
the other, by which means we got the hoat
down upon the water without caps:zn!
her.
"No sooner was she adoat, than the Indian
sprang over the taffrail and swung himsef
into her; and dreading that he might leave
me to my fate, followed him hastily, and
cast the boat adrift from the ship, which
tu enty minutes after we had quilted her,
SINK.
"From this point my story is mere COM
monplace narrative Of suffering, with one
strange feature in it. Our boat was without
sails. The other boats, having the advantage
over US in size and sail, soon vanished upon
the waterline"
He glanced at a timepiece, drank his wine,
and continued, speaking quickly:
"There was small quantity Of fresh water
in beaker in the boats bows, but no food
Of any kind. In the night, which was very
calm, with bright stars, 1 fell asleep; and
when I awoke, my mouth being parched,
went to the beaker, but found it empty. /
in the night while slept, and, in my rage
and agony, could have murdered him; but
the wretch fell on his knees and so piteously
,oI % L., hot
my fury was sobered by the fear and despair
in his face, and in my misery sat down and
wept Observing my anguish, the Indian
crawled over to me on his knees and kissed
my feet, and then, pulling out package
from his breast, placed it in my hand and
withdrew to the bows of the boat. Scarcely
knowing what did, thrust the package
into my pocket, and instantly forgot it in
the sufferings Of thirst which tormented
me. However, some relief 1 obtained by
sousing my shirt in the sea and wearing it
against my skin; and likewise I chewed
piece of leather from the sole Of my boot
which kept my mouth moist.
"Four days passed, in sufferings I need not
describe, and on the fifth day the Indian
fell crazy, and, leaning over the side of the
boat in manner that nearly overset her, he
drank the salt water greedily, as a sheep
would, with his mouth upon it, which
brought on black vomit, and toward the
morning he died Not until the evening Of
the sixth day was / rescued by a small
schooner from Pernambuco to Portsmouth,
blown by the. gale that had wrecked the
Elizabeth many miles out of her course, who,
on sighting my boat, bore down and picked
me up That was on the 18th of September,
as was told-for had lost all reckoning of
time-and four days ago / arrived at Ports
mouth. So this brings me to an end, gentle
men; and now will state my motive in
calling upon you"
He put his hand in his pocket, and held it
there while he spoke.
"You, of course remember that an Indian
prince sailed as passenger in the ElizabethF
"Certainly."
"He was reported on board the ship to be
possessed Of very valuable jewels"
"We will give you the appraisement in fig
ures-e17O Co.,"
~ have explained to you that my fellow
sufferer in the boat was one of the princes
attendants The parcel he place. in my
hands contained precious stones, which
ieweler in Portsmouth valued at e63. .00o."
was sinking" said Mr.. Hunter, quickly.
"No doubt and by so doing saved them
Here they are, In the wrapper in which they
were handed to me-"
Saying which, he placed the package on
the table. Mr. Hunter took it up and
opened it, and his partner drew close to him;
and when the gems lay exposed, his eyes glis-
tened in the light Of them.
Splendid stones some Of them were, truly;
diamonds chiefly, with the lustrous red of
rubes intermiXed, and here and there the
mild simmer of pearl 1t was hard to tell
whether the gems had been extracted from
settings or gathered loose as they were; but
an ignorant eye might know their precious
less
"Well. Mr.. Shaw" said Mr.. Hunter, plac-
ing :he open paper carefully on the table,
with gentle setting Of it toward CuthberS,
"these stones are unquestionably your prop
erty, and we'll may you hold them, in COM
pensaton for the sufferings you have under.
gone"
"Well, sir, it comes to this: If they were
not on that table they would be at the bot
tom of the sea-"
Quite TO-" from both partners.
Now, gentlemen, you cannot tell me that
the prince is alive"
"That is beyond our power, certainly"
"Will you put yourselves in his place and
l., ceive the proposals should make to HING
with pleasure; but. holding him dead, We
will consider your proposal in reference to
his heirsg said Mr.. Hunter.
"That is as you please. Sixty-three thou
sand pounds is a jewelers. appraisement of
those stones. He would have found ME the