Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-06-04
ONLY AN IDIOT on BOARD.
An Interesting story from the sea.


An Interesting story from the Sc:
Froos ne }t-r .ott Sfq.
81 had been UP the Nio &c ia Plata IN
British brig" said Charles Williamson
s'and as we came back 20 Montevideo I
finish our loading We had to maze Col
siderable repairs above the water line
There were ten or twelve OF us all toi
when we hauled out and were abou
ready to trip anchor Tor nome, and Of al
the hara cases l ever saw put aboard
ship this crew capped the climaA. IN
captain aud myself were the only TIVE
left Of the crew which had come ont iron
Liverpool. Some of the men had died
some skipped out, and We had picked az
negroes, Lascars, Americans, English
men, and SWedes, just As we happened 10
and them, until we had a sprlnkllng OF
everything under the sun. We pad
hauled out into the harb0r to sober up The
crew and finish the repairs, when the
Captain was taken suddenly III. This
was directly after dinner, and be was
srowed of 20 the town to consult doctor.
The proper thing, as il seemed to me, would
have been to send and bring a medical
man aboard, but things took place as
1Old you.
The old man was no sooner clear Of
the brig than the halt-sobered men broke
loose from all restraint. The mate was
seized and secured IN his state room, and
the mutineers, for sucn they had
now become, carried things with
"A high band. They rummaged
the cabin aud the stores, drank
themselves into a frenzy, and. as night
came on, they hoisted out the long boat,
rnlled her with plumber, and all deserted
tbe brig together. had not joined with
them, and, but for my having found safe
hiding place, they would have either done
? for me, or forced me to 90 along IN the
boat. AS soOu as they were well away
We took the dingy, which bad returned
after leaving the Captain on shore, and
| rOwed in TO inform The old man OF what
had happened. AS the cook went with
the mutineers, not "a soul was lett aboard
lot the Clarence. 1T seemed that the
captain was taken much worse after get
ting ashore, and when we found him,
which was only after coupe of hours,
he had high fever and was out OF his
bead. The doctor said be was in for it for
half a month at least and so Mr.. Car
lpenter-that was the name OF the N ate
and myself started back to the brig. We
had not yet reached our boat, when a sud
Gen aud violent storm arose, and it con-
tlnued during the enJlre night with such
fury that II was idle 10 think of leaving the
wharf. During that storm a ship in the
harbOr was dismasted, a schOOuerd dragged
her anchor and crashed into brig, and
thousands OF dollars damage was done to
shipping. We were out at daylight TO
look for the Clarence, but she was no " here
to be seen. The crew OF the dismasted ship
having seen the brig drive OUT TO
sea with the gale, and there could be no
doubt other loss.
In day or two we heard frOm the
mutlneers, or at leastthe long boat was
picked up at sea, bottom side up, With every
chance that not man had escaped. In
side of a week the Captain was dead. and
the mate shipped one way and the other.
made a voyage to Rio Janeiro and back,
and then shipped for run around the
Horn and up the Chill coast. SiXty-five
days after the Clarence drove out to sea
was on the American snip Henry Jord0n,
with the Falkland Islands bearing due
west aud thirty or forty miles away. 1t
was mid-aitern0On, with a fair sailing
breeze, when ! heard a man from alOlt
hail the deck with:
'D1smasIedh dead ahead and about
five miles away sir
"rhere was d general stir among Off
GERS and men, and every one OF US had the
wreck under his eye long enough before
we came up to 1t. She was driving
and a tangle OF wreck STUFF alongside but
the null appeared perfectly sound. when
we had approached her within quarter
of mile the snip lay TO. and a boat was
lowered. II Was my luck 10 be sent
along, and to be allowed on board " it'll the
mate. | bad no sooner passed over the
rail than recognized the bulk as that of
the lost brig Clarence. The bulwarks
were steven 10 places, but not $50 damage
had been done TO the hull. She was dis.
masted, as / have said, hut she hadn't a
quart Of water in her hold, and her cargo
had not been disturbed or damaged. That
was strange enough. considering how far
she had drifted and the storms she had
encountered, but there was something
stranger still. In the cabin we found a
man in hiding-a white man and sailor,
about 40 years OF age. We had to drag
him out by main force, but we could not
get word out OF him. He shrank from
us as if terribly frightened, and we
had to drop him into the boat neck and
heels.
''The weather being pleasant, with a
prospect OF it's holding so, our Captain
decided TO pick up the derelict and take
her to the islands. Her steering gear was
in good order, and inside Of thirty hours
we had her securely anchored in "A shelf.
cred bay in the Falklands, and two of us
were left aboard as shipkeepers. The
stranger we had found aboard
was taken along with the snip,
but on the third day, not having yet
spoken nor made a sign in answer 20 a
question, he flung himself overheard and
was drowned. l am just as certain he
was not aboard of the brig when the mate
and / left her as am that l live. We
had no such man among the crew, nor
could he have come of To the brig after
we left without being seen. 1t is solemn
fact that he must have boarded her in
mid-0cean. H0wy From whatl How long
before We found him? Was it the loneli.
ness of has solitary existence that drove
him mad or idiotic? The land may have
its mysteries, but those OF the sea over
shadow them.D
BRANDY, WHEAT AND HORSES.