The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-03-13
a time l gave myself up for lost. Blu,

er the hull sank or not. There ws
now a space Of three or four feet b
nine or ten in length free of water
though the water swashed back an
forth in it every time the hulk rolled o
the waves.
Thus, in utter darkness, | stoo
without Il single chance of escSpe tina
l could think of; and what were IN
thoughts l must let the leader imagine
If he can. At nineteen, with 10 niue
OF life before one, it is terrible for
young person to feel himself cntombet
alive, and bound to certain death, TIL
rest OF the crew, | reflected, had eithe
been drowned or picked up by tn
steamer. Better a thousand times beef
drowned at once, | reflected, than pen
up there alive-in a floating coffin
After a long time l began to motto,
something like light in my narrow
prison. 1t increased, coming up
through chinks in the choked-up gang.
way, a dim, wavering, uncertain light.
Morning had dawned, and the sun, per.
haps, was shining ON the ocean. A
little of this wave-retlected light strug-
gled up into my watcry cell: my eyes,
dlstended in the darkness, were able
dlmly to recognize objects about me;
and out of the chests, boards and other
floating matter, l was able to build a
kind of platform above the water, on
which | drew up my body. After a
time, too. | began to be hungry and
thirsty. There was no food in the
cabin. At times the hulk tloatrd in the
midst of schools Of cod. hake and per-
haps other fish. could hear them in
the sea, all around and beneath me,
for sounds in the water were borne in
to M with curious diStinctncss. |
knew that hshing-ycssci, might be
cruising near by, and after every few
minutes | would shout as loud Is |
could. My voice had such a strange,
mutllrd sound that it frightened me to
hear it.
might came on again. as knew by
he fading out Of the wayy, shalowy
ight; the wind rose, too, and soon the
lUlk rolled 50 much that the water in
he cabin stopped over me at every
urch. The dreary terror of such a
0ng, dark night, l will not attempt to
describe. was in constant apprrhcn-
ion lest the schooner should roll oyer
md sink. The wind fell toward morn
NJ. and there was fog again, as | con-
for the light was fainter than
the previous day for a good many
Then it grew brighter. |
Iearl abel and horns, at a distance,
which | knew proceeded from fishing
~'eSS"lS, signalling to their boats. Re
oratrdly | shouted at the top of my
but was unable to attract attcn-
ion.
''Ihat day three or four seals came
'hoUt the hulk. ana often climbed on
t: | could hear them granting and
blowing in the wateH. rs they tishcd
Ibont the schooner; and during the
.ttrrnOon the hulk drifted amidst a
chool of herring. | could hear the
Of the herring against the plank
NJ outside, and hundreds Of them
anne III at the gangway beneath, fill
NJ the water in the cabin. | could
&c them dimly, and with a tin basin |
lppod up fifty or sixty, which | put in
box. For by this time ! had become
. n"arI.y famiShed as to eat tile,c raw
sh. But | was eve more thirsty than
ungry. and at times felt tempted to
rink my fill of the salt water, though
knew from the testimony Of sailors
HON | had heard talk, that the effects
T drinking it would be fatal to me.
Omctimcs | thought that it would be
cttGr to drink it and be crazy than to
We longer, in a sane condition, in such
rcadful plight.
''Another night Of comparatively
I'm weather passed, and on this night
considerably, but was aroused
l hour or two before daylight by
ponderous body-which | think
ust have been either a shark or a
hale-sporting about the schooner.
rst it butted its head against the
Xix (foUting it about as a pig mighta I
lmpkin). Several times the creature |
i've vent to a deep, monotonous !
'oan. There may have been a num- l
r of them instead of one, and this S
perhaps their mode of communi- {
ting with each other. | felt some s
ar lest they might roll the hulk over.
.ddcnly II of the creatures dealt the /
ssel a tremendous blow--with its tail, f
obably. For a moment | was near t
stunned by the conclusion, and then I
Iited breathlessly for some time, n
a repetition of the stroke. s
t | heard nothing further from these c
Ugh visitors. The blow was appar- II
thy their parting slap. it
During the day which followed, | II
perienced considerable difficulty in d
and was seized with dread Il
ly sharp pains in my chest. When a
.se had subsidized ] fell asleep, and Il
y have slept all the following night, if
ng, as | now think, in Il .~haif-coma- a
e condition. From this ~Iethargy I st
s aroused by the sound Of voices fir
y near. 1t was light again; and on al
ening for a Aw minutes, I heard q