Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-11-07
IN a RCRRICANE.
The Experience Of u Vessel and u
Brave woman's Influence.
baltimore sun

When the schooner Warren Adams, Cap
tain &. 4. COlcOrd, made fast TO Tlvl0rs
wharf Yesterday afternoon gOOd-natured
lauy sat in the after-cabin buslIy engaged at
ornamental needle-work. by her side was
a piano, but other surroundings indicated
that the cabin had been sadly wrecked by
the forces OF nature. In the place OF neat
dining-table in the forward-cabin few
rough boards served for the mess gear, the
staterooms emitted musty smell, andspars
and sails were broken and split. The YES
sci had arrived from Pensacola, Fla,
whence she sailed October It'll with j2j,-
600 feet Of lumber.
The experience l. best told in the log.
book kept by Captain Colcord. From the
day Of sailing until October 10th the wea-
Their began TO grow bad. At | O'Clock a.
VI. the wind was so strong that the main
sail was split and at once furled. The YES
sci then scudded before an east-northeast
hurricane with close-recfed for5sail, and at
3 o'clock that was split also. the hurricane
MI The while increasing in fury. At
O'Clock the vessel preached TO-" shipping
a tremendous sea, filling cabin and forward
house, rrecking everything movable about
deck, stove la2Zaret.e hatch and cabin
companionway, washed deck-housc over
hoard. east watef-ca,ks adrift. ana the lore
semitic hatch washed off The barometer
NJ o'clock registered 29.S. The deck
load Of lumber WAS mostly washed over
board, taking all Of the lee-starboard ly-rail
with Il. Large masses 81 water bGSrded
the vessel, causing her to roll deep and act
Hoggy." The pumps could not be sound
ed on account OF the seas fying across
decks. during which the crew hung on for
their lives, pumping when they codd.
The force of the wind was terrible.
At O'Clock in the afternoon, after get
ting the forward scutte. hatch secured, so
much II the 9fter-deck load was washing
overheard that the vessel tipped by the
head. and, with the water in the hold, made
her nearly leyeliorward with the sea. The
difficulties under which the crew worked,
with the seas washing over them and the
velocity OF the wind, are hard to describe.
The spray and rain fell with such fury
that they stung like prcking needles
when they struck the face and hands.
Every member OF the crew was more
OF less injured by the boarding seas,
but every one had to work for his life,
although some had to be encouraged TO d.
their duty. At the height OF the hurricane
Mrs. COlcord employed herself in throwing
oil down the waSh-roOm pipe, but the effect
OF the wind on the sea blew il INTO q LASH
ing foam, and the OIL had no effect on II.
The brave lady worked IN four feet Of
water in the cabin, and by the heavy lurch.
ing OF the vessel she was thrown violently
about aud painfully injured. BY this
time the whole crew had sought refuge
in the cabin, their own quarters forward
having been Quilted by the seas and all their
effects carried away. BY almost superhu-
man exertions the most OF the water was
balled out OF the cabin and an ol-st0yc
lighted, by which Mrs. Colcord made some
oatmeal Cruel and coffee, the first mouthful
eaten by all hands in twenty hours. The
galley forward had been wrecked, and The
stove wrenched from its fastcnings made
Its use impossible. The day ended rs II
began, with all hands doubtful rs to the
ultimate result.
October 18th came in blowing a worse
hurricane, but At / \. VI. 1t began to mode
rate, and at O'Clock sound" was got
on the pumps and eight feet OF water was
found in the hold. Although still blowing
heavy three pumps were at work at A. VI.
Late the same day the pumping-out was
completed, the vessel then being in latitude
1921 north, longitude $500 west. At the
end OF the thru day all hands were yet IN
the cabin, having spent all the time in wet
clothes and subsistlng on Oatmeal cruel
and coffee.
at was a terrible experience" said Mrs.
COlcord. " Yes,r said Captain COlcOrd,
"but II my wife had not been so cheerful
through 1t all am sure some hearts would
have failed.r