The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1889-03-16
BURIED ALIVE.
Strange Story Related by a Mari.
ner to q Reporter.


W8BhCu AOOHEu N B0Ahs
'.H you want a story" said friend
to San Francisco Alta reporter.
''come with me and will introduce
you to a man who will relate to you a
very strange one"
The reporter accompanied his friend
to the latter's Office, on California
street, where he met the person al
luded to. In appearance this man. the
hero of one of the most incredible adj
ventures ever heard of, was a corpse
He was OF medium height, slightly
built, features of remarkable strength,
but with hollow cheeks, sunken eyes
and with not the slightest color in his
face to let one know that the warm
lifeblood was coursing in his veins.
What added yet more to his cadaver-
GUS appearance was hair and mustache
as white as the driven snow; alto
gether an extraordinary man, who
would be looked at and pointed at
wherever he went. But this peculiar
0PRO0k 4uCO W % uOb udtQEdl W bulo
man, else could he never have lived to
an age of probably forty-five. 1t was a
premature aging, caused by intensity
of agony, of suffering of the most in
fernal torture.
The reporter was introduced and the
man shook hands warmly-yet hardly
that either, for his hands were cold
and clammy. After little preliminary
talk, he said: "You are anxious to hear
my story. / was about to tell my friend
here the narrative of these sufferings
which made me what you perceive l
am. He asked my permission to bring
you here, and as you are lover Of
strange things will gladly include
you in my little audience. have not
always been such q wretched person as
you see me now. This age which
weighs me down almost to the grave
was the result of concentration of in
finite suffering into the short period of
week. II l shudder when tell you
Of my sufferings, bear with me. 1t is
not often that men are snatched from
the jaws Of death to tell how near they
have been to it.
IL am an Englishman and come of
an old and wealthy family of Essex. l
had liberal education in youth, but
never could see why should lend my
years and brains to teaching a congre-
cation of country idiots the truths Of
the Gospel; and so, turning my back
on the surplice, insisted on going to
sea. l went. What with my influence
and my skill as navigator and sea-
man-for which. indeed, had nat
ural aptitude-I soon rose to position
of trust. became second mate of a
fine ship. From that to mate was a
short step. and a few years saw me
chief officer of one of the finest vessels
sailing out of London. It was in my
twenty-sixth year that my ship, the
Osprey, owned by Fowler Bros, was
chartered to come to this port for
wheat. We arrived here safely, loaded
wheat. and soon We were outside the
Golden Gate heading for home. Every
thing went smoothly and nothing oc-
CURED to forewarn me of the terrible
adventure the future had in store for
me.
I'VE were to the southwark OF Val
paraiso when fell i'll. 1t was a kind
of fnkntness that would suddenly and
without warning come upon me SO that
often fell on the deck and lay there
until some one could come to my as
sistance. This continued without my
getting very much worse until we got
down OF the Magellan Straits, in the
latitude Of Cape Pillar, or Whereabouts.
One day. gloomy, forbidding day,
such as the mariner often meets with
down there, l had the afternoon watch
and was experimenting one of my
men who was fixing a ratlin in the
weather-mizzen topmast rigging. The
fellow was very clumsy. to say the
leastpf It. got very annoyed watch
ing ~ AwhNardness, more annoyed
Il fn0t Han was warranted, / think.
nox [ 1ooh back. But / was growing
lxnofe and more irritable every day,
uhlc6 Ms probably owing TO my faint
ne spells. suddenly / became so
pxe!1ed that ! jumped ia4o ~ pizsen