Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1889-02-08

''lt was soon made known to me-
The Captain entered my room. could
hear indistinctly, as if it were afar off,
hip footsteps en- the deck. Then the
STEWARD also came in. l heard them
consulting together, and both came to
the conclusion that was dead; that my
nd ck was broken by the fall.
Tell Sails to come in and take his
niasure. We must bury him tomorrow
while the fine weather lasts, | heard the
Clptain say, and presently the sailmaker
came in and measured me for the last
hammock l should ever sleep in.
cdlld not feel him, but knew by his
mPtions what he was doing. l will not
dkcribe how they laid me out on the
cabin table and left me there, while
si9ls, close by, made my shroud. Stitch,
stitch, stitch, went his needle, seeming
tolenter into my brain every time instead
o1the thick canvas. can distinctly
rehember that while l lay there the
STEWARD tried to close my eyes, but,
thank God, they flew up every time and
lef the poor consolation of seeing the
pltparations for my doom.
t'At last all was finished The canvas
smead on the deck and l was laid in it,
Then the sailmaker began to stitch me
uH He had stitched up all but my face,
wien l heard him say he had lost his
knife. A rigid search was made every
where, but it could not be found, so
S4ls returned to work, and all that time
| Fas thinking in my dull way what
fcpls they were for not looking into my
shloud for the lost knife. As | after
w1rd learned it vas next day ut noon
thit | was carried on deck and laid on a
pink, preparatory to being shot over
bdard. The men one by one took
lcbk at my face, and then it was covered
w forever. The burial service was read
b, the Captain, there was little delay,
adl then the plank was tilted, and l
SHIT into the bitter cold water off the
Dlgo Ramirez. 1t must have been
thl shock that brought me to my
scGks, for, as / sank down,
di&ged lower by the shot at my
fed I felt my feeling and action return.
Athc same moment my right hand, re-
leted from its dread inertia, grasped
Nkt instantly knew to be knife Me
elhnically forced the blade and ripped
III Scanvas silroud 50 that the shot fell
ant began to rise to the surface. In a
fey seconds, l suppose, although it
schned years, l opened my eyes-for it
is acurious fact that while | lay in
stale of coma they remained open, yet
when my feelings returned with the
shock closed them at once-and saw
once more the light of day, which l had
never expected to see again. l was an
excellent swimmer, and had
soon regained my breath and
cast from me the canvas
which impcded my movements. Then
l looked around over the waters, and
saw that my miraculous escape had been
all for nothing. The ship, looking like
agreat swan, getting smaller and smaller
even as l looked. There arose from my
lips frenzied curse against the God that
had abandoned me thus, but almost i'm
mediately afterward, as if to rebuke me
for my wickedness, noticed piece of
wreckage floating toward me. Hope
once more filled my breast, and I swan
toward the piece of deckhouse, as it
proved to be, and clambering on top
threw myself on my face and wept for
very wretchedness.
Alone on the wide ocean, a piece of
wood the only thing between me and
death, dazed and weak from my last
terrible experience, what else could I do
but weeps Soon began to feel an in
tense hunger. BY the lowest calculation
! must have been comatose for three
days, so for that time 1 had had no
nourishment. The thick mist that sud
denly came down satisfied my thirst, but
there was nothing to eat, nothing to
eat. nearly went crazy as the day
wore on.
"At last night fell and added the ter
rors of the blackness of darkness to the
pangs of hunger. l could never tell the
horrors of that first night. 1t was
wonder l was not stark, staring mad
when day broke. The second day
passed like the first. Nothing to eat,
something to moisten my lips, but no
sail in sight. The third day broke with
an angry sky and angrier sea, and saw
that before the day closed Cape Horn
gale would be raging with its attendant
sleet and cold. l trembled then, for,
even though | was almost dead and quite
without hope, l wanted to live. By noon
the sea had risen tremendously, and it
was with great difficulty that managed
to keep on my raft. Ry nightfaIl
the gale was. raging fercely, and
! was expecting every moment to
be engulfed in one of the terrible abys-
ses into which my raft slipped con-
stantly. This was the most awful night
| ever spent-worse even than when
lay to all appearances dead on the cabin
table of the Osprey. The flying spoon
eIrift cut me to the bone. The crest
waves rolled their crested asn,h,saresce,..,t.
beads high above me, who, sunk in a
Hack abyss, heard the gale shrieking