Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-03-22

heavens resembled ink from contrast with
the passage, as it seemed, close under them
of these pallid bodies there was less spite in
its wash, less fury in its blow.
Finding that had the use of my voice,
halloaed as loudly as | could, but no human
noto responded. Three or four times 1
shouted, giving some of the people their
names-but In vain. Father of mcrcyl |
thought, hat has como to pass9 Is it posi-
BILE that all my companions have been washed
ov1rboardl
stood for some moments as ono stunned,
and then my manhood-trained to some pur-
pose by the usage of the sea, reasserted itself;
and may be also got some slender comfort
from observing that, dull and heavy as was
the motion of the brig, there was yet tho
buoyancy of vitality in her manner of mount
ing the seas and that after all her case might
not be so desperate as was threatened by the
way in which she had been torn and precipi-
tated past the iceberg.
Feeling rs though the very marrow in my
bones were frozen, | crawled to the cOmpan-
ion and pulling open the door descended.
The lamp in the companion burned family.
There was a clock fixed to a beam over tho
table; my eyes directly sought it, and found
tho time twenty minutes after ten. This sig
nfied that had nine or ten hours of dark
ness before me!
l took down the lamp, trimmed it, and
went to the lazarette hatch of the after end
OF the cabin. Here we kept the stores for
the crew | lifted the hatch and listened,
and coull hear the water in the hold gurgnng
and rushing with every lift of the briggs bows
and I could not question, from the volume of
water which the sound indicated, that the
vessel was steadily taking it in, but not
rapidly. | swallowed half pannkin of the
hollands for the sake of the warmth and life
of the draught, and TO render myself as water
proof as possible took from the captains
cabin u stout cloak and threw it over me, en-
veloping my head, which had cased in
warm fur cap, with the hood of it, and thus
equipped lighted small hand lantern that
was used on dark nights for haaving the log
that is, for showing how the sand runs in
the glass-and carried it on deck.
moved with extreme caution, casting the
lantern light before me, sometimes starting
at a sound that rcsembled groan, then stop
ping to steady myself during some particu-
lar wild lenp of the hull; until, coming
abreast of the main batch, the rays of the
lantern struck upon mans body, which, on
my bringing the flame to his face, proved to
right brow; and as if that had not sufficed
to say him, the fall of the mast had in some
wonderful manner whipped rope several
times round his body, binding his arms and
encircling his throat so tightly that no exc
cutioner could have gone more artistically to
work to pinon and choke man.
Under mass of rigging in the larboard
scuppers lay two bodies, as | could just
family discern. 1t was impossible to put the
lantern close enough to either one to distin-
guish his face, nor had the strength. even if
l had possessed the weapons, TO extricate
them for they lay under whole body of
snrouds, complicated by mass OF otter gear,
against which leaned a portion of the
caboose. l viewed them long enough to
satisfy my mind that they were dead, and
then with heart of lead turned away.
] crossed to the starboard side, where the
deck was comparatively clear, and found the
body Of a seaman named Abraham Wise
near the fore hatch. This man had probably
been stunned and drowned by the sea that
filed the deck after l had loosed the staysail
These wero all of our people that could find
the others, l supposed, had been washed by
the water, or knocked by the falling spars,
overheard.
| returned to the quarter deck, and sat
down in the companion way for the shelter
of it and to think. No language that ! have
command Of could put before you the horror
that possessed me as | sat medtating upon
my situation and recalling the faces of the
dead.
| | will not pretend to remember how
passed the hours till tho dawn came rec
| ollect of frequently stepping below to lift the
hatch Of the lazarette, to judge by the sound
of the quantity of water III the vessel. That
she was filling | knew we'll, yet not leaking
SO rapidly but that had our crew been pre-
! served, we might easily have kept her free,
and made shift to rig up jury masts and haul
US as best we could ont Of these desolate par
allels. There was, however, nothing TO be
| done till tho day broke. | had noticed the
| jolly boat bottom up near the starboard gang
way, and so far as l could make out by
throwing the dull lantern light upon her she
was sound, but ! could not have launched her
| without seeing what | was doing, and even
| had l managed this she stood to be swamped
| and l TO be drowned. And, in sober truth
so horrible was the prospect Of going adrift
in her without preparing for the adventure
! with oars, sail, mast, provisions and water
most Of which by the lamplight only were
not to be como at amid the hideous muddla
| OF wrcckage-that sooner than face it | was
perfectly satisfied to take my chance of the
hulk sinking with me in her before the sur
| rose.
| CTR DT'EI2 IVY