The Penn's Grove record., 1889-04-20

reef was miraculous. The skilful man
agement OF l. euteDant X. NJ. u. brown,
was all that saved the lives OF eVelS
man on board. Admiral hlmoer'y,
Captain Farquhar and L~leul'n",V
Brown stood upon the bridge tie WNoie
day and directed the movements oil the
ship. AS soon as the steam gave OUT
the mIzzen stormsall was set with the
greatest difficulty. Oil was also
poured overheard but 1t had no ehecI
In sitting the waves, The trenton
was a euvred In this way all thr
time and succeeded in keeping clear OF
the reef until The middle OF the AFTER
noon, when the force Of the wind ana
waves bore her down almost upon u,
She came brcadside OF toward the
reef. and 1t seemed as If the great
vessel with her 450 nen was lost. SIZE
drifted away, but later on cOllided WIN
the Olga. The latter was then beached
without losing a man.
DRIFTING TO DESTRUCTION.
The Trenton dri!ted toward tile
shoal. So,
IN half an hour the Trenton had
drifted on to within a few yards oil the
Vandalia's bow, and the men who were
in the rigging of the latter vessel tIenn-
bled with fear as they saw the Trenton
approach. Feelings bard to describe
can't over the hundreds who watched
the vessels from the shore, Presently
the last faint ray OF daylight faled
away and night came down upon the
awful scene The storm was still rag
ing as furiously as at any time during
the day. The poor creatures WG0 had
been clingisg for lour5 to the
rigging of the Vandalla were
bruised and bleeding but they
held on with the desperation OF
men who hang by a thread between life
and death. The ropes had cut the flesh
on their arms and legs and their eyes
were blinded by the salt spray which
swept over them. Weak and exhausted
as they we're, they would be unable 10
stand the terrible strain much longer.
They looked down upon the angry
water below them and knew that they
had no strength left to battle with the
waves. Their final hour seemed to be
upon them as the great black hull of
the Trenton could be seen through the
darkness almost ready to crash into the
stranded Vandalia and grind her to
atoms.
DEATH AND SUFFERING.
During the remainder OF the after
there followed a succession OF
awful sceres of death ard suffering.
The storm had not abated in the least.
The wind continued to Low with ter
rible force. Waves Tat seemed like
mountains of water rolled In from the
ocean and broke upoiI the reef and over
the Inflated Vandaiia. Sheets OF
water which fell from the clouds and
sand which was betten up from the
shore, struck ag inst the houses like
hail, The Vandalia continued to set
and the few men who had not
already taken to the rigging stood upon
The poop deck, as the vessel was almost
entirely under water amidships.
Men were now being swept from the
lecks and rigging half a dozen at a
lime, and a few, who felt themselves
growing too weak to hold on much
'onger, jumped into the water, de-
,ermined to make one last effort to save
themselves. Nearly every man who
umped or who was washed into the
succeeded In reaching the side of
he Nipsic, and a number of them
upon the deck with the aid of
. rope.
COLLISION WITH THE yANDALIA.
The collision of the Trenton and
Vandalia, which every n thought
would crush the latter vessel to pieces,
,Ioved to be the salvation of the men
the rigging. Notwithstanding the
tremendous force of the waves the
dragged back slowly and when
Ier stem finally struck the side of the
Yandalla there was no shock and she
radually swung around broadside to
he sunken ship. AS soon as the Yes
els touches the men in the mizZen
crawled out on the yards and
umped to the deck Of the Trenton.
The Trenton was rapidly filling with
but her draft was so great that
he was not very low in the water.
The men remained on board until the
GLOWING day, when all were taken of.