The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1889-03-21

''At last night fell, and added the
terrors of the blackness of darkness to
the pangs of hunger. | could never
tell the horrors of that first night. 1t
uas a wonder | was not stark, staring
mad when day broke. The second day
passed like the first. Nothing to eat.
Something to moisten nay lips, but no
sail in sight. The third day broke
with an angry sky and an angrier sea,
and saw that before the day closed a
Cape Horn gale would be raging with
all it's attendant sleet and cold. /
trembled then, for, even though was
almost dead and quite without hope, |
wanted to live. By noon the sea had
risen tremendously. and it was with
great difficulty that managed to keep
on my raft. By nightfall the gale was
raging fiercely, and was expecting
every moment to be engulfed in one OF
the terrible abysses into which my raft
slipped constantly. This was the most
awful night l ever spent-worse even,
than when l lay, to all appearances
dead, on the cabin table of the Osprey.
The flying spoondrift cut me to the
bone, the great waves rolled their
crested phosphorescent heads high
above me, who, sunk in a black abyss,
heard the gale shrieking overhead. /
felt soon that it could not last much
longer. Numbed and weak as was, l
clung to my refuge withthe energy of
desperation, and waited bitterly for
death.
FINALLY an immense wave, higher
than all that had gone before, raised
its wild head to the skies and rolled
down on me. My time had come. /
was swept like a child from my raft,
and carried on the crest of the mon
Ster, as | supposed, to death. But
once again the hand of the Almighty
was stretched out to save me. l was
dashed with inconceivable violence
against something solid as a rock.
Ropes were floating all around me. l
grabbed several, and then swooned.
II awoke and recognized the hos
iptal of the Osprey. Then l thought
my burial and subsequent adventures
were all wandering fancy, and that
I had never left the hospital. But
was soon undeceived. A kind face
bent over me and saw | once more the
features of my good captain. He
would not permit me to speak all the
day. but on the next was allowed to
relate my story, which / did in a weak
and quavering voice, can assure you.
Then the captain told me that after
burying me, as they thought, they had
kept on their course for two days,
when they encountered heavy head
gale which drove them back on their
course again. They shipped a terrible
sea which carried away boats and
houses forward, but it was the last ex-
ertion of the gale, for after that 1t
died away When the waist was
sufficiently clear of water to enable
the men to walk there they had dis
covered my body entangled in ropes
lying in the lee scupper- At first they
thought that my corpse had been
washed aboard again, as has been
several times done, but On lifting me
. up they saw unmistakable signs ot
!, life, and with great awe and wonder car
ried me into the cabin. As to my coma
tose sleep, the captain said he had nev-
er seen anything more like death. He
! has doubted if the most skillful doc
tors could have discovered any life in
me. He was confident my neck had
, been broken.
in week or so could get around,
and one day, looking in a glass, dis
covered to my astonishment that my
: hair was quite white. 1t was two
years before I got over my terrible ex-
perience off Cape Horn sufficiently to
go to sea again, but it has left me
what you sea man of sixty
at forty-fve. Ny case was thought
q very extraordinary one by med
ical men, and the medical papers
described my attack of coma, as
they called it, very minutely, only
quite differently from my experience. >