Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-04-25


the bar and Just outside. the ''station
boat" as the pilot boat which waits to
receive pilots from outward bound YES
sells is called. -- >.
The tugboat had left, Sail had been
made on the brig, and she began to
gather way. under heavy northerly
breeze.
The weather at this time, about A p.
M, looked very unpropitious and lower
ing, and the brig hadlshove to for the
yawl from the station boat to take the
pilot off when, as the main topsail was
fiat back against the mast, the forward
yards braced the other way, squall
from north-northeast struck the vessel
and nearly threw her on her beam ends.
There was no time to be lost. She was
rapidly gathering sternway, and was in
imminent danger
The pilot forgot his station boat in the
immediate peril, shouted to the man at
the wheel to shift his helm so as to bring
the brig around on her keel, and then
gave the orders to swing the mainyard,
lower the topsail yards down on the
caps, haul out the reef tackles, to haul
up the mainsail and foresail, run down
the jib and clew down the head of the
spanker so asito get the brig under easy
working sail.
She careened over until her lee SOUP
pers were under water, and the wind
blew SO hard that the topsails would not
run down, nor the jib obey the force
unon the dOwnhaul
In a few minutes the whole face of ma
ture had changed. A binding snow
storm obscured the Jersey shore outside
the Hook as completely as fog, and YES
sells to windward were only dimly out
lined through the biting flakes.
Where had the pilot boat gone?
Nobody on board the brig had stopped
to ask, for night was setting down rap
idly on the waters and the storm was
raging with all its might, the wind veer-
ing and varying every half hour between
north and east-northeast, so that the
brig, which had not got into "ship-
shape" with its spare spars, water casks
and chain cable loose on deck, adding to
the difficulties of the situation and the
momentarily increasing dangers, was al
most unmanageable.
The crew, though good seamen, no
doubt, with the exception of the three
men from the Sailors Home, did not
know each other, and, naturally, did not
work we'll together, and the officers had
no knowledge of the capacities of their
men. so that they could not order them
about with surety.
Lay aloft and double reef the foretop-
sail" shouted the Scotch captain, acting
as first officer for the pilot who had now
taken the wheel, fearful lest the brig
should go on the shore under her lee,
over which the rollers were laundering
and leaping scarcely a cables length
away.
As this order was given another squall
| struck the brig, and she heeled over as
if she would certainly capsize. But the
pilot swept her to windward, shivered
| her foreyard and brought her up shaking
and trembling like a scared bird in the
trough of the sea, while all hands, cook,
captain, boys and steward, tried to clew
down the topsail yards, haul out the
reef tackles, and spill the wind out of
the sails by hauling taut the buntlines.
"Up, now, men," shouted the captain,
land reef the maintopsail You can
manage that easiest. Conserving the
ioretopsail while it is aback, he shouted
to the second mate, 'and haul the head
of the spanller out to keep her steady"
Efforts, with more or less success,
| L., t, Oh oil yrfl9 Ilt,t
the foretopsail split as soon as the sheet
was started, and the jib, which could
not be pulled down the stay, was in rib
| bons.
Still the foretopmast staysail, the
spanker and the maintopsail held on,
while the brig plunged and labored and
| snorted in the sea like a terrified horse.
The men mounted to the topsail yard.
The first man outside the lift to the
weather reef earring was Antonio.
"LufT up, and shake her! Light ont tc
windward" he shouted to the deck and
to the men inside him on the yard. Even
as he spoke the brig "broached to" the
heavy sail tapped, and, as it filled for
ward again with the gale, it tore Antonio
from the yard as he held on to the leach
and hurled him far ahead into the sea
He disappeared forever.
His requiem was the faint alarm
''Man overheard" unheard on deck, anC
the thunderous explosion of the topsai
itself, which was blown clean out of the
bolt ropes by another squall which struck
the now seemingly doomed vessel.
"Come down from aloft! Come down.
shrieked the captain and pilot to the un
fortunate men on the topsail yard, ,whicl
was being whipped and lashed by thu
strips of the torn canvas of the bursteC
sail.
The poor fellows tried to do so. Thos,
from the weather side succeeded. Onl!
one of those on the lee yardarm reached
the deck in safety. Two had been Gu
and slashed by the strips of wet, frozer
canvas and literally beaten off the yarC
into the dark, seething waters careerin!
to the Jersey beach few hundred yard
away.
These two were Elliott and Reed!
Before 10 o'clock that night the wine
went down. Next morning the bril-
cast anchor in the Horseshoe.
But the three sailors who two night
before had prayed with, parted ant