New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-09-22
A THRILLING SEA STORY.
S,I,PWRECKED MEN FIVE DAYS ON A FRAIL
RAFT.
NO WATER TO DRINK AND ONLY FEW RAlSINS
TO EAT-RESCUED In THE LAST
EXTREMITY

The steamship G;inOco of tho Quebec Htcam-
shin Company, is motel IT. shipping circles Tor 'h'
number of shipwrccked crews She brings in'o
this port and the tales Of adventure whirh the
rescued mariners she brings have to tel. Bn'
of all the tales of q lvcntHrc and s"MernG she
ever brought in. ronc have cXcrllcd TINT WI. "
che brought yesterday, when she arrived II 'H
tie Reru.udas with the captain ard crew OF ire
lrieanrine Abkc Clifford. The; ttlfoi,l vS'S
aost in hurricane the men lived foc five days on
q raft, with no water and 10 food. except wv"
quarts of raisins The aged captain. Oh the
Grst night o the hurricane, before MS
ship had gone down, saw his wife torn by
Giant wave from the rigging where he had las'e'
her and washed overheard. The pco!c on 'Hr
raft were finally rescued by ship which h''
been abcd in the same hurricane, ana 'heN
were taken to st. George, lermuda
Tho Abbic Clifford was a brlgantine of 428 tons
built in 1867 at Stockton Me. For years shc Has
traded out Of this port. although she haied from
Roston d. w. Storcr. siNty-hve years oid, was
her captain, and lie has always. until the hh'i
disaster, been a most successful ana lor'n'l""
skipper The Clifford left Fernandina on her ihsI
voyage on August s. She was laden win H"h-
her and bound for Port of Spain. Trinidad On
August so, in latitude 80 degrees 20 minutes
longitude ca, hurricane came h"wlnc
before the wind and ran for five hours. Night
came ON and the fury of tho storm increased
A tremendous sea was running and colnpnS
every now and then over the ship in phosph"r-
escent masses of foamnG. Kissing water All
hands were on deck, for it was Il
race for life The captains wife was on hoard,
ard she. too, was on deck, lashcd to the lanyards
Of the main shrCuds.
The brigantne ran through the darkness an"
the storm until o'clock in the morning. when
She broached TO and lay helpless in the trough
Of the sea- 4 great wave swept over her and
Mrs Storer was torn from her lashinas and swept
overheard She was about the captains age and
was accustomed Ia sail with her husband on MS
voyages. The brgantinc lay on her bcam ends.
great seas buryiug her. the ]owling OF the tempest
and the thunder Of the waves making 1Tnnl'
that was dcafeuing. But with his ship help
less in the trough of the sea. his wife torn away
from him and GroW ned before his
eyrs the Stout old skipper still fought
pluckily for his life and The safety ot
his vessel.
The masts were cut away and the dcckload OF
cargo was jcttisoncd This cascd the ship u
little hut she was still hopc">sly ~ the mercy
of the storm. At o'clock the forward buiwirks
were stove in. and part Of the main deck and TIC
after dcck-house We're carried away. Captain
and crew now took to the raging. where they
waited for the dawn. When daylight came IT.
was evident that the vessel would not hold To-
ucther much longer and the wind and weather
noderating somewhat, tho sailors got To t.c occN
and constructed rude raft out OF the pieces OF
lumber which were washing about the decks.
The shin herself had long been filled with water,
but the cargo of lumkr prevented her from sink
ing. The day was Sunday, the last day OF
August. and though the fury of the storm was
snen, tho sea was still running high. and angry
Gusts Of wind blew foam and spray and sha''y
White storm clouds like shroud> ahwart The SKY.
No village church bells ran! for the storm
tos,ed sailors that morning. but in their ears
soanded the thundcr Of waves prowlin1 ana
Kissing at them. while below them the old brig
in her dcatll-agonics gloan"d Ike i've tEihc IN
mortal Lain That afternoon she broke up.
separating into three pieces, and the sailors Sought
safety on the rat which they had prepared
That day, that night and the next day the men
foated about on their trail support, over stormy
sea. They could not sleep, tor all the time their
efforts were required 10 Keep 'dc
raft together They had no water
md no food except box of rhi.ns
Which had floated out on the water from a'hon-
the cabin stores on the breaking up Of III" ship
and had been got on board the raft by the sailors.
The morning of the third day broke clear ana
pleasant and the sea had gone down III thc
course of the night. As day da"ncd each man
was CONSUMED by horrible thirst. II vas thl.
hct inning Of the third day on winch no drop oi
wa,rr had uasscd their lips. The beat down
strong and hot, ana there was no shelter 10! Hi"'ii
They Looked al each other with the symptoms OF
comm: madness and gaUd with lark-l'tir eyes
at The mighty monster OF So; winch hrid mem
in us grasp for hat seemed 10 bc an IncTf'abc
und horrible death, Finally one Of the mcI'. IN
able 10 hear longer the parched feeling winch
nplcb IN
jumped overheard and swan around the raft. To
bis surprise, his tl:rst was III measure Inchched
strong 10 hear. the men would SWIM around INC
raft and come back little rclreshrd ," Day
by day went By and no sail was Sighted no NJ
lief tO their SInrringS came.
Through all this the vcncrablr Captain St"!"I
exhibited elf-coatrol. phNs"ai hard!h"od, and
a determined spir; that WAS w"ndcrful I" S1
Will his lon. gray hca I'd towin. over hi, chest
he sat on tho r,ii raft sill captain. still de-
tcrInined and cor r,!cat. never for moment losing
courage or showing he i'srs r Of E> 3 rHn"s ra s
not stand II u1rh LONGER. Each man ielt th;t'
the end va, near and the Nra had trunphcI
But along toward noon s,l was sighted. II
came nearer and ncaIcr ard tic men inadr franIc
signals with their clothing To attract attention
The vessel Came nearer. and II was seen 'h't
the raft, lowered boat. and t.. L the men aboard
Ihe fescning ship was the b'rkciItinr it"h'rce
&ap'ain hcssc' Of Barhad' ss. from Ncw-Iork f"l
came hurricane that wrecked tie Clifford. ard
was uTahlc I" lay her course 70, any r"rt i"I
injuries received in the storm Of August 30 The
gale had struck her iG0 miles ives, Of H,rmu'la
and had thrown her on her beam ends Slt
was hove down for SwO hours Finally The
cutting away Of her f"rcnast caused her 70 Ieht
The day after the crew Of thr Clifford had been
rescued from the raft l.y the Beatrice the steam
ship Britannia came al0n" and thwed the ycssc
into ST George. Bermuda The name, of thr
officers and who came to this port vcstcr,ia,
on the Orinoco are ID. w S'orcr cant1in. Ira
A lpS
Richardson and Jolu Donors. sailors
FROY MONTANA To FLORILA ~ A STEAMER
H.