Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-12-09
TOLD EY THE CAPTAINS WIFE.
The Thrilling Story Of the Wreck of the
Lizzie Troup OF the Coast of Japan.


The Thrilling Story Of the Wreck of thu
Lizzie Troup OF the Coast of Japan.
san FrdRcisco CAroaicls.
The steamship City OF Rio de Janeiro
which arrived between darkness anC
dawn on Sunday morning, numbered
among her passengers lady whose ex
perieuces Of the past two months involve
. tale OF dire shipwreck and sad be
reavement. Mrs. Z. G.. Fownes IS ;
tall. rather slightly built woman, whose
pale face still bears only too plainly th'
marks OF the terrible SutferingS she ha'
had to endure. and yet tells tale of NJ
common courage and Of rare fortitude
She was called upon at the residence o.
her sister, Mrs b. X. Keith 1876 Twen'
ty-frSt street, last evening, and the fol
lowing is the substance Of her sad story
The ship Lizzie Troup, hailing from
St. John, New Brunswick, sailed OF
September Is from NagaSaki with balla>
bound for Puget Sound: For the first
twenty-fOur hours all went well, but OF
the night of the 10th, when she wa:
about 100 miles, it began TO blow hur
ricane which quickly changed TO thu
revolving winds of the typhoon. There
had been time, however, 10 shorter
sail and only the lower top sail was ther
carried away. This wind storm lasted
thirty-SiX hours, and in il the lrgofu
and many other vessels were lost, while
the Lizzie TrOup was relieved.
On Saturday, September Fl, until
noon the winds had abated cOnSidera
Div, and all sail was set TO keep the YES
sci well of the japanese shores. Sud
denly, without moments notice, sec
ond typhoon came upon the vessel. The
wind blew first from the northeast, then
veered rapidly round to east, southeast,
and south, tlicking
every inch of canvas from the maSts,
smashing the SparS and hurting them
away in splinterS, breaking the main
mast and foremost, and even tearing
the copper Sheathing from the veSSeFs
sides.
All possible means of guidance gone,
the storm tossed waters speedily hur-
ried the doomed craft 10 the cOral-bound
coast of the island of Okin, in the Loo
choo group, which she had for so many
hours fought To free herself from. The
first blow on the reef carried away the
bows. a second knocked the bottom clean
out. carrying away the keel entirely
and letting all the ballast fall out, while
the remainder Of the hull was tossed
like a broken eggshell high on the reef,
not hundred yards from land.
Capt. FOwneS, the husband O! the lady
who told the story, did all that man
could. and acted Is brave man should
He stood by his vessel, encouraged his
crew, and then. when they had been
told To save themselves aS best they
might. he looked TO his wife and two
year-Old son.
1t won't last long he said; "om
time has come. Let Us meet the end
couragcously."
He took the child in his arms ard
steadied himself and wife against the
deck house. Hardly had he done SC
when a huge wave came crashing in on
top of them. smashed in the decks, and
carried all who chung TO the plankS into
the vessels bottomleSS hold. Mrs.
Fownes' own words best describe the
scene:
I'VE had all been at the stern of the
vessel. and when the decks were broken
in | felt myself carried forward and was
thrust up by the force of the waters
through an opening in the fore part OF
the ship. There | was held fast, a wire
cable round my ankle and my body jam
med in between the broken beams.
From this place | could see my husband
had clambered on TO a portion OF the
deckhouse which remained, but the
child. nv boy, was gone, Hardly know
ing what | was doing l managed
TO free my foot, and by tearing my
clothes of from the waist down was
able to liberate my body. In the mean
time my husband signed TO me to try to
crawl over the rocks 10 the shore. One
of the sailors had succeeded in landing
and, bringing natives with him, man
aged to drag several ashore and rope
was passed to me, and they laid me on
the beach.
Capt. FowncS himself was rescued,
but only to die. There was no doctor
at hand when he was landed, and in
two hours he Succumbed. He was very
badly injured internally, and his ribs
were broken i'm. An aged carpenter
named George Kobe, native OF Ham
burg. Germany, was also brought
ashore. but died five days afterward
from exhaustion. OF those that tried
to save themselves the second mate and
eight sailors were carried off into the
surf. and were never seen again.
One fearfully mangled body was all
the sea gave up. The people saved
numbered ten, including the first
mate. The entire number of persons
on board was twenty-five,
Nine men and the baby boy were
drowned. the Captain aud carpenter
died after being rescued, and nine men
and Mrs FowneS survived. The names
of those drowned were George Robin
son, second mate, Of Wilmington, Del,
aged 80 years: j. Patton, Il seaman, na-
tiveof England, LACED 20 yearS;M. MotSon
a sailor. hailing from Finland; c. Smith
of Halifax, y. 5; c. Tidman, Russians
Simeon Halallah and Pedro BereS. both
of Manila; Lawrence Powers, OF Liver
pool. England, and two Japanese.
The natives of the little island had
never before had white people among
them, though they are well acquainted
with the customs Of Americans and
their laws are similar. An inquest was
held by the natives and the bodies were
respectfully buried, and stone monu
ment. properly inscribed, shows where
CAPTAIN FOwneS rests. He never rallied
after being brought ashore, and his
wife never knew how the child was tori
from his arms.
The rest of her story is very simple
No steamers ever calling in at thu
closed port she was taken in a junk tC
Dukin, thence to KagOShima, Kobe, anC
finally TO Yokohama, where she remain
ed for seventeen days. At each stopping
place the Japanese held an official in
quiry into the cause of the wreck, anC
furnished Mrs. FrowneS with the re
ports of the inquiry in the JapaneS'
language.
The lady told her story with muci
fortitude, and mentioned the fact tina
she has young daughter left her, WHIT
is living in New Brunswick.
MARTINS FERRY.