The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1890-02-07
and disasters Of life. to drink sweetness and


life of the same truth. l was once in what
on your Mediterranean you call a Eurocyl-
don, but what on the Atlantic we call a
cyclone, but the same storm. The steamer
Greece, of the National line, swung out into
the river Mersey at Liverpool, bound for
New York We had on board seven
hundred, crew and passengers. We came
together trangers-ltalians, Irishmen, Eng
lishmen, Swedes, Norwegians, Ameri-
cans. Two flags fioated from the
and American ensigns. We
had a new vessel, or one 50 thoroughly re-
modelled that the voyage had around it all
the uncertainties OF a trial trip. The great
steamer felt Its way cautiously out INTO the
sea. The pilot was discharged: and commit
ting ourselves TO the care of Him who hold
eth the winds in His fist, we were fairly
started ON our voyage OIL three thoysand mites
1t was rough nearly all the way-the sea with
strong buffeting disputing our path.
But ono night at II o'clock, after
the lights had been put out, cycione-a
wind lust made to tear ships TO pieces
CAUGHT lis in its clutches. It came down so
suddenly that we had not time to take the
sails or to fasten the matches. You may know
that the bottom Of the Atlantic IS streWh
with the CHASTITY work of cyclones. On
they are cruel winds. Ihey nave not
breath. as though they came up from
Internal furnaces. Their nerrIment IS
the cry of afrighted passengers.
Their play is the laundering Of steam
ers. And. when a ship goes down, they laugh
until both continents hear them. They so
in circles. or, as l describe them with my
hand-rollirg oni rolling onl with finger oil
terror writing on the white sheet oil the
wave this sentence OF doom: Let all that
come within this circle perish! Brigantnes,
go down. Clippers, 90 down: Steamships
go DOWN. Aud the vessel, hearing the Ter
rible voice. crouches in the surf, and as the
waters gurgle through the matches and port
holes, it lowers away, thousands oil
feet down, farther and farther, until at last
it strikes the bottom: and all Is peace for
they have landed Helmsman dead at the
wheel Engineer. dead amidst the extin-
guishsd furnaces Captain, dead in the
gangwayi Passengers, dead IN the cabin!
Buried in the great cemetery OF dead steam
ers, beside tho City OF Boston, the Lexington,
the President, the Cambria-yaiuing Tor the
archangel's trumpet to split up the decks,
and wrench open the cabin doors and unfast-
en- the matches.
thought that had seen storms on the sea
before, but all Of them together might have
come under one wing Of that cyclone. We
were only eight or nine hundred d'';.s from
home. and in high expectation OF soon seeing
our friends. for there was no one on board
as if we were 10 be disappointed The most
Of us expected then and there TO die.
There were none who made light Of the peril,
save two. One was an Englshman- ana ne
was drunk and the other was an Amerl-
Fan. and he was fool OH what
time 1t wasI A night 10 make ones
hair turn white. We came out of the berths,
and stood in the gangway, and looked into the
steeraae, and sat in the cabin. While seated
OIL
minute o11ns. Il was the bursting of the sails.
We held on with both hands to keep our
places. Those who attempted 10 cross
the floor came back bruised and
gashed. Cups and ss4isissss- were dashed
to fragments; pieces Of the table getting
loose, swung across the saloon IL seemed
as if the hurricane took that great
shin of thousands Of tons and stood
it on end, and said. shall sink
it, or let it go this once? And then 1t came
down with such fierce that the pillows tram
pied over it, each mounted Of fury. We
felt that everything depended on the pro
pelling screw. If that stopped for an III
slant we knew the vessel would fall off INTO the
trough Of the sea and sink; and 50 we prayed
that the screw, which three times since leav-
ing Liverpool had already stopped, might
not stop now. OH how anxiously we
listened for the regular thump of the ma
"
TO DEPEND After a while some one
said: 1.-THE screw IS stOppedw No;
its sound had only been oyerpoweTed
by the uproar Of the tempest, and We
breathed easier again when we heard the re-
frular pulsatious of the overtasked machinery
going thump, thump, thump. At 3 o'clock
in themorning the water covered the ship
from PROV TO stern, and the slsy1ghts gave
Yayi The deluge rushed in, and we felt that
one or two more waves like that must swamp
US forever. As the waterrolled back and for
ward in the cabins and dashed against the
wall 1t sTrang half way up to the ceiling.
Rushing through the skylights as il
came in with such terrific roar, there
went up from the cabin a shrek OF horror
which / pray God 1 may never hear again.
I have dreamed the whole scene over again,
but Col has 1nercifully kept mo from hear
ing that one cry Into il seemed TO be COM
pressed the agony or expected snipwreck.
1t seemed 10 say: 4 shall never get home
againl Ny children shall be orphaned, and
my wife shall be widowedi l am lannehing
now into eternity In two minutes l shall
meet my Godr'
There were about five hundrei and fifty
passengers in the steerage and as the water
rushed in and touched the furnaces, and be
gan violently TO hiss, the poor creatures in
the steerage imagined that the boilers were
giving way. Those passengers writlied in tho
water and in the mud. some praying. some
crying, all terrified. They made a rush for
the deck An officer stood on deck and beat
them back with blow after blow 1t was
necessary. They could not have stood an
instant Oh the deck. OH how they
begged TO set out Of the hold Of the
ship One woman, with child in her arms
rushed up and caught hold of one Of the
officers and cried: DO let me outI Will
help y0ui Do let me OUT 1 cannot die
here~ Some got down and prayed to the
Virgin Mary, saying; 80 blessed mother
keep us Have mercy on usri Some stood
with white lips and fixed gaze silent in their
terror. Some wrung their hands and cried
out: 80 Godl what shall l do? What shall
/ do@ The time came when the crew
could no longer stay on the deck
and the cry of the officers was: Below all
hands belOwp Our brave and sympathetic
Captain Andrews-whose praise l shall not
cease 70 speak while l hve-had been swept
by the hurricane from his bridge and had es-
capped very narrowly with his life. The cv-
clone seemed to stand on the deck, waving its
wing, crying: "This ship is minel l have
captured i'll Hal hal 1 will command itl
If God will permit, L viii sink it here and
nowl By a thousand shipwrecks, l swear
the doom OF this yesselF There was a
lull in the storm; but only that it
might gain additional fury. crash went
the lifeboat on one side Crash went the
hfeboat on the other side The great booms
got loose, and, as with the heft Of thunder
bolt, pounded the deck and beat the mast
the jib boom, studding sail boom, and square
sail boom, with their strong arms, beating
time TO the awful march and music of the
hurricane
Meanwhile the ocean became phosphores-
cent. The whole scene looked like fire. The
water dripping from the rigging, there were
ropes Of fire; and there were masts Of fire;
and there was a deck of fire. A ship Of fire
sailing on 4 sea of fire, through a night of
fire. May never see anything like it again !
Everybody prayed. A lad of twelve
years Of age got down and prayed for
his mother. "If I should give up" he
said, Il do not know what would be-
come of mother There were men who,
l think, had not prayed for thirty years.
who then got down on their knees. When a
man who has neglected God all his life
feels that he has come to his last time, Is
makes very busy night. All of our
sins and shortcomings passed through our
minds. My own life seemed utterly I'M
satisfactory. Icould only say: Here Lord,
take me as l am, I cannot mend matters
now. Lord Jesus, Thou didst die for the
chief Of sinners. That's mel 1t seems,
Lord, as if my work is done, and poorly
done, and upon Thy infinite mercy l cast
myself, and in this hour of shipwreck and
darkness commit myself and her whom |
hobby tho hand to Thee, o Lord Jesusi