The Forrest City times., 1891-06-19
But as I felt myself borne away by

| IlLCl JllC CiRtalu NOlCC ott HE. "Come, boy, lay hold of the gunl of | the boat"
 I tried to obey, but either through fear or lack of strength 1 missed it,
 but the clutch of the skipper did not | fail. He seemed-as 1 look back over
 it now--to think more of saving my life than he did his own, and I was dragged, completely exhausted, into | the boat.
 You may think it strange that such 8 little craft could live in sea that l would wreck large, staunch ship, but they will, if properly handled. | Mems wits must work quickly, how ever, in such times as 1 am speaking | of, and our noble second mate was the one to grasp the situation. | AS we were swept away from the dismantled hulk, the courageous off | cer caught a turn with the boats painter around @ floating spar mak l ing 1t fast about amidships of the long | stick, and as the wind bore us along, that action had the tendency to bring our boats head up to the sea, the piece of timber acting as a drag" l There we lay, tossing and pitching | epOOetV liISii otty ISiV.
 As the sun arose, the gale began to l moderate, and 1 can remember how | we looked at each other in the grey light of early morning to see who had survived the terrors of the night. The
 captain, second mate, five seamen,
 and myself were all that were left of
 the crew of the Panther. Thus was
 ushered in our New Yearl It was fortunate that we were in warm attitudes, else our sutferings would have been greatly intensified. For several hours we sat speeches., l and our skipper was the first to break the mournful silence.
 "Thank God some are saved" A fervent s'Amen" trembled on the | lips of the hardy mariners.
 With the weakening of the
 gale the sea began to sub l side, but now 1t was confused l that IS irregular-and 1t became nee essary to ply oars in order to meet l head on, the occasional heavy rol- l lers. By the time the sun had reach ed the zenith, it was comparatively calm, and we commenced to look | about for something to eat and drink | W v ilosA ICNoN ClStl SCilltHlI0t olll Clt | stupor of despair into which we had been thrown, and Nature, asserting herself clamoured loudly for her | rights.
 But, alas; there was not crumb of bread nor a drop of fresh water in the boatl
 "Oh, we'll be picked up by some 1 homeward-bo exclaimed the | stout-hearted second mate when this | appalling discovery was made. And they do say that a man can live l fourteen days without meat and | drink. 1 know passed three once my | self, and when l was rescued by a lit- tie Geordy brig in the chops of the
 English Channel, and got hold of a | pannikin of fresh water, l felt as good
 as though 1 had just turned out from
 a watch below. So don't get down. l hearted, my lads. Let's turn to and
 rig some sail, for it'll only use up our
 strength too quick to keep at the oars all the time."
 You may thank that the officer was taking a good deal upon himself to
 make this suggestion when thecaptain was alive and with us, but in such l GU SlAetiO ttc NC Alitil NClt, ietllA i1 lOSN | sight of, and the man of the strongest
 mind and most courage assumes the
 leadership, which is willingly conceded
 to him by his companions in distress. 1 Fortunately an old tarpaulin-
 which IS 8 square piece of canvas used | to cover over the matches of a vessel
 had been left slowed away under the sternsheets of the boat This was
 dashed to an oar by strips torn from
 itself, and the whole made fast to an-
 other ashen blade, which was secured l upright as a mast, and we soon found
 ourselves slipping along through the water at quite a reasonable rate of speed.
 1 As the day wore away, our hunger
 and thirst increased, but our sufferings
 from the latter were by far the great
 est. When evening approached and
 the atmosphere began to cool, we felt | little more comfortable | ''Take off some of your clothing | boys,' said the second mate, ''wring l the garments out in salt water, and 1 put them on again. The body will
 absorb some of the moisture, and help
 us to pass throughout the heat of to-
 morrow with less suffering" | We followed his advice, and felt con
 siderably refreshed. You see that is
 what might be called drinking water
 through the pores of ones own flesh
 the next day was terriblel Not a
 single sail dotted the surface of the
 ocean within the range of our vision Our mouths became parehed and dry,
 and l can remember how the roots of my tongue were swollen
 until it seemed as if my throat was
 about to close up.
 When darkness came on, we again
 saturated our garments with sea wa
 ter, as 1t would not have done to have
 attempted 1t when the fierce sun was
 burning down upon us, for it would
 have intensified the fever which had
 now seized upon every one of us.
 Another morning broke, and truly
 we were a miserable set of beings.
 "Waterl waterl" moaned one of the
 men.
 "Waterv' gasped another.
 'I must drinkl' murmured the
 captain, his voice so husky that he
 could hardly articulate the words
 "I must drink, thought it is of the
 bitter brine on which we are drifting. "
 Don't, captain" exclaimed the faithful second mate; don't, if you
 want to see your home and loved
 ones. Don't, it will only increase the
 agony"
 ''It cannot be worse than it is now" "
 muttered the skipper, wilful in his | suffering And he tore the ou'-Wester