Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1891-05-07

| in the most favorable weather, only q
poor sailor, experienced terrible torture
and claimed her mothers attention all
| the time. What with the state OF the
weather and the cries and means which
rose from the emigrants in the storage,
| the ''Dunrobin Castle" was any thing
but the pleasantest place on the Allan
| tic.
For days together the raging storm
| continued, and it was not until the slow
old boat had been ten days at sea that
| the tempest subsidized. When it did
there was q worse danger in store for
them. They were on the Newfound-
land banks in fog. so thick that the
officers Oh the bridge were entirely I'M
able to see the ships nose as she
| plunged through the heavy swell left
by the storm. The for-whistle's con-
tinuous roar only added to the general
confusion which reigned on board, and
when the responding whistle of pass
| ing steamer was heard it only increased
| the dread and apprehension of the pas
sengers. After about thirty-six hours
of this commotion the people quieted
down and many seemed to have become
as much accustomed to it as old sea-
| dogs with the experience of lifetime.
But at daybreak one morning dull.
| heavy thud was felt through the vessel,
and second later shrieks and cries
rent the air, which would have made
the heart of any listener other than an
| old sea captain stand still. Then fol-
| lowed few moments OF suspense which
was quickly changed to horror when the
engineers ran up Oh deck shouting:
''The ship is filling. To the boats''
Then followed the rush of hurrying,
scurrying humanity from the Storage,
terror plainly craven on every face,
while over and above the noise and
| confusion rang out the resonant tones
of the Captains voice shouting orders to
| the boatswain. The force of habit ap-
| peared even on that scene of danger as
the sailors shouted: "Y'heave Ho,"
while they lowered the life-boats from
| their davit5. Louder than all these
| sounds and far above the general ex-
| element reigning on the ''Dunrobin
! Castle" could be heard the shriel1ing
| whistles of the steamer which had
| struck her, and which was rounding to,
in order to give all possible assistance
| in saving the lives of those on board the
| fast sinking boat.
| 1t was not long before the unknown
| steamer was almost alongside, and then
| commenced the work of transferring
| the passengers-not an easy matter in
| a raging sea. The patience of the Off
| GERS was tried to the utmost. Strong,
| rude men would try to push women and
| children aside in their wild efforts to be
| first to enter the life-boats, only to be
| driven back by the ships officers at the
| noses of their revolvers Occasionally one
| more daring than the rest would thrust
/ a woman aside and try to pass her, but
| with blow from the butt end Of his re-
| volver, the captain would knock him
senseless, with the promise of similar
| treatme to the next who should dare
| to make the attempt.
All this time the ship was rapidly
| filling and it became apparent beyond
| peradventure that before many moro
minutes the 'Dunrobin Castle' would
| sink forever into the depths of the
| ocean. 1t required several trips of the
life boats to transfer all the passengers,
but this difficult task was finally accom-
plished. The last load was being taken
and mono but the officers were supposed
to be on board, when suddenly the two
detectives in charge of Velasquez came
rushing up the companion ladder excit-
| eddy exclaiming: 'We can not reach the
prisoner! What shall we do?"
THAT should have been thought of
sooner" said the Captain. Follow me!'
he shouted. 1--WE will rescue him if it
is possible"
LET him CO." said one of the detec-
tives. He'll be hung anyhow" But
the Captain knew that although the
prisoner was accused, he was not yet
found guilty and his brave heart would
not permit him to leave even such a cur
as Velasguez to horrible death with
out an effort to rescue him.
Accompanied by one of the officers
the big-hearted commander hurried
down the steps on to the cabin deck,
from whence he attempted to descend
to the lower deck on which Valasquez
was confined. But brave as the old
Captain was, there was an obstacle in
the way which even he was powerless
to overcome. The water was up too
high and the rescuers could 60 no
further. Already the imprisoned man
must be driven back to his bunk near
the top of the room in which he was
confined; the wretched prisoner could
not pass out now alive, and certainly
none could reach him. Doubtless he
was alive-just alive-his life's span
now to be measured by moments. Now
he could see how relentlessly the mills of
retribution grind--so surely-so surely
so surely-aye, and so quickly, so much
more quickly sometimes than even
those who manipulate the machinery of
the mills can foresee Almost Velasquez
had paid to the uttermost the penalty
of his crime committed long years be-
fore in the sunny Californian valley.
The ship might go down at any mo-
ment now, and unless his would-be res
cuers at once retraced their steps they
might go down with it, so with regrets
the Captain led the way to the deck.
Sorrowfully he took his place in the
life-boat, and, as the sailors pulled
away, he looked longingly at the old
ship that had carried him through so
many thousands of miles of fair and
stormy weather. Before they reached
the waiting steamer the "Dunrobin
Castle" settled on her beam ends and
sank in old ocean with a mighty rush,
taking with her, to a higher tribunal
than that of man, Leon Valasquez.
Perhaps it was poor satisfaction to
the widow of Mario Delaro to know that
her husbands murderer, the destroyer
of her happiness, was never convicted
of his crime-but when Leon Velasquez,