Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-09-25
A SAILORS STORY.

We had touched at st. Helena to leave
a detachment of soldiers and some
stores, and had left that historic spot
several days behind us, when the brig
caught fire and we had to abandon her.
There was no hope of saving her from
the first, and we congratulated ourselves
on having a smooth sea and time to pro-
vision the boats and get the people of.
One hour after noon on the 18th day
of February, 1862, the brig Gull, bound
from Liverpool to the Cape of Good
Hope, and having forty eight souls
aboard, burned to the waters edge and
sank, leaving us $50 miles of the Afri-
can coast. With the other boats shall
have nothing to do, for never ore was
afterwards heard Of. In the boat to
which I was assigned there wei nine
people-four of us belonging to the
crew and the other five passengers. OF
these three were young Eaglishmen, go
ing out to the Cape to try farming, and
the other two were women. They were
aunt and niece, and just why they took
passage on the brig or whether
they were going beyond the CIps, l
can't tell you. Being only plain sail
roman, l knew nothing about the pas
sengers, except as I picked up word
here aud there. The aunt was nearly
fifty years old and the niece not over
twenty. and if there was ever hand
somer girl ahoat In an English ship l
never had the luck to see hor.
There was some confusion, as a matter
OF course, when we took to the boats,
but we got away from the brig in good
shape, with no one lost or hurt and
with water aud provisions enough to do
US for week. We were in charge OF
the boatswain, and but for terrible ac-
cldent know we should have pulled
through without mishap or suffering.
lie was an oldish man, good sailor,
and he had authority over all in the
boat.
When the boats got together it was
found that the Captain had the only
compass. He ordered that we were to
hold up to the east aud to keep together,
and when we headed away for the Atrl-
can coas. the long-boat was leading and
the rest Of us were strung out In line.
Had the weather been fair our mishap
would have been nothing to talk about;
but at midnight that night, while we
were following the long-bost by the
lantern hung aloft, fierce and sudden
souall came out of the east and almost
proved our destruction. 1t was followed
by a gale which soon kicked up tre-
mendous sea, a,and we got over drag and
Law head to it all that night and all next
day until al hour before sundown. Dur
ing all these long hours we had to keep
bailing to prevent being swamped' aud
by DAYLIGHT it was impossible to see a
cables length away for the flying DRIFT
1t was bad enough for the men, but those
two Door women might as well have been
dead. They lay on the bottom OF the
boat, covered up as best we could do it,
and when the gale at last broke hardly
expected to find them alive. They were,
though, and at the hour named food ami
water were served out aud the boatswain
began seeking to cheer everybody up.
Bv night the wind had died fiat away
and the sea was fast going down. The
worst was over, and we could now shake
ourselves and utter congratulations. The
passengers had been terribly sick, and
each Of them had given himself up as
Loaf but now that things had mended
we could almost be said to be a Jovial
crowd. While the boatswain got one OF
the men to singing to increase our cour-
age, he whispered to me that ne was iull
Of anxiety. We had two water kegs, but
thew were leaky and had lost much OF
tbe;r contents. We had sheltered the
sbip's bread as much as we COULD but
rood half Of 1t had been spoiled. You
might figure that we had dropped TO
three days supply, and thai wasn't the
worst Of it. That gale must have drift
ed rs at least hundred miles farther OH
the coast.