Tombstone epitaph., 1891-01-04
HERO OF A BOWSPRIT.

rife storms that ever visited the North Carolina coast began and lasted for three days, eliminating on the 10th of Cape Fear. It was fearfully destructive to life and property, wrecking many ships with them beneath the waves. One large three masted vessel broke up, and parts of her drifted into Smithville bay, . prize for the wreckers, which not only illustrated the force of the storm, but was . curiosity in the strength of its structure.
 "All her bolts, >" said one who examined pieces of the wreck, "are brass, four, six and even eight feet long; the knees are solid iron, and the outside planking six inches through, and of stout pine"
 There were two Smithville pilot boats the Mary K. Sprunt and the Uriah Tim mons-cruising off the coast at the time the storm commenced, and finding it i'm possible to make harbor they were conl- pelled to stand o6 and try to weather it out. The Mary K. Sprunt had crew of five men, vi1.: Christopher Primer, Robert Walker, Charles Dasher, Jr., Thomas Grissom and Lawrence Gillespie, the cook. They were brave and skillful men, but after @ desperate struggle, in which all that the most skillful seaman ship could accomplish had been exhausted, she went down with all on board.
 On the 18th the body of Tom Grissom was found by the pilot boat H. Wester- mann floating at sea, about nine miles out, and the pilots also found the Mary K Sprunt lying on the bottom, in eleven and half fathoms, her,white sails, torn into ribbons, shining up through the blue depths and undulating with the motion of the restless,sea
 The Uriah> h>rimmons had @ crew of four men--C. c. Morse. Julius Weeks, Joseph Thompson, Jr., and Joseph Arnold-and of these Arnold was the youngest, hardly 20 years of age. Every precaution was taken upon the approach of the storm, and, with only enough canvas to steer by, she faced it. All day and night of the 18th she leaped and rolled and dived like @ cork on the waves, while the storm in creased in fury every hour. Day dimly dawned on the 18th over bowling waste of waters, whose pillows heaved her sky ward, leaving great chasms, down whose sides she rushed headiong as if to certain destruction. A gray mist shrouded sky and sea, and the storm flend shrieked with that unearthly voice which, once heard, is never forgotten. Covering before the blast, licked from stem to stern by the tongue of the hungry sea, grooming and sobbing as she strained up the watery heights or slid down the hissing gulfs, the little ship drove on. Although carrying but thirteen yards of canvas, the jaw of the boom was eating into the foremast like a famished animal With the ad- vancing day the fury of the gale increased. 1t seemed as if the spirit of an angry god walked the waters and lashed the ele- ments in his wrath. A mountainous wave, leading the host of pillows, would rush toward the little vessel, and, top. bling as if to fall upon and crush her, would lower its crest, and, gliding beneath her trembling timbers, lift her almost clear in air and toss her, toy like, to an- other huge pillow, while the multitudi- nous ocean roared with rage.
 The crew of the Timmons, brave and hardy mariners as they were, and accus- toned to storms on the broad water from childhood, stood appalled, at the surpass- ing terrors of this awful scene. Lashed in the cockpit, with wise like grip upon the wheel and drenched to tho skin, sat Julius Weeks, who had been there thir- teen hours. At last, toward afternoon, to the utter dismay of all on board, the jib halyard parted, and, flying down the stay, the jib hung, bag like, below the bowsprit, and instantly the sea, like a ravenous beast, fell upon it and held it down as if devouring 1t. The brave boat struggled hard to lift her bow, thus weighted, from the waves, and with e mighty effort succeeded. Again the sea seized and held the bellying jib, and again the gallant boat, struggled, raised 1t clear, vryaa yayntv thn 1nko now realized that, unless immediately re- leased from this new and frightful dan ger, the Timmons could not hold her head up, but must founder after few more struggles; but, feeling assured that an attempt to reach the jib stay would result 1n certain death, as no man. could ever remain on the bowsprit even if he could reach 1t, they were stricken with despair.
 "We are lost, ," exclaimed one; ''unless wecan cut that jibstay we are certainly gon A man can't live there, but it is our dnly hope"
 Who should do the desperate deed They hurriedly agreed to decide the mat ter by lot, and were about to proceed tC do SO, when Joe Arnold, who was now al the wheel, shouted.
 "Hold on, menl You are all married and have families; l am single man; lei he try it, and if go overload it will bt ell right;" and, surrendering the whee the brave boy drew his sheath knife, and putting it between his teeth started for ward.
 It was impossible to keep his footing and so he crawled cautiously along tht deck tthere is no railing to a pilot boat) holding on as best he could. His com panions watched him with the eagernes. of men whose only hope of life hung or his steadiness of nerve and physica strength. If he reached the bowsprit ir safety, the sea would certainly beat hin on, for every time the little craft plunged the waves seemed to leap up to meet her For the first time since childhood ferven prayers rose to the lips of some of thos' men who had followed the sea" all theil days without thinking of him whose presence they now realized as they hat never realized it before, and tears flowed freety yaifwn dAeip bpauzad facesIb etets,
 Joe reached the foremast, and just ther the Timmons rolled nearly on her bean GndA Hs thssw his arm around the mas