The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1893-05-18

fore could ascertain it's meaning found
the ship quivering to it's center. In the
next instant wilderness of foam hurled
us upon our beam ends, and rushing
over us fore and aft swept the entire
decks from stem to stern.
The extreme fury of the blast proved,
in great measure, the salvation of the
ship. Although completely waterlogged,
yet as her masts had gone by the board
she rose after minute heavily from
the sea, and staggering awhile beneath
the immense pressure of the tempest
finally righted.
By what miracle escaped destruction
It is impossible to say. Stunned by the
shock Of the water, I found myself upon
recovery jammed in between the stern
post and rudder. With great difficulty
gained my feet, and looking dizzily
around was as first struck with the idea
of our being among breakers, so terrific,
beyond the widest imagination, was the
whirlpool of mountainous and foaming
ocean within which we were engulfed.
After awhile l heard the voice of an old
Swede who had shipped with us at the
moment Of leaving port. I hallooed to
him with all my strength, and presently
he came reeiing aft. We soon discovered
that we were the sole survivors of the
accident. All on deck, with the excep-
ton of ourselves, had been swept over
board. The captain and mates must
have perished as they slept, for the cab
ms were deluged with water. Without
assistance we could expect to do little
for the security of the ship, and our ex-
ertions were at first paralyzed by the mo-
mentary expectation Of going down.
Our cable had of course parted like
pack thread at the first breath of the
hurricane, OF we should have been instan-
taneously overwhelmed. We scudded
with frightful velocity before the sea,
and the water made clear breaches over
us. The framework of our stern was
shattered excessively, and in almost
every respect we had received consider
able injury, hut to our extreme joy we
found the pumps unchoked, and that we
had made no great shifting of our ballast.
The main fury of the blast had already
blown over, and we apprehended little
danger from the violence of the wind,
but we looked forward to it's total cessa-
tion with dismay, well believing that in
our shattered condition we should in
evitably perish in the tremendous swell
which would ensue. But this very Just
apprehension seemed by no means likely
to be soon verified. For five entire days
and ghts-during which our only sub
sistence was small quantity of. Jag
'geree, procured with great difficulty
from the foretastle-the hulk few at a
rate defy1ng computation before rapidly
succeeding flaws Of wind, which, with
out equaling the first violence Of the
simoom, were still more terrific than any
tempest had before encountered. Our
course for the first four days was. with
trifing variations, southeast and by south,
and we must have run down the coast of
New Holland. On the fifth day the cold
became extreme, although the wind had
hauled round point more to the north
ward. The sun arose with sickly yel-
low luster and clambered few degrees
above the horizon, emitting no decisive
light. There were no clouds apparent,
yet the wind was upon the increase and
blew with fitful and unsteady fury.
About noon, as nearly as we could
guess, our attention was again arrested
by the appearance of the sun. It gave
out no light, properly so called, but
dull and sullen glow without reflection.
as if all its rays were polarized. Just BE-.
fore sinking within the turgid sea its CEN
trail fires suddenly went out, as if hur-
riedly extinguished by some unaccounta-
BILE power. It wasa dim, silverlike rim,
alone. as it rushed down the unfathoma-
BILE ocean.
We waited in vain for the arrival Of
the sixth day. That day to me has not
arrived-to the Swede, never did arrive.
Thenceforward we were enshrouded in
pitchy darkness, so that we could not
have seen an object at 20 PAGES from the
ship. Eternal night continued to envelop
us, ell unrelieved by the phosphoric sea
brilliancy to which we had been accus-
toned in the tropics. We observed, too,
that although the tempest continued to
rage with unabated violence, there was
no longer to be discovered the usual ap-
pearance Of surf or foam which had
hitherto attended us.
All around were horror and thick
gloom, and a black, sweltering desert Of
ebony. Superstitious terror crept by de-
grees into the spirit of the old Swede,
and my own soul was wrapped up in
silent wonder. We neglected all care
of the ship as worse than useless, and
securing ourselves as well as possible to
the stump Of the mizenmast looked out
bitterly into the world Of ocean. We
had no means Of calculating time, nor
could we form any guess of our situa-
tion. We were, however, well aware
of having made farther to the southwark
than any previous navigators and felt
great amazement at not meeting with
the usual impediments of ice.
In the meantime every moment threat
ened to be our last every mountainous
billow hurried to overwhelm us. The
swell surpassed anything had imagined
possible. ard that we were not Instantly