The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-08-26
DIED AS BRAVE MIN DIE.
The Story Of the Loss Of the Six
South Portland Men.
GEORGE UPTON's ACCOUNT OF HIS
AWFUL EXPERIENCE.

Floated Together Few Minutes-Then
All But Upton Disappeared-His
Brothers Last words-How the Poor
Fellow Lived Through Thirty Hours of
Misery.
New York, August 25.-George H. Up
ton, the sole survivor of the Portland,
Me-, fishing schooner Mary Lizzie has
described his awful experience in the
storm to reporter of the New York
Herald. After telling of the departure
of the vessel from Portland on a sword
fishing trip, the Herald says:
By Sunday morning, August 90, they
had thirty. six sword fish stored away on
the ice in the schooners hold. 1t came
on to blow from the northwest Sunday
morning and the little schooner was hove
to in the lee of Nantucket under her
foresail. ALI other sails were furled and
she rode comfortably with her head up
in the wind.
The crew spent Sunday below reading
and singing and talking about home. 1t
was still too stormy to think of sword
fishing on Monday morning. Captain
Woodbury. called all hands on deck at
daylight and had two reefs put in the
foresail
The gale had increased in fury and the
Mary and Lizzie was running off fast to
the leeward, stern first, and pitching and
rolling on heavy seas. The men knew
they were in a revolving storm, or
cyclone, and that sharp lookout must
be kept to be ready for emergency.
Their apphehensions were justified.
A frightful crash, like a cannon shot
body at half past eight O'Clock. The
double reefed foresail had parted at the
leech, or outer edge, and the wind ripped
it from gaf toboom in an instant.
Within ten seconds the gale whipped
off the futtering canvas and sent it
disappeared The little vessels head fell
off the wind. Away she rolled in the
trough of the sea, big waves coming
aboard every minute and threatening to
swamp her. BEND on the storm trysaill"
shouted Captain Wood bury, who stood at
the wheel. Three fishermen ran down
the cabin companionway, disappeared in
triangular bit of canvas. All hands tried
to bend the tiny sail onto the foremost,
but in vain. The gale was SO fierce that
they could not make the cloth fast. 1t
blew away in spite of all their efforts.
Abandoning the trysail, the men tried
bo rig drag, or sea anchor, to hold the
smack's head up in the wind, SO she
would not wallow in the trough of the
sea in danger of laundering. Sixteen
fathoms of chain cable-of heavy iron
links-were made fast to sixty fathoms
Of manila anchor cable and passed over
the bow.
"But it never held us a moment" said
George Upton to me. She ran ian away as
leeward like mad. The drag streamed
out behind us, almost running on top of
the water"
The smack was broadside on to the sea.
Great, dark blue mountains of water,
with narrow, grayish white crests,
hung over her and seemed every moment
to be on the point of ingulfng the tiny
craft. Every time she plunged down into
the hollows it seemed as if she would
not possibly arise on the next wave.
The seven fishermen, clad in sou'-
westers, heavy yellow oilskin suits and
great hip boots of rubber, hung on to
the wheel and the windward side of the
three dories that stood nested, one
within the other, on deck between the
two masts.
They had done all that seamen could
do. Now nothing was left but hope and
trust in Gods mercy.
AS the schooner rose on wave ire
mendous green surge struck her on the
port bow and heeled her over on her
house upset by Landslide. So deeply
did She plunge that the green water came
nm as far as the top of her cabin.
But she proved herself gallant little
ship. with her frightened crew clinging
to the port rail and instinctively hurting
all their weight to windward she
;rc Iyri 10
right herself. The men gasped their re-
lief.
The vessel had come half way to her
normal nosition when another gigantic
surge struck her. This blow fell amid
ships and once more sent the craft upon
her beam ends. Her masts were sub
merged this time.
and swordfish rolled to leeward helping
to pin the schooner down.
Again she tried to rise, but could not.
The weight held her. The crew had
climbed up to windward and were hold
ing on to the port rail and the port rig
ging.
At the first knock down the uppermost
dory was shaken out of it's place The
wind picked it up, whirled 1T above the
gaff Of the foremost and blew It far OIL
to leeward. 1t bounded along like run
away kite, then capsized nlleo ana
sank.
Within second the other two dories
were pitched overheard by the schoon-
ers Violent fall. They soon filled to thelr
gunwales edge and were. submerged,
their wooden material keeping them at
the surface of the water
Green cataracts were tumbllng ana
foaming down the fore hatch and cabin
companionway. 4,
said George Upton. "She went very
fast. / don't know whether it was one
minute of five minutes after she was
Knocked over that she sank, stern first.
"None of us had time to speak. just
before the schooner disappeared | saw
AIpheus Doughty and Johnny Hughes
hanging on to the main rigging. That
was the last of them. They never came
up.
the foremost and managed to jump from
the topmast head just before she slid
from under me.
Loaded down with my oilskins and
heavy rubber boots, could hardly swim i'm
in that sea. | found myself alongside
the chin cable box Ga bottomless wooden
boxl and hung on to that awhile mn
ly;ol.a1 r,1 bIer bOOtS Then