The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-01-18
SEA MIRACLE.
The Rescue of a Drowning
BOatsWain.
CHASED BY A STEAMSHIP.
The Skipper Couldn't See the Man
Overheard, but Got His Bearings
by His Voice and Star.

through miracle. and everybody who heard
the yarn said the skipner was pretty nearly
right. Surely never was there more gallant
skipper than Captain William lines of the
rakish freighter British Prince. aud never
harder boatswain than Charles l.. Lasia-
dius, says the New York Sun of January
IL. The skipper is from Newcastle on. Tyne
and has followed the sea thirty-three years,
or since he was 16 years old. He has fine
brown beard and the resonant voice that
comes through ii might be heard above the
strongest gale that ever thrummed on the
British Princes rigging. The boatswain
is a young Swede, who has suffered shin
wreck more than once. But the captain
and all the ships company never thought of
him as a foreigner, but as a fellow sailorman
with a big heart
The British Prince, when laden, has less
freeb0ard than the common freighter from
Mediterranean ports, so when she breasts
the wintry seas she sometimes bureS her
forecastle head in the ferment. She had a
rough voyage from Gibraltar and her coal
got so low In the bunkers that Captain
lnnes decided to put into st. Michael, in
the Azores. for fresh supply. There he
found staneher steamships than his that
had lost lifeboats and headgear and had
many inches of water in their holds.
The British Prince made good weather Of
it from the Azores until Friday last, when
she was about 400 miles east of Sandy Hook.
gale came blowing out of the southwest,
combing up seas that, in the picturesque
language OF the skipper, looked like granite
ellis" Darkness was just setting in. The
smother Of foam around the ship frightened
her decks, but beyond. ali was gloom. The
COOK wanted some fresh water, and, like
most cooks, being 4 landsman and some
what timd, be asked the boatswain to get
1t for him. The pump OF the fresh water
tank Is on the main deck under the fore
castle head. Ii was hazardous to attempt
To get at it while the seas were boiling as
they were. But water must be had and a
saliOTman and BOatswan lastadius deter
mined to get it. The sailorman got bucket,
and running forward. lodged under the
forecasIle head. B0atswain Lastadius went
out on the flying bridge 10 take the bucket
from The sailOrman when the chance of
fered-ihat is. When. there was little prob.
ability OF sea coming Immediately aboard
forward.
The flying bridge is a board walk with a
rope railing run between two-inch iron
stanchions, connecting the forecastle head
with the forward part Of the hurricane
deck. The main deck is seven feet below.
The bOatSwain intended to reach down,
grab the bucket and rush aft along the
flqing bridge to the hurricane deck. leaving
the sal'orman under the shelter OF the fore
castle head 10 take another chance between
seas What happened Just as the saiOrman
bad pumped the bucket full was told yesttr-
day by the captain and the b0atswain, the
former in the Office Of John j. Seager 81 Co.
at Stnne street and the latter ON the
British Prince. anchored in the ice-covered
bay below Liberty The yarn from the
fOrecaste, spun while a Pickering oil
lamp lit up the rugged face of the boat
swain. agrees with the yarn from the cabin.
Il had just got ready" said the boatswain,
ITO take the bucket. when the ship gave
plunge. | looked W, and there over the
port bow | saw such a sea as | hope | may
aboard, and | knew | had no chance TO get
out of its way. If | ran aft, ] thought, it
would pick NE up before | got off the bridge
and carry me away. So / thought the best
thing 10 do was to make fast to stanchiOn
Of the flying bridge. So l wound my arms
and legs around it, rugged as hard as
knew how. and lowered my head to take
the sea.
Everything seemed TO give way when
the sea nit me. | might just as we'll have
caught hold OF rope yarn as that stanchion.
| thought it was all up with me and the
British Prince until found myself on the
crest OF wave striking out for the ship,
which was riding as If she had shipped only
bucketfn. struck the water maybe FIVE
fathOms II the starboard bow. | saw the
form Of the second officer. Thomas Jones,
on tile bridge as | swept along the ships
side. He grabbed a life buoy from the
rack and | saw it come sailing toward me-
1t was good shot. or l might not be telling
about it now. The buoy almOst hinged my
head. grabbed it and forced II over my
shoulders and under my arms.
LAS WAS swept aft along the starboard
side of the ship | saw Captain lines running
forward. He saw me. too, for he shouted,
Keep up stout heart; we'll save you if we
can But IL was getting very dark and |
was three SHIPS lengths astern before any,
thing could be done aboard the ship. My
heart sank, and gave myself up for lost.
| had been striking out for the ship, but
when found her going ahead | stopped all
effort to save myself But ii takes a long
time tG step and reverse engine, and pretty
soon l Saw the ship backing toward me.
That made my heart bound, and l yelled
with all my might and tried to make some
Roadway against the seas, which sometimes
turned me over and over. l was afraid that
the ship would back against me aud that |
would be sucked under her propeller and
drowned or killed by !he blades. | saw the
propeller whlrling in the air whenever the
ship went down in the trough Of the sea. |
shouted, Don't back on top of me, as |
thought they couldn't see me in the dark
ness
1.-The ship drew nearer and nearer, the
captain keeping me OH the starboard hand
All tile men had gathered at the starboard
rail, and as the ship passed me they hove
lines and buoys to me and shouted to me to
keep up heart. | was once within half
fathom of the starbuard rail, when sea
swept me forward and cleared around the
bow on the port side. | was away astern
in the darkness before the ship could be
4 Il. he
kept singing out, ana could hear the voice of
the captain and the cheers of the men CON-
ing down on the wind.
The captain couldn't see me, but he took
my bearings from the sound of my voice by
a star, and coming around, he steamed
down toward me, and going around me,
came up on my slarbuard. | was full of
salt water, and so played out and cold that
hadn't much strength left when / saw all
the men gathered along the port rail wait
ing to save ME. The mate threw a life
buoy and line and | caught it and put il
on. L caught another line, toe, fearing the
first one might be carried away, and that's
all remember clearly until | heard all the
men cheering. Up to then l thought was
still in the sea-"
The captain was in his cabin taking his
tea, as he puts It, when man rushed TO the
top OF the cOnipanion-way and shouted:
MAN overheard, sir" The captain had
Just poised piece Oh meat on his FORK and
was about to put 1t in his mouth. Some
shippers might have sereney finished the
meal. But Captain Emes got mp the cont
panl0n-way aud on deck as if his own son
was the man who was overheard. He dmly
saw the boatswain sweei Ing astern. As he
passed the engine-room on his way TO the
bridge he shouted to the engineer:
stand by to stop those engines"
Then he flew to the bridge and laid his
rio ht hand on the Hta{eUraph -
''otop and reverse" was flashed to tie en-
giue-room. and the captains voice rang
out: "All hands to starb0ard with lines and
buoysw All hands were there even before
tie summons came.
Our only hope of saving him lay in pick
ing him up with the ship" said the captain,
"for 30 boat could live in the sea that was
running. l have seldom seen anything like
it. The gale was so high that it com bed
down the crests, and all the water we ship
ped was solid green. When l backed the
ship down to the bo's'n ] saw him strug-