Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-02-04
SAVED FROM THE SEA
THRILLING EXPERIENCE OF A LADY
WELL KNOWN IN RICHMOND.
Steamship Normanby-Periis
on Land.

Mrs. Sewell was Miss Milly Ashe. OF san
Francisco, California, and Is well-known
in Richmond, where she spent two win
tiers. Mr.. Sewell was interviewed by the
Free Press, and after describing the
scene on board when the ship struck
and the preparations to ABANDON her'
said:
"When the Captain and mate were
ready TO leave / Joined my wife IN the
mates boat, and we were then very near
the stern OF the ship, and my fear was
that we should be overturned before we
got her off. / called loudly TO the mate
to abandon the ship. and come into our
boat, which he did shortly Afterwards
Then the three boats showed of.
THE LAST BOAT TO LEAVE
1.-THE mate, either because our boat was
rt-handed, or because there were some
men still left in the ship went back again.
and thus we were the last boat to leave.
He got several men off. but while we were
waiting we were several times dashed Vio-
lently against the side OF the SNIP anu
were in imminent danger or capslzhs' III
our boat beside the first officer, my wlie,
and self there were the first ana thiru
engineers, two Lascars, ana three Chila-
men. The sea was rough without peAi5
the roughness OF a storm: ana the ram
folI at intervals violently. We were wet;
the only water In the boat being the water
that came from the rain; but there was SO
much of this fell that soon we had TO
begin TO bail her out. We kept out to sea
waiting for daybreak. which seemed as II
a. would never come. There were no
stars. and the sky was heavily overcast.
At twenty minutes after five O'CLOCK, we
looked at the mates watch. 1t was sun
dark. and we dared not venture towards
the land. Until an hour afterwards II ala
not grow any lighter. and then I'VE agreed
10 put the boat about and tried 10 erect
n landing. The land was then from four
10 five miles off. perhaps not so far. ana
the danger. as It had been all night, was
that we should get into the trough or the
sea. and be overturned. or that we might
strike rock. There were so many break
ing waves that II was hard TO tell whether
they signhed rocks or whether they were
simply storn-waveS breaking In deep
water.
A PERILOUS ATTEMPT.
I'VE turned the boat about AMI made
for the shore. but when we had come
within about third or a quarter OF
milo or so OF the land we selected our
landing place and started putting the beat
on the top OF the breakers. We found,
however, that It would be impossible TO
land there. On one side there was a long
line OF rocks. and right ahead OF us was
n reef; about and before were breakers
everywhere, so that just in time we
managed to put the boat about and
get her out to sea again. That was about
the most trying time in the whole of my
experience-to be near land. and yet feel
that we had TO put out TO sea. Mean
while we had tried to rig up sail, but
the iron-work about the foot of the mast
gave way, and we were In danger OF
being capsized. We had, therefore, TO
break loose the mast and give up the
idea of sailing. Then we pulled a safe
distance from the shore, Ftudying some
place to effect landing. About an hour
afterwards we CHANGED upon what seemed
to be- sanded beach further up the
coast and we made for that. AS we
drew near we saw no obstacles In the
way, and very soon we were in such
position that we could not have turned
back. We decided upon a last effort.
and headed the ship for the beach, and
riding on the top of the breakers all cur
energies were devoted entirely TO keeping
her with the breakers, so that she should
not be overturned. Having ridden about
six very heavy breakers we then iound
ourselves In comparatively smooth water.
only about twenty yards from the shore.
LAND AT LAST.
'I sounded with my oar and found we
were IN comparatively shoal water. ana
that could touch the bottom. We pulled
easily to the beach, drew the boat along
side and stepped ashore. We then had
something to eat for the firso time. ana
took off some Of our wet clothes. Leav-
ing the men in charge Of the stores the
officers, with my wife and myself. started
TO walk UP the beach. Mrs. Sewell and
myself were barefooted. and all OF us
suffered more from want of shoes than
anything else. The spot where we mad
landed was perfectly wild, and there was
not a trace of human habltation. we
walked along the shore for some distance
until we found a path which led us over a
hill. which we followed. This brought us
again to the beach. When we reached
there we saw, about five miles away, at
the extreme end OF the bay at which we
had landed, the Inflated Normandy. with
her nose high up on the rocks and her hull
sloping off to the stern. Then we walked
along the beach for another quarter OF
mile and found fshwares, and then, look
ing inland, we found native kampong
where there were two houses. Arrived
there we met the second engineer who
had been In the Captains boat which was
the first Of the ships company or crew
we had seen since we left the ship. lie
came forward and told us that in the
house was the Captains wife, my wife's
japanese maid and himself, with some
of the crew who had been in the Cap
tain's boat, that soon after leaving the
shin they had gone towards the shore
oN.artprna1 that npifh0r the
Captain nor his child had been seen again,
and that he believed, as afterwards
turned out to be the case, the Captain
had struck his head against some of the
boxes in the boat and been killed. not
drowned.
A PAINFUL JOURNEY.
1.-THE same afternoon we were told that
the Rajah lived near and would receive
us at his house, and We decided TO take
the captains wife and my own wife there.
After we had gone through the woods a
long distance on foot we found that 1t
was q mistake and painfully retraced cur
steps to the houses where first we had
been received. We had no fear or the
Malays. but the appearance OF Cinnamon
about there in some numbers alarmed US
and we kept guard, watch and watch, as
on ship, during the night"
Mr.. Sewall then narrated how the cap
tain's body was found and buried and con-
tinued:
about an hour after we returned from
burying the captain two Dutch oilciais
with large number of attendants. carry
ing provisions, clothes, ana ntters LOT
the women appeared. These were the
Controleur of Rio, Mr. Trimming. and
the captain of the Indragiri, Captain Van
Ham. and they had with them about %
or 40 porters. From this moment the
kindness shown us by the Dutch officials
of the island is beyond anything that l
can acknowledge. We were clothed and
fed that night. and the next morning at
$50 the three women on canvass
stretchers, and the third engineer and my
self on foot, with the officials and at
tendants, started for Rio across the island,
the mate and the chief engineer remain