The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-02-25
SAVED FROM THE SEA.
Thrilling Experience Of a Lady Well
known in Richmond.
Mr. Sewen's Account of the Wreck of
the Steamship Normanby-Perils on
From the Richmond Dispatch.

From the Richmond Dispatch
A copy of the Singapore Free Press has
been received at the Dispatch Office,
giving detailed account of the wreck of
the steamship Normandy, which struck
on rock in the China sea near Singa-
pore. Among the survivors were Mr.
Sewell and wife, who were making a
wedding tour around the world, they
having been marriedlast September. Mrs.
Sewen was Miss Milly Ashe of San
Francisco, Cal, and is well known in
Richmond, where she spent two winters
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 l joined my wife in the mates
boat of the ship, and my fear was that
we should be overturned before we got
her off. I 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.
The mate, either because our boat was
short-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 OF, but while we were
waiting we were several times dashed
violently against the side of the ship, and
were in imminent danger of capsizlng.
In our boat, beside the first officer, my
wife and self, there were the
first and third engineers, two Lascars,
and three Cinnamon The sea
was rough without being the
roughness of storm: and the rain
fell at intervals violently.
We were wet; the only water in the
boat was that. which came from the rain,
but there was so much of this that soon
we had to begin TO bail her out. We kept
out TO sea waiting for daybreak, which
seemed as if it would never come. There
were no stars, and the sky was heavily
overcast, $40 o'clock we looked at
the mates watch. 1t was still dark, and
we dared not venture towards the land.
Until an hour afterwards it did not grow
any lighter, and then we agreed to put
the boat about and try to effect a landing
The land was then from four to five
miles on, perhaps not so far, and the dan
ger, as it had been all night, was that we
should get into the trough of the sea and
be overturned, or that we might strike
rock. There were so many breaking
waves that it was hard to tell whether
were simply storm waves breaking in
deep water.
PERILOUs ATTEMPT.
We turned the boat about and made for
the shore, but when we had come within
about third or quarter of a mile or so
of the land we selected our landing place
and started, putting the boat on the top
OF the breakers. We found, however
that it would be impossible to land there
On one side there was long line of rocks,
and right ahead of US was a 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 aga in.
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. Meanwhile we had tried to rig up a
sail, but the iron work about the foot of
the mast gave way, and we were in dan
ger of being capsized. We had therefore,
TO break loose the mast and give up the
idea of sailing. r.-
Then we pnlled safe distance from the
shore, studying some place to effect a
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 break
ers all our energies devoted entirely TO
keeping her with them, so that she should
not be overturned. Having ridden about
six very heavy breakers we then found
ourselves in comparatively smooth water
only about 20 yards from the shore.
LAND AT LAST.
l sounded with my oar and found we
were in comparatively shoal water, and
that l could touch bottom. We pulled
easily to the beach, drew the boat along
side and stepped ashore. We then had
something 10 eat for the first time, and
took off some of our wet clothes. Leav-
ing the men in charge of the stores the
ODcers, 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 had
landed was perfectly wild. and there was
not a brace of human habitation We
walked along the shore for some distance
un I'll we found path which led US over
a h Il, 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 of to the stern
The we walked along the beach for an
other quarter of mile and found fish
wares and then, looking inland. we found
a native kampong where there were two
houses. Arrived there we met the second
engineer, who had been in the captains
boat and VINO was the first of the ships
company or crew we had seen since we
left the ship. He came forward and told
US that in the house was the captains
wife, my wife's Japanese maid and him
self, with some of the crew who had been
in the captains boat; that soon after
leaving the ship they had gone
towards the shore and been over
turned; that neither the captain
nor his child had been seen again,
and that he Obelieved, asIafterwards
turned out TO beithe case, the captain had
struck his head against some of the boxes
in the boat and been killed, not drowned
PAINFUL JOURNEY.
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
long distance on foot we found that it was
a mistake and painfully retraced our
steps to the houses where first we had been
received. We had no fear of the Malays,
but the appearance of Cinnamon about
there in some numbers alarmed US, and
we kept guard, watch and watch, as on