The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1894-06-13
as our foreshrouds came abreast of
the wrecks lee quarter.

a wonderful, heart moving sight to
witness their forms in the throes of
that terrific leap, but every man of
them gained our deck.
The eighth remained. A panic ter
ror had mastered him at the critical,
breathless moment
II will return for you," shouted
Captain wilkins.
Again we wore" ship, and getting
to the windward shifted the helm for
the third run down. The lonely
mans figure was plain to be seen on
the taffrail, now poised in a deter
mined posture for the leap.
i was standing on the rail, with my
hand upon the main royal backstay.
At the moment when we were about
two ships lengths from the weather
quarter of the wreck our ship broke
into a sea with sharp, wild leeward
stagger that threw me overheard. l
dropped in the beat of heart and
minute later was swimming for my
life on the swelling rush of the surge.
l recollect that l swan toward
the wreck, but of the manner in
which / got aboard her but remem-
Der this, that some headlong sea ran
me right into her main chains, where
the roll of the hull left me stranded.
Though breathless, had my senses,
and before the next lurch of the hull
could dip me 1 had clambered over
the rail and was crouching under the
bulwarks, bewildered COMPOUNDED, as
one just awakened from nightmare.
Ispeedily discovered, however, that
l should be drowned down here on
this main deck, and made shift to get
on top of the deckhouse. was alone.
The solitary man had evidently
jumped. Whether successfully or
not, l could not imagine.
saw the Lansdown about half
mile distant to leeward in the act of
heaving to- but it was not long after
! had shown myself on top of the
house that I saw her put her helm up
and wore afresh and came thrashing
to windward as before.
Now l certainly knew that Captain
Wilkins, by the aid of the glass, had
seen me and distinguished me, and
that he understood that by some mir
acle my life had been preserved, so
that l was certain he would rescue
me.
guessed that he designed the same
maneuver by which he had delivered
the eight men, but l shook my head
at the thought. I was without the
power to jump. was half full of
water, sick and exhausted.
The Lansdown came rushing along
as before to pass close under the stern
of the wreck. She was exquisitely
handled. Even in those wild mo-
ments of shivering distress and the
menace of death l felt glow of adj
miration for Wilkins consummate
seamanship and the noble spectacle
Of his 1000 ton ship foaming down
upon me over the great dissolving
and reforming mountains, her can
vas like streaks of snow against the
flying darkness of the sky.
/ shook my head and pointed to
the taffrail and then to the sea and
made other significant signs. was
too weak to shout. The captain un-
derstood me. AS the ship rushed
past he, erect beside the wheel, roar
ed OUT
"All right, Carew! Well stand by
you! The moment it moderates we'll
take you off
They hove to within a third of
mile. Feeling little better, began
to look about me, and first of all l
was persuaded that the crew had
been too hasty in abandoning this
bark. I was a sailor, with the ca
pacity of feeling ship with my feet,
and knew by the buoyant leap and
toss of the fabric under me that she
was taking in little water.
Her wheel was dashed. The whole
apparatus of the helm was clearly
quite sound Her caboose was gone,
but her pumps were in their place.
Her two quarter boats were missing,
from which fact gathered that the
crew had made efforts to get away
in them, and perhaps some of the
men had actually gone adrift in one
or the other, or both.
Nothing but the keel of her long
heat remained. The rest had been
hammered into slaves by the sea.
was soaked to the skin, and the
wind blew bitterly cold on that deck
house top. No purpose was to be
served by my remaining up there,
So watching my chance got on to
the main deck and entered the deck
house.
closed the low, massive door be-
hind me, and found the interior dry.
There were four sleeping berths in
this place. looked into them and
found one to be the captains. In
this berth was some very good wear
ing apparel, which I put on to the
very skin and felt new man with
The warmth and comfort of the
change.
There was every appliance for the