The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-06-15
GREwsomE INCIDENTS AT SEA.
A Naval Onlcer'- Relation of How n Meas
mates Ro.iy Was Hurled

A Naval Onleer'- Relation of How n Mess-
mates Ro.iy Was buried
Il was nearly scared out Of my
senses once" remarked an officer OF
the United States navy whose name IS
a synonym for all that Is courageous
on land and sea
There was an immediate demand
from the Washington Star reporter for
the story and the accommodating Off
Ger proceeded with il.
1t happened on the old ship Powhat
an h. said. several years apo. and We
were anchored OF West India port
One day youug sailor. a general IA
vorite with officers and crew. fell from
a mast and broke his neck lie was
dead when we picked him up. and we
at once prepared the body for burial.
the ship carpenter making a wooden
coffin. which he nailed together. a
there were no screws suitable IN his
kit. We had expected To take the body
ashore. but the authorities refused per
mission. and we were forced IL a sea
burial. and had placed a couple of shot
inside the coffin at the foot tn sink il.
The body lay in state on deck that
night, a2t-Jhe next day all hands We're
al!cI 10 attend the funeral The cap
tain began reading the burial service,
very Solcmnly and with much feeling,
for all Of Us felt the loss OF the young
fellow l,eenly. He read along quietly
until it was about half through, when
all at once there came Il fearful rasp-
ing. screeching sound from the collin.
and the lid began TO rise. The super
stitious sailors He'd in dismay. the cap
taiu's face blanched. the other officers
stood irre~olute, and | grabbed the
wheel and held on TO it with all my
strength To keep from running clean
away. Scared? Why. | was 50 scared
| didn't know where | was But IN
minute we began To realize that the
swelling OF the decomposing body
had forced the nails out and it WAS
their giving way that had made the
fearful noise. In few minutes the
sailors were recalled, the coffin was
nailed up again and lashed with ropes
and the last sad rites were finished
without further incident.
That i To say" continued the Off
Ger. there was no further incident on
deck 1t was my duty To 90 with
boats crew some distance from the
ship and sink the body in the SEA. and
l can tell you now did not relish the
job at all. 1t was duty. and that
must be done whether one likes IT or
not. BY this time the sun had set, the
sea was quite rough and the men To 20
with me were badly ratified. At a
suitable distance / stopped the boat,
committed the body to the deep and,
with feeling Of the most intense re
lief. ordered the crew TO give way to
return To the ship. | sat in the stern
of the boat facing the crew, and they
had not taken Il dozen strokes until |
noticed something was wrong Their
faces began u take on the color of
ashes and in 4 minute the bow oars
man stopped. It's after Us. sir he said
iu u tone that made all my blood go
clean down to the sulcs of my feet. /
east 4 quick glance backward. Right
ON our heels, apparently. and end on,
jumping out of the water in weird,
fantastic leaps, came the coffin i'll our
wake. Then it was, II my nervousness,
| wanted to scream. or faint. or do
something; and for an instant it would
have been Il positive relief TO me To
have done all three in rapid succession.
and wound it up by plunging into the
sea, but the eyes OF the men were on
me. and they were worse scared than |
was, and | couldn't DO that. To put
back was all there was to do, and at
the command the boat went back, but
| can assure you none of us wanted to
90 back with it. However, necessity
compelled il. and in few strokes we
were alongside the coffin and had made
ii fast with q rope Then we discovered
that the air in it supported ii. the shot
at the foot keeping it almost perpen-
dicular in the sea, and the dancing
waves did the rest. In a minute we
had knocked one end of it in; min
ute later it had sunk ont of sight with
a smOthered gurgle, and my scare was
over, but the effects of IL remained for
weeks and even yet | can make my
self uncomfortable thinlIi ng bout it