The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1894-07-31
THE WRECK.

SO"@U' AOV LIZ CC44 you d ttIT1DIG story OF
the sea-, Of which the fishermen Of the
place often speak at eventide, and about
which chance has enabled me to learn
strange particulars.
1t was three years ago. | was sailing
the Sandman sea with seven or eight
sailors Of the coast survey. 1t was a
rough voyage for a novice; we did not
have Il good day through March. The
wind was furious, and the waves never
Calmed. One evening as we were flying
before the tempest our vessel came for
refuge to the mouth Of the strait of
BOnifacio, among some little islands.
Their aspect was not alluring. They
were great bald rocks, covered with
birds, some bushes of lentisk, a few
tufts of absinthe and here and there in
the slime decaying pieces of wood. But,
my soul! it vas better to pass the night
among these sinister rocks than to be on
q frail old bark, half decked, where the
blast came III as though it were quite at
home. SO we contented ourselves.
No sooner had we d~isembarked than
tho sailors lighted a fire for the fish
soup, and the captain called me, point
ing to a little inClOsure surrounded by q
white wall almost lost in the mist at the
end Of the island. "Will you come to
the cemetery" said he.
"a cemetery, captain! Where are
we?''
con the Lavezzi islands, monsieur.
The 600 men of the frigate Semillante
are buried here at the spot where she
vro, lrr+ I n or,n Door fo11Ou-c AC
they don't receive many visits, the least
We al do is to go and say 'bOnjour' to
them, SO long as we are here.
with all my heart, captain"
How sad it was, the cemetery of the
Semillante! | see it still, with its little,
low wall; its iron door, rusty and hard
to open; its silent chapel, the hundreds
Of black crosses hidden by the weeds.
Not one wreath of immOrtelles, not one
COMMUNICATING! All, the poor, aban-
dOned dead! How cold they must be in
their chance tOmbs!
We staid a moment kneeling. The
captain prayed aloud. Enormous gulls,
the only guardians Of the cemetery, cir
cled over our heads, mingling their
hOarse cries with the wailing of the
sea. The prayer finished, we came sadly
back to the corner Of the island where
the bark was anchored. No time had
been lost during our absence. We found
a great fire flaming in the shelter of a
rock and the soup smoking. Sitting
down in a circle, with our feet to the
flames, soon each had on his knees a
bowl of red pottery, in which were two
slices Of black bread covered plentifully
with the broth. The rcpast was a silent
one. We were wet, we were hungry,
and then the ncarncss of the grave
yard!
However, when the bowls were emp
tied, we lighted our pipes and talked a
little-naturally Of the Semillante.
Tell me, how did it happen:" ]
asked the captain, who, with his head
on his hands, stared at the flames with
a thoughtful air.
How did it happen?" said the good
LiOnetti, with a heavy sigh. Alas, no
human being can tell! All we know is
that the Semillante, laden with troops,
left Toulon the evening before i'll bad
weather. During the night it grew
wOrse-wind, rain and a terrible sea,
the like of which was never seen before
In the morning the wind fell a little,
but the sea was worse, if possible, and
with it the DEVILS own fog, SO that n
could not have distinguished a beacon
light four feet away. Those fOgS, mon
sieur! You nave no idea how deceItful
they are. But | also have an idea that
the Semillante must have lost her helm
in the morning, for the captain even in
a heavy fog could hardly have made
such a mistake. He was a we'll tried
mariner. We all knew him. He had
commanded the Corsican station for
three years and knew the coast as we'll
as l, who know nothing else"
"At what time do they think the
Semillante p~erished::"
1T must have been at nOOn-yes,
monsieur, noon-but, forsooth, with
that fog that noon was worth no more
than q night as black as the jaws OF !
wolf. A life saver Of the coast told me
that the same day toward half past IL,
having gone out Of his cabin to tasten
his shutters. the wind whirled away his
cap, and at the risk Of being carried OF
himself bv the blast he commenced TO
crawl along the beach on all tours alter
it You see the dOuaniers aren't rich,
and q cap costs, Well, it seems that GU
man. lifting his head, saw right near
him through the fog a great ship scud
ding along under bare poles toward the
Lavezzi islands. This ship went very
fast, so fast that he had hardly time for
a good look. Everything leads 70 the
belief that it was the Semlllante, be
o9use 4 half hour later the shepherd Of
the island heard Why, here comes the
shepherd himself. He will tell you
Bonjour, Palombo, Come, warm thy
self. Fave no fear
A mutfied man, whom l had seen t-r
some minutes providing around L fire
and whom had taken for one OF the
crew. because | did not know that there
was a shepherd on the island, approach
ed Us timidIy. He was an old Ieper.
- ~, 1I;1- .nd a nTIV Ia