The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-07

which I wound my arms around his legs,
caught hold of the tail Of his oilskin coat
with my teeth and held on with viselike
grip. He tried to shake me off but
couldn't. In the meantime our bark sank
beneath the pillows and we were left
swinging to the broken bebstay with the
roaring ocean beneath.
The saving of both our lives now de-
pended on Bricks grip. He was heavily
and he cursed me till his breath gave out,
and with a wild shrek he let go, not being
able to hold on any longer, and we fell
into the surging waves below. A few
kicks brought me to the surface, and being
good swimmer / struck out for the bows,
and caught hold Of one of the broken back
ropes, the end of which led up to the
cathead. I Skinned up to the anchor,
which was hanging to the shank painter
in the shoe, and straddled its shank to get
some breath.
On board the stranger everybody was
busy. The collision brought the watch
below on deck, and it was clew up the square
and haul down the fore and aft sails. Pres
emily half dozen or so Of the men rushed
forward to the t'gallant forecastle, bring
ing with them a couple of lighted lamps,
which they hung over the bows to ascer-
tain the extent to which their own ship
was damaged. On looking over the bows
one of the sailors spied me a-straddle of
the frozen anchor, shivering and shaking,
afraid to let 60 the death grip that had
on the shank painter, and my teeth were
Gathering so that couldn't speak.
'What in hells blazes is this thing
astride of the shank of this ERE anehor?"
screamed the man who had seen me.
1T must be castaway; let's jerk i'm in
on deck" said a man whom I afterward
learned was the bo's'n, and they did.
They soon got half pint Of rum down
my throat, then stripped me naked and
rubbed me back to life with coarse
gunnysack, for the fright and frost COM
bined had left me all but ifeless.
One of the first things they did after
bringing the main yard to the mast was
to launch boat that lay bottom up on top
of the forward house. With this boat they
picEed up poor Tom, the Welsh boy. He
was lashed to one of the afterhouse steps
with piece of spun yarn. After hauling
him aboard the necessary remedies of rum
and gunnysack were applied and, like my
self, be too was soon able to be about.
"Ten US how you managed TO save your
self, Tom ?' asked.
'Soon as gained my feet" he said, III
crawled over to the steps, cut 'em adrift,
threw 'em over the lee rail and jumped
after 'em. Lucky for me twas that had
a piece of spun yarn wound round my
body for belt. Twas with this that /
tied myself to the steps. I couldn't have
held on otherwise"
All of this time the crew were busy
about the bows. They spread sail on
both sides of the stem, which was shat
tered to splinters above the water line and
split it. They fastened it on with battens
as best they could and squared away for
Cardiff, whittier she was bound in ballast.
can truly say that was badly fright
ened. The horrors of that nights expert
ance ought to have deferred me from
going to sea, but it didn't. There was a
certain fascination about the ocean that l
couldn't resist. I was its willing slave,
and four days later / was on another bark
bound for Valencia, in the Mediterranean,
and we knew that we sailed over the spot
where the Finchley sank. for we saw some
of the floating wreck. DENIS KEARNEY.