The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1896-12-12
SAVED BY HIS DREAM
IcAsTAWAvs VISION OF A SAIL
BROUGHT RESCUE.

W0D00 Men 6Aeven A0yv ON ErosA 1sSAss
No WsGsr and No Food Save Ono Raw
Yish-Picked Up st Last When Almost
Dead snd Taken to liverpool.
The American brigantine May T.
Kimball sailed from Mobile for Guanta-
namo. Cuba. on Aug. 80. Head winds
bothered her, and she was still in the
gulf on southern Florida on Sept. 20.
AT one bell of the forenoon watch that
day q bowling gale jumped out OF the
southeast. Under naked poles the brig
Antine ran before it. Soon the seas had
charge Of her decks. and all hands man.
ned the pumps.
A chain pipe leading down into the
chain locker was knocked away by the
sea, and the cap that covered the mouth
OF the pipe went floating from the side.
Captain Bowers ordered the second mate
to close the aperture with canvas 1t
was too late. The brigantine began to
sink. Captain Bowers ordered all hands
aft and sang out to the mate, Mr.. Flood,
to fetch the AK that was in the cabin.
While the mate and the steward were
carrying out the order the second mate
with another AK chopped away the
main rigging. Spars, braces. cargo and
q confusion of wreckage crashed over
the side smashing the boats.
An onslaught Of destroying waves
knocked James Jeffers and two ship
mates, Elijah Cash and Peter Madison,
all colored, overheard. Though that
wave brought them face to face with
death, it really saved their lives. JEFF.
fers caught hold Of one Of the topsais
yards that drifted near him.
With reverberating crack like thun-
der and q "Trip, rip, rip" the COM
pressed air burst the cabin roof of, and
it shot into the air, A large splinter
from it was driven by the force OF the
explosion four inches into Jeffers' right
leg.
All three sailors, Madison, Jeffers
and Cash, gained the cabin roof, and,
turning, they saw the brigantine's five
remaining men, Captain Bowers, the
two mates, the steward and fourth sea-
man, Peter Mitchell, standing together
on the weather bulwark. which was
one foot above water.
At 8 p m, while the five men on
the rail were looking wistfully at the
Irail raft with the three castaways, the
May T. Kimball sank with all who
were left aboard.
The raft on which the three sailors
depended for life was IL by 10 feet, with
. broken skylight, to which they clung
with desperation. The men had no food,
no drink, no tobacco and very little
hope. Jefrers is an Episcopalian. He
told his fellow castaways that their ON.
u chance for life lay In prayer. SO JET
fees prayed, and on the second day aft
sr tie shipwreck Oash and Madison b.
came eOnverted and confessed their sina
For SIX days the turbulence Of the
,wsves did not abatA There was not .
minute when the oastaways were not
half submerged. Many times they were
washed OF the roof. but Yegained their
raft There was nothing TO do but pray
and keep watch for sail.
On the fourth day hunger pangs be.
came almost intolerable Soon after the
desire for food gave way to thirst, and
the men began to drink salt water,
which increased their sufferings. At 4
p. m. Of the sixth day schooner was
sighted o mile and half to leeward,
but she made no response to their sig
nails The men then resigned themselves
to death.
That night piece Of board became
detached and wounded Jeffers in the
other leg. Madison's feet were badly
swollen from the constant ceating Of
the salt sea On the sevcnth day Madi-
son became deliriors. At midnight Of
the same day Jeffers dreamed that be
was close 90 land and called to the 9th.
or boys, Come, let's go ashore" He
showed ,ooard underneath the raft, but
found 40 bottom. Before they could re-
strai a him JcfYers jumped into the sea.
he. was six feet away from the raft
chen, BY swimming ON his part and BY
1his brother seamen forming human
chain, he was pulled back. II was II
hours before be came ont Of his deliri
um.
On the eighth day small butterfsl
was tossed BY wave upon the cabiI
top. CAsh with his knife divided tn
flsh into three equal parts. and the fam
ished sailors ate and felt refreshed. Il
two days more their sufferings wer
moro intense than before.
At 8 q m. ON the eleventh day, wheI
all were asleep, Jeffers had anothe
dream. He thought . man stood nea
and said: "Arisei Arisei There's shil
which have prepared for you." Jeffer
did arise. He looked around for th
tan thousandth time In that fight 70
life. and there. Ave miles 10 leeward
he saw . brig.
Jeffers walked the others. and afte
they had raised their signal they q
prayed. They were sesn. and the shiy
which was the Norwegian brig N. {
Hansen. bound from Apalsohioola Il
Liverpool with rosin. picked them ul
Captain Rasmussen did al he could 4
them and landed them In Liverpool
New York World