Connecticut western news., 1896-08-06
A NIGHT OF TERROR.

lon schooner Ornament, which lay moored in Monhegan harbor-s deep, narrow strait between the islands of Monhegan and Manana, Maine, The entrance is from the south, and is un- obstructed, while to the north the pas sage is barred by rocky islet called Smutty Nose. This is separated from Manana by a narrow passage on the side called Drunken Gut The harbor is fairly good shelter except when the wind Is from the southwest
 At daylight on the morning after our arrival at Monhegan Ahere was a stid breeze, with rain from the southwest. md by noon it had risen to heavy gale. All day coasters, traders and fish ing vessels ran in till about 90 sail were in harbor when night fell
 They were anchored as near together as they could be and yet swing clear of each other. This compact gathering would be we'll enough in a smooth har- bor. but on little Monhegan, exposed to the increasing gale, with night coming on and the probability of a heavy sec into the strait, the prospect looked serious. Should Q vessel part her cables or drag her anchors, collision with those to leeward of her would be and the result of collision might be disastrous
 When darkness came, the gales fury increased. The unobstruoted sea rolled into the narrow harbor in huge pillows that dashed against Manana or Smutty Nose, or ragged as breakers on the reefs about Drunken Gut The vessels, ham pered by their anchors and unable to rise freely on the surges, strained at their cables. plunging and rolling wild ly,. while nearly every wave toppled it's crest upon their decks, or swept them from stem to stern.
 About g o'clock, when the gale seem- ed at it's height, little craft that had been anchored all day just on our port bow dragged her anchora Her crew, like some. others, had sought safety on shore long before night. Swinging to our broadside, she began to pound against us and to break into pieces ~
 Her bowsprit snapped, her bulwarks crushed in fore and aft, her masts went over her taffrail. At last. plunging from the top of a big sea, we crashed down upon her forward deck- Her windlass bits gave way, and of she went. broad side to the wind, till she was lost in the gloom and rain.
 Anxiously we crouched by the wind lass, the captain s hand almost constant ly upon either one cable or the other, that he might detect the first vibratory motion, indicating that the anchors were being dragged over the rocky bottom. But they seemed to hold securely. Our danger was of another sort
 Twas crouching in the lee of the fore mast to shelter myself from the wind and spray, when heard the captain sud denly shout:
 up, up with you. boys, quick ! There's coaster adrift, coming right for us
 Through the driving rain. sure enough, came big schooner stern first. wildly swinging to and fro. now toppling on a crest. now wallowing down in the hol- low depths. Her gunwales almost rolled under, and her main boom, free from its flashing, swayed msdly from side to side.
 Just as we were reoeding from roll ing swell she crashed into us and snap ped our bowsprit. Then she hung square across our bow.
 "Quick, quicki Give me the axr' cried the captain.
 the windlass. and we were drifting with the gale. No vessel lay directly astern of us. The captains hope was that we might not only go clear of the coaster. but drive upon a small, sandy beach at the end of Smutty Nose. But the heave of the sea and the slant of the wind drove us to one side, and we went upon the rocks instead
 There was a shook, g grinding crash ss she struck. Then we seemed to stop, and now the sea broke over us in fury.
 ITO the dory, boysl The schooner will go to pieces !" shouted the captain.
 Without much difficulty we got the dory into the water to leeward. Jack. my shipmate, flung his olothesbag into the stern of the boat, while threw a coil of small rope into her ere I tum- bled in myself. There was but one pain of oars These the captain took and be- gan to pull toward Manana.
 Away from the lee of the schoone, we were exposed to the full fury of the gale, and the course to which we were compelled kept us in the trough of the sea. Every moment it seemed as though ws must be swamped. and in spite of all that we could do we were drifting rapidly toward Drunken Gut Suddenly a thole pin broke. Before another could be put in the place ws were afoul of the standing rigging of { sunken vessel, the dory almost on hel broadside and we in imminent danger of being washed overheard. But cling ing instinctiveiy to the uppermost gun vale we succeeded in fighting the dor, and working her clear of the wreck Again we were adrift indeed. for ", had lost an oar and now had but one.
 Our destruction now was apparentl, but a question of moments, for if VI escaped the reefs and boiling surf upor ons side we were almost certain to b dashed against the iron sides of Manan; upon the other.
 I was in the bow, peering ahead
 when the hull of . vessel suddenl,
 loomed up almost directly before u
 and apparently at anchor. While tn
 captain endeavored to keep the dor
 headed for her bent one end of my coi
 of line to the painter ring. Then, grasI
 ing blight in my hand as the dor
 grazed the schooner's sides, I made
 spring for the rail and climbed O
 board Then caught my line round
 cleat, checked the drift of the dory an
 brought her alongside.
 We soon found that the schooner ws
 deserted. Her crew had sought safety o
 shore. We thought ourselves exceeding
 ly fortunate that their vessel had bee
 in our way.
 But we had been upon the deck scaro
 ly 90 minutes when the captain starte
 us with the announcement that the ve
 sel was rapidly filling. It was svtder
 that she had dragged from the harbo