Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1896-04-15

Press Association with Cassell s Co, New Yorl
and London.l
eff they were houses" said the second
officer, who stood near with his arm,
broken, 1--WE should be in the midst of a
town, and no small town either.
"Hark! what's thatY
All listened There was the sound of
halloo, clearly repeated, and in a mo-
ment it was answered from a further
distance. Then in several directions.
near and far, were heard calls, cries and
lamentations. The listeners, uttered MUIR
murs of surprise and perplexity.
just then great mass of cloud in the
east broke away, and the full moon
shone forth with surprising hrilliance,
shedding over the scene light which,
in comparison with the previous dark
ness. seemed as bright as day. 1t re-
vealed an extraordinary spectacle.
Beyond the stem of the steamer ex-
tended the tossing waters of alarge bay.
'strewn with wreckage and an indescrib-
able medley of floating objects. In front
and on either side were the streets and
houses of half destroyed town The
steamer had been carried over the sea
wall and lay beyond the wharves. be-
tween the ruins of hotel and large
warehouse. A little way off waswhat had
been a public pleasure garden ,or casino;
itlooked as if gigantic roller had been
passed. over it. In a terrace higher up q
heavy iron gun stuck out like a half
driven bolt; it had been whipped out of
a vessel in the bay and borne nearly half
a mile. passing completely through a
house on the way. Nearly every house
left standing was unroofed; many were
torn from their foundations and thrown
topsy turvy. The iron shaft of street
lamp was bent over and twisted like
,corkscrew. In the center of small fort
to the west of the town was brig, with
one mast still standing. A floating wharf
just outside the sea wall was sunk; a
steamer was on top of it, and on top of
the steamer, lying crosswise, were the
remains of a three masted merchant ship.
A large provision store had been blown
to pieces and the stores whirled about in
all directions over the town and adj
jacent lands. In the bay. now rap
idly becoming calmer, appeared the
masts of a score of sunken vessels,
sticking up like reeds in a swamp
Among them foated casks, blocks,
spars. boxes, quantities of oranges
and cocoanuts, fragments Of trees, the
rafters and beams of houses; and bobbing
about everywhere were the drowned and
mutilated corpses of hundreds of men
and women. But these were not to re-
main long visible. Ever and anon there
would be a<swirl in the water, a jerk and
a splash, and a shark would glide away
with human arm or leg in his Jaws.
The banquet was an unusually rich one,
and the banqueters were assembling il
thousands.
''Well, said the quartermaster, as his
eyes rapidly traversed the scene, '.I've
heard of miracles, but this is the nearest
to one that ever saw. OF all the things
that might have happened, this is the
unlikeliest; we get caught in a hurricane,
and blown north and south, we don't
know where, nor whether we were under
water or above it; ard here at last we
find ourselves high and dry, in the port
we were bound for. and within dozen
rods of the very wharf we should have
lain up TO! This is queer world
What place do you say this Isl" in
quired one of the passengers. drawing
near.
This is St. Thomas. sir-what there is
left of it-and no other place in the
world Oh, is that you Mr.. Martin?
I'm glad to see you safe and sound: ! ex-
pect good half of us will never speak
again. Where is your friend. SIR
Il don't know" replied the other; Il
have been looking for him. | haven't
seen him since the wind first stopped
blowing out at sea.
1T was that big wave that came
aboard us, most likely" said the quar-
termaster. gloomily. THAT carried off
the captain and many a good man with
him. You may sail the seas till you're
an old man, sir, and never see the like
of that storm again.
But his interlocutor had moved away,
and was beginning search through the
ship in the forlorn hope of finding at
least the body of his friend.