The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-08
WHEN SHE STRUCK BOTTOM.


up there, hanging on, and trying to keep
off the frightful cold that was slowly kill
ing Us both.
WHEN SHE STRUCK BOTTOM.
''There was a rolling to and fro as the
vessel struck the bottom and slowly right
ed to an even keel, and then, a second
later. she rolled over to one side thought
she was going all the way over, but she did
not. She settled on the bottom, and though
the waves rolled her from port to seaboard,
the spar remained out of the water with
my mate and myself clinging to it,
"All this time the hail and sleet was COM
ing down in cutting sheet, and we were
covered with ice in a few minutes, for
though the top of the spar on which we
were hanging was twenty-five feet above the
water. the big waves struck us and broke
over us, and the hail cut us like shot
L knew that it was about o'clock when
We went down, and it seemed to me that
daylight would never come. When daylight
US, and the sea was as bad as ever. Hour
after hour we N9lGed there and then we
saw the Mariposa coming. For long time
we did not know whether she would sight
us. When she finally sighted us and we
saw her head for us L tried to tell my mate,
but | could not and ne looked at me with
happy look on his face. 1t was a terrible
time to us before she came up to us, and
then | knew we were not safe yet, for the
sea was running mountain high, and the
big steel boat was rolling like a skiff Every
wave sent her up in the air until we could
see her white bottom under her water line.
We knew at once that her captain would
rot attempt to lower q boat for it would
have been 'chewed up.
When the Mariposa got within couple
of lengths of US a man with a strong voice
yelled to as to hang on. Don't. give up!
he yelled wen get you off SOON
Then the boat circled around us, coming
as near as she could. but when she was
within a few rods a big roller swept her
far out and she went off to Starboard, roll
ing heavily when she got in the trough of
the sea. Then she came back again, and
again she missed US, and we could not have
taken a line had one been thrown to us.
Again she went around and we watched
her and watched the men on her rail wait
ing to give US a life when they could.
ION the third trip around she ran right
alongside our spar, and as she went past
a dozen men reached for us. | don't know
who got the mate. but Mr. Smith, the en-
gineer, got hold of me and he dragged me
from the spar and over the rail of the Mar
iposa. An instant later we had passed the
little stick on which ] and the mate had
been hanging for almost day, although
it seemed a week.
a narrowing story to the crew of the Mar
iposa. He said that in the rush of men
from the hold one of them a Waterman,
was .ranped to death. The crew was fran
tic to get out of the place. Six or eight he
said, must have been drowned like rats in
the hold. They were not warned of the
sinking of the boat. The first long dip of
the stern was the first ntimation they had
that the final danger was at hand, and then
they made frantic rush to get on deck.
The hatchway was too small to let them
through together and the result was that
of them was trampled to death and
several were left to drown.