Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-04-20
THE PURSER'S NERVE
SHAVED TO KEEP HIS WITS WHILE
THE ship WAS SINKING.


wrecked PassenGers-In the Matter
~, Nerve He Went the Amateur Photol
rapher One Better.
|. 1t was a cozy room, with antiqu
: hangings and furniture and walls hun
n with handsome works of art whic
could be only indistinctly seen by tn
light CT the Pickering fire on the hearth
!, The little party agreed with the bean
tiful hostess that the room was jus
dark enough for ghost story. II don
know ghost story" said one of thu
men, "but the dramatic rescue of thu
Veendam S passengers by the St. Loui
reminds me of my experience on boar(
the old Gallia when she was caught il
a hurricane in midwinter about zoe
miles from Queenstown. The waves
broke in our decks and flooded the cab.
ms, and nobody thought for a little
while that any one on board the vessel
would ever see land again. There was
no panic, no shouting, no weeping, and
it seemed that all were perfectly pre-
pared to 60, though they looked far from
happy floundering about in the water
dressed in such garments as they could
grasp when they were aroused from
their sleep by the crash which sent
tons Of water into the ship 1t was
about clock in the morning. The
stewards had begun to set the table for
breakfast, and, as recall the picture, |
can see men and women, most of them
with heavy wraps over their night
dresses standing on the table and dane
ing forced minuet between the guard
rails and the dishes.
AT one end of the cabin, while others
were silently praying, stood young fell
low with nothing on but suit of blue
and white pyjamas, holding snap
camera in front of him. If you folks'll
hold still minute, he said, well |
have a picture Of this if we ever get cut
OF it. And for moment people forgot
the terrible situation, and have always
believed that one of the women adjusted |
her water soaked gown so that she
might look well in the picture taken
under the shadow of the destroying an
gel.
We'll, we got through it all right.
although we came to Liverpool in sad
ly battered condition, ard when they
hoisted the trunks from the hold the
water ran out Of them as though each
piece was sieve. We had service on
board the ship the Sunday following
our disaster. and, although two DAYS
had passed since we thought we were
gone, we seemed only then to appreciate
ully what had happened Men and wo-
men who had shown no sign of fear now ,
noped IN corners with trembling lips, =
Unable to speak because of the lump in :
heir throats, and the service of song il.
vas flat failure because no one could !;
ing any more than the young woman -,
t the organ. could get note out of that =
water soaked, dripping piece of furni. !,
ure.
We reached Liverpool too late at y
lght to leave the ship, and the men, =
mo had become better acquainted thar Z
ley would have been on less tenn :.
estuous voyage, gathered in the saloon :,
40 for the hundredth time exchanged 8.
" This was nothing, said our purser y,
o the experience once had, and not =,
long ago. TO go down with all hands -
ust be hard enough, but to be the only ~,
le OF whole shipful to go and to see 81
the rest saved-that's pretty hard. h;
nat came near being my case. and a. a.
n t want another similar experience. ,m
was an officer ON the Ohio when ~
g knocked hole in her bottom, and 49,
helped transfer the passengers aud NJ
We what we could. When all had been w.
1T to the ship which came to our re. u, y.
1, we made ready for the last boat. "
I'd, of which was to be one. We W. w
lot OF money and valuables in the d,
ps safe, and went below, took q ~.
'lecloth from the cabin table. and or
% this dumped the contents of the ~,
rlous compartments of the safe / nv
ue q bag OF it, carried it on deck, 20,
when L came to where the boat W.
'uld have been l found that it had f.,
le' and l, with the treasure, was left do
the rapidly sinking ship. can think no
any number OF situations which | +o
uld have preferred to mine Just then. en
wind being against me- | could not
Ike myself heard | put up signals,
no one would ever guess what | did
n wanted to keep my wits about frs
and block all chances for nervous.
s. SO l did what requires mans "V
attention-began to shave and |
bt whether ever did a cleaner or a 8
Ter job fir
BY the time 1 had finished nv 8
lpanions must have missed me, for | bly
ia see them returning and when 9
came alongside there were not off
~ inches to step down from the thi.
ling big boat to the little thing that we
US away. tell you this story to coll
" how necessary it is to have nerve all.
board ship. - "
And did he tell it for true story?' "a1
I'd the hostess "
He swore to every detail. law
Then he did have nerve. New imr
k Tribune. r