The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-03-03

! When night again came the seamen
made bed on the water soaked logs.
Tired nature enabled them to sleep in
! spite of the discomforts of their position.
! Captain Darling did not sleep. He jeal-
ously guarded the body of his wife and
did not leave it for an instant. The sea
men respected his grief and left him alone
with his dead. Late on the previous af-
ternoon two sailing vessels had been
sighted. but they were at such a distance
that they afforded no assistance. and
about 100 Thursday morning a steamer
passed. It came within a short distance,
but the watch did not see the wreck or
hear the shouts of the sailors.
efore daylight the sailors discovered
| that the deck was wet with dew, and they
licked this with Their tongues and thus
partially assuaged the thirst that was
consuming them. About sunrise a four
masted schooner was sighted and she
hove-to> and sent a boat to the rescue.
The schooner was the Mont Hope, COM
manded by Captain Murdoch Mclean, of
Taunton, Mass. He had been wrecked
once, and since that time he has made it
rule to approach all wrecks that he
sights TO see If there il any living people
on board. To this caution on the part of
Captain Mclean, the crew of the James
E. Bayles owe their rescue. They were
taken to the Mont Hope in the boat, three
trips being necessary. On the last Cap
tain Darling and the body of his wife,
who had been dead for nearly thirty-slx
hours, were taken.
Once on the Mount Hope. the tire 5les
Of the wretched men were over hey
were unable to swallow at first, but soon
recovered their faculties under the tender
care of the officers and crew Captain
Darling begged that the body of his wife
be taken to Norfolk, to which port the
Mount Hope was bound, but Captain Nc
Lean kindly explained that this was i'm
possible. and finally the bereaved husband
consented that her body should be buried
a. sea.
FIRST Mate Gould, of the Mount Hope
prepared a canvas shroud, heavily weight
ed. Captain Mclean summoned all hands
on deck, and then read the Episcopal bur
ial services. The body was then placed on
a board, which rested on the rail, and was
held in place by two sailors. A Captain
Mclean slowly said "Amenr' tn. board
Mrs. Darling plunged into the sea The
Mount Hope continued on her way, while
Captain Darling stood with set features
and compressed lips, looking backward in
the direction of where his wife had dis
appeared from sight
The Mount Hope reached Norfolk Sun
day morning. and on Monday night Cap
on the Guyandotte. of the Old Dominion
tain Darling and his crew took passage
line, for New York. They reached here
Tuesday afternoon. and almost the first
news that Captain Darling heard was that
his mother had died three weeks ago. and
was buried in Huntington. His afflicted
sister, he learned had closed the home
and was with friends IN Green lawn, a vii
lage near Huntington. He had no incli-
nation 10 visit his old home, and he stop
ped at a hotel in New York while arrang-
ing with his partners regarding his future.
During the few days that Captain Oar
ling had been in New York he had been
dazed. Time had not lessened his grief;
1t has only enabled him to fully realize
all that he and his wife suffered As he
thinks Of the tragedy his mind graspe new
horrors Of it and MS hands work convul-
sively as he speaks
His boat gone. his wife gone his mother
gone-the three blows make him say: Il
have nothing more to live for