The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-25
seAMEn ADRlFr IN FIERCE STORM.
Wonderful Rescue of Castaway in the
British Channel

Wonderful Rescue of castaway in the
British Channel.
From the Savannah News.
CAPTAIN Ramsey of the British steam
ship Elton, which arrived in port few
days ago, has an interesting story of
marine adventure as the result of his
last voyage. 1t is due to Captain Ram
seys humanity that Albert Cole, an
English sailor, is still drawing the
breath of life instead Of being at the
bottom of the sea with others of his
comrades who were with him on board
the British steamship Cato, which was
wrecked off the Cornish coast in the
heavy storm of last month. 1t is not
an unusual thing for the master of
vessels to save lives and to go to con-
siderable trouble in doing SO, but pc
culiar circumstances were connected
with this rescue which go to show the
superstition of the average seaman, as
we'll as the kindness and forethought
of Captain Ramsey
Just year previous Captain Ramsey
was blowing through the British cham
mel off the coast of Cornwall on the Ell
ton when the ships cook committed
suicide by jumping overheard. The &C
currence created a decided impression
on the minds of all on board and was
recalled a year later in peculiar and
startling manner. The Elton left Car
diff on the morning of April and that
night heavy gale came up. 1t was all
the vessel could do to push ahead at
half speed in the face of the gale. The
sea was running high and big waves
were breaking over the ship. The situa-
ton was too dangerous to admit of
sleep, and captain and crew We're
awake. Everything was as black as
midnight and the prospects of weather
ing the storm were not any too bright.
Suddenly, abou. o'clock in the morn
ing, a despairing cry rang out, save
US! Save US! For Gods sake, save
| us!''
The cry was heard clearly and dis
| tinctly above the roar of the storm and
seemed to come from right under the
| ships bows.
did you hear that?" said Captain
Ramsey to the second mate, who was
standing by him.
my God. it's the cook!" exclaimed
| the mate HE went overheard right
| here a year ago."
Captain Ramsey had no such super
stition himself but, thinking some one
| of the crew might have gone cNer-
board, he mustered all hands as
promptly as the storm would permit
and found that all were present. He
knew then that some poor fellow YES
being tossed about on that black waste
of water in the inky darkness and
with the heavy sea running t was
impossible to do anything then, but
| Captain Ramsey determined to DO
| something later. He reasoned that
whoever gave that cry must have been
| in a boat, as otherwise lie could not
| have lived many minutes in that sea.
| The mate was so overcome with inc
| idea that the cook hal called to his old
| shipmates from out Of the storm that
he trembled Ike a leaf AMI had 20
take several stiff drinks to steady ms
| nerves.
The night was bitterly cold, never
| theless when morning came Captain
| Ramsey determined to make a search
! for those whom he believed to be IN
| distress and so turned the vessel back
on her course. After proceeding back
| some distance he passed broken plahks
| and other wreckage, showing that a
| vessel had gone to pieces. The sea was
| still running high, and the members OF
| the crew expressed the opinion that the
| shipwrecked persons had been clinglng
to the wreckage and had succunted
to the force of the sea and the cold.
The search seemed to be fruitless, but
after a while Captain Ramsey deserted
an object with the aid of his glasses
which looked like man up % ms
waist in water. On nearer approach 1t
was seen the man was in ships
lifeboat and was still endeaVoring to
use pair of oars, though the boat was
|
sci approac hed the boat 1t was seen
that there was another man lying in
the bottom Of the boat evidently dead.
/ The rescue was made easy by a
heavy sea, which pitched the lifeboat
fairly upon the deck of the Elton
Members of the crew lifted the living
man out of the boat. Before they had
time to think of the dead man another
sea carried the body away with the
boat. The poor fellow who was rescued
was nearly gone and could hardly have
lasted two hours longer. Hot coffee
with a drop of brandy brought hin
around, and after an hour or two he
was able to tell his story. He proved
to be Albert Cole, a. member of the
crew of the British steamship Cato
which left Cardiff just day ahead OF
the Elton. Cole said that the vesse
was pounded by the waves and seemed
to go to pieces all at once. He fell
something under his feet as the sea:
swept over the ship and found that i
was a lifeboat. He cut the boat loost
and it was swept away from the yes
sci. A man caught hold of the side
and crawled in. He proved to be thu
chief engineer. This was on the nigh
of April 7. The engineer died from COLI
, and exposure about midnight. Cole hat
been in the boat about IA hours Whel
|, rescued. Captain Ramsey put Col
. ashore at Madeira, where he Learned
: also that the captain and several o
: the crew of the Cato had been saved
: There were 10 or 20 persons on boar
and of these 10 or IL have not bee
!, | heard from.
: The Maritime Register of April u re
ported the loss of the Cato and tn
fact that the captain, his wife and 81
others of the ships company were land
ed at Milford Haven, having been res
cued by a steam trawler. The Cato wa
a new vessel, which only left the yard
j, at Bristol a few weeks before the storm
- being wrecked on her first voyage
- Captain Ramsey tells his story wit
:, becoming modesty, and seems to cor
. slider 1t entirely a matter of course tina
he should have gone back to max
, search for the man whose cry he hear
:, in the night.
| Odd Ways of Making