Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-09-29

the enormity represented by these two
men il. is doubtful if they would have
saved them, but at the time they did not
know how much was raving and how
much was truth.
The men were hauled upon the steam
er's deck and put in hunks. with men to
watch them and tend them under the eye
of the captain. At intervals they recov-
cred consciousness. only to lose it The
boy alone manifested a continued inn
provement. His lucid intervals were
longer and of more frequent occurrence
He could not be still. Whenever his
brain was master If itself he told what
had happened on the raft. They tried 10
stop him, but could not, except by drug
ging him TO sleep. and it was oply when
he was drugged to sleep that his watch
ers had rest from the terrible recital.
This is the story he told. not as he told
it. but as the captain, of the Woodruff
pieced 1t together:
On Aug. ) the Norwegian bark Drot
left Pascaguola for Baenos -kyres with
general cargo and a crew OF II, besides
the captain and mate.
Off the Florida coast they were struck
by the same hurricane which caused such
destruction iii Porto Rico and other West
Indian islands. The captain brought his
ship about and tried TO run ahead Of the
storm. The hurricane tore the masts out
of. her, and a helpless hulk was lett to
oppose the awful storm. The waves
swiftly hammered the hull to pieces, and
the captain and seven men were swept
over the sides, leaving the mate and
seven others clinging to the wreck.
They saw that the hulk was filling and
must soon sink During a lull in the
storm they managed to knock together
some large fragments of the deck into
raft. They were not able TO keep upon
it any food or water. but they had to
trust themselves to it or go down with
the hulk. They got ailoat and cleared
the wreck, when the storm fell upon
them with double fury.
The raft was lifted on the crest of a
gigantic wave. and when it fell it broke
in two. To the smaller fragments clung
the mate and one man. In an instant
the two bits of fiotsam We're far apart.
The six remaining men hung on, and at
last the storm died down, and they were
able to move about. They were exposed
to terrible rain, which drenched and
chilled them, but gave them water to
drink
At'aeheo 10 the oech from WITCH '.e
rait was fpaue was siiiaii locker anu III
tn,s tnev founo nsh'ps hook anu iine'
or seFerai 'ia!s thes uapehueu M ol' tiiis
10 pfihS 'hen' iooo' Ahei1 e"'ei. was
meager. out IL was enough 10 MAINTAIN
NE. Inc nsh We're diNiueo, ana each
man ate ms portion raw. AT nrst ihey
turned away whiie they ueVoureu tie nor, nor
riole portions, Duu suherihs soon hiiieu
an Is shahe anu ieeiihs
Inc ram htu eeaseu' anu thes were
perishihs Oh tiiirs.. ohe u"y one VI 'heni
nooked iarge hsh' anu wnle NE was
puihhs II III lie went n,ao' ne Juihpee
oVerpoaru, chrIyihs hsh anu ~, uihe win
nim' shriekins l am sa'eu. iney eou,u
not dfag MN oaeh' anu so ioSl 'neir oniy
means Oh on'aihihs !oou.
Inc Survivors i'i..us reta,ieu no no
lioh oi the periou oi tiihe that eiapseo'
put II Is easy 10 III III tne Diahk between
lne loss oi tneir nshihs iiiie anu the uay
wheh tneS hrse TOOK, nunhah peSh ior
loou- ~ "o Vi 'he ere" were oealnis