The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1902-07-10

In earnest" said the old soldier, was
In q storm at sea; from troops on
transport that was foundering. There
were a lot of troops. twenty thousand
or SO. on vessels. bound on an expedi-
tion down the coast. Besides the trans
ports. there We're a lot Of naval vessels
Of all sorts. And then there We're some
vessels in tow, with supplies and sub
sistence stores. The steamer that my
Altogether it was a fleet Of fifty ves-
sells or more. We went along down the
coast slow and easy. so as 10 keep to-
gether-no use of getting there piece
meal. because nothing could be done
till all were there-and so as to accom-
modate the slower boats and those that
were towing others.
I'VE had one day of bad weather that
finally worked up into storm. There
was a high sea all day, and the ship
We had in tow charged over ii at a
great rate. Sometimes when the steam
er's nose was in a valley. and her stern
In the air. looking astern from her after
deck you couldn't see the lower maSts
Of the ship We were towing. All you
could see was her topmasts and to'gal-
lantmasts and upper yards. The ship
was out Of sight in the valley. Next
minute the steamers bow would be N
the air and her stern buried, and then
looking at the ship. as she rose up on
great wave behind us, YOU could see
her forefoot. A minute later the steam
er's stern would be in the air again,
and the ship would be sliding down the
face Of the wave into the valley. 1t
seemed as though it was about the
limit of towing. and almost wondered
they didn't cut her loose.
AS the day went on the weather got
worse and night shut in early. with the
sky overcast and the wind blowing a
gale, the sea rougher than ever. and
vessels all around us rolling and toss
ing. We had heard once or twice, just
before dark, when the blasts of wind
had let up little. sounds of firing to
windward, and we knew there must be
q vessel there in distress. After night
fall we could see in the distance the
fash of the guns; the volley firing Of
men apparently drawn up in line on the
deck. 1t wasn't our place to help them;
there were many vessels nearer. They
had all the help 1t was possible to give
them. We learned later that nearly all
Gu the vessel were saved. There We're
about twenty-five lost.
when We came on deck on our ship
the next morning we saw something
that interested US very much; the upper
part Of the after chimney-the steamer
had two smokestacks, ranging fore and
aft-had been carried away completely,
and it lay on deck over on the port side
Of the ship. On the starboard side. aft,
a boat hanging on -davits had been
smashed, and the steamers rail cut
down to the deck. This damage had
been done by the ship We had in tow
Her jibboom had poked off the upper
sections Of the smokestack and her cut
water had smashed the boat and Gu:
down the rail. According to the story
aboard. we had occasion in the night
to back. The story was that there We're
breakers ahead. When We went astem
the ship kept coming, and came aboard
Of us on the starboard quarter. They
cut her loose as soon as they could, and
the men on the ship made sail on her.
She hadn't done us very, much damage
Il have sometimes wondered what
would have happened II she had
struck us little harder blow.
"We went on easily enough with one
long and one short chimney. We were
going slow, and we didn't need the
draught that we lost through the cut
ting down of one of them. We didn't
pick the ship up again, but we saw her
a few days later, at our port of destina-
ton, trim and all right. 1t hadn't dis
turbed her to be cut loose in the storm;
in fact, 1 have no doubt that she liked
It much better to be permitted to make
her own way.".True Flag.
The Hero's Grave.