Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-30
BURIED IN THE HOLD
sand Used as Ballast Was Last Rest
ing Place of a Sea Cap
tain's Wife.

A strange story of the sea comes from
Sydney. 1t is about the American ship
Senator. On March 18th the ship left
Algoa bay, South Africa, bound in bal
last for Sydney. Capt. Sutherland was
her master. With him in the ship was
his wife, who has been his companion
during the last 20 years Of his sea ca
reer, says a San Francisco report.
Seven days out one of those sudden
and terrific gales from the African coast
fell upon the ship. Whether the sud-
denness of the storm had any effect in
producing the sickness is not known,
but shortly after the gale fell upon the
ship Capt. Sutherland was called into
the cabin to see his wife lying uncon-
scious from paralysis. She never re-
gained consciousness. Capt. Sutherland
was confronted with the double agony
Of knowing that his wife was dying in
him were the elements striving to de-
stroy his vessel. The woman died within
a short time. The thought to Capt. Suth-
erland that he would have to consign the
body of his wife to the sea, was one of
the most agonizing that he had ever ex-
perienced. 1t would have been impossi-
BILE to have mustered the ships crew
about the body as it was consigned to the
deep. The men were about the vessel
fighting to save the ship and save their
own lives. Capt. Sutherland decided not
to bury his wife at sea but to bury her
aboard his vessel. He was able to &C.
complish this in a strange way.
While the storm was raging the ships
carpenter, a man who had been nursed
from a serious sickness by Mrs. Suther-
land, constructed a rough coffin. Out Of
two-inch boards he soo had modelled a
casket for his dead benefactress. This
box was calked and then covered with
several coats of pitch to make it as air
tight as possible. Once the coffin was
finished the strange funeral was begun.
Capt. Sutherland, helped by one of his
crew, dressed and prepared the body for
its casket. Far down in the hold Of the
ship, where the ballast was located, two
men were put to dig a grave. The YES
sci had taken on a quantity of sand as
ballast, and it was found that this soil,
artificial as it was, would serve per-
fectly as a temporary place Of burial I'm
til the vessel could reach land.
When the grave was ready the coffin
was lowered. 1t had few mourners to
attend in person. There were many
mourners near by, but they were on the
decks above trying to save the ship from
destruction. Only Capt. Sutherland and
a few of the crew descended into the ves-
sells hold to attend the remarkable
funeral. The burial service wal read, a
short prayer was spoken. 1t was Capt.
Sutherland who said them and then the
body was lowered into the grave and
the grave closed. q
Sydney was safely reached. AS o
as possible after that port was made
Capt. Sutherland, accompanied by most
Of the crew and friends ashore, attended
the remains of his wife to a final resting
place in one of the cemeteries at Sgd
uCy, WuClO d luHtIdl ScIflCt ulOIc III
keeping with the Christian character Of
the woman was conducted by an Aus
tralian minister.
Railway Drinks in Germany.
Several of the German governments
have recently manifested great interest
In catering to the passengers within
their borders. In Germany, much more
than here, refreshments are hawked
alongside the passenger trains by wait
ers attached to the station restaurants.
Now the authorities in Saxony have or
dered that these things must be includ-
ed in the offerings: Cool drinking wa
ter-for not more than five ~pfennigs
az cents) a glass of 0.4 litre (the ca
pacity of a small beer mug); mineral
waterforno morethan five cents a small
bottle, and fresh fruit in season, with
the price plainly marked. Bottles and
glasses must be kept perfectly clean,
and the provisions in the station buffets
must be kept under glass to protect
them from dust. Severe penalties are
to be inflicted for violations of these
rules.-Chicago Journal.
VII