Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-09-08
A ROMANCE OF TEE SEA.
sToRY> OF TIE VICTIM OF A
STRANGE AFFLlCTlOM.
castaway Woman Found in Beat
With Dead Comprehensive
Could Never Remember Wher@e
She Came-A Thrilling Sequel.

south OF the MaderlaS, was Cdlleu
to the lookout two hours after mid
night | was digging my eyes and
fghting away sleep when curious
sound from over the bows caught my
ear 1t was a dark night, with not a
star visible, and / could not see be-
yond the end of the jibboom. AS l
listened to the noise the only thing
l could compare it to was the noses
of sharks humping against small
boat
1t would nave been ridiculous to
call to the mate and give him any
such explanation, but l finally report
ed the curious noise and left the
cause for him to find out. He brought
glare Illuminated the sea for hun-
dred feet around, and the first thing
We saw was a ships boat within half
a cables length of us on the port bow.
In the bottom of the boat were two
human figures, and one of them was
woman, and all around the boat the
sea was alive with sharks. They
were diving under the craft, running
their noses against it, and seeking in
other ways to upset it. Had it been
stood their attacks.
AS soon as we caught sight of the
boat the mate ran to call the captain.
BY the time ne had arrived the boat
had drifted right down against us
and one of the crew lowered himself
and fastened the painter. Then l got
down to assist him and we passed up
the bodies-the man first. We might
as well nave dropped him into the
sea, for he had been dead at least
the woman having not a doubt that
she was also dead, she moved and ut
tered a groan and gave us a great
fright. We had her on board in a
couple of minutes and the small boat,
which was captains gig, new and
without name, was later hoisted up.
We found the woman greatly exhaust
ed through thirst and hunger, but
with life enough to build hopes on,
and she was cared for so well that
at the end of two or three hours it
was reported that she had fallen into
a deep sleep and would probably pull
through.
1t may surprise you to learn how
long that castaway female slept At
intervals the captain raised her head
to administer soup or drink, but not
actually to interrupt her sleep, and
she did not open her eyes until fifty
hours had passed. Then sleep had
brought her back to life. 1t was two
or three days later, however, before
we heard her story, or, to our great
amazement, learned that there was no
story to tell The woman could re-
member nothing of the past-not even
her name.
If you have ever read Clark Rus
sell you will remember two such in
cidents in his books. You may have
set them down as sailors yarns,
but such things have happened on
land dozen times over. The woman
awoke to find herself aboard strange
ship, with strange men about ner.
She was handsome and well formed,
English in looks and speech, but she
wore no jewelry and had neither a
purse nor card case. When asked
how she came TO be at sea with the
man in the gig-whether she had Wis
tied Madeira or the Azores, whether
she lived in England or elsewhere
she could tell absolutely nothing She
began a new life as she opened her
ewes in the cabin of the Tornado.
These things all came to us on
deck, because the case was mystery
and because the more it was talked
over the sooner solution might be
found. After three or four days both
cabin and forecastle came to the same
conclusion, that the sailor must have
been rowing the woman off to a ship,
or was rowing from ship to shore, at
some of the islands. The boat had
not been provisioned and she had been
at sea four or five days. One would
have thought that the sailor would
have borne up better than the woman,
but he may not have been in good
health
Of course, the right thing to do was
to leave the woman at Fayal, but she
strongly objected to this plan, saying
that she would be penniless and
among strangers. 1t was finally de-
cided to carry her on to our port and
upon arriving there she was placed in
charge of the English consul and her
story given to the papers. From first
to last the story must have appeared
in hundreds of newspapers and sail
ors talked of it in hundreds of ships,
but no one came forward to give any
further particulars.
To add to the romance, or rather to
make romance of it, our captain fell
in love with the woman, and she re-
turned the sentiment. She would have
married him at the end of a few
months, but he dared not chance it,
He fully believed that she was already
a wife and that word must come from
her husband sooner or later. AS for
her, the past was dead. 1t was doubt
ed whether she would remember her
husband if he came to claim her She
loved as any single woman might love-
When two years had passed away
and no word had been received Capt.
Clark and the woman were married,
and he took her to Wilmington. N. c.,
to reside He made three or four
trips to European ports after that and
then quit the sea and established him
self as a snip chandler.
One evening. four years after the
wedding. the captain of an English
ship just in, called at the chambers
in the way of trade. Something hap
pened to be said about the Azores,
and the stranger at once began a sor-
rowful story. Six years before, while
his ship was at the islands, his wife
,.ak,,r~, - the