Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1903-05-13
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 'llll1'1if'ifYYlNRNl'iNfR
At, THE END OF THE LOG-LINE.
BY ALBERT w. TOLMAN.


JlIlIIlIs!sEiIIIsI gJgslIsllAlIsllsS
Right under me, as / worked, was the
log Line, shimmering with phosphor-
escence where it skinned the surface,
like cord of fire. l remember think
ing how high our speed must be to
make the line turn so rapidly.
81 had been out On the boom again
and again in much rougher weather,
and never given the danger second
thought. A man will run certain risk
nine times and escape. The 10th time
he is punished for his carelessncss.
This was my 10th time.
My duty took me little longer
than the others, and by the time l had
finished there was nobody else work.
ing or the boom. had just tide the
last knot when the schooner gave
sudden roll to windward l lurched
back, lost my footing and in an in
stant was flung into the water. AS l
sank 1 gave a shout for help, and the
last sound that reached my ears as the
waves 1closed over me was Johnson's
cry Of alarm: n
Man. oyerboard Man overheard
.I.Mss hsaxilx aea %srs; r. Il seess
I had on thick fisherman's boots, and
a leather jacket under my REFER, and
so was in no condition for swimming.
My situation was a desperate one. A
man who falls in the night from YES
sci moving so rapidly as the Never
Fear stands but little chance of living
to tell of it.
"As my head came above water,
shot; an anxious glance in the direction
where l supposed the vessel to be. She
was nowhere in sight! For few sec
onds 1 tasted the bitterness of certain
death. Then was lifted from the
trough of the sea by a hugh comber,
and saw the Never Fear so feet away.
At tho same instant Gown across the
billows came the should:
Light the torch!
"a few minutes before l had been
warm and comfortable in the cabin
over my game of checkers. Now was
fighting for my life in the freezing
seas. A great wave overwhelmed me.
blotting the schooner from my view
once more. When I was lifted aloft
on the crest of the next comber the
vessel was 25 feet farther away.
Hope was almost dead within me,
when suddenly saw the log line, like
a ray of light, cutting the waves near
by. That line represented life to me. I
made :. grab at it, but missed it alto
gether; my hands clutched. cold water
and nothing more. l tried a second
time, and just touched it with the tips
of my mittens.
"Onee more, grasped at it desper-
ately, despairingly. This time caught
the cord fairly in my hands, but it was
so small and was running so rapidly
that I could not retain my hold. The
line was of cotton, woven hard, and
about the size of lead-pencil.
81 knew that the end Of the line must
be near Casting a glance over my
shoulder, | saw the ripple of the log
not thirty feet away. If that once
passed by me, all hope was gone.
determined to hold fast, let my fingers
suffer what they might, and with a
sudden enort 1 closed them once more
The cord tautened under my weight,
and began to pull me along. But, grip
hard as could, it slowly slipped
through my lacerated fingers, cutting
them to the bone. 1 cannot express
to you the mental suffering caused
me by that slowly escaping line. 1t
seemed but to prolong the agony of g
certain death.
my hold loosened. The cord darted
forward again; and then my fingers
closed in final grip round the brass
fin of the log! 1t was my last, my only
chance. 1t was like taking hold of a
propeller, and my hands were cut
frightfully as the fin revolved for an
instant before it stopped. The only
thing that saved my fingers from being
literally sliced to pieces was the thick
mittent had on. l was jerked ahead
for few feet, the strain telling fear
fully on my arms and shoulders. Then
the line slackened, as the schooner
came up into the wind.
"Just then, with burst of smoky
light the torch famed up, revealing
every detail of the vessel and flashing
in sparkles innumerable across the
foaming black waters. l shall never
forget how the Never Fear looked to
me in that brief moment. Her sails
were shaking, and every rope stood
sharply out. AS she rolled her deck
toward me could see the tubs and
fsh-kits, the nests of dories lashed be-
tween the fore and main rigging, and
the anchor on the bow. could see my
shipmates preparing to do all they
could for my rescue. Half a dozen
were getting dory over. l knew that
had been seen, for fingers were point