The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-03-23
HEROIC RESCUE
OF MARTINEZ
TOLD BEFORE JUDGE SPEER
IN EVIDENCE OF RESCUER, AN 1s-
YEAR-OLD SAILOR.

without Hesitation Plunged Into
Ocean After sinking COmrade.
Rolled Unconscious Body of Mar
tineE Above His own, and Lashed
Two Together-In This Manner
Both Were flowed Back to Mar
Eherith - Martinez HObbIed Into
Court on Clutches.
Rivaling the tales told in the books
of fiction. and thrilling as any that
has ever been written by the novelists,
was the tale of the rescue of Juan
della Cruz Silva Martinez by an IS
year-old Italian sailor, Massimo Chic
sa. The story of the rescue came out
| in the hearing of the famous shark"
case before Judge Emory Speer. in the
| United States courts yesterday.
| Martinez. hobbling on crutches, and
with the right leg severed just below
the knee. had been on the stand ana
| told his story of the frightful acct
dent, substantially the same as has
been told heretofore in the Morning
News. The story of the rescue, of
which Martinez could tell little. was
submitted in evidence by Chiesa, him
salf.
In reply to the questions of the at
| torneys. Chiesa told the story OF the
voyage. The bark was in a compare
| tive calm and making little Roadway,
though the seas were rolling heavily,
| and handling the vessel as some mere
plaything. The night was intensely
dark and officers and crew were alert,
lest any danger should catch them I'M
awares.
The mate ordered Martinez UP the
mast to reef a sail, and without an in
slant hesitation the SAILOR began mis-
! hazardous climb, moving steadily and
slowly toward the yard-arm. Just as
he reached ii, and when he was about
| to begin reefing the sail, something
! gave way, or the sailor missed the
rope, and the next instant he was
hurting through the air.
| Chiesa's Heroic Rescue.
For an instant the fall of Martinez
| was checked by his arm striking upon
| one of the arms of the mast but this
! check was only a short one. With
sickening thud he struck the bulwarks
| of the vessel and before a hand could
be outstretched to save him, was roll
| ed off, half-conscious from the fall,
into the rolling sea.
AS the man fell Chiesa seized a rope
| and hurriedly tied it about his own
| waist. The other end he threw to
sailor standing nearby, and stopping
only to see the sailor fasten that end
about his own waist, the young sailor,
forgetful of his own danger, jumped
| over the bulwarks into the sea after
his comrade, struggling with the
shark.
| Lashed to Drowning Man.
AS he reached him, Martinez, uncon-
scious, was sinking and young Chiesa,
throwing an arm about his waist, roll
ed the limp form above his own, A
| second rope was thrown to the man
struggling in the waters, and in an in
slant, through the practice which come
of long dealings with the water, Chiesa
had passed the rope about his own
| body and that of his unconscious
comrade, holding his comrades body
| above his own
In this manner, dashed together,
and kicking vigorously with his feet
| to ward off the shark, the young res
| ouer, and the man he had saved, were
| pulled back to the Margherita and
safety. The rescue was one of the
most daring and thrilling that has
come to light in some time.
The Hearing in the Case.
The hearing in the case was filled
with interest. Mr.. r. S. Salas acted
as interpreter, Martinez being unable
| to speak English sufficiently to give
his story in the proper form. Both
direct and cross-eXaminations were
! carried out as in the regular trials,
save that every question and answer
passed through the lips of Mr. Salas.
Martinez used only the Spanish lam
guage.
His story, and that of the captain
of the Margherita, were substantially
the same as that told in the Morning
News at the time the suit for dam
| ages and the respondents answer
were filed in the clerks office. One
of the points brought out was that
| the owners of the vessel had paid all
the hospital expenses of Martinez, and
had paid him his wages regularly I'M
til he was discharged from the hos
pital. He was in the hospital in Sa-
vannah fifty-three days.
His Expenses Were Paid.
While on the stand Martinez in re-
Spouse to questions, admitted that he
had had all his expenses paid, and
that his salary had been paid him in
three installments, 81 the first time,
$50 the second, and just before his
discharge he had been given $3.50.
A chart of the routes taken by ships
| was pIouuCeu, anu JuuSe OpeeF Cdlleu
the captain of the Margherita to the
| bench and made him explain in de-
tail the character of the winds and
| the ports along the coast. All the evil
dence in the case is in and the argu-
ment will be heard on Thursday morn
ing. The libellant is represented by
Mr.. Walter G. Charlton, and the re-
spondent owners by Judge Samuel b.
Adams and Mr.. w. B. Stubs.
|
| KrOuskofT's.