Los Angeles herald., 1905-12-10
i R N ED T u r 7 L E
Captain EnseIandt's Story Of His Twelve Days Of
Terror While Imprisoned in the U ptrned Erndte.

see the break of another dawn. The
whistling of the wind bowling through
the rigging, the creaklng of the mast
and the straining and grOaniug of
bulkheads as the ship rolled i'm the
trough of the seq made a din impos-
slble to describe and sounded 10 my
ears like the knell of doom. With
breathless anxiety watched each
mountainous wave as II rose far above
the mast. then with a terrific noise
broFe over the deck sweeping every
thing before Il and sending the vessel
staggering and plunging beneath the
immense weight of water. Fortu~
natoly we had taken the precaution to
lash ourselves fast or we should have
been washed off. Our situa tion was
! indeed a desperate one and would have
filed the stoutest heart with dismay:
the loosenng of a bolt or the shifting
of the ballast meant the destruction of
all hands, for it was utterly impossi-
Bile to launch a boat in such n heavy
sea.
This state of terror continued until
five In the morning of the next day.
when there came Il temporary lull in
the storm.
"Thoroughly exhausted from my
long vigil at the wheel. relinquished
it TO the mate while I went below 10
change my clothing, for l was wet to
the skin. Hardly had l completed the
change when the vessel gave sudden
lurch, hurting me violently into a corr
ner Before I regained my feet the
gloop pitched again. This time my
head came in contact with the bulk
head and ] partially lost consciousness.
To this fact | owe my preservation.
How long l remained stunned 1 know
not, but when | came to l was cling
ing to my bunk with both hands, while
my feet were dangling in the water.
BY degrees my thoughts returned, and
as my eyes became accustomed to the
gloom it flashed across my beWildere1
mind as 1 cast my eyes upward and
beheld the huge hull that the shin had
capsized. 1t is needless to say that l
was Mortified when l comprehended
what had taken place.
Faced Death Many Times
"I had faced death dozen times be-
fore at sea, but to meet that grim mon
ster alone in that loathsome tonn
which hemmed me in was more than
human nature could endure, and in an
agony of despair l shrieked aloud for
help. But no one came to my add
was alone-big beads of perspration
stood upon my forehead as ! was hesi-
tating whether it would not be better
to end my misery at once by letting go
my hold 1t was the cold water laSn-
ing furiously around me that reused
me finally from the torpor into which
l had fallen. Shaking in every limb,
struggled to get out of the water, for
memory had awakened in me thoughts
of my wife and little ones at home and
! resolved to live.
Once safely perched on top of my
bunk. I gave way to bitter grief For
the first time since / had left my pious
mother 1 prayed-yes, on bended knees
and begged Him who is ever ready to
hear the penitent for pardon and for
giveness. That my unfortunate crew
had perished l felt quite certain, for
the matches had been battered down
as the ship went over. 1t soon became
clear to me that my bunk was by nc
means the safest place for me. for the
boat was sinking lower and lower in
the water.
While I was meditating what to do
it occurred to me that as the Erndte
had a draught of eleven feet and the
cabin was about seven feet high
had at least four feet between me and
the keel. BY dint of much labor tore
loose some of the planks of what was
now the ceiling and was soon draw
ing myself through the hole l had
made.
Here, for the present, at least, cal
culated l would be safe from the reach