The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-10-20
FEARFUL EXPERIENCES
Of . S~hipweeked Grew of he South
Carolina Coast.
ONLY TWO OF EIGHT SURVIVE


Boston, Mass. October ia story
of a North Atlantic shipwreck in which
eight seamen suffered so fearfully from
exposure, hunger and thirst that six Of
them either died outright, were wash
ed away, or crazed by their fearful ex-
perience, threw themselves into the
sea, was told TO-DAY by the two survi-
vors of the coasting schooner Van
Name and King, of New Haven, which
was beaten to pieces by a gale OF the
South Carolina coast on October 9th.
The two men who lived through the
five days and were rescued by the
schooner Stillman F. Kelly, which ar
rived here late today, are William +.
Thomas and William G. Warner, both
about 90 years old, hail from Antigua.
British West Indies. The six who, one
by one, succumbed, were Captain VIII
liam A. Maxwell, of New Jersey; Mate
E. A. Chase, home unknown; Engineer,
a German, name unknown: colored
steward, name unknown; colored sea-
men William Grissell and Alfred Ar
thur, both of Jamaica.
The Van Name and King, which has
been plying up and down the coast
since 1886, left Charleston, S. c., iur
New York, October 3rd, with a cargo of
hard pine. Two days later. she ran
into a heavy gale and after wallowing
about in the great sea for several
hours sprang a leak. The pumps were
started, but within a short time the en-
CINE room was flooded and the pumps
choked.
At s o'clock on the morning of Octo-
Der 6, with her hold nearly full of wa
ter, the little schooner was hove down
on her beam ends. The crew clam
bered upon the weather side and lashed
themselves to the bulwarks. There
they remained washed by the seas that
broke mercilessly over them all day
Friday.
That night the storm increased and
one great wave crashed aboard, break
ing both legs of Seaman Arthur aud
sweeping Grizeli from his ~fastenings.
Arthur's companions could do moth
ing to ease his suffering, but when on
Saturday the schooner turned com
pletely over they managd to cut MS
lashings and drag him On a piece of the
afterhouse. 1t vas several hours before
they were huddled together on their
little raft. That night Arthur died
in the arms of Captain Maxwell and
his body dropped overheard.
Sunday brought a ray of hope, when
a craft was sighted, but the gloom shut
in again as she passed without heed
ing the little group of seamen who
were frantically signalling her.
That night the waves subsidized and a
little rain fell, which vas eagerly
caught in a tarpaulin and brought
some slight relief. 1t was only tempo
rary, and not long after Mate Chase's
mind gave way entirely and the craft
was again lightened when he jumped
into the sea-.
The next victim was Captain Max
we'll, who on Monday forenoon became
violently insane and followed his
mates example OF self destruction as
d relief to his safferings.
The spectacle of two men throwing
themselves into the sea proved too
much for the German engineer, and a
few hours after Captain MaxwelrS
death, he, too, ieaped to his death.
The last victim was the colored stew
ard, who died Monday night and whose
body was consigned to the waters by
the two remaining seamen.
Relief came twelve hours later, when
the schooner Stillman F. Kelly, bound
up the coast from Ceylon, Ga, to this
port. sighted the little craft and hove
alongside.
Both Thomas and Warner had to be
taken off in sings and for two days
were unable to move.
The rescue took place off Cape Look
out. The Kelly arrived here this af-
ternoon, but the seamen were still too
exhausted to land.