The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-11-04
THRILLING
TALE Of EAST
COAST STORM
Sole Survivor of Inflated
House Boat Tells His
Experience.
FLOATED ON PIECE OF TIMBER
AND FOUGHT OFF SHARKS FOR
OVER TWELVE HOURS BEFORE
HE WAS PICKED UP BY STEAM
Err Ell PASO.

Dine of the most thrilling tales OF
the east coast storm was that. told
by John Russell, of Salem, Fla,
laborer on the extension work OF the
Flagler railroad along the Florida
keys, the sole survivor of thirty-three
men on a houseboat that was ground
ed on a bit Of beach on Lower Mata-
cumze Key. He was rescued by the
steamer FL PasO and was taken 10
New York when he related MS ex'
perlenCe as follows:
1T was early on the morning OF
Oct. Is that the rain began to fall.
Russell said, land We brldge-bullaers
were awakened by it because the old
roof leaked. The mate, a Norwegian
named Gus. had ordered an anchor
out the night before-a big fellow
that weighed 500 pounds-for We sort
of smelled some wind, and now he
had US put out another one just as
big. and five minutes after still an
other one, So that we had three out
in all.
You must understand we were
high and dry on the beach all this
time-not In the water at all, The
sky began to gloom up as black as
ink, and then all of sudden the
wind came out of the gulf with a
roar. Well, sir, that little houseboat
just waltzed down the beach off the
key right out into the gulf, dragging
those three 500-pound achors along
after her.
Inside her, us fellows were tossed
around like feathers. We didn't quite
know where we were.
Everything broke loose. The fur
niture whirled around every which
way, and pretty soon the water began
to come in.
After we'd gotten about three
miles out, should say, the old thing
began to break up. 1t was awful
then, sir. The fellows were like rats
in a trap. They didn't have any
chance to get out. and there was
nothing 10 do but wait for a chance.
First one end would fall away, then
part Of another, then some planks
from the sides. Me and nine other
men, among them a chap named Nc.
Bride, from New York, were lying on
the upper floor, hanging on to any
thing. l had hold of a rope. tied tC
staple in a plank, and that was
what saved my life. When she finally
went to pieces we were all chucked
out into the waves and got pretty
badly knocked about. But / hung on
to that rope.
Some of them lasted pretty long
! There was a door alongside of me
with nine men on it. Mcbride was
one of them. A big wave chucked a
bit of lumber at US, and 1t got some
men On another piece of wreckage
after just grazing my head But
hung on. The water kept going high
over us, and one minute l looked al
that door and the fellows on it, and
a minute after looked she was quite
upside down, and the poor beggars
were gone That was' all I seen OF
them except Mcbride bObbed up, and
I tried to reach over and catch hold
of him so he could get grip again
but wave got in between me and
him and he was washed away.
ut was about o'clock in the morn
ing when the storm struck us, and
l foated about on that bit of timber
until nearly o'clock the next after
noon, when the El Paso picked me
up of Frenchman's Reef, in the gulf
1.-THE worst of my troubles were the
sharks. They swarmed around me
all the time, biting every now and
then. But whenever they turned to
open their jaws they got hold Of the
long nails on the bottom of the plank
and drew off in hurry. Of course