The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-24
AT SEA ON RAFT So HOURS.
RUSSELL SOLE SURVIVOR OF 81
CAUGHT IN FLORIDA STORM.

Nt8Ut " ouhIeftuR-hu AcEEVE VI
sharks That were swArmInE About the
BIt Of Floor Ing which supported Him..
John Russell, the sole survivor OF a con-
struction gam OF thirty-ssven men, who
occupied the houseboat Ellie that was
wrecked by the hurricane Of October Is
OF the east coast of Florida, got here yes
terday on the steamship FL Paso, by which
he was rescued while c'inging to q raft ten
miles on shore.
For thirty-six hours Russell had chung
to his frail support and he was all but dead
when help arrived.
The construction gang OF which Russell
was a member was engaged in building
bridges for the Florida East Coast Railroad
and was at work at Mataoowbi Key, which
is some ten miles on the French Reef. There
we're five other gangs in the vicinity. all In
houseboats.
There was 10 sign Of stormy weather
the night before the hurricane. Shortly
before day OF the morning Of the 18th the
men we're awakened by the pounding Of the
seas and the roar of the wind. The gale
had come upon them from the southwest.
The one anchor that the Ellie had down
began to drag and a second was let go.
but the boat continued to drift toward the
open sea.
The Ellie was a doubledecked affair, and
to get away from the waves the men went
to the upper deck. Just as the day was
breaking and. as near as Russell could tell.
the houseboat was three miles on shore,
a tremendous sea swept over the craft and
her superstructure crumbled.
Il was thrown into the sea and when l
came up l saw nine men clinging to a part
of the house. Where the others had gone
l did not know. l got to the wreokage
and took hold Of il. Just then a big wave
struck us and the raft went to pieces. l
got ON a section OF flooring and held on
to it a. best l could. Another wave came
along and covered up the wreckage that
the nine other men were holding to. When
the wave passed on l saw only one man
floating near me. His name was Mcbride
and he lived in New York.
Mcbride swan to where l was and when
he caught hold our heads we're just above
water. 1t was hard to keep the water
from our mouths and noses and to make
things worse the waves tossed against US
one of the doors from the houseboat.
1T struck me on the shoulder and hit
Mcbride in the head i~njuring him 80 badly
that he lost his hold on the timber and was
drifting away when l caught him.
Mcbride was stunned, hut the water
brought him around soon and l advised
him to get on the door, which he did.
Poor McBridel That was the last | saw OF
him, for the next sea that came along
washed him away.
The raft to which 1 chung was about
four feet wide and seven feet long. There
were many nails in il and every time the
waves hit me l was pushed against them
and my body was torn. l managed to
climb on top OF it, but my weight was such
that the planks sunk until l was almost
covered by the water.
Then the sharks came-only two at first,
but at times there were ten or a dozen
Of them, and | can tell you it was far from
pleasant sitting there in the water thinking
that any moment might be washed from
the raft.
Il found a piece of rope attached to a
piece OF timber and as my raft weakened
with the action of the waves and my weight
/ tied the pieces together again. l reckon
that piece OF rope saved my life as much as
anything else did.
1T was Just a little after day when all
the other men were drowned and there
was /, 80 far as l could see, alone on the
ocean, for land was out OF sight. 1t was a
dreary feeling.
THE storm died down, but the waves
we're still high and the sun was hot. @The
salt water in the cuts mad by the nails
almost drove me crazy and there were the
sharks all the time. 1t was harder work
each hour trying to hold on and at the same
time look for vessels that might come near.
! knew that | was going out toward where
a .-u-A a-I 1890 - kkAAa
many miles away, but all the day none OF
them came near to me. just at nightfall
l saw a big four masted steamer coming
down toward where l was and I thought
that I would be seen. Two miles of she
changed her course and went slanting
away.
when night came | was afraid that
some vessel would run me down. I was
almost worn out with my long fight with
the sea and several times during the night
l came near falling OF the raft. But the
memory OF the sharks came 10 me and /
chung tighter to the planks.
Then it got morning again. 1t had been
twenty-four hours since l had been thrown
into the water and I had not eaten for thirty
six hours. But l wasn't hungry. although
the thirst nearly drove me mad. 1 had
swallowed a lou OF SAT- wafer ana JnaJ added
to the craving. The day wore on and
still I saw ID vessel coming my way.
1T was 3 O'Clock in the afternoon when
I saw a steamer coming towsr me. / saw
that it probably would not como very near,
but I took of my shirt and waved It. 1
was weak, but l cried at the top Of my
lungs and as l was to windward my voice
carried. l saw the steamer slow down,
then l saw them put on a small boat and l
knew that / was saved. After that I forgot
for a long, long time.
Russell probably owes his life to the good
ears Of Emmett Bagnall, an eighteen-year-
old negro messroom boy. who was doing
some painting around the galley when he
heard RusseIl's cry. Bagnall is super
s%titioils. like many OF his race, and when he
heard the voice coming over the waters
he thought ID was a ghost.
He ran 10 the cabin and told Capt. Knowles,
who went to the pilot house and gszed
through the glass in the direction indicated
by the messroom boy. He could see some