Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-06-21

Capt Isaiah II. Fennimore. a Della
ware mariner, who was thought dead, his
boat having been wrecked of Cape Fear
a week ago. is alive. He returned YES
terday from the most thrilling voyage in
his career He was commander OF the
schooner Jennie Sweeney. the boat that
was wrecked of Cape Fear a week ago.
AT present his home is in Philadelphia.
When the mariner, who is 63 years
old and who has spent the major por-
ton Of his life on the water, saw the
ELECTS of the terrible strain upOn his
wife, who believed him to be dead he
collapsed and had to be removed to a
bed
Capt Fonnimore and his crew were
landed in New York Tuesday by the
captain of the schooner Maggie NJ
keough, who picked them up a week ago
seore Of miles off Cape Fear The men
had been imprisoned in a lifeboat p
hours when tho schooner loomed up and
rescued them
81 have been on water" said the cap
tain yesterday, "nearly al my life on all
sizes and shapes OF boats. but the storm
OF the FIRST part Of June nearly caused
me 10 pay a real visit to Davy Jones
locker. IL was terrific in all forms, and
il has firmly impressed itself upon my
mind, for never before was I forced to
desert my ship and take to hfeboats for
safety
"Ihe wind rocked my boat, and great
combers would come dashing on board so
that no one could venture safely across
the decks. The ratings were smashed,
several boats were swept overheard and
then one OF the masts came tumbling
down with a great crash that threw the
crew into a panic. But the sailors were
brave, as brave as ! have ever shipped,
and it is due to them that / am alive
today.
"After being tossed about for two days.
the boat sprang a leak We ateppted
to make RATS, but the schooner was sink
ing too fast, and the eight of US, the crew
and myself, were forced TO flee in the
irail liieboat. As the boat was lowered
and we sprang in, the storm increased in
fury, and for many hours it seemed TO
me that we were doomed. After we were
adrift - hours, which to us seemed II
years, fishing steamer, the Maggie
NJ. keough, loomed up through the dark
ness, and we knew we were safe. The
captain of the Keough took us off and
carried us to New York, the boat S
destination.
Although the captain positively asserts
that in the course of a few weeks he will
again take up his vocation, Mrs Fenni-
more vigorously protests. Hes had too
many narrow escapes" she says, while
the captain, the hero of at least half a
dozen wrecks, grimly smiles and exclaims
that he is a sailor "through and through"
Capt Fennimore was born at Leipsic,
and spent a score Of years on the Della
ware Bay oyster boats.
II was on June 9th that Capt. Atkins
of the steamer Nellie b. Dey, cruising in
the vicinity of Cape Fear, ran afoul a
lot of floating wreckage Boats were
lowered and among the spars and other
wreckage was found the locker of the
Sweeney. IL was opened and was found
to contain the papers OF Capt. Fenni-
more. The news Of the supposed wreck
of the schooner was flashed to New York
As no word was heard of the whereabouts
of the captain and his crew, it was taken
for granted that they had been lost.
Mrs. Fennimore was almost Frustrated by
the news.