Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-03-27
SAILORS AWFUL PLIGHT.
'aught In Cabin of sinking Vessel,
He Has Terrible Experience.

'aughs In Cabin of sinking Vessel,
He Has Terrible Experience.
Imprisoned in the cabin of a sinking
Tessel, with the water rapidly rising
about him, Harry Wiley of London,
nate of the Hull steam trawler Quail,
escaped death recently BY remarka-
ole Intervention of the fates. His ex-
and unbalanced the mind of less
hardy man. Like rat in submerged
trap he swan about until, standing on
tiptoe on table, he was able TO raise
his nose and mouth above the water
INTO the few inches of breathing space
that still remained in the skylight.
Finally after an hour of effort, when
he was about TO abandon the fight and
resign himself to the inevitable, the
water began receding with the ebbing
tide. and in a short time he was able
to force the cabin door and reach the
upper deck The boat had sunk in shall
low water.
The Quail was run down in the
while Wiley and the rest of the crew
were asleep in the cabin. With the ex-
ception of the mate. the men were able
to escape. and were taken off later by
the boats of the Dynamo, Wiley awoke,
however, to find the water rushing into
the cabin through the windows. He
jumped out of his bunk and made for
the door as fast as he could, but the
water, which already filled the cabin
up to Willey's waist. held it tight. He
struggled fiercely, desperately. to pull
it open, but in vain. The rapidly rising
water drove him from it. 1t was now
about his shoulders. and cropping in the
dark he finally, with his feet, located
the table under the skyIight. Mount
ing it, he attempted to force the sky
light his last hope. 1t stuck, even
more securely than the door.
The water rose rapidly about the inn
prisoned man; TO his knees, to his hips,
to his shoulders, and finally he was
compelled to stand on tiptoe to utilize
the small space that still remained in
the skylight Two inches more of
water and 1t would be all over
Suddenly he heard blows struck on
the top OF the skylight, and he rightly
surmised that his shipmates We're try
ing to force the top in the hope that
he was still alive. 1t stoutly resisted
their assault, however, and they finally
abandoned the effort, thinking that the
water inside was so high as to pre-
clude the possibility of any one sill liv-
ing.
Worn out by his efforts and unnerv-
ed by the sounds of the retreating foot
steps of his companions, Wiley slipped
from the table and went under. With
a great effort, however, he succeeded
in holding to a ledge and pulling his
head above water in the skylight again.
But the hold was precarious and diff
cult one, and he knew that he could
not last long. Just as he was about to
give up hope he noticed that the water
was slowly receding At first he did
not believe his Senses but as he watch
ed the shifting mark of the water on
the side of the skylight his first inn
preston was confirmed After time,
which to the exhausted man seemed al
most an eternity, he was able to aban-
don his uneasy perch and try the door
again. 1t yielded to his efforts, and az
it swung open the rush of water car
ried him off his feet and landed him in
safety on the deck. He lay there ex-
hausted until the crew of the Dynamo
saw him and came TO his rescue.