The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-12-22
SEA TRAGEDY
Captain and His Wife and Eleven Sea-
men Lose Their Lives.
SCHOONER IS WRECKED

aatler Picked Up In the Wreckast
of the Governor Ames and Car
ried to Charleston by the steam
ship shawmut, Gives Graphic Sto'
~ of = Catastrophe.
The flve-masted schooner Cover
nor Ames, bound from BRUNSWICK
Ga. to New York, with a large car
10 of railroad crossties, GROUNDED
and went to pieces of Wimoie
Shoals. twenty-five miles north o.
Cane Hatteras, Monday afternoon Al
about 6 o'clock. The captain, tne
crew, consisting of twelve men, ano
the wife OF the captain, were al
killed or drowned with one single
exception.
This, says The News and Courier
ia the story told by the sole sur
ytvor, a Nova Scotian, by the name
OF Josiah Spearing, a seaman gu
the vessel. He was picked up IRON
a mass of floating ties by the steam
ship Shawmut, while on her way
from Philadelphia to Charleston
where she arrived Wednesday nlgn'
With Spearing on board.
Capt. A. Syenson, Of the Sha"mu1
ON Tuesday morning about 7 O'CLOCK
discovered a figure signalling on d
mass of ~wreckage. The Shawmut
WAS about two miles from the scene
but Immediately fastened to Wner'
the wreckage lay. The sea was Toe
rough to lower q boat, but a ladoe!
Was thrown over the side Of the YES
eel and Spearing climbed aboard.
Spearing was suffering from the
cold, the shock and particularly from
severe bruises inflicted by the float
Ing wreckage, which beat upon him
on account Of the heavy sea dash
inc II to and fro. His legs and arms
bear blue and black marks, and ne
IA unable to walk. His mind. how
ever !s clear and he Is able to give
q full account of the calamity. which
he did to q reporter Of The News
and Courier, and from that account
we make up this report:
Spearing hailed the Shawmut By
waving an oil skin coat, which ne
managed to save before the schooner
went down. lie says that In the
forenoon Monday the wind assumed
large proportions; 1t was foggy, and
drizzling, and he says the man al
the wheel was near-sighted and could
not see where he was steering; tha'
he could only steer by the way the
wind filled the sails, or by AID OF
the stars. That at 1880 O'Clock
In the morning the schooner struck
rocks and broke al: The sea came
In on the quarter deck and the ELL
ors dashed the captains wife to the
spanker rigging. Then the men VEL
down to get life ~preservers. When
It was tried to use them they fell
to pieces before any n could get
them on. Rope yards we're the
dashed around the preservers by eact
man who had one.
While the men were trying &c
make the preserves seaworthy the
vessel broke aft, and the captain (
wife was rushed to the forward deck
and dashed to the mast. She was
almost frozen, suffering from tbs
cold wind and from the cold sec
that was filling the boat. The men
rushed down into the cabin fos
blankets for her, and they had hard
" gotten on deck again when the
stern broke in two and the cabin
was filled with water.
It was about 2 o'clock then. and
the wind increasing. the vessel broke
up completely. The woman was lash
ed to the mIzzen rigging. and then
as the rigging began to break, she
vas taken away and dashed to the
hoops of the mainmast. on the fore.
castle. The sea was so violent tina,
the mast broke, and, falling upon
the woman, crushed her to death
Snearing said az the woman fell 1t
heard a mar give a death scream
az the same mast had fallen upor
him and killed him.
Spearipg said that as soon as be
and the mate saw that the captain
wife was dead they knew they coul'
do no more, 50 they made an efor'
to save their own lives by running
70 the lib as it was the safest place
When the vessel began breakin 2
aft she swung around AZ violently
that they couldn't stay on her any
longer. Three big seas washed owe
the wreckage and Spearing manage
to hold on.
The fourth sea was so strong, how
ever that he fell overheard from tn
vreckage. He grabbed to a hand
rope at the flying jib and was for
tunate enough to land on the deck
which was floating. He had scarce
~ landed when two seas struck hin
knocking him down before he coui!
raise himself. He was terribly daz
ed and about half conscious when h
stood up, but he made a start 10
the aft deck and he could hear me-
screaming with fear and agony a
they were being pounded senseles
by falling timbers.
Another sea washed over him an
~ ,ttanntad RI get To the men 4