Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1909-02-03
an swept q succession Of big roll,

dHu Tue HeaVy DOal chased the Dill.
low down into the surf.
sOut We ran, the crew Jumping iii
two by two, as fast as they got
waist-deep. Fifty feet from the beach
4 y@a were fairly afloat, and all aboard.
Very slowly We crept seaward,
awaiting a coed chance to shoe.
through the breakers. The Kroo
boys kept dipping their blades just
enough to hold the boat, while the
steersman watched the coming seas
/ like a hawk.
We were good hundred feet out.
The huge dark-blue swells broke in
thunder just before us. rushed foam.
ling by. and ran far up the sand. Some
were very high But gave them.
little attention; for I sat, my knees
against the nearest box, watching my
parrots.
Suddenly there came three seas,
larger than any before. The first
4 combed over the bow, spraying tho
entire boat 1t wet my birds, and
stopped their chirping. The next
billow was still bigger. and soaked
E,us all. felt bad for the grays but
didn't suspect any danger to myself.
Then. without warning, the third
sea, curling ridge of green water
| ten feet high. caught the boat fair
lily under her BOTTOM
'.Up rose her bow, higher, higher,
higher, until with sudden fling over.
she went endwise.
"As the bird-crates came tumblins
against me, caught glimpse of
black bodies leaping right and left.
II hadn't been watching my par
rots.. j should have been ready to
Jump, too. The steersman caught my
shoulder. and tried to pull me out;
but 1t was too late. His hand was
! suddenly snatched away. Down came
the boat on top OF me. zinc-lined
box corner struck my temple, and for
a little whilesI didn't know anything.
n II came to under water, a terrible
pain over my left eyebrow and anoth-
err In my right wrist. Something on
my head was holding me down. I
kicked and thrashed round until I'm
| ally got my nose above water. In
II little dark air-space. Il was under
the overturned boat. 57a
my head doomed like big ma
\ tive drum. A web Of loose rope en-
tangled me. The three ihammocks
had fallen over my shoulders and
in my struggles the cords uad be,
come twisted about me. / tried to,
raise my right hand. but couldn't.
The excruciating ache In the wrist
told that 1t had been broken, either
S by box or the gunwale. Every
/ time anything touched 1t the pain
made me sick.
1.-The boat drifted nearly where the
s seas were breaking. Occasionally a
terrific billow crashed down above
my head.
The alr-space, barely foot high,
was filed with dusky light, reflect
ed from the sand. 1t changed posi-
4, ton with the swash OF the surf, fore
ing me to follow It for breath. Much
of the time my face was under wa
ter. as padded and pulled myself
back and forth, catching the gunwale
with my one good hand.
The hammocks were a terrible
handicap; must get clear OF them
at any cost. My broken, wrist made
! the struggle an agonizing ones but
z It meant life or death to me, and at
last cast them on They sank at
once. All was clear now under the
\ boat: not even paddle remained.
Ny parrots had disappeared utterly.
Very slowly we were drifting In;
the water was shoaler now Should
81 try to get out from under the boat.
or stay where ] was till she got far
( enough in for the blacks to turn her
over? The thump on my temple had
J, made 1t hard for me to think intelli.
u gently. With one wrist broken,
i didn't feel ambitious to battle with
a a surf like that outside. Further
more, the gunwales ran down twl
Z. feet under water, and 1t wouldn't
be any easy task for me to get out
nnassisted, For while. at any
/ rate. was safe.
So, padding like broken.winged
{ duck, j chased the shifting air-space
Why couldn't the boat turn side to
the swell and roll over, instead OIL
J keeping SO obstinately head to 1t!
j Frequently, as the surf ran out. her
n bow struck the land, my feet touched
i bottom. and felt the pull of the
undertow.
ttBut this couldn't last. wns
J pretty we'll tagged, and the air had
grown choky. Il knew 1t was time
for me to be slipping out from be
J, meath my floating refuge. But with
j, my broken wrist. that wasn't either
SO easy or SO safe as 1t might seem:
/ for should be nipped between the
! sand and the sharp gunwale, II
, would almost cut me in two.
THE water was now pretty shall
low, and hazy yellow with sand. The
. Eb0w struck bottom after every wave
, II must have been under the boat al
least fifteen minutes. My head wac
!, cracking. A heavy hand seemed tc
be COMPRISING my lungs. musl
escape while l had sense and strength
to do SO, OF should certainly lose
consciousness and drown.
Determined to fight my hardest
! peeled of thin jacket and pajamas
!, leaving just my shoes on. wasn'l
scared, but ] must keep clear of that
gunwa,e. The boat weighed per
j, haps a ton. couldn't afford to be
caught between Its edge and the hot
j tom.
/ "At last ] judged the moment had
I come. We lifted on a big roller
Taking full breath, and sinking
i back SO that my face was submerged
; hooked the fingers OF my left hand
: and the hollow OF my right elbow
{ under the gunwale, and shot my fee
Z outward. Before had got half ou
7 the boat began to sing again.