The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1909-02-04
TELLS OF THE WRECK
Ship Sank Under Him and He Was Rescued From the Sea-
Williams, the Second, Officer, With Him to the End
Fished From the Water First, He Directed the Search
For the Captain-Praise For Al the Ships Men.

New York City.-Captain William
I. Sealby, of the wrecked White Star
liner Republic, told the story of the
disaster. One thing he did not tell
was why he had elected to stay with
his ship until it sank. Being an OH
Ger of the Royal Naval Reserve and
a commander for the White Star,
Captain Sealby presupposed that this
act needed no explanation.
Before 6 O'Clock on Sunday night
we knew that the Republic would
never live to reach Martha's Vine
yard" was the way Captain Sealby
began his tale. "By z o'clock she
was way down in the stern, and wal
lowing with long, painful rolls. that
meant there was very little more life
left in her. Williams (R. J.. WILL
Jams. the second o~ficer) and I stood
or the bridge and kept u eyes
ahead on the lights of the Gresham
and Seneca. which were towing. The
ship was so low in the stern that the
waves were breaking over her at that
point and the water was smashing
clear I'M to the ladder Of the saloon
deck aft.
ST think it must have been Just
about 8 O'Clock when we both saw
that she was going to drop under us
within a very few minutes. First
thing we did was to prepare a Holmes
distress light, which burns when it
touches water. This we left on the
bridge with US so that when we went
down the men on the revenue cutters
could be directed to the spot where
the Republic went down. Will" we
were working over the light Will
Jams. who has a bit of sporting blood
In him. joked about our situation.
What do YOU make OF it, Will
iams?' I had asked him.
"T don't think it viii be a long
race TO the bottom. he laughed.
when you are ready let her go and
we'll make a sprint of it,
Before we had finished with the
Holmes light we began to hear a oar
ing and cracking of the deck seams
back Of us. 1t was the air driving
out ahead of the advancing water.
That is the last call of a sinking ship.
7 directed Williams to burn two blue
lights. the signal to the revenue cut
tiers that we were going down and for
them to cast off. Then l let loose
five shots with my revolver.
"We were going down steadily
then and pretty fast. I yelled at
Williams to make for the fore rig
ging. We both dropped down the
ladder TO the saloon deck. each carry
ing a blue light in one hand. by the
time our feet touched the saloon deck
it was at am angle of nearly thirty
degrees. wet aud slippery. We could
not keen our feet. so we grabbed the
rail and crawled. The water was
rushing up on us from behind and
tho nvn10ei0oe n oI rnnAfn- ~ fh,A an,
bers from 'midshipS told us that al
ready the stern was under water.
1--WE had reached the forecastle
head when Williams slipped to the
deck and grabbed a post of the rail
with his elbow. That was the last I
saw of him until after it was over. l
managed to get forward to the fore
mast and to climb the rigging as far
as the forward running light, about
100 feet up. Below me about half
of the ship was visible and she was
tipped up like a rocking chair about
to go over backward.
my blue light would not burn be-
cause IL had become wet. I fred one
more shot from nv revolver, the last,
Then everything dropped and I was
in the water with the foremost sliA-
ping down beside me like an elevator
plunger.
There was a boiling, yeasty mass
of water about me and a great roar
ing. I went under, but came up
again, for the air had gathered IN
der my greatcoat and buoyed me- mp.
] guess I went around spinning for a
time: then | hit q spa From the
spar I managed to get to hatch cover.
Things were flying around in the wat
er and [ came near being badly
banged mp before l managed to pull
my body ND on the, hatch cover and
lie there all spread out with nothing
but my head and shoulders above the
waves.
at was very cold. I saw the