Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1909-12-23
SEA TRAGEDY
fastan and His Wife and Eleven Sea-
aea Lose Their Lives.
SCHOONER IS WRECKED

ried to Charleston by the Steam.
ship Shawmut, Gives Graphic Sto.
~ Of . Catastrophe.
The five-masted schooner Cover
nor Ames. bound from Brunswick
Ga.. to New York. with a large car
60 OF railroad croseties. grounded
aud went to pieces OF Wimble
| Shoals. twenty-five miles north OF
Cape Hatteras. Monday afternoon at
eoout q o'clock. The captain. the
crew. consisting o. twelve men. and
the wife OF the captain. were at!
killed or drowned with one single
exception.
This. says The News and Courier
is the story told by the sole sur
vivor, Nova Scotian, by the nome
D Of Josiah Speering. a seaman on
] mass Of floating ties by the steam
ship Shawmut. while on her way
from Philadelphia to Charleston,
where she arrived Wednesday night
with Spearing on board.
Capt. A. Syenson. of the Shawmut.
on Tuesday morning about Z O'Clock
discovered a figure signalling on a
i mass OF wreckage. The shawmut
was about two miles from the scene
\ but Immediately fastened To wherc
the wreckage lay. The sea was too
rough TO lower a boat, but ladder
ySas thrown over the side Of the yes
sci 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
Ing II to and fro. His legs and arms
bear blue and black marks. and he
is unable 20 walk. His mind. how
ever, -is clear and he Is able TO give
full account of the calamity. which
he did 60 q reporter Of The News
and Courier. and from that account
we make up this report:
Spesfins hailed the shnwmut b.
waving an OIL. skin coat. which he
managed to save before the schooner
went down. lie says that In the
foreuoon Monday the wind assumed
large proportions; 1t was foggy. and
drizziing. and he says the man at
the wheel was near-sighted and could
not see where he was steering; that
he could only steer by the way the
wind flled the sails, or by aid of
=, the stars. That at 1880 O'Clock
In the morning the schooner struck
rocks and broke att The sea came
In on the quarter deck and the sail
ors lashed the captains wife to the
sparker rigging. Then the men wei.
down 20 get life preservers. When
10 pieces before any one could get
them on. Rope yards we're then
dashed around the preservers by each
man who had one.
While the men were trying to
make the preserves seaworthy the
vessel broke aft. and the captain y
wife was rushed to the forward deck
and yashed to the mast. She was
almost frozen. suffering from the
cold wind and from the cold sea
that was filling the boat. The mer
rushed down Into the cabin for
blankets for her. and they had hard
ly gotten on deck again when the
stern broke In two and the cabin
was filed with water.
II vas 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
was taken away and lashed 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 deatt
6peering said as the woman fell h.
heard q man give a death scream
as the same mast had fallen upor
him aud killed him.
Spearing said that as soon as he
and the mate saw that the captain z
wife WAS dead they knew they coulf
do no more. so they made an effor,
TO save their own lives by running
TO the jib as II was the safest place
When the vessel began breakins g
aft she swung around 80 violently
that they couldn't stay on her any
longer. Three big seas washed over
the wreckage and Spearing managed
to hold on.
The fourth sea was so strong. how
ever. that he fell overheard from the
wreckage. He grabbed to a hand
rope nt the flying jih and was for
tunate enough to land on the deck
which was floating. He had scarce.
iy landed when two seas struck him
knocking him down before he could
raiss himself. He was terribly daz-
ed and about half conscious when he
stood mp, but he made ..tart fol
the aft deck and he could hear mer
screaming with fear and agony az
they we're being pounded senseless
by falling timbers.
Another sea washed over him and
he attempted TO get TO the men IL
distress. II was good dark then
Tho stump OF the jteger mast hrots