The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-01-09
swAMPED BY wArERsPour
Thrilling Experience Of British sehoon
er OF Coast Of Honduras

New York, Jan. 9.-Five men, three
Of them San Bias Indians, who man
ned the British schooner Annie when
she was hattened out by a waterspout
OF the Honduras coast November 10,
have arrived in New York as passen-
gers on the bark Annie Smith. The
loss of the Annie was one of the most
remarkable of marine accidents and
answers the lOngmOoted question as
to what would happen If a waterspout
should hit a vessel, particularly
small craft with full sails set. Fhe
schooner Annie was hit fairly by the
whirling pillar of water and complete
ly wrecked. Her sails kept her from
turning turtle and those on board had
a narrow escape from drowning
The Annie, comparatively new
vessel, hailed from Nova Scotia. Capt
Decker was in command, and the
crafts business was to gather cocoa
nuts. going from port to port for her
cargo and taking in passengers from
point to point Her early November
trip had been prosperous, and when
she headed down the coast on Nov
16, she had on board 1900 cocoanuts
$4,000 in money, and six passengers,
besides the skipper and his wife and
little daughter, and the crew of Ave.
Among the passengers was a Mr..
Cooper, one of the wealthiest planters
in British Honduras.
Skipper Decker was heading for
Bonacea Island when the first Of a
number of more or less formidable
waterspouts made its appearance,
The sky was overcast and there was
a strong wind blowing. The schoon1
er was twelve miles offshore when the
first spout gyrated away beyond the
horizon. Then another circled past
long distance Off
All of the passengers and crew were
on deck at this time except the skip
pers wife and child who were in the
aft deck house. AS they watched the
sea they saw a great mass of water
whirl up some distance from the YES
sci. 1t mounted upward in a spiral
and with constantly increasing veloc-
ity swept toward the schooner
At first 1t was thought it would pass
well forward, but it shifted its course
and bore down on the vessel. II
struck her on the starboard side The
schooner seemed to take an upward
movement, then as the great mass
of water circled and glanced off on an
other track, the Annie was caught by
the outer edge of the vortex and keel
ed over on her beam ends, her sails
| Tapping on the water
Those on board saw their peril IL
time to grab hold of the rigging oil
i rails. Two men were swept into the
water, but managed TO Chamber aboard
again, scramble up the crafts steel
side to cling to the rail, which wal
above water. They could hear the
water pouring into the hold and decl
house. Capt. Decker when the vesse
turned over, clambered hastily TOWARD
the cabin, where his wife and chilli
were imprisoned. Sometimes clingini
TO the rigging and again hanging b,
the rail, he worked his way towar'
the stern. He had heard his wifi
scream as the waterspout struck.
After him went some of the men
The side of the cabin was uppermosl
and the skipper smashed in the VIII
dow with his foot and stuck his hea
through the opening. Inside, almos
up to her neck in water, he saw hi
wife holding her childs head aboy
water
Two OF the men grasped Capt Decl
er's legs while he reached down an
caught the child. They dragged hlr
back and he passed out the chile
AGAIN the skipper slid through tn
opening. grasped his wife and agar
was dragged back, bringing her VII
him. She was lifted through the ope
ing exhausted and fainting. She wa
badly cut in the back by being hit b
a chest of drawers when the schoone
keeled over.
The other members Of the crew ma
been busy getting lifeboat untangle
from the wreckage which took theI
half an hour. Before II was accom-
plished two of the San Bias Indian
had to dive and clear away the boat
below. They were expert swimmer
but it was all they could do to Gu
away the boat. Time and time agal
they came up for air, then dived agai
to the work. At last they freed on
of the boats and bailed it out
The ships passengers and ere
climbed aboard the boat and by dint
sailing and hand rowing made La &c
ba. From there the crew finally e
to Belize, whence they were sent mort
by the British consul on the Ami
Smith.
Capt. Decker and his family cam
north several days ago by steamship
and are now in Boston The Ann
was a total loss. She was only yes
old, OF 1873 tons burden and was owne
in Liverpool, n. S. -,
The Annie Smith took twenty day
coming from Belize and encountere