The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1910-11-01
VIVID STORY
Yeung Lad Tells Of His Shipvreck and
Fierce Battle for Lite So.
AMID RAGING WATERS R

amid RAGING WATERS !.
Fred. the Twelve. Year Old Son Of Of
tine Late Capt. E. 9. Miller, Of the
=. Wrecked schooner Converse. Tells
= Of Els Gallant Fathers Death and
His o,sh 81 E-raps i. @
Z The Augusta Chronicle says the
aody OF Capt. e. G. Miller. of Heph-
rzibah, GaT>commander Of the three
i masted, SCHOONER william W. Con
verse. Il; which was; wrecked In the re-
cent hurricane. 80. miles below st:
Augustine, Fla, has never been re-
covered. Shortly after the vessel
,Esent to pieces a body. drifted ashore
shat was thought to be that. OF Capt.
Miller, but later the body was found
TO be that of another victim OF the
great storm. :. ia, ,,s,. :. ,>- ,gS
], The late Capt. Miller was prom
5nent citizen Of Hephzibah. HIS
:shore-leayes were all spent at his
home In RICHMOND county. He was a
prominent Mason and his fellow
members iof :; the order were active
In the efforts to find his body a.ssr
the wreck. But. all hope sis now aoan-
doned that the. ..,sea. VII ever give
ND the, body Of this man who had
spent his life IN ,.its service.
On his last. trip: Cap" Miller was
accompanied by his SON Fred Miller
.12 years Old The boy had a terri
ole experience in, the: storm IN which
his father. the mateaa and a,:seaman
lost their lives. Fred Millsr was
oroughtSto his home in, Hephzioah
last Friday might. a week. ago. Ills
story. ;. OF his experience is thrillins
tale of the sea-
The vessel ran INTO Lne uuEi4Sdue
off SAVANNAH early, Tuesday morn, Srl'n,
:ang last week The Converse was a !
staunch schooner and Capt. Miller
held. to his course, believing, 40
,doSnbt that this boat could weather
at as she had weathered many be-
fore. He had cargo of coal aboard
and was bound for Cuba. The bur
Ticane increased !. in fury and when
about so miles below st. Augustine
ths vessel was, blown upon the ROCKS
about a mile and a half, off, ,.;he Flor
Ida coast, The. waves were rolling
moau,1ndtaain-high aud the. boat began
to break up almost 4 Immediately.
capt. MILLER, ordered All. .handssto don
.life-prsservers and take to the water,
as NO boat could be launched in
such a sea.
Captain: Miller: himself prepared
his son for the terrible journey AT d
after telling the boy to keep his eyes
on on the shore, and not, look behind
him; the captain saw that he was
safely. started. upon his trip and than
stood back until every one OF his men
had left. Then the captain abandon
ed the doomed ship. =.
Fred Miller says he will remem-
ber that short, but awful Journey
until his dying day. The boy IS AN
excellent swimmer, but no man
strength could buffet those waves
and live. 1t: was every man for him
SELF. The life-preseryer kept the
boys b head above water and then h
had all he could do to keep bis
breath from being literally pounded
out Of him by the raging, roaring
seas.
Though his father had ordereu
him not to look behind him the boy
could not resist the impulse to loot
back just once. He saw his father
battling with the waves a short DIS
tance behind. Captain Miller waved
his hand encouregingly to his soK
and that was the last the boy ever
saw of his father, for just then a
monster wave came over and enguif-
ed them all.
Fred Miller felt himself going
down, down, down. He no longer
heard the sirean and roaring Of the
storm, but in his ears Was = deafen-
Ing humming that no words can de-
scribe He felt as though he were
enmeshed In some giant thresnine
machine that was ripping and tea'-
ing him to pieces.
He tried to hold his breath but
be was under Watar SO long, hours
1t seemed to him, that he Was fore
er to swallow salt water until he
feared he would burst He gave up
all hope of ever breathing again.
but he kept kicking and struggling
to escape the maelstrom that hal
him in Its deadly grip.
At last the wave passed over ana
his body shot to the surface. Ills
iife-preseryer, even his jacket. lad
been torn from him. But the great
wave robbed him OF his father. and
which had almost torn all the cloth
ing from his own body. had also, rs
If shamed by the havoc 1t had
wrought, borne the boy much nearer
the shore.
Now his ability as swimmer