The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-12-07
Continued from Page 81
ONE OF GODS HEROES.

appalled, us. The men, with white
faces, tried to calm the terrified Wo-
men and children. The captain moved
sternly among the crew, all saying as
little as possible. What could be
said? We were lost!
when hope had died down to its
lowest ebb, joyful cry sang out from
! the deck: Sail, ho! And there in
the distance was a vessel, a steamer!
She saw us and our signals of dis
tress, and was making toward us.
But alas! it was only sea-going tug.
How few she could save! Our citation
of hope was quickly succeeded by the
deepest gloom as she approached. The
nearest accessible land was days
journey off, counting both ways to
and from the wreck, for a wreck
seemed certain we should become.
with much difficulty our crew
launched boat and reached the tug
safely. They soon returned with the
report that they would crowd onto
the tug all they could carry. But her
capacity was ESQ persons. Now we
had 230 women and children alone.
"a partial lull in the weather en-
abled all of these, amid a tempest of
tears and an agony of leave-taking, to
be transferred to the tug. Over one
hundred men, including the officers
and the crew of our ship, still re-
manned, and there was room on the
tug for barely twenty more persons.
"The captain and officers instantly
informed us that they would not and
could not think of having any right
to preference, nor would they hold a
place in the drawing of lots that must
decide who should be saved, Mean
time, heavy swell began to heave up
the ship and threaten to life her and
crash her down to total destruction"
Here Rhinehart paused, as if the
memory of that awful scene was al
most too much even to describe.
was intensely interested, and after a
moment or two begged him to con-
tinue his narrative. felt that the mo-
ment of grace to which he referred
so often was at hand. Soon he re-
sumed his story.
Governor Burton, Father, was, as
you may guess, the leading man on
board among the passengers. The
captain called meeting of the men
in the cabin, placed Burton in the
chair, and then begged to be excused
brave man as he was-from the
drawing of the lots.
CAS- for Burton-shall I ever forget
the splendid calmness of that mans
face and form! / was calm externally,
but broken-hearted as I thought of
my wife and babies. In ten minutes
Burton had the men organized. All
of us unanimously swore the oath he
administered to each that he would
abide by the result of the drawing
without hesitation or question. The
whole meeting unanimously chose
Burton to draw the lots. Pen and pa
per were there, and quick as you
could think of it all of us wrote our
names on slips (there were one hun
dred presently, and placed them in
Burton's hat.
HE rose up and solemnly uttered
once more the oath of honest and
truthful drawing, and then barred his
arm to the elbow. Oh! what scene
it was! The darkened cabin, the wild
roar of the seething waves without,
the constant shivering of the tortured
ship as the waters played with her
and the reefs gored her sides; the
tense white faces of these hundred
men whose lives hung on the drawing
of those twenty pieces of paper! Oh!
my God! could there be greater
agony! Twenty saved! The rest
doomed to certain death!
Burton appointed three tellers
from among the older men, then put
his hand into, the receptacle and drew
out name. The three men, amid the
} thrilling silence, read the name aloud
Then Burton said the name in a dis
tinct voice. One saved! What an or
deal? And this was to be done twenty
times! I know not if I had ever really
prayed in my whole life before, though
had gone through the etymology oil
that divine language by certain
; phrases in my early days. But now
j I prayed with my whole soul, for my
wife's sake, for my two little babies
that I might be saved. My heart
went out to my God in humble, sin
cere, pitiful prayer.
Midway in the drawing, about the
tenth, the name of Burton was drawn
] and proclaimed. We were all sac
enough, but ninety-nine voices at least
gave forth their applause. He alone
, was grave and calm and STILL
''But, Father, my soul leaped with
joy. If he were saved-my wife's be
loved father-he at least could care
for her and carry my last message
; to her. l looked at him with all my
, eyes. He did not so much as pause
a moment in his rapid, fateful work
; the stern arbitrament of chance, or
, as we all know, the holy assize Of
: God.
; "The drawing was done and over
My name was not drawn. I was lost
was to perish, and my wife ant
. darlings were never to see me again
did not collapse. l was no coward
of that kind But my soul was il
/ agony. My horizon shrunk up Xix.
the walls of an ingathering tomb tt
bury me among the reefs on thu
Florida Keys, and / babe farewell tt
1 everything.
It was not moping, but plunged int
despair, when gentle arm was lait
across my shoulders, turning me about
Il cit was nv father-in-laW