Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-05-30

and kerosene. When the vessel reach
ed latitude Al south, longitude. 13
east, off Cape of Good Hope, on Sep
tember 9, it encountered cyclonic
storm of such unabating fury that for
days the Thornliebank threatened to
go under.
AS the storm worked its havoc, the
men We're compelled to lash them
selves to one another, after the fashion
Of Alpine climbers, to prevent their be-
ing sent overheard.
Let us quote now from the plain.
unvarnished record of the Thornlie-
banks perilous trip
In the evening the ship gave sud-
ten lurch, plunged into the seas and
for moment was submerged from
stem to stern. Every one on board
thought she was foundering and the
sailors dropped on their knees and
prayed. While the vessel was sub
merged, everything movable was wash
ed overheard.
after a fine struggle on the part of
the men, Captain Smith succeeded in
keeping the ship off before the gale
for safety, using oil from port and star
board and thus diminishing the force
of the gigantic waves. After day
filled with awful dread, the weather be-
gan to moderate and the ship was put
on her course again. The officers no
ticed soon after she had resumed her
course that she was moving sluggish
ly, so the wells were sounded and it
was found that there were eleven
inches of water below.
after successfully battling with a
terrific hurricane, to realize that death
by drowning was still matter of pos
sibility nerved the crew to redouble
their efforts to bring the vessel to a
safe harbor. Slowly but surely the
water was gaining When the ship
took the heavy plunge that carried
away her deck-house and smashed sew
eral skylights, she started some of her
rivets. With the donkey-engine gone
| there was no other alternative than to
use the hand pumps, and from that
| day, September 10, to November 30,
they were kept going night and day
| two and half months OF incessant
pumping.
"Not for an instant were the pumps
allowed to remain idle. With half the
I crew below decks working to keep the
water down, the other half was labor.
ing above decks to bring the vessel
to safe harbor. On November the
Thornliebank rounded the South Cape
| and the course was shaped for New
! Zealand
In other words, the sieve-like Thorn
liebank was brought by tireless and
lighting seamanship to her destination
after an eight thousand mile struggle
with death.
Here is another real tale Of the sea
In actual sailor lore, they characterize
the story as that of .The Fire Won
an Of the Sea-" The latter, concretely
was-or rather is, for they say she is
still alive at the age of eighty-four ant
living in Massachusetts-Mrs. D. B
Bates, the widow of well-knowr
| American sea captain. She later mar
r!ed Lieutenant James F. Hyde, of the
United States army. For years there
was a superstition among American
seamen that whenever Mrs. Bate.
swent to sea a hoodoo fire was sure t.
break out on the vessel that carried
her.
According to the chronicles of tn,
American Seanen's society. Mrs. Bate
had more narrow escapes from tn
hoodoo fires that pursued her tina,
Kate Claxton ever dreamed of. Mre
Bates always went to sea with he
captain-husband.
Their first trip was made in 1886
when her husband was in comman
of the Boston ship Nonantum. o.
July az Mrs. Bates left Baltimore o.
the Nonantum forSan Francisco. Th
ships cargo was a thousand tons @
coal and a huge quantity of provision
listed for Panama. When the Nona1
tum reached the latitude of the Rio d
: la Plata flames broke out in the hol
and for twelve whole days Mrs. Bate:
her husband and the rest Of the ere,
stuck to the burning hulk and, b
fighting desperately with the fire, flna
, ly managed to bring the vessel to th
Falkland islands before the flames at
, through its sides.
A mile from shore the fire conquere
the fighters and the Nonantum bega
to fall apart as all hands got clear 1
the small boats.
After weeks of waiting. the party O
, the barren island were picked up b
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