Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1914-02-20
THE WRECK OF
THE COD-SEEKER
By COLIN M'KAY


seriousness something snapped
thought 1t was something giving way
in my brain. The schooners head
rose swiftly, the water receded and
we found ourselves able to breathe
again. oh, but the air was good!
Trembling, dizzy, exhausted, we
stretched ourselves along the face
boards and rested.
What had happened was this:
When the schooner was hove on her
side the anchor chain, slowed in box
on deck, went overheard, and present
ly, as she swept along with the tide,
the end fouled the bottom and drag
ged her head under water. Then a
miracle occurred; the big link in the
shackle of the other end near the wild
lass broke and allowed ner head to
come up again.
The schooner wallowed on her side.
She rose and fell to the heave of the
swell, in heavy, sickening way, but
she did not roll much. Often we
were ducked under; and the noises
were frightful; roaring, snarling
sounds of surf; blood-thirsty gurg-
lings, the dull booming sound Of
things beating against the skin of the
hold.
was numb with cold, and awfully
weary and before long, in spite Of the
noises, the fear of slipping off my
perch, the horror Of 1t all, dropped
off into a doze. And as I dozed l
dreamed the schooner was hove down
while I was on deck; dreamed that I
saw my chum Will Kenney washed
overheard and dived after him.
Thirst, Cold and Horror.
Then l woke up to find myself
struggling under water. 1t was was
still pitchdark and for a moment or
so l had no idea where | was. AS
my head came above the water !
struck something hard, and down I
went again before l could get my
lungs full of air. Half stunned / strug-
gled up again, and rammed my head
through small opening, so small
that l could not get my shoulders
through My mouth was just above
water. When l tried to struggle
through the opening, the thing resting
upon my shoulders would lift lit
tie and then press me down till ]
could not breathe. l struggled fran,
tcally, and the harder l strove to
keep my mouth above water the more
seemed to be forced down.
l could not imagine what kind of g
trap / had got into, and my imagina
ton. was mighty active; Just as they
say of drowning man. A moving
picture Of my whole life seemed tc
flash before me. Every deed of sin
full nature had ever done seemed tt
rise up against me, crowding out al
hope of salvation.
At the same time my mind wa!
wildly searching for an explanation
of my plight, and at last, when l wa:
nearly done for, it struck me that the
thing that was drowning me was thu
step-ladder of the forecastle-gangway
That was it; the ladder was floating
and 1 had got my head between tn,
steps. / knew what to do then, bu
1t was not easy to draw my heac
down and out, for the bevel of tn,
steps held my head as in trap
But at last managed it, and hook
ed my arms over the floating laddej
till l got my wind.
yelled for Sam, but got no answer
OF course could not tell what part o
the forecastle l was in, but paddles
around and finally, as sea lifted me
got hold Of the bunk side-board an,
hauled myself up inside the bunk. AT
wood was still sleeping. touche,
him, but he did not wake. got hol,
of some pieces Of boards floating jus
below me, and propped them aeros
the mouth OF the berth so l woul,
not fall through. and soon guess
went to sleep again.
Tho Yankee Captain Volunteers.
When the schooner was flung Of
her beam-ends, one dory took the wa
ter right side up and somehow Capt
Brown, Nat Knowles the cook an
John Smith managed to get into II
Whether they tried to row back an,
pick of any of the other men lef
clinging to the weather rail l don
| hhOWp ~ Wodlo nave UcS
madness to have tried 1t in the Sc
then running. Anyway. they drov
before the gale for several hours, an
then, after passing through a quarte
of mile Of surf, landed on the south
ern side of Cape island. How the
managed to live through the surf ha
always been a mystery; but they di
and were soon at the house Of Pelic
Nickerson telling their tale.
Nickerson soon carried tho news I
: Clark's Harbor. and the hardy fishel
men of that place were reused froI
their slumbers to consider means 9
rescue. The American fishing school
er Aatchless, Capt. Job Crowell. wa
J lying In the harbor. where she ha
come for shelter from the gale, an
when told of the disaster her skippe
was quite as ready to go to the re-
, cue as ths men OF the port
His crew was scattered. but ther
were plenty of men ready to volul
teer. So. by the first streak of dnw,