Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1914-01-30

minutes | heard a sound like the clang
OF iron on iron; a man cutting at the
Ianyards of the forerigging with an Ak
mad hit the iron strap of the deadeye.
There is somebody outside" l
said, shaking Sam.
But he showed no interest.
It's only something washing about
the hold he answered.
Let's shout, anyway" l said, II
yelled as hard as I could:
Help! Help! Help"
Over my head there was an answer
ing yell of startled fright, then foot
steps pounding aft and a voice cry
ing:
She's haunted. Get into the boat.
for - sake!"
And that chap so frightened the
others that they piled into the boat
and started to pull away. But, after
recovering from their fright II as
constituent. they grew ashamed Of
themselves and came back
Meantime / had got hold Of a stick
n was rapping against the side.
Soon l heard raps on the outside. l
gave three raps and there were three
raps in answer. We kept hat up for
a few minutes. Then we heard a man
walking forward on the outside, and
soon a voice called:
In the name of God, are you ghosts,
living men or the devil?"
We shouted that we were living
men, n asked them to get us out,
or we would not be living men very
long. The voice asked no questions
for a few minutes as If incredulous,
n then some of them got to work
with axes over our heads, while the
boat vent back to the Ohio for more
men and axes.
They worked like Trojans, and cut
right through a frame bolt to make
a hole to get at US. When they broke
through, the eruption Of imprisoned
air acted like a whirlwind, and the
water ieaped through the hole in q
solid stream fifty feet into the air.
Small sticks which had been floating
in the forecastle whizzed by our
heads. One man was knocked over as
if by an explosion. They told us af-
terward that the released air gave off
a sickening stencil
The schooner settled two or three
feet, l%urching as If she would turn tur-
tie completely. and the men chopped
away with ]redoubled energy. They
soon had a hole about nine inches by
eleven inches.
Rescue at Last.
Atwood, being slim, was pulled
through without trouble, but when
got my head and one shoulder
through, I stuck. Four men got hold
of me and pulled. and at last when
l thought I would be pulled apart 1
came through, minus my vest and sew
eral strips Of skin.
The schooner which four days be-
fore had been aut and trim was now
almost bottom-up, lying with her keel
six feet above the water and her
weather rail nearly a wash. Her
mainmast was broker off and, far be-
low the surface, l could see a faint
shadow Of anvas. We thought then
we were the only survivors.
Was it any wonder l thanked God
for my deliverance?
Capt. O'Dor said, Come, my boy,
let me help you to the boat" and took
me by the arm. l thought | could
walk. took a step and wen tumbling.
II it hadn't bee for the captain l
would have slid into the sea
Aboard the Ohio they had made
ready for US. The cabin table was
loaded with everything to eat. But
We weren't interested in food; we
wanted water by the bucketful. They
gave US a te%aspoonful. and that only
put an agonizing edge on u thirst.
We pleaded wildly for more.
But they had realized Jul condition.
and kept us waiting for about fifteen
minutes, and then only gave us n
other spoonful. After what seemed
ages of raging agony they began to
give us a spoonful every five minutes.
Needless to say, when l was carried
home my parents were beside them
selves with joy. AS they expressed it,
l was as one risen from the dead. The
news of our rescue spread up and
down the shore, and was generally re-
ceived with unhelief. Many people
would not believe we had managed
to live so long in the %capsized vessel,
and hundreds came long distances to
see us.
After | reached home developed a
high fever and my feet began to pain
me. l had no desire for food; in fact
/ scarcely touched food for two days.
But l was still raging with thirst. |
wanted water all the time-milk or tea
was no good. l was allowed a glass of
water every half hour, but it was foul
days from the time we were rescued
before | got over that awful thirst.
But my sufferings were not owe
then. My feet panied MI terribly, and
l couldn't sleep without a narcotic, and
who attended me said ten drops of the
narcotic would kill the devil, but l
was so crazy with pain and lack Of
sleep that l used to cry for a big dose
every few hours.
And one afternoon, when mother
was out and the spasms of pain were
wracking me, l crawled on my hands
and knees, got up on a chair, took the
bottle of narcotic from the shelf and
drank half the contents. Then | navi-
gated my a back to the lounge,
crawled halfway up on 1t and went
to sleep. That was the deepest, the
best, most blessed sleep | ever had.
The doctor and everybody thought
had gone to sleep for good n all, but
l came round in twenty-six hours, feel
ing fresh and fine. But I continued
to suffer great pain in my feet for two
weeks and II was a month before |