The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-06-06

through my cabin door and jerking
against the Jacobs ladder of the main
hatchway. as the awful fact flashed in
to my mind that the ship was going over.
"Providentially 1 had been landed just
! where there was a chance Of escape. else
should not be here telling you the story.
for despairing men began to appear.
scrambling, crawling. struggling toward
the hatchway. All. me. l seem to see
their faces now. Somebody clutched at
me as 1 clambered up the opening, but,
kicking out for dear life, left a strip
on deck, now standing nearly upright.
and, selling a loose ropes end, nipped
up hand over hand on to the hammock
MEETINGS. and got outside into the main
chains, close by tho whaleboat hanging
at the davits Here I discovered several
hands belonging to the watch on deck.
and one or two others, who could see
had managed to get up from below. be-
cause they were in their shirts.
1T was raining hard. Flashes of light
iillS " ieC" Oh u SOo"co tic Lux ldOO hdA
rolled away. but it was too dark to dis
tinguish things AROUND. One thing. how
ever, was certain 1t would soon be good
by to the ship; she was settling down
fast.
II shouted out, Cut away the boat 5
lashings, men; for your lives, cut
away" Those Of the deck watch had
their knives on and worked like mad
men; the water reached our knees as
We stood on the sinking hull before the
boat was got free and manhandled up
right. Presently she noated. and we
scrambled in over her gunwale, but only
Just in time, for about two minutes later
the Heron, with a few surglinS signs.
went to the bottom and left us alone in
mid-ocean.
up to this time my every nerve had
been strained toward my own safety.
but now I was left to look after a boat
load Of survivors, many of them all but
naked. with no food, no water. and a
heavy sea around, except for e small
patch where the ship had been. That
small area was comparatively smooth
for some time after the ship disa ppeared,
only disturbed by few swirling eddies
and bubbles. and was dotted over with
loose wreckage. with here and there a
man clinging thereto. AS these recov-
cred their wits and made US out in the
dawning light, they let go their frail sup
ports and struck out for the boat.
While anxiously considering the situa-
ton, l heard some one call my name. In
the uncertain light l could not tell who
it was, but 1t proved to be the captain
struggling to reach US. though he was
nearly exhausted. The boat was ALREADY
dangerously full, but 1 ordered him to he
helped in. He was in his nightshirt, with
blood dropping from strips of flesh hang
ing down from his shoulders and hips
After while We found out he had made
his escape by smashing in and then
wrlgSlinG through the thick glass of his
cabin skylight. He soon tainted away,
and l was again left to carry on.
AT first my only care was to keep the
boat end on the sea, to prevent the waves
coming in amidships, where the sunwale
as day dawned the wind dropped and the
sea went down. Idle men l knew would
soon get down in the dumps. so ! ordered
out all the oars we could find. and then
We gave way, steering by the sun In the
direction of land, though 1 knew we
could never reach it. Our only hope lay
in being picked up.
And thus we kept on. It fell dead
calm; the midday sun came out strong
and scorching and blistered our skins,
so We bathed our heads with sea water.
In the afternoon. a hand declared he
could make out a sail straight ahead, but