The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1923-04-06
HOW IT FEELS TO DIE
or COLD AND FATIGUE
Survivor Of the Julian Fleetwood Disaster
Tells How His Mates Faced and Sue
cunbed to Death in Storm

making trip with me. | told him 10
lay low TO the deck and keep boiler
ing. Eut | was numb myself and
couldn't keep talking. lie was the
next one 10 quiet down. He sat over
tn himself. mighty still. And then
Capt. Gray the mate asked me if |
still had faith and l told him | had.
/ looked over ut my boy again. lie
was dead.
Capt. Gray was about I3 years
nld. He had spent many years on
the water. and he didn't seem TO
worry ~ much as the rest ii rh' III.
He sat there close TO me. and Shaw
Ter. ar6 the colored cook Chancc.
The two dead men sat there close
to uS. the spray flying over them.
None of Us were in any pain: we
just felt Ike somebody half asleep.
Now ard then Mate Gray would say:
'Enoch. have you still got faith:' and
| would tell him that | had. The old
man seemed To got tired. and lay
down ON the deck. He did not say
more after that.
Then Two More Died
"Shawlcr was faring bad then. but
Chance was the worse off. was
feeling mighty numb. more 80 than
usual. | could not see very far, my
eyes were blurred. Earlier iii the
night. | had seen the torches on the
barge where the other men had been
burning. but l couldn't see them lat
or on. and didn't know what had
happened.
Il looked at the mate. and the old
man had passed away. Daylight had
come on us. and after awhile we
SAW the Solver of the North River
Live. knew that my faith was
right. The Solver failed TO get up to
lis the first time. But after awhile,
She made it. and we got ready To get
aboard Me and Shawlcr and Chance
were all that were alive. And then
Chance died"
The Sinking of the Tug.
f.. N. Mann. 19-ycarS-old East
lake hov tells the story of the sink
ipr of the tug. Mann was firing.
Engineer Leigh was ut the engine.
Both Captain Walker the master.
and Captain Gray the Mate were at
.hc wheel. Captain Walker was
hcad>trong and had insisted on
making the trip against the protest
nf Gray the older man. This i
Mann'S story:
When we got out in the sound.
the wind was on our Starboard quart
cr. This made bad steering. The
borce> didn't pull hard with 4 fair
wind. bu, they had no life and were
milling and >ratchiag a the tug.
Il felt the tug lean over. and
noticed that she was listed :" Tar.
that the water had Ill gone out of
the gt,a.e on the boiler. And then
the water began 10 rush in the boat
from up above somewhere. l turned
steam on the siphon. thinking To pump
Lar out. But the Siphon wouldn
work | felt heavy sea- hit the boat.
everywhere. | got outside a. quick a>
I could. The tug went down in three
minutes.
/ 81 waS overheard. Alexander. the
chief engineer. who Lad been asleep
in his bunk, and Leslie Barnes. the
dackhnnd who was also of watch,
oor rhr life boat. and started away.
II rot hold of the hawScr that led
70 the first tow. The men in the
Tf,foat broke their oars. but got
hold of the hawScr too. | yelled 10
tLcm. and they held on until L got
down to the boat aud got in with
them. We pulled down to the barge
only about 800 feet, but the boat I'LL
ed with water.
We got aboard the barge and got
some torches going. ran around the
deck. blowing Il foghorn. and the rest
nf the men kept torches burning al
the morning. Once we tried I" so
,o the tug in small >kiff. but the
shift sunk. it was so r0ugh Ill th'
S,,,pd, We could hear the men scream
ing on the tug.
The Hardy came by within /"
or 4 100 yards of us. They tlaSheo
the Scarchlight on us while we vert
blowing the horn and burning signals
but the steamer kept on going.
The VanSciver came by and got Us
off about 1:30 that morning.
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