The Daily Alaska empire., 1949-12-14

on her side.
 WATER CAME IN
 Andy opened the hatch to sec how far over the troller had gone,' 7 Mercado said. The water started to come in. I shouted at him to close the hatch, but it was too late. The water came in, and saw Andy fighting his way out of the hatch"
 As the water hit him, Mercado dove for the only light patch he could see.
 T think it was the window ot the pilot house." he said. He held up his hand. There were deep scratches on it with the blood dried black on them. There were some plugs hanging in the window. l think I cut myself on them"
 He got through the window as the vessel filled and sank. As he came to the top. a board hit him in the side. It was one of the two-by-fours with which the two men were going to make frame for their tent. He put his arm over it. The water was ice-cold.
 HEARD SHOUTS
 Then he heard Andy Haftner shout. He shouted an answer and began swimming in the direction from which Haffner's voice had oume. He heard Haffner shout again, and he shouted an answer. Then he shouted again, and again, but there was no answer.
 As the water began numbing him and the snow beat down on his head, he began thinking about sav- ing himself, he said He swam with che arm over the hoard, and it seemed long time before he fin- ally got his foot on the bottom. He said the two-by-four saved his life.
 The wind was blowing cold from the south as he. dragged himself to the beach and ran into the shelter of the trees to get out of the wind and snow.
 And as he ran up the beach he found that he had lost the bedroom slippers he was wearing when the boat went down.
 q stood among the trees for a little while" he said. Then l went pack to the beach and walked along the beach in my bare feet shouting for Andy But he didn't answer
 RECALLS CABIN
 As he shivered in the shelter Of the trees during the night, he re- membered caEin on Boat Harbor
 Andy knew about the cabin. l thought I'd go over there in the morning and he'd probably come there, too, if he was OK. It was long night"
 In the morning. Mercado started for the cabin. He walked for "an hour and a half or two hours with his numb feet losing skin and bruising on rocks and barnacles and snow. The skin on his feet was shredded when he finally reached the cabin.
 He didn't have match to light a fire, but he found an old mattress in the cabin. He ripped out the filling and put it under his feet and piled it around them. Then he bound the mattress on his frozen and injured feet with a strip ot cd canvas.
 Then, in the out-of-way cabin, with hardly a hope of rescue, he began his long wait.
 OFFERED PRAYERS
 T prayed. and once in a while I'd shout in case anyone came near. The wind shifted around to the north and the weather got colder. didn't have anything to eat. All I had was water and it was icy. I thought Andy might show up, too"
 He didn't remember sleeping only being cold all the time. And he continued to pray-he asked God to put it in somebody's mind to look in St. James Bay and maybe see the trolling poles sticking out of the water with the bells on them"
 T was going to give up last night" he said today. T was get ting awfully tired"
 Yesterday morning he heard foot steps on the beach, and then Jack Manery came in, bringing Filipino Mack''-as he is known in the fishing community-the happiest moment of his life.
 He was taken to Tee Harbor aboard the Coast Guard cutter uacax zko<fa~oA