The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1952-01-18

ne QUICKLY OrQereQ DOLn dIlcnOIS
to be let go, and himself ran for
ward to superintend the operation,
but before he could get back to
the bridge the vessel broke in three
pieces and sank to the rail, giving
him barely time to leap for his
life to the midship section. With
out further ado he ordered the
boats out and all hands to abandon
ship. As the sequel proved, it
would have been better otherwise,
but the situation was alarming to
the last degree and speedy action
of some sort must have seemed
imperative.
The crew hastily attempted to
launch the two starboard boats,
but they were both smashed to
pieces-the large lifeboat in the
water alongside, and the longboat
at the davits. The men rushed to
the port lifeboat, which was safely
lowered away and manned by fif-
teen persons, Second Mate Moore
in charge. Mr.. Moore states that
it was his purpose to return to the
ship and stand by the master, but
that it was impossible to do so,
and therefore he ordered the oars
men to pull away straight out for
the open sea. The port longboat
was now put into the water with
seven men in it, but before it could
be cleared from the ships side it
was rolled over, and six of its
occupants were quickly drowned.
Mate Wyness, who was in charge,
was hauled back on board the
steamer by means of a bowline
thrown to him by one of the four
men who still remained on the
wreck, but had intended to go in
the boat.
There were now five on board,
and, as then seemed to them, in
for worst plight than the boats
crew who had pushed out aimlessly
and Impoverished into the ocean
hardly more fortunate than their
shipmates who had already per-
ished. The steamers hull was
awash, and there was no better
place of refuge than the main rig
cling, to which the survivors
speedily betook themselves. All
about them was the inpenetrable
haze or fog, while their eyes rest
ed upon a most disheartening
scene below. From the forecastle
all the way to the stern the hull
was submerged, except that the
forecastle head stood eight or ten
feet out of water. The vessel was
broken athwartships into three
pieces, and through the rents in its
Jagged sides the water Kissed and
foamed, and at intervals spouted
upward in great volumes Is or 20
feet high. Save the bit of the fore
castle head, nothing showed above
the sea but the two masts, the
bridge and funnel, and few feet
of a flagstaff for aft. All this
dreadful havoc had been wrought
in little more than thirty minutes.
The survivors now turned their
thoughts to some means of making
signal of distress. Night was
close at hand, and they knew that
they could not be discovered from
the shore before morning, even if
the weather should clear up, unless
they could burn some sort of a
night signal. They were aware
that there were injamable mater
ials away forward in the fore
castle head, but the sea was so
high that nobody could go to the
place even if when there the ma
terials should. be accessible. All
they could do was to hold to their
perilous place and almost despair
ingly hope that in some way relief
might come, and thus they passed
the tedious hours of the night.
When morning broke they cast
their eyes forward to the bridge,
which was still above water, and
believing that if they could reach
it their safety would not be less,
while they would have space to
stretch their cramped limbs and
move about, they determined to
make the attempt. The plan de-
vised was to rig a sort of boat
swain's chair on the mainstay by
which they could slide down and
lower themselves to the bridge
a contrivanc similar to the
breeches-buoy apparatus is. This
they succeeded in accomplishing
with less difficulty than might be
imagined, and all passed down
without trouble except the captain,
who was the last to make the ven
ture, and was for some minutes
suspended in mid-air by the foul
ing of the gear. Finally there
proved to be no recourse but to cut
the halyard, which was done, let
ting the "chair" slide down with
great velocity some 35 or 40 feet.
The captain was considerably
| bruised in making the passage.