A TALE OF THE SEA.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXIV, Issue 294, 15 December 1899, Page 4

A TALE OF THE SEA.

1 ♦ i A. terrible tale of the saa, but one which reflects the highest honour upon the humane courage of British seamen, has just reached England from America. On Sunday, September 26th, the American sailing vessel Carrie A. Lane, from Florida for Noanks, | Connecticut, with a deck load of lumber, sprang a leak during a north-easterly gale, the lumber shifted, and the ship rolled over on ' her beam-ends. By outtiag away all three masts the vessel was righted, but all her cabins and store-rooms were flooded, and she lay upon the water a mer. 1 doomed hulk. The captain lashed himself and his wife to tie mizzen-mw, the other officer* and men fastaied themselves to whatever promised aeourity against the waves that were breaking over tide deck, and m thin position the unhappy people faced the prospeot of slow death from exposure. In this pitiful plight exposed to ail the fury of a storm which never abated, they passed two ilajs, their torments only relieved by the beautiful devotioD of the captain's wife, who made light of her own Bufferings m order to keep up the ppirits of her comi paoions. About half-past two a.m. ■ on the Monday a large American i passenger steamer, her cabins and i saloon ablaze with lights, approached I the wreck, as the rescued people ■ aver, quite close enough to discern i th«ir distress signal, and then steered ■ callously away. During Monday a Bpanieh brig sighted the drifting hull. She made a gallant effort at rescue, but was unable to get into position for lowering a boat, and ' when night, closed m the wreck 1 drifted away m the gale. Rescue came on Tuesday. In the afternoon 1 the Cardiff steamer Rhodesia came 1 m sight, and after a struggle of 1 hours against the hurricane suo ceeded m getting to windward of it. 1 Then she lowered a boa<-. The seas rose to a fearful height, and it was a battle of life add death to get to the wreck and back. Scarcely had the rescued people been got on buard the steamer when the boat was crushed like an egshell by being hurled against the steel sides of the ship, and the brave men who had effected the rescue themselves nar rowly escaped drowning. Next day the Rhjdeeia steamed safely into Baltimore.