A RESCUE IN MID-OCEAN.
It is a common belief at the present day that our sailors are no longer
the same bold, kind-hearted fellows that they were before the
introduction of steam and other modern improvements. From time to time,
however, a brief account of some splendid act of heroic daring,
performed on the high seas, finds its way into the newspapers, and
proves that, after all, Jack is of the same race as the men who, in
bygone days, won for England the proud title of "Mistress of the Seas."
Recently, while the Cunard steamer _Parthia_ was crossing the Atlantic
from America to England, her passengers had an opportunity of witnessing
a genuine feat of derring-do of the old heroic kind. It was a Sunday
afternoon, and for some hours the barometer had been steadily falling, a
sure sign of a coming gale. Overhead the blue sky was dotted with white
clouds, but away to the south and west the heavens were of a dull leaden
colour.
About four o'clock, true to the indications it had given, the storm
burst. The fury of the wind raised a tremendous sea, and after running
for a time, it was judged prudent to bring the _Parthia_ head on to the
waves. All the passengers were ordered below lest they should be washed
overboard, and the hatches were securely battened down to prevent the
cabins being flooded. Every now and again the crew on deck were waist
deep in water, as the steamer dipped her bows into the sea and took
great surging waves on board.
For six hours the vessel lay-to, and during all that time the tempest
raged with undiminished fury. The wind screamed and whistled mournfully
through the rigging, and the mountainous waves dashed themselves with
tremendous force against the sides of the ship, throwing the spray as
high as the masthead At ten o'clock the gale moderated, and the steamer
once more resumed her voyage. The night passed without further
incident, and when the sun rose next morning out of the heaving waters
it gave promise of a fair day.
Meanwhile a far different scene was being enacted on the angry ocean
some miles away. A sailing ship was being tossed about like a
plaything. One by one her sails were blown to ribbons, her planks
sprung a-leak under the continued pounding of the waves, and as the
vessel slowly settled down the crew gave themselves up for lost. As the
water-logged hull tumbled about in the trough of the sea, they expected
that she would go down every moment, but day broke and found them still
afloat, looking for help in every direction and finding none.
Assistance was, however, at hand.
All this time the _Parthia_ had been steadily steaming on her homeward
voyage. About nine o'clock in the morning the look-out man reported
that a vessel was in sight. As the steamer approached, it became
apparent to all on board that the ship was in distress. She lay low in
the water, her rigging was all in a tangle, and upon the deck twenty-two
wretched, pale-faced men could be counted, watching the steamer with
wistful gaze. All these had to be saved, and every man on board the
_Parthia_ knew that this could only be done at the risk of the lives of
those who went to their assistance, for a heavy sea was still running.
Few things are more perilous and difficult than lowering a boat during a
storm in mid-ocean. The most seamen-like smartness may fail to save the
frail fabric from being dashed to pieces against the iron side of the
vessel, and even if the boat succeeds in getting away, the utmost skill
is necessary to prevent her from being upset. Everyone of the
_Parthia's_ crew knew the danger, but not one of them shrank from the
duty which faced them.
"Volunteers for the wreck!" shouted the captain, and in response to his
summons eight men sprang forward and scrambled into the lifeboat. The
third officer stepped into the stern, and took the rudder lines in his
hands. Every man sat silent and ready while the boat swung from the
davits. Calmly the order was given to lower, and the boat sank swiftly
down to the water. As she rose on the crest of the next wave, the
blocks were unhooked, and in another moment she was making for the
wreck.
The passengers who thronged the deck of the _Parthia_ watched the
lifeboat in an agony of excitement. Now she disappeared as completely as
if she had gone to the bottom; then she rose on the crest of a mighty
billow, where she poised for an instant before taking the headlong
plunge into the watery abyss beyond. A short struggle brought the boat
within reach of the doomed vessel, and the mate shouted to the crew to
heave him a line. It was caught, a lifebuoy was attached to it, and it
was hauled on board the wreck. To the lifebuoy was tied a second line,
one end of which was held by the lifeboat crew. The meaning of these
arrangements soon became apparent. One of the shipwrecked sailors
slipped his shoulders through the lifebuoy, plunged into the sea, and
was dragged into the lifeboat. One by one the sailors were hauled on
board, till eleven had been rescued. Then, with a cheering shout to
those who were left behind, the boat returned to the steamer.
Meanwhile the captain of the _Parthia_ had been busy making all the
necessary preparations for taking the shipwrecked men on board. A rope
with a loop at the end was suspended from the foreyard arm, and under
this the lifeboat was stationed. The rope was then passed down, and the
loop slipped under the arms of one of the men, who was then hoisted on
board by the sailors.
When the first boatload had been safely deposited on the deck of the
steamer, the lifeboat returned to the wreck. By means of the lifebuoys
and lines the remainder of the crew were taken off, and afterwards
hoisted on board the steamer in the same way as their companions. Her
work having been accomplished, the lifeboat was hauled in, and the
_Parthia_ went "full speed ahead," to make up for lost time.
An eye-witness of this perilous and gallant rescue says:--
"To appreciate the pathos and pluck of an adventure of this kind, one
must have served as a spectator or actor in some such scene. The
expression on the faces of those shipwrecked men, as they were hoisted
one by one over the _Parthia's_ side; the bewildered rolling of their
eyes, their expression of suffering, slowly yielding to the perception
of the new lease of life mercifully accorded them, graciously and nobly
earned for them; their streaming garments, their hair clotted like
seaweed on their foreheads; the passionate pressing forward of the crew
and passengers to rejoice with the poor fellows on their salvation from
one of the most lamentable dooms to which the sea can sentence, will
ever be vividly imprinted on the minds of those who witnessed the
occurrence."