Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 November 1881 — MOMENTS OF TERROR. [ARTICLE]

MOMENTS OF TERROR.

"C*ptAhT,''ybh tm»e led a bwy lire — jeram^piMßai VAt seWtde, gentleman.” ;JKSj3 ,, iaßs?*wraf«ft fowls breed in the clefts in the rocks. The Ushernaaii fasten a stick at the end ofaloDgropo, which Is wet assured to the brow of the cllfl*, and then placing one of their number astride the stick, be is lowered down ttfe precipice in search of the game. You have moat likely heard the account of the man t&Es&u&vtttt from their holes, cut two of the strands of the rope that suspended bias.-be-tween heaven and earth. “Below bins was certain deathabove bim a terrific wall ot rock that seemed to reach the sky. He gave tbe signal for hauling up by striking tbe rope twice with his stall. Never did bis comrade® puli the rbpe 'so lafjly. Slowly, slowly dragged the rope ever the edge Of the cliff, while tbe severed seemed to fly uphr&rd with the rapidity of thought. ’ Every inptapthe dreamed that a weak {date iu the reltiafiiiog portion would be untwisted* and so certain appeared Ids doom that ha felt that every foot he aavauced up the face of th* preriptoe Would fctot increase the height ol bis fall. A sudden pause *in the motion struck him with a new tear—when the untwisting part of tbe rope came into tbe hands of the fishermen qjbcve, they at onee perfceived his danger and instantly lowered another line. • Tbe fowler was rescued Item his peril, but Buch was the effect ol his terror during the few minutes of his frightful ascension, thatbis dark brown hair was changed to gray.” ‘‘Bad enough,” said the captain, ‘•but not quite IM worst in the world. I don’t know ribether the chance which a young netrvey of Bribe run fowl oLparing the first voyage, in the Bay of Biscay, wasn’t just as bad. We were in a stumpy tub of a’mafferdile brig, trying to cliw oil a lee shore, tetth a rolling sea and plenty of wind Jn abort, sudden pUfift The boy—about is)—slltn built ana pale—was An out-in-oat lubber, fond of reading, and skulking his duty whenever he c >uld; his mother, my only sister, a widow, by the way, had made me promise to take care of him—butwe were' shorthanded, and he was forced to work his turn. Some 61 the bands had gpue aloft to shake oat* reef in tbe fore tofsai! —the rigging was covered with ice—it was a January morning—we.l, the boy sUpped, or was blown, or thrown from the yard—bis foot caught in a bight in some Of the ruaniug rigging, and he hung by the heels, head downward, ft on The end of the yard, dipping Btfb the sea at each plunge of the old craft, and hoisted Up again, high and dry, fevery time .lie csle t# the wind«-‘ I expected every roll to see him jerked from his foot-held, and'no boat that qm had could have lived a minute in that sea. I did not' dare to 16ft far tear of being taken back. When I thought of bis mother, I bad a Kt mind to save him, even if I' hed-thkold tub*- but the point I jttnteAtw' weather Was close ahead attd the roar ofqhe surf did Wot sound altogether WeVtdld save him at hut, and I guess the feelings were quite as qQeer as ihatl< of your friend, the fowler. He hadbut one pullap, while toy nervey had better than a hundred—with the 'bob bath In a froaty sea, between each poll—nothing nut an accidental fcalf-hitch round his ankid —anl head wvtivard a* the wbttpT'f . ,1 “Horrible, indtod. What did you say when he was rc-

“Tell him he deserved a starting for ■ 4s>ing so .clumsy, when he kuew I was Okoet-hanOed—made, him swallow, some hot coffre gntf ttrrh Irf. H e I weDt aloft aeairi; and at the end of v*yage, cut the sea and took to carpentering. That’s Borne years ago and ■is hair ain’t turned gray yet “Pray sir,” sold another of the P**engers, “have yon seen Hoffman’s toleer toe drunken fireman who crept to at the man-hole of * boUer undergoing repairs, on hTard 'otie of the WMtern stcamboatst It is very well’ ; Th® P<>t>r fellow woke u:. In total fcSWWV * the b.l^, ’ i h,,n beard file roardri the bolff gt>wlng .roaid him, while the flref man coot'ntied to 'wood obJ ?»

rl JS* 0 ? 1 b iC*i bati ' re4fnbles«b« Expert vaer in'liPEl^ £?.;?■ LC -’ QOt r ** .* t * veiem ( rticer imUeMrvweof England declare Lbat Xe stood toehNi* ot the Pt>nlcetslar h**^^* B *to to able season In g tn lpdfe, when fearful iighti jvere matter* —and (bat he never actually BtraemJ under the iufiueaee*! fe*t, even whe death slew dowto bis thousands, except once, and Shat, strange to «ay, occurred lu the heaft oT the eWy of .London “ “A ghost story?' 7 >v , “No, indeed, a street affair, in open dayHgHt. A couple of notorious murderer*, Haggerty and Holloway, ♦ere to bo executed in front oftbe ’Neweate jtil. It Is said that uptrard oi 40,000 spectators were collectefr.iu the neighborhood df the place ofvsiecation, crowding from every point ton common center. Just se the criminals were placed upon the scaffold, a'cart full of women broke down; the aocfeent alarmed the bystanders, and gave an impetus to the whole body of that immense assemblage, which stayed to and fro| like the waves of the' sea. Persons of small stature and weak frame, unable to compete with their more hurley neighbor*, sank down and roee no more. Shrieks of murder sounded on every side—the crowd was ,foread over the writhing bodies of eevaral females and boyr, without the po we to render the sli* btest aid. The mob w.is absolutely smuggling with each other for their live*. In the midst of the alarm the criminals were swung uotu the gsflows’ beam, au incident which, although »xpect»J, maferaUy increased the pop 'u Aon. The Hi er

f«JpCns waresqo22d todeath as they refed in the orowd, and ihA bodies remained wedged in the livid maaa for a fuU hour. Tho Major brteu ** T^AreihojHPAoe |pi hettonpkdkopat:it 1 q HapTace, Umen a swm mfroUfag of the crowd foocnrrriL pJh l a| wM from his baJanee rnnd ofWkhclfllfhf He tihh&ppy man. t In ondiadatgle cmptxmo hundred perwPw bis fcdy) potmdtnc it iatiMAK of blood m d wSTa woman wf%*& kitentf&-TO Lhi IAM, *whk wnfler tfwtiet of flic mob J? **, feU Bhe [pother bahij^wthe nwns of a man wh» amfiAfmtmmr. We threw u over l ttekkw.Qf Wi aware that he I wpehhditt Wisave it where be stood, •*•!» vedltneS | Uieedfe of the ‘Tbefhlld was taken sWky alive. bk*9gew many pCrwmsflest their llveg. \jg£ZSKo&rj! j \ / f T’be Mafiw deetfurd that when the’ Crowd Separated, whKsh was not Until tbe bodies of the crinopals Were remove ed from the piatformlkat upwardro/ KH were found senSCleAs in th% stwWam Q 0 wgtwtlttphß, gentlemen,’^ -vfwTo atom sa than feaptalnsgenerally dp believe that that idlrftil, Ipsrhic wgsilnfused into the mkut-&#the mob as m punishment *— T v g holiday in ine death hour of their fellow-creatures. ”

*‘l have*heard a story spmewhere of to jFdfTdf P ?hSe Utllf lamily festivals which brighten the dark track of life and cheer tt e human heart in every clime. It was his day; crowds of her young acquaintances circled round her and as the father gd&ed proudly on tbe face of the young bride, be wished k as bright a prospect might oppi for his other childreu, who were gW-i r holing merrily among the crowd. | log alonf l the passage connecting the ( lower rooms, oe met die arr vaapm##, an ignontut eountrv wench, who was carrying a lighted talipw candle in her hand, without C Cinarestick. He blamed her for this dirty conduct, and went into the kitchen to make some arrangements with his wife about the Strtfper Utfle. The girl returned from the cteHar, with her arms full of ale bottles, but Without the candle. The merchant immediately recollected that several balrtls of gUfipowdet had been plhced in the cellar during the day, and that his foreman had opened oue es the barrels* to select a sample for a customer. “Where is your can :le?” he inquired, in excessive agitation. * I could not bring It up With me, hr my hands were fuiy* said the girl; “ Where did you leave It 7” “Welt I’d no cafidle stick, so I stuck it into some brack sand that’s therfe in one of the tube.” The merchant dashed dowu the cellar steps; the passage Was long and dark, and, as be groped his way, bis knees threatened to give way uoder him, his breath was choked, and bis flash saemed suddenly to becdmfc dry and parched, as if lie already felt the suffocating blast of death. At the extremity of the passage, fin .the Trout cellar, over which their friends were , reveing In felicity,The discerned tlif opcu powder-barrel, full almost to the top—the candle stuck lightly In the loosb grains, with a long and fed SutifF of burnt-oat wick topping the small and gloomy flame This sight seemed to wither all his powers and tbe merry laugh of the youngsters above struck upon his heart like the knell of death. . Unequaled presence of mind, pissed a hand on each side of the. candle, with the open palm upward, and tbe distended fingers pointing toward the object of his care—which, a« bis hands gradually met, was f ecu red In the clasp or locking of the fingers, and safely removed from the head of tbe barrel. As he lifted the cand 1j .from its bed in the powder, the exuberance of the wick fell off and rolled, a living coal, into the hollow of his hands. He caied not for the burning smart; he carried it steadily along the passage to tbe head of the cellar stairs. The Excitement was dhan - over—he oejptl am tie at the dan get be bad con<|Usr*d,biH the reaction wai t6o power»ful, *nd i*a »l into fits of the most Vi >l<nt and drendiiH laughter. He was eofr senflele&s to. laid, and iriauy weeks elapsed est his tfervbs recovered sufficient tone to allow to resume his habits of every day life. “I confess that you have evidenced a stronger Instance of capse of terror than I did when I produced tbe fisherman of'the Orkneys. Yes, sir, your merchant had not only his own life in forfeit, but the consideration of the whole of Mi family, t can thoroughly understand that man’s feelings while gazing upon tbe candle of death.” “Hie merchant's chance,” said the captain, ‘'was a trifle worse than my nevvy’s, as ter as feeling and all that goes: but still be aid not get the duckings in • January sea. You -haven’t capped the dimax yet, thoug(h; and you oan’tdoljt oti dry land—you must take our mishaps at sea, ii you want horrible situations in perfection.” ‘ Can you instance one or two, captiin?” ■ Haqm'WggrOyif you like. I’ll mention one, that in my opinion,combines the uioStJaWkil point of all 'stories— jjly £o*ioi» it to be a f&ct. A sntali sth-muef was chartered iu New Yqhxb to take a company of plsyerefl «teae. \l*)torgot the manavnrs name, but he was with his troupe, and contemplated a junction tehe is of ipine standing as Mr. and Se .managei aqd several others The little craft was caught a gala off Cape •Hatteras: e heavy sea'struck her stern end forced fief head hfro Ctl6 Wind; her bows were seized bv tt>e gale, andl she, went down, stern first. 3 -:

“Being light-freighted, she »on rose to the eurface, keel upward. The saptain, with all his little crew, kid some of the passengers who were on deck, were swept away like so much chaff; but the sudden ness*,of their destruction was mercy compared to.the suffering* endured by the unfortunates in “bff - The companion way had ec«i lefrdpen, and the hish®e water apon engulfed the inmates, already spreiy bruised by the loose fumitere and luggage ib&t knocked againet them in toe capsize. When toe water in the eabiu-ranched ’ its level, it was Kira&t inches between the top. of the water and the bottom of the cabin overhead. Consequently fun-grown persons could flod breathing room by holding their faces in aharizcntal position, but were liable to lose their standing every instant JWm the rolling of the vessel in the troti£A of tfle, sea. ..., “But lew of the passengers oould avail themselves of toe tantalizing assistance for any length of lime; the weak-bodied and i ahert-sizerf men gradually sunk, manger all the sssist*nce the stronger class could render. T&4 bos baud 8 foaghtfjpith death r most manfully Jo behalf ordheir wives—but were uuahle to save them. One of the ladies had an infant, aad intent upoiri Its salvation literally drowned hereeld in endeavoring to bold her babe above the water. Thrice did her mudsuicL dimandJescuaCkH hh held dear oil earto; audible* ha impeded let them stn b. ISow.T affirm tbaffio imagination cat) piqtpre a scene of more perfect horror than this floating

1 tbe sea. wiUi tbe deSid bodies of their wives, ana 00-mates rolling about j than—the the storm withiout TThderkudnShAair within more f*^ ible - the ho P e of freecoe—thaoKßlhpai moments of silence lntemlpttw'by tbe muttering FUirererß, wiin vue DtuuiiDK, iirugj^uuK iaaiErarMPsi of Sei prepotoitodiveCdown Wider the companion ladder, swim along beneath the dec*, dive still deeper noder the bulwarks, and some up_.in the dkusna S2«!£i , S3?rbi«/S(CX23 There Was also the obaoee of bring caucht in geU^^i%{ae dritoirittee wcpiuered. wljal Mr WAk Uiare Umt iake swimmW wtfkte&t. , zx:rL± h °!%% keel. Ha madaJiervena attejtopta.b^ Ud .%K at lislTbe succeeoea in getting, out of the isblO, hot they waited in Vain for the sound. ■ **On« : of roetti fleCßtflSl he heart ft wild shriek mingle with the gale shortly after the adventurer disappeared. Another ventured and was fortunately thrown on the hull by a wave as soon as he reached the surface. He kicked loudly sgalart.the side of the craft, and in a saw minutes beheld another of the sufferers struggling to reach the hull—he was successful. The third and last appeared, and also gained a bold npon the vessel he was too exhausted to Sd turned —vessel, and suffering from famine, thirst, fatigue and cold. A brig, bound to New Orleans, rescued them, but Williams never recovered. Oougherty survives. -