Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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18 The Augusta Seminary Annual. for the rescue. At four o ' clock tlie next morning two boats, with an officer and four sailors in each, left for the wreck, and by eleven o ' clock they had brought from the Savannah the passengers and crew, who had been hanging about her for thirty-six hours, without food and water, threatened with death, and from whose breasts all hope had departed. They were all welcomed on board and everything possible was done for them by our captain and crew. One of the most pitiful sights we ever beheld was that of one of the passengers who was rescued from the Savannah. He was an old white-haired man — a minister — and the excitement and ex- posure to which he had been subjected had deranged his mind so completely that he did not know his name. By twelve o ' clock we were again headed towards home, and though we sighted several more vessels with sails and other por- tions of the rigging gone, they were apparently not in need of help. At two o ' clock we reached Tybee Island, where we re- mained until the tide enabled us to enter the river. The Birmingham was expected in Savannah, and the moment it came in sight was greeted with a cheer that could be heard in the center of the city. Along the five miles of wharves people were crowded, and as we neared our wharf the cheers grew louder and longer, and were responded to by whistles, from the gong and cheers from all on board the Birmingham. Long before the ves- sel had been docked, fathers, brothers and friends were there, wait- ing eagerly to welcome us back. As soon as the gang-plank was swung up there was a rush for it, and the crowd had to be pulled back and held by force until we landed, and then such greetings as there were ! Kemper Peacock.

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The Augiista Seminary Annual. 17 like !i toy, while iiiinlitv waves swept lier deck. No one flared attempt to leave liis berth. As t ' ai- as the eve eouhl I ' eacli iiothiiii;- eoiild be seen l)nt inonn- tain waves, Hke 2;iants in battle arrav, ai ' isiiiii; in the ocean and lashini;- each other in their madness, while the liowlin wind seemed to nrge them on towards tlie siiip, that trembled as if in- stinct with life and understanding its peril. All day Monday the scene was terrible to behold, and one that we shall never forget. The ship seemed to be but a mite in the hands of the elements to be dashed about at their mercy. At one moment she would be riding ni)on the crest of great waves, like a proud conqueror, and the next would be plunged headlong and helpless into their trough We were carried out hundreds of miles from our course and each mighty wave drove us further and further to sea. Late in the afternoon the storm began to abate and the ship was headed towards home. Tuesday morning we were awakened by a cry from our chaperon, and, running to the window, we l)eheld our first wreck. It was a schooner, water-logged, with the sea breaking over it, and seven men clinging to it. Our captain sent a life-boat to their rescue and they were brought on board. We learned that they had been clinging there since early Monday morning. All that day pieces of every description pertaining to vessels and cargo were seen in all directions. Some vessels without masts and others bottom up told us the fate of those M ' ho had lived upon them a few hours before. Tuesday afternoon, about six o ' clock, a wreck was sighted, but from the distance we were we could not tell whether it was a ship or a sailing-vessel, as the smoke-stack was gone, the hull under water, and the waves sweeping over the deck. Captain Berg steered the Birmingham as near as possible to the wreck and burned a signal light, which was answered by a light of the same line of steamers. A boat was immediately lowered and sent to the wreck, and about eleven o ' clock returned, bringing the news that the city of Savannah was in the breakers three miles from shore, going to pieces rapidly, with the passengers and crew lashed to the rigging. It was then so late and the sea so rough that an at- tempt to aid them before daylight was impossible. The Birming- ham was anchored for the night, and everything put in readiness

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The Augusta Seminary Annual. 19 Pabla. IN the heart of the City of Missions, San Antonio, stands the battle-scarred Alamo. Its grey stone walls are defaced by time, but to all lovers of the ancient it bears a wonderful charm, while to the Texan it stands a monument in memory of the brave men whose lives were lost in its defense. It was here that the defenders of Texas liberty saw, floating from the old cathedral, the red flag and then the black one that told them how little mercy they might expect from the cruel comiriander of the enemy. The sun was setting, bathing the Alamo in a lurid light that seemed more fully to remind men of the scenes of horror and bloodshed that had been enacted within its walls. Standing in the door of the building was the small figure of a girl who seemed to have reached that point of life where, with shaded eyes, the maid looks forward timidly into the dim future of her dawning womanhood. Drawn around her head and shoulders was a dark red shawl, which hung in careless, graceful folds to where two small sandaled feet peeped out, proclaiming her to be of the ple- bian class. Her hands were clasped over her head and her dark eyes gazed dreamily out upon the moving, changing throng of people. She did not seem to be heeding them, and, when she was addressed in broken Spanish by a young girl who had just entered, Pabla was startled, but, with a native grace, moved aside, making a queer little curtesy. The young girl had evidently taken her to be the person in charge of the place and wished to be guided through it. Hardly understanding her words, Pabla gazed at her wonderingly, and then, in a puzzled tone, asked, in very good English, but with the slightest foreign accent, what she could do for her. The girl explained, and, as Pabla led her into the queer old building, she listened with rapt attention to the story of its siege and fall. Twilight was fading into night when Bessie McLeod stepped out of the mission into the street. She had been so engrossed in listening to the many old legends woven around it and so in- terested in the little narrator that time had passed unheeded. She handed a small piece of silver to Pabla in payment for her services,