THE
SCHOONER REBECCA WALLS
The
schooner A. B. Marts, Captain Steelman, arrived February 13 from
Apalachicola,
Florida, bringing Captain Smith, one passenger, and seven of the crew
of the schooner Rebecca M. Walls of Philadelphia, which was abandoned
at sea, February 6, in latitude 32.25, longitude 79.
Saved
with Captain Smith, were Mate James Emory of Lynn, Massachusetts ,
Second Mate Willett Roberts of Portland, Maine, Steward James Cole of
Manilla and Seamen David Lundquist, Louis Gabrielson, Harry Olsen of
Norway, Walter Harrison of England,. F. A. Phelps of New Haven,
Connecticut was a passenger from Brunswick.
Captain
smith reports that he left Brunswick February 1 for Philadelphia with
cargo 432,000 feet of lumber for the Pennsylvania Railroad, consigned
to William A. Lloyd Company.
A
moderate gale blew prior to February 4 on which day at 4 am the
pumps showed there was no water in the vessel but to the surprise to
the crew , all of the schooner, there was four feet of water in the
hold at 9 am. The whole crew manned both pumps but at noon the was
six feet and water was gaining seven inches per hour up to 9 pm. The
vessel than filled and waterlogged, taking a list to port. The cabin
flooded and only a few hard biscuits and a little bit of water was
saved as all hands took to the top of the house to await rescue.
It
was not until 5 am on the 6th that a vessel was seen and
Captain Smith lighted a torch and was rewarded by seeing the vessel
bearing down upon the Walls, by daylight the same vessel was sighted
seven full miles away and was soon out of sight to the eastward.
The
Rebecca Walls crew was able to get a small canvas up on the Walls
taking her on a west northwest by west course during which were seen
two schooners to the eastward but too far away for signals to be
seen. At 2 pm a steamer was sighted about four miles off, an ensign
with the union down was raised but caught no attention. The Walls
crew began to lose faith but later the day a four masted and a three
masted schooner were sighted, the burgee was hoisted on the Walls
and the the three master , which was the Marts, bore down on Captain
Smith and took off all hands after their two days on the sinking
schooner.
Later,
a day or two, the Walls was reported as being off Charleston Bar,
waterlogged and abandoned, then subsequently towed inside the bay
for wrecking. Henry D. May, & Company of Philadelphia are
owners of the Rebecca M Walls which was built in Milton, Delaware in
1879.
Source:
Wilmington Delaware Evening Journal , Tuesday February 14, 1893.