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TRAGEDIES OF THE STORM! “We have fed our sea for a thousand years, And she hails us, still unfed; There’s never a wave of all her waves But marks our British dead, We have strewn our best, to the weed’s unrest, To the shark and the sheering gull; If blood be the price of Admiralty, Good God, we have paid in full. We must feed our sea for a thousand years, For that is our doom and pride, As it was when they sailed with the Golden Hind, Or the wreck that struck last tide, O the wreck that lies on the spouting reef, Where the ghastly blue lights flare; If blood be the price of Admiralty, Good God, we have paid it fair.” Surely the price of admiralty has been paid by British blood, and yet the Moloch of the deep remains unsatisfied. Newfoundland’s contributions to the sacrifice of blood and tears have been recorded in the homes and hearts of succeeding generations, but it seems as though only part of the price has yet been paid, and “we must feed our seas for a thousand years, for that is our doom and pride." The storms of Wednesday and Thursday last will rank with those of 1846 and 1885 in the history of our Island home. Day after day brings its tale of woe, - and it is to be feared, that the end is not yet. Until news reaches us from the northern coasts and distant Labrador there must be unrest, -and no anxiety is more poignant than the anxiety of suspense. The “Effie M.” On Friday night Messrs. Baine Johnstone & Co. received a brief message from Old Perlican, saying that a wreck there pointed to the Effie M., of Trinity. This message appeared in our columns, and was the first intimation of the awful tragedy that reached the owner’s son, Mr. O. J. Morris, who was paying a brief business trip to the city and staying at the Waverley Hotel. He at once telegraphed his father, Mr. Joseph Morris, who replied that his son Stephen had gone to Old Perlican to investigate and later came a message from Mr. Stephen Morris saying: “Effie M. lost will all hands. Here making arrangements.” Meanwhile the following message had been received by Acting Minister of Justice Kent from Magistrate Lilly, of Trinity: “Hon. J. M. Kent, St. John’s The schooner reported lost with all hands at Lead Cove, is undoubtedly the Effie M., Fred Morris, master and owned by Joseph Morris, Trinity. She was recognized off Bonaventure Head on Wednesday. Number on board uncertain, having freighters. Likely to be 16 or 18 persons, who all belong to Trinity and nearby places. Terrible disaster. Many sufferers. (Sgd) MAGISTRATE LILLY” In an interview with Mr. O. J. Morris, we ascertained the following facts: The Effie M. was on her way home from Labrador. She had a crew of about ten men; on her way south she called at Crouse, where some planters were taken aboard. All of them, planters and crew, belonged to Trinity, Trouty, or a small settlement in the vicinity called Spaniard’s Cove. The ill-fated vessel was in company with several other vessels when the gale burst in its fury, last Wednesday. They put into Catalina and rode out the gale in safety. Capt. Morris kept on his way, evidently hoping to reach Lance Cove. It is thought by experienced navigators in Trinity Bay that he either lost his canvas or missed Lance Cove and got into Lead Cove. So far as can be ascertained, the names of those aboard were: Fred Morris, master,
married 3 children The freighters known, were: There were possibly other freighters aboard, whose names are unknown at present. The Effie M was a staunch vessel of some 72 tons. She was insured in the Trinity Mutual Club, and her outfit was covered at Lloyds. What quantity of fish was aboard is unknown, beyond 800 quintals belonging to the owner, Mr. Joseph Morris. The freighters, no doubt, had the bulk and possibly all their season’s catch aboard at the time. Not since the loss of the ill-fated Lion, in 1882, has there been such a disaster happen to the people of Trinity. The scenes there on Saturday were heartrending; the wives of the ill-fated crew were distraught, some silent in an agony of grief, others wailing, and finding vent for their awful misery in shrieks and sobs. It is said that the people of Trouty, where most of the men came from saw her from there on Wednesday, and thought she was beating down for Trinity. One little boy, whose father was on board, walked to Trinity to meet him. On Saturday, three of the bodies were recovered at Lead Cove, and conveyed to Trinity in the Ethie. The names, so far as we can ascertain, were: James Fleet, Arthur Sexton and one of the Millers. It is hoped that by this time others have been recovered. The Daily News, September 23, 1907 |
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