Seafaring Sunday: Mrs. Foley's Horror

Sam Parker was sitting on the ship’s side fishing, when his line became entangled with some floating object and attempting to extricate it by a sudden jerk, he lost his balance and fell overboard… My screams brought every soul up in an instant, but although I pointed out the exact spot where the boy fell, he was not to be seen at all. The boat was lowered, and the men rowed round and round the vessel… It was not until more than an hour had elapsed that the body rose to the surface from under the stern of the vessel where it had been held fast for a time by the line which the boy had coiled around his waist. ~ Fanny Foley aboard clipper bark Wildfire in the Pacific Ocean, August, 1849


Header: Clipper Bark Wildfire, artist unknown