American National Red Cross; Red Cross and Red Crescent
Next to the account of Admiral Beardslee, I desire to place that of Mr.
John MacDonald, who, from having faced death in the rigging of the
ill-fated "Savannah" for three days, enduring every privation and danger
that could be endured, still lived to come to us, and to generously
volunteer his services to the Red Cross as one knowing how to feel for
those with whom he had suffered in common. After a visit to the northern
end of the islands, and a full verbal report to us of their conditions
and needs, he went in a like capacity to the southern end, and finding
less likelihood of other assistance there, decided to take this as his
field and accordingly made headquarters at Hilton Head, where he did
most efficient and praiseworthy work, drawing from the supplies at
Beaufort such as could be spared from the needs of the other hundreds of
distributing points.
The work of Mr. MacDonald and his capable wife (for he married while
there Miss Ida Battell, a charming trained nurse from Milwaukee) was
intelligent and comprehensive to an uncommon degree, not only relieving
the colored population of the entire island, but raising them to a
higher degree of industrial intelligence and self-help than they had
ever dreamed of. I desire to tender in behalf of friendless humanity my
grateful tribute of thanks to Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald for faithful and
efficient service.
REPORT BY MR. MCDONALD.
On the night of August 27, 1893, while en route from Boston to Savannah
on the steamer "City of Savannah," the terrible devastating cyclone,
which swept over the Sea Island Coast of South Carolina, was experienced
by me in all its awfulness, terminating in the wreck and complete break
up of that magnificent ship, and the terrible suffering and endurance of
three days lashed to the rigging, without food or water and facing and
hourly expecting death. Where could help come from? All the boats and
ships in these waters had probably met the same fate as ours. All hope
of help from nearby was abandoned, and our eyes were fastened on the
North with anxious watchfulness. On the third night, when all hope had
died out, in the darkness shot up a bright signal light--the last we
had on board--and in a few moments another light shot out into the sky
about two miles away; our cry for help was answered! Out of the North
came help to us, and after the perilous work of rowing from one ship to
the other, trip after trip, through breakers and high-running seas, we
were saved and carried into port.
On arriving in Savannah and seeing from the papers, as the reports
slowly came in, the awful wreckage which had been wrought on the
islands, my sympathies were naturally aroused, for who could better know
what these people must have passed through? When, a few days later, the
call was issued for the Red Cross to assume control of the relief work,
I abandoned the plans which had brought me South and joined Miss
Barton's forces.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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