Look out for yourselves.

[**The following takes place during the sinking of a ship called the Maritana, a 991-ton full-rigged ship that was lost on the Shag Rocks in Broad Sound off the coast of Massachusetts on November 3, 1861. Here, the captain has ordered that the crew and passengers seek the safety of the weather chains, large chains that criss-crossed the deck. The chains were considered at the time to be the last desperate attempt to prolong life on the ship which would soon break apart, despite the efforts of the crew to save her.**] >About half of the passengers were directed toward the bow and half to the roof of the pilothouse in the stern. Struggling to reach their assigned positions in the steady gale, a woman and her daughter were struck by a heavy sea and washed overboard to their deaths. >No sooner had the passengers secured themselves than the dreaded event occurred. At about 8 A.M., the crashing surf claimed its victory and the *Maritana* broke in two. As the ship disintegrated, cargo began gloating out of the hull, and Captain Williams fell into a chasm that opened on the quarterdeck. “Look out for yourselves!” the captain shouted according to one account, but the ship’s carpenter tells a different tale: “He went down between the broken fragments, which closing suddenly caught the Captain by the head and crushed it in a frightful manner. Another sea opened the gap and Mr. Carnes, the mate, lifted the lifeless body of the Captain to the deck.” >As the ship broke apart, the forward half of the vessel was quickly swept under the waves, and all passengers and crew who clung to the unlucky portion were immediately drowned. ___________________________ **Source:** Pletcher, Larry. “The Sinking of the Maritana.” *Massachusetts Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival*. Insiders Guide, 2006. 6. Print.