Attention all you sailors,
come listen to what I say,
While I relate the dreadful news
that we record today:
The schooner Donald Silver,
Captain Hackett in command,
Today she lies a total wreck
on the shores of Newfoundland.
She had not long been sailing
when the southeast storm did rise,
The rain came down in torrents
and clouds overcast the skies;
They must have run her off the land
for twenty miles or more,
The wind got 'round west-nor'west,
but she drifted toward shore.
It was only a few days later,
the message went around,
The Donald Silver a total loss,
and all her crew were drowned.
It cast a gloom upon the place
when you heard the message read:
Lost in the mouth of Bay St George,
in a place they call Pang Head.
There's Captains John Hackett
and Joseph in command,
Their nephew James Hackett,
who was their second hand,
And William Reid from Summerside,
where his people now do dwell,
And Onz Wheeler from that same place,
the same sad fate befell.
There were two more men from Bay St George
that same sad fate did share,
Drowned on the Donald Silver
was Frank and Harold Swyers;
And now they're gone, God rest them,
their last sea voyage is done,
The wives now grieve for their husbands
and the mothers for their sons.
There's Captains John Hackett
and Joseph in command,
Their nephew James Hackett,
who was their second hand,
And William Reid from Summerside,
where his people now do dwell,
And Onza Wheeler from that same place,
the same sad fate befell,
And Onza Wheeler from that same place,
the same sad fate befell.
About 15 years ago I heard a song written and sung about this vessel. I don't know who sang the song or who wrote it but the lead instrument seemed to be an accordion. I expect the singer may have been from the west coast of Newfoundland. I managed to write down the lyrics and have never seen them anywhere else. The wording seems to vary a bit from the story and a couple of the names are slightly different. I'm forwarding it to you for any further research and/or corrections, as I think it deserves a place in the GEST archives. More information about the loss can be found at the NLGenWeb site HERE.
Follow-up message from Sean Kenny on 11/18/2011:
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