Alexandria Gazette

SHIPWRECK—FOURTEEN LIVES LOST.—A Friend has favored us with the following. The seaman, Mr. Cote, is in this city at present, and substantiates the account.

ST. John's, August 9, 1837.—A sailor by the name of Abraham Cote, who says that he is, as he believes, the only survivor of the St. Augustine packet schooner S. S. Mills, of 50 tons burden, bound to Charleston, and upset off Jekyl Island, in 7 fathoms water, and all perished but himself.

This melancholy disaster occurred during the gale on Sunday, the 6th instant, about 10 o'clock in the morning. There were on board, 15 in all, among them one white woman and two blacks, all drowned in the Cabin. Mr. Cote reached the middle of Jekyl Island about an hour after sunset, on a spar. The last he saw of the wreck it was bottom up, and the captain and mate, and two black seamen, were on her bottom, and two other men in the boat, which was full of water. Soon after the boat passed by him with nobody in it.

There was a schooner in sight when she upset, and run down upon her, but as he believes, saved none of the crew.—They were, like himself, floating about, that is those not drowned. It was too rough to keep a boat on the top of the waves. He remained on Jekyl Island all night, not knowing that the island was inhabited, and seeing the light-house, he came to the northern end of it, and finding a plank, launched himself upon the sound and with a paddle he found on the bank, he paddled himself across, taking the last of the flood tide, and landed near Mr. King's.

Several fragments of the wreck had come ashore along the beach, together with the foremost, broke below the cabin. The schooner was in ballast, 5 days from St. Augustine and commanded by Capt. Pelham—Darien Telegraph.