TOTAL SHIPWRECK.

TIMBER SHTP LOST. AT PALMERSTON ISLAND. >■ .-.-■ (From Our Own Correspondent.) : ; RAROTONGA, December 8. : 'i The list of ships that have'been lost ■ on the islands of the Pacific has been added to by the wreck of the four-masted 'eteel barque Thistle, on Palmerston Island, 270 miles north-west Of Rarotonga, on the Bth November. .The Thistle was a vessel of 2284 tons, built in 18SH), com--7 "manded by Captain Edmund England, arid belonged to Mr D. J, Clink and " others, of Greenock. In addition to the 7 captain, three officers and two;apprentices, the vessel had a crew of 24 men. '.:' At the time of the wreck the Thistle wa& 'on a voyage from Portland,'. Oregon, g U.S. A., with a cargo of over two million feet of timber for Port Pirie, South : < Australia, the timber being consigned to ■■-''•'; Mr Stenhouse, at Port Pirie, for use in \ the Broken Hill silver and other mines. THE VOYAGE. .:>",. The Thistle left Portland, Oregon, on . the 28th September, and finally left As- , toria, on the Pacific Coast, on the 9th October. An fine passage was experienced until noon of the 7 th November, when Captain England took the usual /Observations to verify the position of ■"■ his ship. He found that he was in the J, vicinity of Palmerston Island, a place . he had passed in several other previous ;'voyages. The ship was experiencing -••-•' iresh southerly winds with Westerly currents, and the captain, fearing that he would not clear the island, changed the ■ ship's course, intending to pass to the 1 north of Palmerston at a distance of about twenty miles. During the night the wind became lighter, and the cur- - rent apparently changed, the weather being cloudy and heavy. At four o'clock .« in the morning of the Bth November the - vessel, without any warning, STRUCK THE REEF, the second officer being on watch, and the captain having been on deck but a ' short time previously. The first indication that the vessel was in danger was hearing the surf breaking on the reef. Almost immediately orders were given 1 to put the helm hard up, but it was too . late, for the fore part of the vessel • glided gently reef, bumping but , : twice and then ' stopping. ' Soundings • were taken, and five fathoms of water were found round the vessel up to the foremast, no bottom being found at the j stern. The exact position •where the vessel struck the reef was one-half mile south of the north-east point of the is- , land. Only about 20 feet of- the forepart of the ship being on the reef, and the sea being smooth, Captain England had great hopes of floating her, and 1 under his instructions the crew com- ' menced to throw overboard the deck cargo so as to lighten the vessel. About six o'clock a.m. two boats, with fifteen . natives, reached the ship, having come from the other side of the island, and their services were at once engaged. However, about ten o'clock the wind be- ; gan to" blow strongly from the eastward, -. bringing up a heavy swell on the reef, which caused the vessel to swing broad- • side on. She then began to bump heavily, the sea lifting her bodily on top of the outer ..reef,-with,-twentyrone feet of I water all round. The work of lightening , the ship was then stopped,-: and* -the boats were put out and provisioned, as the natives had reported that there was a scarcity of provisions on the island. The two native boats were also loaded with stores, and everything put in readiness to go ashore. The wind continued to increase and the sea to become . heavier, the ship continually bumping. MAKING WATER in the hold at the rate of two feet per hour.: At half-past five in the afternoon the captain deemed it prudent to land the men arid the provisions before dark, as there would be not much chance of doing so with safety during th* nighttime. All hands then left the ship, and, with the stores, were landed without loss on a small sand island at the back of the reef, where they remained for . the night, being taken to the main is-.-land next day. During the night the wind shifted to the north-east, accompanied, by heavy *rain, the ship pounding heavily on the ireef the whole time. The high wind land sea continued the next day, 9th No'vcmbcr, and it was impossible to board the vessel. On the 10th November the wind and sea moderated, and with the help of the natives more stores and nearly all the chests and effects of the " officers and crew were safely landed • Preparations were then made for a STAY ON PALMERSTON. co as to await the arrival of a vessel at the island to take away the wrecked captain and crew. The natives, of whom Joel Marsters is the head, did everything in their power to make the shipwrecked mariners comfortable, and were able to assure their visitors that a schooner was expected to visit, the island in about a fortnight. After staying on fie island for sixteen days, the exciting cry of "Sail ho!" was heard. This proved to be the Tahiti schooner Tamarii Tahiti,, on ..her .voyage from Rarotonga to the Northern Islands, Captain Winchester, one of the schooner's owners, being on board. Arrangements were made by Captain England-with Captain Winchester for the schooner-to take the ; wrecked men on board and to return to Raro-tonga,-where they would be ableto-catch aTteamer to Auckland. The Tamarii Tahiti, with Captain England, officers, and crew, arrived at the 4th inst., after a;long trip of 11 days from Palmerston Island, the men looking, none ; the worse for their unfortunate mishap. If a vessel had not have arrived at Palmerston before the end of November it was Captain England s intention to send seven men m the lifeboat to Rarotonga for assistance. AT RAROTONGA the captain and officers were quartered at the Whare Manuhiri, where the crew also had their meals, the old Parliament House being used for the crew's sleep- ■ ing accommodation; Every, provision was made by Mr Stevenson,-the Collector of Customs at Rarotonga, and by the other Government officials, for the well-being of the officers and men uxifal the arrival of the steamer for• Auckhind. After landing the shipwrecked people at Rarotonga the- Tamarii Tahiti resumed her voyage to the Northern Islands on the 6th December. , : -' . Captain England states thatwhen he Jeft Palmerston most pi timber which had been thrown off the deck had . floated over the reef to - the .shore,,and there, was a possibility of the Palmerston natives being able to save a further large portion- of the timber, especially if the vessel broke: up arid .the logs were carried over the reef. He, was able to »aye all, the i ship's - papers and. also his chronometers. Acting on - behalf °* ™J* Jkderwriiers, Castaia EwdanA «** *■*

*reek and to Joel Maraters for tt« sum of £30. Captain tumble to give any partfaflMs^to; the prance on the cargo br.shi of thl^^fJJ£s which he commanded. ■■- .f. vessel PALMERSTON ISLAND square mile, and, as, has been before Sfrt ' hGS ts° north-west o? l-SrSSSj is included £ | the islands annexed to New -Zealand along with the Cook .IslandJ land, which consists of-a number nf i small islets on - the r reef, : is in "hf occn Wilham Marsters, an English sailor who took possession of the island some fifty W a go after the death of a Captain Brander, of Tahiti, who had been m occupation. The claim of Marsters to the island was afterwards vali*T » 5", issue of a ldase to him by the British-Government, such lease bein"- -- -?«W^ el< y ,y , his Bon s, who pay their rent to the Cook Islands Administration. JoeL Marsters, the eldest son, was appointed magistrate and head. of the island by the New Zealand Government The only product of the island is copra the result of the sale of which is sufficient to keep in clothing and food the half and quarter-caste inhabitants, who number about 100. The output of copra could be largely increased were it not for the usual laziness of the Polynesian Trading vessels from Rarotonga visit Palmerston Island about three times in each year.