EPIC OF THE SEA

ORDEAL OF SURVIVORS

PROVIDENTIAL RAINFALL

LAND REACHED AT LAST

(By Charles West.)

No. 111.

Thirst and^the heat from the suu were our wost form of torture. To alleviate the pain of 'our' scorched and blistered skins, afld diminish "the horrible craving for water, we kept our heads and bodies saturated with sea water, chewed pieces of rag and ends of rowlock lanyardß, and at" noon each day, when the tiny portion^ of, water was'served out, kept it in- our mouths as.long as possible, before swallowing it. So the deadly monotony went on. There was. not much in thewav of conversation, and ,any .attempt at a joke tell flat. The. two things for which we lived, daily were water .and the noon position. Frank Lindholm became very 'ill. He must have been hurt internally; and weakened rapidly. We had to reeve Mm under the thwarts, and make-him as comfortable as circumstances would

F permit, and doctor him. the> best way i wo could, giving him the 'jelly, from : the tinned meat from time to time, and ; occasionally a double ration of water. | He became covered with septic sores, i which we washed'with "Salt water, lane- ; ing them with the fishing liook, and | his condition caused us groat anxiety. . Tracy.boro up remarkably well, al- -, though a ; very poor helmsman and uaable to steer at night. ; AN, OMINOUS COMPANION. The most terrifying episode of the voyage was the appearance ' early one morning o£ a monster, shark, which camo close, alongside the boat and kept us company all day, rubbing his huge body against the planking, occasionally swimming underneath'the keel, during •which operation we- could feel the boat rock and vibrate, and then circling .round us. It was horrible to contemplate. One switch, of his tail,:and this story would never have been, written. This was the only occasion on which I saw outward evidence.of fear. 'We were scared, and there was no'relief until the hideous monster.' disappeared in a flurry'of phosphorescent foam, long"! after night had fallen. This episode greatly ' upset : Frank'" who, being a Finn; was highly superstitious. He made up his mind that he 4 was going to die, and .all. our efforts could not convince him to. the contrary. He must have suffered agonies during cur "surgical operations,',' but bore it all uncomplainingly and frequently asked in .feeble .tones :if land .would soon be in sight. ' ' Our good friend, the north-east trade wind, stuck to us' faithfully, and wo were bowling along about four 01 five I knots an hour, the boat having, for her size, a good spread* of; canvas and sailing well. .- . ' -.-■>. ■ A. . ..- A WELCOME RAINFALL. On the twentieth day putj tap breeze,■! fell ligh,t, ..and at sunset died.away altogether/ 'The! sky',clouded over, and about midnight-.it was a flat calm with a long oily swell and- considerable lightning. We lowered the sail, u'nstepped the mast,.and. hoped for rain. Our hopes were sOon realised. First a shower'or fwb fell'afcd then-fl'deluge. No pen'"co'Ttld'describe the joy «'f being able to drink;'one's fill" without stint. We filled our breaker,'the empty meat tins, and two south-westers, and 'washed our blistered bodies to our hearts' content.; -"'•'. •" ■ ' ■'•• ■'■•'■'•: .'■' ■-". : ; ■:•■■■ ;•.;■ ..-

All nighf it poured, down an torrents; necessitating frequent baling, and-when it cleared) a'ud the breeze came again, we knew'that as far Ss water wa3-coneera-ed, we had - an' adequate supply; ..-■■ ; The next day. we sighted outlying islands, and I am sure that: each man, deep down. in: his' heart, thanked ■ God for His deliverance. " . „:■••

It had ? been bur intention to make Jand if possible in the vicinity of Surigao, at the northern end of the island of Mind_anao.-There we knew we would N be hospitably received and not run the risk of-encountering any of the Moro tribe, who were distinctly hostile, and to whom, in our weakened condition, we would have been unable to offer any resistance. ■„■-■'■ . ■ ■ • / ."' On the morning of the twenty-third day out we had the land close aboard right ahead, and the wind falling light, we endeavoured to-get theoars out and TOW. , -..:.. .■ PAEALYSING WEAKNESS. Not until that moment had we any idea how pitifully weak we really were. The combined efforts of three oif us could scarcely get an oar outboard; and realising it was useless to try, we sat. and patiently waited for a;breeze.

•The gods were kind. Towards sundown, we the ripple of a'catspaw' coming over the water, and the breeze, gradually freshening, took- us right into the beach. .Negotiating the reefs safely, we landed-on what; we later discovered to be Mavish Island;

Scrambling out. of the boat and assisting Frank, we managed, by dint~ of superhuman exertions, to er-iwl up the beach, •where, hidden from view by masses of coconut palms, we discovered an empty -native hut; ■

Making several trips to the boat for our belonging;;, we improvised, an anchor outof a large stone, then returning to the beach, lit a fire, with a blue light and warmed up our last tin of mutton. . ■ . ■ '

Nero's banquet was as nothing compared to this. Later ,we managed to secure a few coconuts that were within reach, and returning to the hut, slept the sleep of utter exhaustion. .

Next day, rented and refreshed, we took stock of' our surroundings'. It was plain ta be seen that the island had not been immune from.: the devastation of the cyclone. ' Vast numbers of trees of all descriptions^ had" been uprooted, and tall coconut palms were, laid flat as far asthe eye. could see. .:

The hut we occupied was the usual type of native "casa," made of interr laced bamboos, and covered with a thatch of dried leaves. There were some cooking pots, a few.pigs in a pen at the rear, a well of sorts, and some cultivation. ■ Also to our intense delight we- discovered several, chickens. These ' soon went the way of all good fowl, and a most' savoury stew was made which, included' coconuts and a sort of foot like a sweet potato. There was. also a goodly supply of shellfish to be:obtained.on the beach.

FRIENDLY NATIVES APPEAR.

Some time during the afternoon, a native outrigger canoe arrived, attracted by the smoke of our fire. In it were a man, a boy, and' three women, and to our surprise the boy spoke perfect English, having been educated in an American mission school. They were the owners of the hut, and nsed it when engaged in copra drying After we had"' explained our predicament, they suggested, that. as soon as we felt equal to it we should proceed with them i:i their canoe, to the municipality o,f "ffinatuan, where assistance •would be given us by. the provincial president, and' transportation arranged to take. Jia to Surigao, and thence to Cebu and civilisation. ..."..

These good people were more, than hospitable, doing.all in their power to succour and help us. Very speedily the women-folk had a blazing fire and a jnost appetising meal under way. We Bat down, to roast pork, chicken, fried

bananas, coffee, and-lemons, and ate our fill, topping it off with what we longed for more than, anything else, a smoke. ■ . ■• •..- •-,■ . .

Conditions now assumed a rosy aspect, and it was quite remarkable how speedily pur spirits rose as strength returned. Sleep in plenty worked its own miraculous cure, and the milk of tho young green coconut acted as both medicine and restorative. '

As it was impossible to take the boat across the'various'reefs and shallow 'waters which lay between, .the island and our destination, we decided to present it to our newly-made friends, -who were delighted with- the-gift. ■ : . _ Anxious to get in touch with the outside world, we embarked' as soon as possible, leaving the boat that had borne us safely throjigh our trials and tribulations, with just a .tinge, of regret. It was like parting with, an old and. valued friend. ■ ■_-.'-.'-..

A sail:through narrow and- tortuous waters, the navigation of which called forth from.us words of praise and admiration at the skill displayed by the helmsman, .brought us to the village of Hinatuan in'about>.five -hours.-

The presence of white men in- the ■canoe had been noticed from the-beach and the whole population turned out to welcome us. We were escorted to the president's ; headquarters, , explained briefly our predicament; and inquired if a doctor could be obtained for Frank. The medical officer was speedily on the scene and examined us all in a very thorough manner, vdrdering ,a stretcher bed to be placed .in his surgery, and Frank was accommodated there. Another meal was prepared-.and a-great fuss made of us, . "... '.. .

; After we Had: bathed, had pur beards trimmed, and :.d6nried" clean white clothing, accommodation was arranged for us by the president, and a special diet of eggs, rice, fish, and chicken prescribed by the doctor. .-"■'•- ,

We turned in early between clean sheets and our troubles were over. No vessel was expected* at Hinatua'n for a fortnight, 'therefore we had plenty" of time to recuperate and- were able to oxploro the village and surrounding country. The • population was about three hundred and with the exception of a few Chinese storekeepers and a Dutch priest,'.they Were all Filipinos. There, was an''excellent'school and all the younger-people'spoke'English, the native dialect being ;Visayan. Many of the elder-people; spoke Spanish. :

ALONG THE COAST OF MINDANAO.

Finally, one morning a little Chinese trading-vessel, poked' her' nose.into the harbour and came to anchor.. Boats were speedily, loaded with, flax and copra and transferred .their, cargoes to her. By evening she was ready for sea, and collecting our belongings, we wore rowed off to her with mingled feelings of regret at -leaving' {'■' our' ''-newly-found friends of Hinatuan

Then commenced. a. most interesting trip tip thei'eoasVof Mindanao Island:. In and out'of every little nook and cranny, where a bale of flax xir boatload of copra could be'obtained,'the tiny vessel' went. 'Not only on' board the schooner, 'but' at-.eaoh Settlement also, we, received nothing but kindness and hospitality, until after a fortnight's most pleasant voyaging; wo arrived at the pretentious town of Surigao', where we were talceri before the president of the' municipality, and'after being interviewed, sent the: first' cable apprising the outside world of tfie disaster. This was the cable; mentioned at the beginning of this' narrative: ; :;v -

After being hospitably r entertained here We- re^emba'rked' on .the schooner and three days later arrived at tlio flourishing seaport of Cebu,- and presented, ourselves to,the British Vice-Consul there. This gentleman, after taking a detailed description of the loss of our vessel and subsequent, happenings^ ar>anged accommodation for us at the Cebu Hotel, pending instructions from the Consul-General at Manila; THE COUKT OF INQUIRY. : Further cables//were :sent by'him ,to' the. owners, agents, and- relatives of the creiwin Melbourne,..-.and- after ,a very pleasant week spent in the deiightfu] seaport, we received instructions to proceed to' Manila and report-to the Consulate' there. Another enjoyable trip on the,mail .steamer Belgana and we were met'at Manila by ■a vast throng of .people.

.'Followed more detailed explanations and descriptions of "the disaster and we were then ordered to take up our quarters at the Stag Hotel, pending a Naval Court of Inquiry. . This was held'at the British Consulate 'some .time later, the Court consisting.' of Mr.. Harrington, Consul-General; .and the masters of the two largest steamers in port—the Caichas, belonging to Alfred Holt, and the Grace Dollar, belonging to the Bobert Dollar Company of San Francisco. The usual procedure was adopted, sworn testimony being taken and many pointed questions asked.' The Court sitting lasted all day; and at its con- ' elusion we were congratulated on our ..escape from death, and informed that passages would be arranged to enable us to return -to- our hoinesia Melbourne ' by the, first, available steamer. ..Here,, as in Cebu, tho inhabitants gave us a royal time, and in spite of] the fact that-we were anxious to return to our homes, it was with feelings of regret that we said good-bye to the Consul-General and the good people of Manila, and embarked on t.he steamer St. Albans en route for Melbourne. , A SAD HOME-COMING.

Twenty-one - days • of fine weather voyaging through the beautiful Arafura Sea, Torres Strait, - and : down the Queensland coast brought us to Sydney. We'took 'the train that night and next day were met at. Spencer' street station by a sorrowing group of relatives of our drowned shipmates. Over the harrowing scenes that took place on the railway platform, I will draw a- veil. The poignant grief of. heart-broken mothers is. not to.be touched on lightly. "We could only confirm their worst fears, There.was no hope,'none whatever. They would never returnt the sea had taken its toll.; . : *

The result of the inquiry was endorsed by the.Melbourne authorities and a copy of it, with a letter ;of congratulation from the Minister of Trade and Customs of the Commonwealth Government, and. a.gold watch, suitably inscribed,, were-presented to me, a silver watch being given at the same time :to Clifton- Cornish for the heroic part he played before) during, and after the foundering of the vessel. ■ . ■• -'

The letter read as follows: —"At a Court of Inquiry held at Manila on sth May, 1923, in. consequence of the foundering of the barquentine Amy Turner, the finding of the Court was to the effect that the foundered during excessively heavy weather in the North Pacific off Guam, on 23rd March, 1923. That, owing. to the conditions prevailing,- she gradually filled beyond the power of the crew to pump the water out so ib at foundering became inevitable. There was no premature abandonment, and proper and seamanlike measures were taken to keep the vessel afloat. That the safety of the survivors is, in the opinion, of the Court, primarily due to the skill. and energy of Charles West, who, holding a master's certificate, was responsible for the navigation of the boat during a voyage of some 1800 miles in twenty-three days under the most terrific conditions, with only a sextant and marine almanac to guide-: him. Arid also to Clifton Cornish, boatswain, who was responsible for the distribution of the scanty supply of food and water and the general order and discipline. In view of these heroic. circumstances which stand out ; as an epic in the. h'lstory of the Australian merchant marine, I am instructed by the Commonwealth Government to present you with a gold watch suitably inscribed and I have much .pleasure ia adding mjr own personal eon-

gratulations on the successful termination of your hazardous boat voyage." Tho Board of Trade, with its usual magnanimity, showed its appreciation of our efforts by : setting its valuable seal of approval on our discharges, stamping upon them, "Ability as a boat hand—very good." As sailors do, after we paid off and said good-bye, ouch went his different way, and-.I hear from time to time that all are well and physically none the worse for their ordeal. Our experience was one that few sailormen encounter. The Trevessa's crew endured similar hardships with the exception, of course, that they had well-equipped and provisioned lifeboats and were not famished and exhausted ineii when they abandoned ship.' Both incidents were epics in the history of the Mercantile Marino, and show what real men can do when "up against it." Peace hath its heroes no less than war.

: One word ere closing, a word in praise of those who lost their lives, the men and the woman we failed to save, they also upheld the best traditions of the sea. We merely suffered. They died, and to use their memory will be ever sacred.