AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 4310, 15 March 1884, Page 3 (Supplement)

AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE.

Facing Death on the Salt Marshes.

[KKOSI OOK LONDON COKRK.SI'ONUKXT.]

That we have not to go far from home to meet with tales of adventure and strong endurance is well illustrated by the incidents of a struggle with death which took place on the night of the furious gale of the 2Gth of January among the low-lying lands of utter desolation known as Frodsham salt-marshes, near the mouth of the River Mersey. It would appear that late on the afternoon of the 26th, when it was fairly fine weather, a crew of the reformatory boys on board the Akbar, lying in the Mersey, off Rock Ferry, was despatched to perform one of the ordinary duties of the day. This was the usual task of landing certain officers of the ship with the ship's letters, Jfo danger was anticipated, or the boat would certainly not have been sent to shore. It was luckily a good stout cutter, properly provided with extra oars, manned by lads who could be trusted; and the opportunity was taken to land a youth called Duckworth, who had been paying a visit to his brother on board the reformatory ship. An ill wind sprang up, and it boded no good for the sailor boys who manned the boat. A tempestuous gale and a tierce inrushing tide put the young oarsmen quite at the mercy of the river, and the officer in charge found that the ship's boat was being driven helplessly with the flood towards a veritable land of desolation. It was four o'clock, the time when dusk approaches, the gale that had risen increased in fury, the river became a roaring sea, and for at least an hour and a-half it was an anxious question whether the boat would not be capsized, and the whole crew drowned. So desperate grew the condition of the crew that eight out of the twelve oars in the boat were smashed, and hour succeeded hour without exhibiting a ray of hope to the forlorn youngsters. The afternoon had been sad enough, the wind shrieking and tearing abouttheirears ; but matters became worse when darkness set in, and the boat was left to the mercy of the wind and waves. The lads had done what they could ; they could do no more. Wet to the skin, exhausted, hungry, and doubtless seriously alarmed, even the encouraging words of their officer failed to move them, and so for four hourstheboat drifted,and was atlast driven in the black night upon something that had the resemblance of shore and possible safety. A more inhospitable landing-place could scarely be pictured than that at which the ship's boat eventually touched. Elsewhere marsh land at a river's mouth is desolate enough, with its ditches, its rough embankments, and naked sea wallß. The herbage, such as it is, consists of the rankest grass and a refuse of weed and bramble. Huge unwieldy stones piled up to break the tide, mud and mire, slush and bog, quagmire and quicksand, only serve to accentuate the dismal features of this desert of despair. There are places here and there where cattle do not disdain to feed on the rank growth of these salt marshes, and they stand—poor forlorn creatures—with their heads turned from the wind, the only sign of life in this region of unbroken silence. The year knows no day when the marsh land is a cheerful spectacle ; treeless and barren, the very birds desert it. But its most evil and uncanny hour is when the sky is charged with storm-clouds, and a gale sweeps across the leafless plain to terrify and confuse any wretched outcast who may have lost his way on the trackless fen. On such a spot, between Frodsham and Elle3mere Point, the helpless boat touched land. Already all of the crew were saturated and benumbed with cold. They had no guide and no compass. The night was bewildering in its darkness; the gale, charged with sleet and hail, cut and scarred the faces of the boys as they clutched at the first promise of safety in landing. There was no hesitation when the order was given to wade breast-high to the shore. They could not well be wetter than they were, and to perish touching land was better than to die with the useless oars in their hands and in an exposed boat. Once on the saltings, the difficulty was to know what to do next. They peered into the darkness, and could see no light. To attempt to strike a match in such a furious gale would have been folly. Here they were left alone without a chance of arresting attention until day dawned. Had anyone at all experienced in marshy places been with the boys, he would have endeavoured to grope his way towards one of the sea walls or embankments that guard the ditches, and there to follow it; but the refugees thought best, in order to avoid the danger of sudden immersion, to huddle together and keep life in their limbs until day dawned. Before this miserable little encampment of damp and half-frozen bodies, however, could be made, one of the number had strayed away and was lost. The lad Duckworth, the visitor on board ship, who had been taken in charge by the boat's crew, was nowhere to be found. In the scramble to get to shore, he had somehow been separated from his temporary companions, and was wandering alone, exposed to the fury of this awful night. Many have had recent experience of the helplessness of man in a gale of wind. It is bad enough in a crowded city, when people are blown about hither and thither, and become quite demoralised by the impossibility of resisting the wind ; it v uncomfortable enough When roof sand chimneypots are being tumbled about the ears, and tall houses seem to rock and sway with every blow and buffet of the storm. It is ] not pleasant, when warm and snug in bed, to hear the window sashes creaking and groaning, and the rain furiously la3hing against the window-pane ; but what are all these troubles compared to a night in such a storm out on the melancholy marshes ?

So tremendous was the force of the wind that all cries to the lad Duckworth were in vain. There was probably not a boy in the company who would not have pone forth to search for him if there had been the slightest advantage in any such enterprise. All they could do was to hope that he had found some sort of shelter when they had not; so these miserable creatures huddled themselves together and " wished ior day." What a night it must have been—what a time of agony must have been spent by this disconsolate band, with their shivering limbs, their wet bodies, and their craving stomachs! A shipwrecked crew has a ration of something occasionally, however small; but there was no supper-time for the Akbar boys that night, at any rate. One by one they dropped off i nto a kind of stupor, too likely to end in death. In such a fight as this, it was the strongest constitution that could expect to win. Death from exposure came to the poor lad Duckworth, who was found when morning broke barely a quarter of a mile from his companions, inanimate from exposure. He had breathed his last without even the presence of a kindly hand, hearing perhaps the voices but not able to cry for help, the breath and the life knocked out of him by the pommelling of this wild tempest. Luckily, when day broke, the officer of the ship, still faithful to the care of his helpless charges, had strength to find his way to the nearest village and to summon assistance. It was urgently needed. Duckworth was already dead, and four of the boys were at death's door, for

no persuasion could prevent them from yielding to the fatal feeling of torpor. It might have been thought that constant motion, even in a prescribed space, would have been better than dropping down in a heap, wet and hungry as they were ; but» if the kind villagers of Frodsham who have taken charge of the boys succeed in bringing them round again, it will be a proof of the hearty constitutions of the lads trained in the Akbar. When help was obtained, by the appearance of the officers in the marsh village, no conveyance could be taken to the desolate spot, and it was necessary to carry the boys quite a mile and ahalf to the nearest inn, where they were hospitably and carefully tended.