SHIPWRECKED.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 241, 13 October 1886, Page 4

SHIPWRECKED.

Joha Swift, mate of tho ship Fanny Mears, destroyed oil' tho west coast of Africa ten Or twelvo years ago, passed through such peril and suffering as vory few sailors are ever called upon to endure. The Mears hailed fsom London, and as bound to Capo Town with stores and passengers. The people, aaido from the crow, numbered twenty-sir, of whom at least half were women and children. Tho ship was 300 miles off the coast, and double that distanc. from the Cape, when the disastor occurred. ' It waa shortly after midnight," Eays Swift, "and the ship was speeding along under all plain sail, with tho weather all that you could hope for, whon thore camo a stiddon shock, as if wo had struck a rock. It did not stop her dead still, as a rock would have done, nor did any of tbo masts carry away. Thoro was a shock, a bump I bump 1 and then we seemed to slide off and go ahead again, but every man on deck know by a sort of instinct that tho ship had been stove at the bows. I ran

forward at once and made sure at a glance that some of the planks below tho wator line on the port bow had been started. I was in time to see somo floating timbers off the otlior bow, and I have never had a doubt that our ship sttuck some dismasted and waterlogged craft which was floating about with her decks awash. It was not firo minutes before everybody was on deck and wo knew the worst. The water waa coming in like a mill raoe. Captain Rudge was a man who held his crew in strict discipline, and aftor tho first little flurry, which you know was only natural to the beat ord-i'wd crew, a part ot tho men wore Bent 13 the pumps, and the others were set to work to get a sail over the side. It was lucky for us that the weather was so fine and that thero waa so little sea running. We got a sail over, and we knew that it chocked tho leak, but in an hour wo found the wator gaining at a rato which warned us that she would not swim above three or Tour hours longer. .

"It do.s me good, sir, to look back to that night and remember how crew and passongers behaved themselves. Not a mam among the sailors shirked his duty or went off his feet usder tho excitement. The male passengers took their turn at the pumps without being requested or commanded, and the women and children dressed themselves and gathered in the cabin to whisper to each other that all might be well. A cooler-headed sailor than Captain Rudge never commanded a ship. He knew from tho first that tbe Mears was a doomed craft, but ho was far from telling it. He cheered the people at the pumps in a hearty way, and hia words to the crew would have led you to believe that he apprehended no danger. After getting the .ail over we could do nothing more than take our spells at the pumps and wait for daylight. It was about three hoars before the dawn came, and it Kited a burden from our hearts. For two long hours the horrid clank I clank I of the pumps bad drowned every other sound aboard. After 2 o'clock the wind had begun to die out, and as it still held fair scarcely a rope was touched. Daylight showed us a ship to windward. Trae, she wa? so far away that she was only a white patch the size of your handjon the waterline, but that was a good deal to us. 11 meant that we were not alone on the sea, and there was hope for rescue. "The water had been gaining on us very fa3t, and tho ship bad settled down until the dullest sailor could perceive our danger. When day had fully broke Captain Rudge called to Mr Temple, the second mate, beckoned to me, and when we had drawn ap.it from everybody ho said we

must prepare to take |to the boats. ITortunately, wo wore well prepared in that respect. We were each to quietly select two sailors to assist us in making our preparations, while the rest remained at

the pumps. We went at it in a very orderly way, as I can remember. My first duty was to see to tho sail and the oara for my boat. I then put in 3ixty gallons of water, 100 pounds of biscuits, some canned

meats and fruits, a small compass, a spare sail, fiahhooks and line 3, and a gallon of brandy from the steward's keg. Then I got from the medicine chest two bottles of cordial, and the last articles placed in the boat wero a lantern and a can holding two quarts of oil. The two other boats had about the same outfit, and then every living soul was called aft and the Captain made a speech. He gave our lopatiou, and stated that the boat, would furnish room for all. If tho ship to windward did not come down, which sho was likely to do, wo should make for the coast. We would be a littlo crowded, and we must expect more or le*s hardship, but, please God, all would eventually reach land in safety. The boats were then lowered away and brought alongside and tbe people told off. There were forty-four, all counted. Mr Temple took sixteen in his boat, I took eighteen in mine, and thia left the Captain only ten in his, though thi3 wag a fair load for her. Whilo wo wero __a_ang ready to leave the ship the breeze died away until she had scarcely eteerage-way, ond the bosom of the big ocean was Bcarcoly ruffled. Thia made it a vory easy task to got the boats down and the people into them. As the names of the people were called off they entered the boats and found places, and when the Captaio, who was the last man over the rail, entered his boat the ship had just twenty-eight minutes to swim. Thero was co little wind that all three boats tad to out oars and pull away from the doomed craft. At the distance of a quarter of a mile we rested in a group to witness the last act in the drama. The .hip settled lower and lower, and finally gave a lurch and went down head first, to find an eternal place 2,000 feet below the surface.

" When she had disappeared the Captain stood up and made us another bit of a speech. He cautioned the sailors to obey orders and do credit to the record of British seamen, and he asked the passengers to exercise patience in bearing up under tbe adventures which were libely to befall them. He should not head directly for the coast, which would bring us up somewhere between Cape Frio and Wolfish Bay, in the inhospitnl Damara Land, but would steer to the southeast for Cape Town. On this course every mile run would bring us nearer to the coast, but at an angle. The ship to windward had been made out from aloft by a glass Now that we were in the bo.ts, of couree she could not be seen. No matter if 6he had been only ten miles away, there wa3 no breeze far her to come up or for u3 to run down to her. As the hot sun came up the wind died entirely away, and we lay there without moving a yard. There were signs of a change, howover, and we preferred roasting in the hot sun to wearing the men out by pulling at tho heavy oars. While waiting for the breeze I made a list of ffcte people in my boat—indeed, I made three lists, as did the other boats, and each boat carried with her in this way a list of all. I had nine sailors, including mysolf, and nine of the passengers. Of these latter there were Major Smith and wife, Lieutenant Drains and wife, and a civil engineer named Morton and his sister. These six were the adults ; the other three were children, two being twin girls, eight years old, belonging to the Smiths, and the other a boy of 5 years belonging to the Drains. None of the people had been allowed to bring any bapgage. No one had more than tho clothes he stood in, except that the women had some extra wraps for themselves and for tho children.

"It was after noon bofore the breeze came up, and it was then directly from the east, oiF the coast, and we could not lay our course. It was plainly understood that wo wero to keep together, and we were in a bunch as we hoisted sail and ran to the south, about four points off our true course, This no one bewailed, because it was the true course to intercept the sail wo had Eeen in the morning. The wind soon came up fresh enough to rush us along a. a fair rate, though I had to take a double rpef in my sail to prevent running away from tbe other boats. All the talk was of sighting the strange sail, and even the children kept up thoir courage wonderfully well during the afternoon. At 4 o'clock we made out tho sail of the morning. She was a large barque, headed for the Cape, and we realised that we were running on a course which must intercept her before sundown. This made everybody happy, and several limes they broke into song and made light of our adventure. Poor things ! Little they knew what the future had in store.

" I am now going to tell you something which many a sailor man will not credit, though I know several who havo had such an experience. We were running on one leg of a triangle and the barque on the other, and every moment brought us nearer together. When we could make out her hull every boat hoisted a signal of distress Half an hour before sundown the wind foil a bio, and stopped oar way, although the barqne seemed to be doing well enough, I

For a whole hour previous wo had been oxpecting come Bign that we were seen, with the glass in my boat I could even see the hoads of the men above the rail, but she sailed on and on and took no notice of us. Just bofore sunset, aa I have said, when it became certain that sho would reach tho point of the trianglo first or beat us by a milo, I saw with my class a man go aloft and coolly survey us with a glass of hi- own. Ayo 1 I could make out that he was one of the mates and doscribo every garment he wore. To the others in my boat ho was simply a black figure, but tho naked eye could see him as ho aecended and

descended. Ho looked right down upon us for five minutes, and then descended, and a cheer wont np from every boat. We had been seen and would be rescued. The stranger flew no flag, but we all rated her as Spanish. Every moment we looked for somo sign to show that she meant to lay for us, but none came, and aa we sat thero with staring eyes and open mouths she bore up a bit to tho east, crossed our bows not over two miles away, and held hor way until tho gathering darkness shut her out from our view. Not a woid was said by a human soul in our boat until wo lost sight of her. Then thero came a chorus of groans, oaths and bitter revilings. The bark had deliberately de sorted us I was so dumbfounded that for

a moment I could not realise it. When appealed to by tho people in the boat to affirm or deny it, I could do neither. That a vessel of any nationality would thus coolly and deliberately leave almost half a hundred people in our situation to their fate was something too wicked to believe. Sho had, however, pasaed from our view, and as I was half a mile or more ahead of the other boats I luffed up to wait, and had the lighted lantern run up to tho masthead. When the boats came up v/e compared I notes, and then we no longer doubted that she had deliberately left us.

" A« you may suppoßO, sir, all the people wore greatly cast down for a time; bat it gave them a bit of a rally in my boat by stating that wo were full in the track of ships bound to and from tho Cape, and that I should be greatly disappointed if wo did Dot sight ono on the morrow. If wo failed of a rescue in that way, why here we were, in a stout, Btaunch boat, wtll manned and fairly provisioned, and with any ordinary weather we ought to make tho Cape before there was anything like real suffering among us. During our conference the wind hauled mote to tho northeast, thus allowing us to lay our true course, and I took another reef in my sail so as not to outrun the other boats during the night. Wo were dead in the wake of the barque as we . tood away, but as for expecting to see her again that was out of tho question. By 9 o'clock we got the women and children stowed away for the night, and an hour later not more than two or three of ua wore awake. There was a lookout forward, and as the sea was getting up iv a dangerous way, I kept two of the best men with me to relieve each other at the helm. There was no complaint, even

from the children, but as women and children nestled down between tbe thwarts on

the spare sail my ears told me that more than one was softly weeping.

" All night long we ran a true course, the boat behaving herself in a way to call for praise, and now and then v/e looked over our shoulders to note the two faint lights which told us that our comrades were following. Toward morning I fell asleep, and was awakened by the carpenter grip-

ping my arm and saying that something seemed amiss with the Captain's boat. As I jumped up I made out very clearly that he had a signal flying, and I thereforo

waked for him to come up. He waa indeed in distress. During tho night his boat had shipped a heavy sea, washing away a Bailor, uoth hi" kegs of water, and completely spoiling all his store of biscuit. It waa a lamentable accident, but no one could be held to blame. The only thing we could do was to divide wator and provisions with him. It was when we came to make this division that Mr Temp found ono of his kegs short by half. While I had sixty gallons of water he had now over forty-fivo. There was no use asking how such a thing had come about. I surrendered ono of my kegs to the Captain, and he made up his bread from the store of the two of us. Wo wore no sooner off on our course again than I took personal charge of the water and provisions and gave all to understand that we muat ot once put up with short rations. There was no moro water in that keg than the eighteen of us could have drunk in a day, but it had got to last ua for a week or more. I made out that we might safely use two gallons and more a day, and no tongue could parch on that. Breakfast had scarcely been eaten when a movement of the Major's knocked

the plug out of the keg, and before any of

us discovered what had happened we had lost at least half tho content* of the keg. Indeed, it was wetting; tho feet of tho women and children, and was spoiled by the salt spray which occasionally dashed over the windward gunwale. Our first feeling at this discovery was one of dismay,

and some of tho sailors muttered threats of vengeance against the Major, but after a little all realised that it was an accident, did not think best, nor that safety required, and we figured that we would still have two gallons a day to divide among us. " The wind kepb coming up with the sun, and long before noon it was blowing a gale from the north. The sea got up in an ugly fashion, and it was only when we happened to be lifted on the crest of a wave in company with ono of the other boats hulf-a-mile astern that we could see them at all. By carefully steering we were doing v«ry well, and as all sign, indicated that the breeze would blow out with the Run, I advised that we should lie down and drift it out. From what I could see the other boats were doing as well, but at noon I missed them and I never saw them again. I came to know a couple of years after, that both found it necessary to bring up head to the sea and make a drift. They gradually worked away from each other, and the Captain's nboat was never heard of more. Mr Ter-

pie's party were picked up next day by an English steamer and carried to Sierra

Leone. The steamer made a long* search for the other boats, but tbe Captain's had gone down, and mine had run far bsyond the limits of her search. " As was predicted, the wind fell with the sun, and when midnight came we were being knocked about on the sea without breeze enough to fill our sail. Next morning it was as dead calm as you could imagine, with the sun hot enough to roast one's brains. Two of the women and all three children were feverish, and the dble of water given out with our breakfast satisfied no one. We rigged up an awning to shade us as much as 'possible, but everyone was a sufferer from the heat. Before noon I had been compelled to deal' out more

water to the women and children, and it

was plain to be seen that all of the men begrudged it to them. From daylight to dark we bad not a breath of air, and though night brought relief from the sun and the heat, the calm continued. As we cpened our eyes next morning the same glassy sea was around us and the sky had the same brassy look. Thirst had tormented every one of us as we slept, and the dole of the morning was but an aggravation. The children, flushed and feverish, cried for more, acd I did nop refuse, although I caught some of the sailors -looking at me with savage scowls. That day passed as the other had done, and when night fell the Major's wife and the three children were ill— seriously ill. I was wrong in giving them cordial, for it only increased the fever and the thirst, and all night long they moaned and groaned and called out in pitiful voices for water, As the sun came up next morning there was a light breeze, but it was dead in our teeth. It was a r-elief to be moving, however, even if wegainednothing. Wo had talked it over about the other boats, and had come to the conclusion that they had either been shot or bad been driven so far away that there was no probability of our meeting them. The day was cooler than the preceding one, and we suffered less from thicst, but just before sundown one of the twin girls died. Both were feverish and out of their muds, but this one seemed the worst. She had a sort of chill, followed by spasms, and died in her mother's arms. It seemed a blow to us all, but the anguish of the parents was terrible. It was not yet midnight when the other twin died, much after the same fashion. Most of the men were asleep when this occurred, but they were speedily aroused by the lamentation of the stricken parents, and I heard it whispered among them that there would now he more water for the r st. The idea that such a selfish spirit had already crept among us startled me, but not one of us hnd had a full drink since entering the boat. " The death of the children was the beginning of a series of bitter misfortunes, or, as I might put it, was the steppingstone to our real sufferings. When they were dropped overboard at sunrise the mother went stark mad and had to be tied down. The breeze died right out on us and left; us attain under a cloudless sky, with the terrible sun beating down upon

us, The uaual amount of water seemed scarcely to wet our tongues, and I heard ominous growls among tho sailors. Thoy might havo found a euro relief in a bath over the side, but three or four great sharks wore hovering near as a warning. An awful thing happened at noon, soon aftor the ration* were served out. Two of the sailors in tho bow quarrelled about some trifle, and one stabbsd tho other to the heart. Despite my authority the others set upon tho murderer and bundled him overboard, and right thore bofore their eyfis ho was seized and drawn down by asia k. The torture of thirst waa be- i ginning to moke wolves of the men. Just after tho occurrence Lieutenant Drain slipped a loaded revolver into my hand, probably beleiving tho hour was not far away whon they would openly defy mo. Tho day was not to close without another tragedy. Tho Major's wifo died just before sunsot. While he must havo oxpocted it ho eat holding her lifeless hand and appeared like one struck dumb. Somo of the mon wanted the body cast into the soa atonco, but I refused to have this dono. Tho night shut down, clear and cool, but without a broeze. Waiting until most of the poople forward wero asleep tho Lieutenant spoke soothingly and kindly to the Major, and got him down upon the bottom of the boat while we put tho body over. It floated a few feet away, but inside of three minutes waa drawn down. Aftor that wo all slopt, tortured and tormented, but about midnight I was awakoned by the engineer, who said the Major was missing. So ho was. A moment's search convinced us that he waa not in the boat. Wbi'o we slopt ho had dropped himself ovorboard.

" Morning brought ua a light breeze, favourable to onr cour.e, but, aa an offset, tha Lieutenant's wifo and child wero both very ill I gave them a double allowance of wator, and was openly threatened by tho sailors. Our moats and cannod goods wore of little uso to us now, the torrific heat having soured and spoiled them. I think all the sickness was brought on by oating them, though of course prostration from tho heat was ono of tho factors. At noon, a« I was about to torn, out tho wator, tho seven sailora made a rush aft and soizod tho kog I drew my pistol and they drew thoir knivos, To havo defended tbo kog against them would have resulted in a crowning tragedy, and I agreed to sorvo out all tho remaining water at once This was done, and the doom of half a dozen more persons was assured.

"The Lieutenant's wifo and child died that day, and at dark ono of the sailors was very tick. The carpenter was the only sailor aft with me, ond we took turn and turn at tho holm. ' We had a light breozo all night, and it did not leavo us when the sun came up. Daylight revealed tho fact that the sick sailor had gone ovorboard— how, I never knew. By this time we were all in a stats of torment with our thirst, and I cannot clearly remember what happened. I am sure that most of the peoplo drank salt water. I remember of singing and raving and fighting, and of the night coming on again. Rex. morning at sunrise we were picked up by a Dutoh brig, but the engineer's sister was the only one in her senses. There wero only three sailors left, and one of these was wounded The lieutenant had gone overboard and the engineer and myself lay on the bottom of the boat as good as dead. Threo barrels of my revolver had been discharged, but none of the living could tell under what circumstances. The last twenty hours wero a horrible nightmare in which we raved of cool springs, deep wells and running brooks." —"New York Sun.''