SEARCH FOR MISSING SEAMEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 270, 16 November 1887, Page 8

SEARCH FOR MISSING SEAMEN.

£1,000 REWARD.

A melancholy interest, of a twofold character, is attached to the following communication addressed to the " Adelaide Observer by the late Lady Brassey. It is dated from the Sunbeam, then at Port Darwin, on Sep. tember sth last;—" Dear Sir,—l should be greatly obliged if you could insert in your valuable paper theenclosed paragraph anent an unfortunate accidentat sea, which caused the loss of several seamen, who it is thought may still be alive. Lord Brassey ha 3 promised to do all in his power to aid in the search for the missing men, and as it is quite impossible-for the yacht to visit the islands mentioned, he thinks that the insertion of some account in your journal, with an announcement as to the reward which is offered, may be of service. Believe me, yours truly. Annie Brassey." —" Two young men named Alexander and Robert Murray, ex Conway cadets, and sons of Lieutenant-Colonel Murray, of 46, Herne-hill, London, were lost at sea on July 16th, 1886, under the circumstances mentioned below. The lads belonged to the ship Earl of Jersey, which was on its way out to Singapore at the time the events to be narrated occurred. On Friday, July 16th, when the ship was in lat. 40° S., long. 9" W., during a fresh gale from the northward, and with occasional rain, squalls and moderately high sea, a man named Hood, who was engaged in reefing the mizentopsail, fell overboard, seemingly unhurt. A lifebuoy was thrown to him and the lifeboat was promptly lowered, being manned by the second mate, Alexander Murray, an ex Worcester cadet named Midelton, a steward, a boatswain, and two A.B.'s. Two men still being wanted to complete the crew the captain called for volunteers, but the crew held back until the boat was under the stern, when Robert Murray, who had just come upon the scene, boldly sprung into the water, and was pulled into the boat, whicn then wont in search of Hood. Whether the unfortunate roan was picked up by the boat was not known, for the lifeboat never returned to the ship, and was never seen after it waß lost sight of in a rain squall shortly after leaving the ship. The captain of the Earl of Jersey searched for tour days for the missing'boat without avail, and : then proceeded on his voyage. It was thought at the time that the boat must have capsized in a squall, as the ship was left in such a position thafc the boat might always run down to ifc before sea and wind, and guns were fired ■ and lights burnt afc night to attract the boat's attention. That the boat did not reach the ship under these circumstances appears to prove the accuracy of the captain's theory ; but there is a possibility that the boat's crew may have

been driven upon some of the nnW«J» islands in the locality, and are still, Mive. Colonel and Mrs Murray, the parents of the brave lads who showed such promptitude in the hour of danger, clvig to this view with remarkable tenacit v, and have offered the reward mentions d above in tho hope thafc captains of ships/ navigating in the latitude in which the boat was missed may thereby bo induced ] to search Nightingale, Inaccessible, Prince I Edward's, Marion, or any otner islands upon which the crew is likely to have taken refuge. Gough Island and Tristswi d'Achuna, which are in pretty closo proximity to the scene of the accident, have been seanched, but without effect, and the Admiralty .have issued orders that the next vessel that Tristan d'Achuna shall call at Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands. Captain Wiggins, a well-known explorer, who is thoroughly acquainted with these seas, was consulted on the matter, and he has ! given it as his opinion that, as the wind and current were westerly the men may bo found on the Prince Edward and Crosier group of Islands, or even on the Kerguelan group. The boat being a lifeboat, even if capsized, he thinks, would not have sunk, but would probably have stranded upon some of the islands 'he mentions, and it is not at all improbable thafc some of the crew may still survive if they were fortunate enough to reach land. Without a visit to these islands the point cannot be determined, and it is in the hope that some enterprising and sympathetic ship-owner may be induced to pay the visit that Lieutenant-Colonel Murray offers a reward of £1,000 for the discovery alive of his sons."