RESCUE OF CASTAWAYS.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7449, 15 January 1890, Page 5

RESCUE OF CASTAWAYS.

dIfetATEST ANNEXATIONS.

The London Missionary Society's barque John Williams returned to Port Jackson , recently from her usual periodical cruise among the islauds of the South Pacific. The John Williams is somewhat late iv arriving here this trip (saj's the Sydney Daihj Telegraph), but this is accounted for by the fact that had to return from Samoa to Maninikl with a party of distressed natives. It seems that when the John Williams was at Manihiki in June last Captain Turpie was informed that two boats, with eignt persons in each, were missing, having been blown away while crossing from the neighboring island of Rakahanga, and a request wa3- made by the mission teachers aud people of Che island to keep a look-out tor the castaways. This was done by Captain Turpie, but nothing was heard of them till reaching Samoa, where the two boats, wich all hands, had drifted after a trip of eleven days, during which time the natives endured terrible suffering. After completing the Samoa gout-station work the John Williams embarked the castaways and took them to their homes, where they were joyfally received. Much gratitude was expressed to Captain Turpie for the services rendered by the ship. _ On the John Williams leaving m June laet Ihe Manihiki Islands wore not under i any protectorate, bub on the vessel's return with the castaways Captain Turpie found?that the British flag had been 'hoisted wy-'H;M.S.-J£spiegle,' ; attached to the -Pacific squadron, stoS?a**taK vietEed the islands w that purpose soma two months since. A few;particulars regarding the group may be found-: interesting. The two islands are of small area in all— Mananiki, the largest, being only about six miles long, including the central lagoon, aud four , or live miles wide. The islands are both ordinary lagoon atolls of coral formation, of oblong or pautly circular shape. The dry land fa only a niere fringe enclosing the lagoon, the distance across the island on each' side f roni the outer reef to the waters of the lagoon being only a few hundred yards, IQtfyus or so. The islands are deifseiy covered.'with coeoanut groves, amongst which the simple huts of the natives nestle. The climate is most genial, and hurricanes are very rarely experienced. Tti.e islands are both very lowlyiug, the highest point? .On either being hardly ofg above hign-water-mark. Mauahikiis visible twelve miles out at sea. Tb.fr first sight of it reveals a forest'of waving coeoanut palms, 50ft to 6Uft in height, growiug luxuriaatlyonallpartsof the atoll. Oocoanuts, in fact, are about the only plants the place produces. They yield good crops o£ copra. Manahiki aud Bakunanga ar& well known JdPtueir valuable pearlshell and beche-de-oier. fisheries in the lagooni and the-natives- are very expert pearWlieli? divers. The native village is on the eoatfe>west eidc of the island, near the landing-place. There is no entrance into the lugoou for &ay craft larger tban. a whaleboat or a' canoe. The passage through the - encircling reef at the landifig-place is very narrow, only wide enough to enable a boat to shoos through on the top of a wave, with the pars out on one side only. The natives assist to haul the boat over into the lagoon. There -is an anchorage ofi the boat landing. Kakahanga lßiao*Siies to the north-north-west of Manahiki, and is about half its size. Landing,?ia«JiiO!t good here, but can be generally effected in a .whaleboat, with the assistance of the natives, near the village on the north-west side. There are laxge of Copra and cocoaaufe. Fine mats ana hats resembling Panamas are-made by the natives. There is said to bean anchorage for vessels close in on the north-west side of the island. At the islands there is only about a foot rise end fall of the tides, spring tides 18in. I - Captain Turpie reports that the past year has been a mosc disastrous one to shipping in the South Pacific. Apart from the destruction wrought by the hurricane at Samoa, he states that more wrecks have occurred and more wreckage has been seen drifting about the islands than! at any other time during the last thirty-four years; Some of the wifecks have not yet been identified, neither has anything been, heard of their crews. • One of the wrecks not identified was ashore on an island of tne Gilbert group. ItV. wxfflj lying submerged, and Captain Turpie heard that it had been blown ashore during bad weather. CapcainTurpie examined ie, but was unable to obtain any trace of the ship's name, the bow and.stem having been washed away;: The vessel's topsidee were also missing, but they iyere seea by Captain Turpie-< a 6 another island some 4UU miles further northward. . The captain believes that the wreck is that of a North American built vessel, probably a lumber sbip of about 1700 tons. She appeared to have been well bailt, the copper, bolts in her being very large and iier timbers apparently in a good state of preservation. The Pacific Slope is the only vessel ot the class missing from Sydney. This vessel left Sydney early: last year coal laden for Shanghai, and nothing has since bee&< heard of either the ship or her crew.