A TALE OF THE SEA.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 8071, 14 January 1892, Page 6

A TALE OF THE SEA.

Wβ (" Otago Daily Timee ") are indebted ! to Captain tiilmour, of the barque Assel, for the following details of the loss ot the barque Afton, formerly commanded by him, and the subsequent passage of her officers and crew in the ship's lifeboats to the island of Guam, one of the Ladronegroup. The Afton was an iron barque of W» tons, owned by .v,r D. Hunter, of Ayr (by whom the Assel is also owned), and vna_on » passage from Newcastle, NvS.W., to San DtegoTCalifonua, with a cargo ofcoaL She left Newcastle early in March, 1887, and all went well until the 31st of that month, when Lisankay lalaad was sighted eight miles distant at ILSO a.m. Captain Gilmour then went aloft to the topsail yard in order to get a good look at the island, and noticed a slight discolouration of the water. He at once ordered the ship's head bo be altered a full point, when she suddenly struck on a submerged coral reef and forged ahead about 100 yds before her way was stopped. About 100 tons of cargo was at once jettisoned, and at 7 p.m. the vessel floated off the reef. All hands were sent to the pumps, and the two lifeboats were hoisted out and provisioned. But the water gained on her so rapidly that at 9 a. m. on April Ist the crew were compelled to leave her and take to the boats. Captain Gilmour, with nine of the ship's company, taking the No. 1 boat, and Sir King, the chief officer, with ten men, taking ho. 2. After standing by the ship for twelve hours she suddenly sank in over 2000 fathoms of water, and CapUin Gilmour decided to shape a course for the nearest land (Honolulu), which was 800 miles distant, it being impossible to procure either food or -water at Lisankay Island, which is nothing but a barren rook. Nothing was saved from the ship save some preserved meat, biscuits, and a little water, while a cat that had been on board, seeing the people leave the vessel, made pitiful cries, and was taken with them. A pig, however, had to be abandoned to hie fate. Brisk easterly winds prevailed on leaving, and during the first twenty-four hours the boats, which never, luckily, parted company, made sixty-three miles- As the winds were adverse, and there was no appearance of a change which would allow headway to made, a consultation was held, and it was decided to run for the islands to the westward, and at Ba. hi. of April 4th they bore away. The daily rations consisted of preserved meat, with biscuit and one pint of water per man. Fine clear weather was experienced, with a strong easterly swell, the distance run on the sth being thirtyeight, while on the following day it has increased to 101 miles. The people enjoyed "good health, but suffered from a want of suffk enb water, ; and preparations were made saving any that might fall in the form of rain; 100 miles was logged as their day's run on April 7th, and on the next day they had light easterly winds with a heavy swell, which rendered it very difficult for any of the men to stand up in the boats, causing great stiffness in their lower extremities. The water, too, began to run short, and the daily allowance waa reduced to half a pint per man, so that severe thirst was experienced. The boats, too, were leaking heavily, and kept all hands, busy in baling them out. Eightyfour miles was run on that day. On the 9th and 10th of April there were signs of rain, but to their great disappointment none fell. On the 11th April strong easterly winds with a very heavy swell were encountered, but owing to the precaution of Captain Gilmour in seeing a supply of oil put into each boat they were enabled to use oii bags with " wonderful effect." A little rain fell on this day, sufficient to give all hands a good and welcome drink. Similar winds and weather was experienced for the next three days. The men continued in fairly good health, but were all of them, as a matter of course, miserably wet and cramped; while Captain Gilmour .suffered severely from inflammation of the eyes and sleeplessness. A little water was saved from time to time, while there was. ample store of meat and bread; and an excellent record was made on April 15th, when the boats ran 158 miles in the twenty-four hours. The people still continued cheerful, , while the captain suffered severely from want of sleep. A slight but welcome rainfall on the 17th April again allowed all hands a sufficient drink; a .quantity' was saved for future use, and although far from pleasant it proved very acceptable. On April 20th a sharp look-out was kept for Wade Island, but no signs of it were seen. All hands were, feeling very miserable, and the captain was greatly dispirited, althongh 'for the sake of the men he was obliged to conceal it. . The boats were making good runs day by day', but, the; want of a sufficiency of water was keenly felt. On April 24th they had the wind from E. to N. W., with fine weather, the captain's boat leading, and at 6 a.m. Mr E. A. King, the chief officer, stood up in hie bce,t to remove his great coat, when the boat lurched. The mate caught hold of a temporary staunchiou rigged to support the awning,.. but this broke,, and. he fell overboard and disappeared. The boat was immediately rounded- to, but .the poor fellow was never seen again. Exeellenfc runs of 124, 141,132 and 123 miles were made during the next four days, and on April 27th the castaways were only 380 miles from Guam. runs were made, and on May Ist they landed on the island, where they were hospitably treated by the Spanish Governor and inhabitants. Great difficulty was experienced both by captain and men in walking about, but they gradually recovered the use of their ■ limbs, and felt little of the effects of being cramped up in their boats for twenty-nine days and nights. They remained on the island for a month, and having cold the two boats for 450 dollars, Captain Gilmour arranged with the master of/ a schooner, who took him and the I crew to Yokohama for 400 dollars.