HOW THEY FOUGHT FOR LIFE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 27, 26 October 1907, Page 10

HOW THEY FOUGHT FOR LIFE.

A TERRIBLE; STORYrf® SHIRWRECK. TI|E -ALFTO

(FItOM OUE SPECIALi CORRESPONDENT.)

A record'of terrible KMshlpValßfl/s'tifFenng: »mes with the of the barque Alfhild, which was driven ashore nearPort Davgy/'oiU' tho^ s wes?S?ff-' l TOaiPof ®limania, during aifuribWustoffaattiflyu'on the morning of October lO.g The Aifhild, bound from Rio de Janeiro to Adventure Bay, South.Bruni Island, Tasmania, to load tinibe/j was sailing down the Tasinifniafi"- cdast,!/whcWl"slicrtyllr ia""ilnthtri' hurricane, 'which 1 - caught hfcfVn 1 -a-'lee*- sliore, and blew her sails to ribbons.' Others wore set, •■•but. iwere tori^ ; \to the |torm ( was-:at its height,':.and--t¥e'sei 5. w-ere,;bxpakuis. with, tremendous, forco.oi'er.tbp vessel, .driving she' _wasiidnshed ; on, to. Jjiigh rock, andttliere impaled."*. : , 303'j ,;•[ A fe^'mimite3'-lat6r thqlntaS.te wc»ftsS itlsPf boardjfpnditwo'boatshifel-o .washed/iroifl'Jii&iii! modrings,-- 'b'utr. hold] ibyi ; tiitf; rigging of tho/ barque./ and,, the .boats' \r<?re'su(;, .out,. Seven ! '-nieh, in charge-of Captain 1 Baripie 1 !!'; of them, and three men and jUjrahmson, the secoiid'mate, iinto 'tho; 'wero then lefPon'the'baVqufi' if'lffleiShose in, itfii! boats reach'Hlie'snbrfi; — S

A LEiP.FOR LlFE v '°,f' ; ; ' •. rhisj^y/ad.^'f 1 A .heavyiSurt/rbllingiflfcaVA(^flw,^oMSifl%ist' ! ';i to the'very flaiid,sartdntfe)iS'y'WO^ht^:Pg!; •• -f speed, took them far out again. This oc--f ::' - curred so. often that; tho'■jnen-jbe^h ; rtc d» jrni.;. : . ■}' spair. Finally they got f;, ' on-to the rocks— all but the f. : V fore-ihe could jump, the surf caught 111s boat' j-: ' ' ;back i agaifi,";and ; it- was- -thenjr. ... ,in' the furious sea, managed to clainb'er*b'n to r'; h. i a rock some distance from the ' of the mon left on the wreck—Oscar OH"cn,_ .. . Eaabii, and another, all., seamen—meanwEile. ; .. 1 leaped into tho 'sea, bj'i 't .. , . shore. . They fought' A tntif' ~"TTay 'lierflically ( '1.;.' ,1. through the waves, and 'with a strongthral- ; 1 most superhuman, reached the rock that the carpenter -v f , i WASHED iBAciVo n This rock was on'the lee sidb of i:h6 ba^ub!' 1. and: thus the force of the waves was not so severely felt there. But half an hour after ' the Al'fhild struCk; ,^Sbe»'"Waß«<vbrokoil®intoi three pieces, and the,two men remaining on J-' the wreck— • and- Olseii, .. the steward—were left clinging for dear life to lthe rigging of the forecastle. The breaking up.j.of tho ship removed the protection fronjj.'tjja!?men'on the..ro'ck, so that the four, ;, .'. of swept" off.' by.. the' relentless,; . wav^-'ialrid^had, to begin over again thoirj !. :Etrpribpus,;baVtle. For a quarter,of.ah'hpijr,' the two of the.: 1 seamen, L.. and another/ ;Wcakehdd f.' ■ . by;hardship,' , 'thoy. could|jW«ij©u'feilo'-. : l.ongor. i - Thus they* ' Tho J?.' fourth .man,v'oscar.''olS6Bpl!:c|it jbhj''and _by jnanrdlons- gaming -the'rocks in shore, anff'tfius, as the surf ' dashed away again, Ho scrambled on to tho ; land above high water mark, and was saved. ! His namesake,. Olsen, the steward, was ■washed from tho rigging of the barque, and .. drowned. 6nfi 'feficpW '. , Afjpi® 41 - ( '■ 1-.The ■ . watched these heroic struggles; without the slightest', power made south'tig : look: for civilisaHicyi, ,*; 1 , comrade, Jacobs'en, in 1 figging #Me> wreck. They hoped to procure help fbu'WiliJl J.lxpugh. they; tramped, ior four days.. fcom h»nge| ;,V:" and suffering, fc*jigia!L' -; ; 'beings p'ic&pt that .a 'frail.^t^tgl - - discovered in ?. .crec-'t;. > 'Ilic captain collapseu- . from weakness, n;id:l)'i'd to bp carried for .tjvp I/ - days. Six of ,tbs tV ; to tho. aceife"' * -\' .food had-been [•;' they ' wero. disappointed!" *;;. • .i- 5 . , , ffX 'Jacobsen, still .in..,the.jri"gijig jifter, fourv'. ~ days, having valiaiMy fiiugDi • fp{ hj|\ lil'B', ' expos,ed to tho fuiy.of tno storm, coiisrades return; aud;._hopo_ mf : spired'within his" bWast." Tlip poor fellow : dropped into the;sea, 1 tiy; - swim ashore; but though, :he battled, dosperatelyQ'tllfij feffort was -, too • much ovon..for;.dlil'framoy?.wea_Kied as it was .by.'tho-' undergone • in,the rigging. '^.'Hi^ r stout 3 li6®'tbroken at last, ho' sahk; :and thu^W thb IP;-; : : : The men'on shore' agamistiiitggled back to t: ;:;. . • where. thßySiia'd'Jeft s f!t.he'' l3 Baptaih and six others, ;onlyito-fiiid tfiat! ; tH4S' Mrl disappeared. ; It was. impossible*to I :disc'b%i I %M^'-thcy''hj(d gone; and the party: mamad the little-,boat.. ... they had found, and aft«rj|ft^s. r reached the lighthouse, at Maatsuykpr jlsltuyl',where thoy made known' thdOjSSo^t.JJ3'ff ,f. It is feared that the'captain - : of six mon"'niust hare perished; as when the . . boat's-cray-. last ; saw...thoß! -bn- Tuesday.-last they: had .been without food for days, and,, - ' eome of them could not walk fro& ; woaknbss. ; ! HOW THE ~ ; Oscar Olson, -jfrlkfsSim irom'the wreck, and .was savod, has related his • experiences.and those, of tho other ■ "We had hardly any clothes when wo got ashore," said lie. "Wo had to pull off almost - ' everything when wo woro jumping fot tlio ; swim. Tho first day we had como matches. K.; -We found thorn when, wo w?reAwnjkiiigr : ;aloiig,

the shore. After that we had'/noiife 1 .!.'! 'Wai found others after, but they -wore ;np good.. They were wet with salt water." They wouldnot light, and with tho few matches found,.. ' tho survivors succeeded in starting a firo. Thon they made their sole discovery of food wreck. On the deqk„jn. a : ,co9p, hadiicen two fowls. These, had been washed' overb.oanl; .and •werej-carried-ashore.-: ::Tho: • mon, greedily seized tho drowned birds, and roasted ithein. fiver, a liro,-taud- devoured:thorn-; • to thedlst.hiorsoi: 1 * ■ i "If wo had had the dog we would havo eaten it; every bit of it," addiM?olsrii. It' appears that in the cabin of tho vessel was shut a young dog, about four months old. Tho Sen could hoar nim barking, ;■ hut ynqlosod as he was lie was never Tho? biscuit pases, too, were wedged in so that not a fragment''came 'ashore. "Wo had to live on,.winkles;" saidrthe mate. "Tlier6 ; .wefo. ! few.of them. >, AYater—there was nothing but, ancl ! swampj and scrub. We i .p.qujd / ; Botfstayyiti--the 'samo, place. We had- to-'fjti' on, and leave the fire at night. Wo lay in . the wet.hu6lip9.q!;Thereiffawfir ; p i (jgsj|iilj.ty i !if sleeping'in ' the .wet; |, ,-/Ehe oif : .-.tojdryj,therD-; on rain cairio oh. It was always raining. jAbrnhrnson took ;his boots and gave them to the captain. -Ho'had*only a pair 0/thin, shpes-j Tiiev }ypre no; eut''hjsf ;feejt, jdo:wn .the;coast. >, "i