THE WRECKED BARQUE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 201, 19 May 1908, Page 8

THE WRECKED BARQUE.

STATEMENT DY THE CAPTAIN. ' INCIDENTS OF THE STAY ON THE ISLAND. ' ' ' (BT TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) ChrlstclHsrch, May 18. ; Captain Noel writes to tho " Press " protesting against the published statement that the. President ,I'elix Fauro held together for a month after she struck on the rocks at,the Antipodes, and that she was repeatedly visited by tho membors of the crow. "A rcsays, ," of your paper, in spite of, repeated, interviews which he had with me, has, allowed., himself to imagine that during a whole month the crew and myself took our meals on board, and that my poor ship did not. disappear until April 17. I demand to gi?e a formal refutation. The President Felix Faure, five hours after the accident, was only.,scattered submerged wreckage,-.and m the same night was smashed into pieces. I Wish - also, to add that under such sad circumstances my .crew have boon sufficiently I viewed, in Lyttelton not to Kb further rkliSr.9s ,i n their modest attempts to speak English."-,. . On Saturday tho shipwrecked ,crew wero completely equipped with boots and clothing, which had, been imriiediately ordered by the French- Consul,- Mr. 'G. fiumphrevs. ' The offer, of (relief from the Shipwreck Relief Society will probably bo accepted, for the provision of personal efforts of which' tho men. lost all.

So far during their stay in Lyttelton tho men., have met fow, if any, persons who speak, their own tonguo fluently, and it v.-as with genuine, pleasure yesterday;.that they greeted Mr. H. G. Hornibrook of. Christchurch,. who having spent some timo in Normnpdy ■ and Brittany, the provinces from which most of the,men came, was :able to converse fluently with several of; the crew whom . he' met on a casual visit to tho Pegasus. : They, evon ■ asked ' him if there were any ; . Frenchmen in Christchurch be.sides himself. It was ovident that,-however happy the men had been to practise English as spoken by their messmates, they; were glad of a little relaxation into tnoir native tongue in conversation with somebody outside their own ship's company. Tho .'men were very _ free and. frank, and described their experiences with much great-' er fluency- than tho previous medium of a few broken words' apd gesticulations bad permitted.- -

' LIFE ON THE ISLAND. ■' A WONDERFUL IMPLEMENT. •■'The most wonderful implement tho sailors had, it appeared, was a filo that'oneman happened to find after the crew had got ashore.; ,-,;lt ,was with. tlie. file .that ;tho fish hooks;; were. fashioned from nails, and the .knives from hoopirbii.- Tho file also served as a lancet,' and with its point, a fish .hook was i.ut out of _!tho hand of ono of the sailors. .This man/' it .-is* stated by-'the way, narrowly \escaped i : ;the" loss of - • his arm ;for medical assistance reached him just in* time to.liave prevonted'serious, troublo that•;might have erided' in 'ariiputatiou of the arm. The filo also served, it was stated, to slaughter tho calf.- ■ : Humanitarian mothods were not possible the. extremity : qf the castaways twelvo..of>them;secured $he. beast and its throat .was'.-cut .with; the ; .point. of .the' file. It was a red-letter day -when the calf was killed,- although, 'the- beast- was > not • fatted' to the-;proverbiar-o'xtent.'':' The'-.men .mado-a 1 gala, time.of 1 the' occasion arid ; ate the, beef, as! 'ijuickly.; as ' possible, because tliere. was plenty of '-, it' and it would nbt keep fresh long. : -Y ; ' ■/• ;: Till'] STORES. ', y Tho men were most emphatic in their,praiso of the stores 011 the Island, but it!could be seen that they were deficiencies. There was no 'tea,'or coffee 011 the Island, and 'worse •than l all no'matches; ■' Tho crcvf wero, fortunately, 1 the 'possessors df one box 'that had beenHaken ashore. To this fact might havo' been.''traced'.a;' strong disinclination among tile men to'use matches freely on thoir-ar-riv{J;in,port, arid one lighted cigarette would frequently go. tho ; rounds, to , obviate tho lighting of another match. There were twelvesmall blankets/ ,and they wore cut in halves to -go. round. ' \

AWFUL DEPRESSION. As time wore on the men said their position/began to be almost .hopeless,,," arid as night came on," one man said, " and. gloom spread; over/us, nothing could tell the .state of- awful depression that we!got into thinking, that; the-next day would bring no more i than the one alreafly past/ Scurry appeared i also, and added to the, depression of tho men." The drinking water on the Island was from . a. small spring, that , was the sourco of a small -rivdr,. and, it, was very "good. : There was- no -.vegetation, and the formation was .volcanic, -with lava/everywhere. ' ' : v THE INQUIRY. ; Mr.- , Geo., | Humphreys, French 'Consult Agent in Christchurch; informed a " Truth " reporter ..tiniay. .that,.-no: .inquiry, into the wreck _ - of": r the"' President. Felix v Faure w°uld'''ber'hold --by " the Now 'Zealand Government. Mr. Humphreys ex-, pacts . j-.that, • , 'the -men V will v leave ' 011 Thursday ;by -. tho s.'s...;Maitai .for .Sydney. A preliminary-inquiry will probably bo held there, -arid; the. crew/will then- proceed by 'a French Elinor, to Marseilles,' -where tho French authorities' will - hold their : inquiry. Mr. 5 Humphreys has, received- several offers from French people'in New Zealand to take charge of, the ,boys^who- were oil the ■ shipf but the Captain prefers to keep them in his' oivn charge; .J. The crew will visit .the' Belfast worts; on" Wednesday and see' how Now • Zea-land-mutton'is'prepared for the Home-Con-.tinental markets.'.;,; They. may also pay a visit to:, the Kaiapoii.'Woollen- Mills'; .- The men aro .very ; comfortable 'in their Lyttelton ; quarters, and greatly- appreciate the kindness which has been extended to them.