STARVED TO DEATH.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 560, 15 July 1909, Page 5

STARVED TO DEATH.

WRECKED BARQUE. CASTAWAYS ON" REEF SEE A STEAMER > PASS THEM BY. SIXTEEN PERSONS DIE. INCLUDING THE CAPTAIN'S WIFE AND 1 CHILDREN. r a (By Telegraph.—Presß Association.—Oonyrleht.) t (Rec. July 14, 7.G0 p.m.) D t Sydnoy, July 14. On' Juno 13 the Norwegian barque Errol s striijkon the Mlddleton'Reef. Of her cbmple--3 mcnt five seamen, in the last stages of - exhaustion, were.resoued on the roef'by the steamer Tofua, on July 12, three weeks after 3 the wreck, The names of tho survivors are: Oftdale, j Jensen, 3 Johansen, ' Palmer, r Lawrence. The remaining sixteen perished—most of them through starvation. They are': 1 'Captain .Andreassen, Mrs. Andreassen and four children, Olsen, chief mate, < Elricksen, nephew of owner, Edvardsen, ' 'Andersen, Olsen, Williams, Dottman, 1 - Three seamen khiwn as "John," "Ger. 1 man," and "Scotty." The castaways wore all imprisoned on tho wreck till they built a raft to convey tbem I to the reef, to search for food and water. There was no water or food aboard tho wreck, the storeroom being submerged. Widow and Children's Ordoal. In tho building of this raft—a dangerous ' operation—Captain Andreassen and the . second mate wero drowned. Tho drowning 1 of tho. captain took place in sight of his 1 wife and four children (three girls and a 1 boy). The wifo and four children' died four days prior to tho arrival of tho Tofua. The .children's ages wero from one year to eight. Tho steamor Suva was seen passing by the castaways shortly after the wreck. She did not observe them. Had slio done so, the captain's widow and her four children would have been saved, also sovon others who subsequently 'perished. When the raft was at last completed, five i men left the wreck in it for tbo reef. Bel fore the raft had proceeded far, one of the five was driven crazy through drinking seawater. Ho jumped ovcrboard, N and perished. ' The four 'survivors on tho raft—Oftdale, Jensen, Johansen, and Palmer—reached the ' reef, and found water. They then sot about building a punt to return to the wreck to ' succour the captain's widow, the children, and thoir comrades. Fourteen days elapsed before they had .completed their frail craft and regained tho wreck. ■ . ,i. ( 'in i i , What Took Place on tho Wreck. ' I ■ They> took, water with them, but only ono ' man on the wreck v>as alive. His name was Lawrence, and his experience was horrifying. I Ho saw nino'of his comrades'die,'the first .to go being the captain's youngest children, a boy and a girl. Then tho captain's wife died, leaving tho two eldest girls. These did not live long, and they wero followed by tho sailmaker, and on ordinary seaman. Lawrenco had kept himself alivo by eating shell-fish, which he dived for. Ho also brought up two or three tins of condensed milk, which kept the children alive for a time. Some, of tho mon wanted to drink tho blood of the children, but Lawrence stopped them, and the bodies wore put into the sea. ] EVENTS AFTER THE WRECK. VOYAGES OF THE RAFT AND THE ' , , PUNT. TWO ACCOUNTS. , (Rec. July 14, 7.50 p m.) , Sydney, July 1'4., The Errol was commanded by Captain E. Andicasson, and was bound to Newcastlo for orders. Piecing together the survivors' narratives; it is gathered that tho Errol left Champoton (Mexico) on March 15, and made a fairly v gol)d run to tho vicinity of Lord Howe Island. ' Here boisterous weather set in, and the barque was buffeted by severe squalls, and was swept out of her course. The captain believed that ho was hundreds of miles from tho Middleton Reef. Tho barque struck at night, and,, though the weathor was fair, a big sea was breaking. The vessel quickly commenced to go to pieces amidships. Six Lives Lost. The chief mate was washed overboard and drowned shortly after she struck, two moro of tho crow disappeared, and throo others succumbed aboard before morning. When tho midship section collapsed, some of the castaways were imprisoned in the forepart; others, including the captain, and his wife and children, in the after-end. Two days later the men in tho fore-part managed to get to the aiwr-part. There was no water or food aboard, the storeroom being submerged. Some days elapsed before they were able to get a raft constructed. The captain and tho second mate were drowned, while tho work was in progress. The survivors in the meantime endured great privations through lack of food and water, and exposure to the weather. Two days after the death of the captain I the raft'loft tho wreck for the reef. Remains of the Annasona, (Rec; July 14, 5.5 p.m.) Sydney, July 14. It was difficult to gain a connected story of the tragedy. Tho Errol struck tho Middleton Reel' in fair weather, and went to pieces amidship. Only tho forcoastle head ' and ponp were loft on the reef. A raft was built, and fivo men went off ' to tho reef in search of water. During tho I building of the raft, which was constructed with gicufc difficulty, Captain Andrcassoil < and tho.' second mate were drowned. Tho i captain perished within sight of his wifo and ohildrcn. When the raft reached the roof they i found the wreck of the barquo Annasona c (wrecked on January 19, 1907). They could ii find no food, but got a little water. Tho • men on the reef set about building a punt. J Meanwhile they lived on shellfish. Eoiu' d

fell, and they caught 80 gallons. Fourteen days elapsed before they could board the Errol wreck.. [On January 19, 1807, the barque Annnsona, '1373 tons, Captain Blackstock, was totally lost m the Middleton Beef. - She was. in ballast at the time, and was bound : from West Const ports of South America to Newcastle. The crew were picked up by the schooner Stanley, and were landed at Jjord Howe Island; on January 25, 1907. On the same day the castaway crew of tho Maelirwin were landed on Lord Howe Island, tho Maolgwin having been dismasted and abandoned at sea/) THE SURVIVAL OF THE PUNT PARTY. A SAVING RAINFALL: (Roc. July 14, 0.50 p.m.) Sydney, July 14. Tho Errol's raft consisted of planks lashed to barrels. It was for'two days battling about in the waves before its crow landed on tho reef, whore, at low tido, there was plenty ,of room. Palmor, who had chargo of tho party that landed on tho reef, told of thoir bitter disappointment when thoy failed to find food <md only a scanty supply of water. Luckily, rain fell for three daya, otherwise tho party must have perished; Hopes were raised on the fourth day after they landed on tho reef, when tho smoke of a steamer was seen, but she passed without notioing tho signal that thoy had hoisted on one of the spars of tho Annasona wreck. When they returned to tho Errol at tho end of fourteen days' sojourn on the reef, having taken that time to construct a puut from the 'wreckage, Lawrence greeted them with, agonising cries for water. In response to their signals, Lawrence jumped overboard and reached them. On learning that all aboard but he, were dead, thoy put the punt about and returned to the Annasona wreck. When tho raft first left tbo Errol, Palmer triod to induce Lawrence to accompany them, but he declined, saying he would stick to the captain's wife and children. BLOOD-THIRST OF THE FAMISHED MEN. LAWRENCE'S TERRIBLE STORY. FADING INFANTS. • (Rec. July 14, 10.45 p.m.) ' Sydney, July 14. Besides being in a state of emaciation, tho survivors are badly out about. They are covered with soies, and thoir feet aro terribly swollen. ■Lawrence sustained a sovere out ott the head while,diving in the hold of the Errol to obtain food. Others ou the wreck suffered from abscesses in tbo earß, from tho same cause probably, some days before. - Men Loso Their Reason. ' Tho men have, sufficiently recovered to clearly detail thoir experiences. Lawrence, who is a Sydney native, told an interviewer that if he lived for a century ho would be unable to erase from his memory tho awful fourteen days between tho departuro of Palmer's party in tho raft and their return in the punt. Ho said.' — "It was pitiful to see ,the poor little children, their ages i ranging from one year to eight, fade away beforo our eyes, and to know wo wero powerless to do anything to save them. ~ "Before tho children died, one or two of 'tho men who had lost their reason proposed to kill them,, and drink'their blood. I took fine care that nothing like that should happen. As the children.died 1 threw llluir bodies overboaid. Tho Babo-and the Oat.' "There was a cat aboard, and;oiio of tho c (children offered it a tiny drop of water. The cat refuspd to drink, looking pitifully -at'the child's face as if it knew tho babo should havo it. ."One of the men picked up fie. cat and 'knocked its head against a rail. Ho then cut its body with the intention of drinking its blood. I was afraid the men wore going mad, and snatched the oat's body and throw it overboard. "When all the others were dead I gave up hope. At tho eleventh hour Palmer's party returned," . ' CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS. j THEORY THAT THE MOTHER DROWNED HER CHILDREN. IS IT DELIRIOUS' IMAGINATION? (Rec. July 15, 0.55 a.m.) I Bydnoy, July 14.' The wreck occurred on tho night of June 18, which was pitch dark. Palmor states that for three days there was no sun, and tho weather was foggy. Tho captain was out ot his reckoning) and told tho men that rocks were not far away, i After tho barqtie struck, for tho first ton j days they had no wator, and' drank salt 1 water. Boils ,camo out all over them. Their mouths were so dry that they had to prise their lips open. When thoy made the journey to tbo Annasona, hundreds.of sharks were all round tho raft. They had to wade tho last 40 yards up to their necks. A Correotlon. One seaman, known as "German," was so weak that he dropped, and, tho others being too weak to help him, ho was drowned This was tho man who, according to pre. vious statement, wont, mad and jumped off the raft. When on the reef they saw lots of human hones. Describing tho death of the captain, Palmer said: "We saw his legs washed up after he foil in tho water, also his severed head, Thoro were lots of sharks about, and thoy had oaten-him.". Disappearance of tho Children. Lawrence is partially delirious. He ,givca ' varying versions of events, and apparently has lost all idea of time. In opposition to Palmer's account, he declares that the captain's wife and children wero alive when Palmer's party returned from the reef. He thinks that Mrs. Andreassen went mad, adding: "I think tho children wero drowned by tho mother. She was afraid they would'be oaten by the survivors, One night I tucked thein under the blankets, and Host morning they were all cone. They were wonderfully bravo kiddies, especially tho bnby, "The mother saw it all—saw tho husband drowned and trie children die. She took it just as if it wasn't." ■

[The Middicton Itccf is n. shallow jn tho South Pacific, about four hundred miles cast of the conts of New South Wnlcsi The Errol was an iron Wque :oM44C tons, built In,lßfiß, ut Her. dimensions were: .Length, 239 ft. sin.; brendthi 37ft. Bin.; depth; 22ft. Din. : Her port Bf registry was Mundal, in Norway, nnd she wm commanded by Captain E. An--diea^fiett.!