THE ERROL CASTAWAYS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 565, 21 July 1909, Page 11

THE ERROL CASTAWAYS.

i 80MC DETAILS OF SUFFERINGS AMD RESCUE. ' ' (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) ■ - Auckland, July 19. - '- ' 5 ■ Owing to the Union Company's Tofua, V. v. with 'the survivors of the'Norwogian barque ' Errol (which was wrecked on Middleton Ree!) only arriving in Sydney on Wednesday morning last, the. date of tlw dopaituro • •-■ ' of' tho 'Mokoia ■ for Auckland, Sydney files to hand by the latter steamer yesterday : : vnatjirally 'do not contain very hill details, of i tbe' sea tragody. but lam able to cull the following account:—lt: appears >that:.as the Tofua'approached Middletoa Iteet, it- was ;" noticed,with - the. aid of the; powerful glassos , on', the '(bridgo, that .there- were. two. -wrecks I. .. vwibk- upon it;; where' formerly tlioio had ; ' been but one. This .news spread like wuufiro- among' tfie -.passengers,, andi-a , hundred. - -■ ' pairs of- glasses wore focussed -upon the untortunate vessel as the -Tofua rounded up -v--- within a* quarter of a mile-.of .'hor-.aiid.slowed down".. It'-was- then noticod' that ..the, .wreck ;j - must 'have been quite recent, as though her • topmasts- and topgallant masts* had gono ( by the board,' her :tore lower mast ..was standing,'- and, from .a jard, hung.-tho ; ,fpiesail, much-worn. but still intact. Her. jiuboom , 'was still standing, ; and .from -it hung '.the three head sails, washing lazily about in the !'r ship lay canted outward to an.angle,of.at :V; least 65 ; dogrees, l . lying . practically.; oil lwsr !-: .iside,'' and the -midships- Metioa; had: parted '.. • ootapany with the stem and storn, and sunk , from sight into deeper 'water, only the extreme main yardarm showing above, to tel]. where it lay But- all -those eagerly . levelled-glasses ■ : could ■ detect- no sign- of • life on what.re-, mainecl :of\the: ill-fated vesol. .The powerA ful bridgd "tolescopo, however, had revealed. ;: i 'somothing that caused •a- command of ■ "full- ■ speed' ahead"--to. :be- issued.-: Two little pen-, i'i-uants a had. been seen (fluttering from the ... . masthead of ; the: old wreck, -which is lodged . i -in a : - more - Btablo position, -further • round the ; > reef, ;.'aud '.-upright. The - Tofua- - quickly steamed round to the, only opening nu ■ the < horseshoe-shaped , Captain Holford; ;; 'conned-her' to the confined -.anchorage; within •' Which she anchored. >- In a. very.: few, minutes 1 No.- - 5.' boat-- was lowered,and was- speeding ■ i - over -the calm ' waters of tho -lagoon . inside

tho^reef, m. charge of Mr. Brighton, the chief officer of the Tofua •«' What was at first thought to be a boat ; descried >from the bridge-labouring painr. :. ..fully- to ; meet No. '5;- but n closor,-scrutiny \ j:• through :the : telescope revealed the nature of: it more - clearly. •• It was :a roughlyrmado v punt,': propelled by means • of: an old tarpaulin . hoisted. as a sail, and . one ; large, roughly- ■ fashioned wave of . excitetaent ( ' swept those lining'' the rails of 1 , the: steamer, . ■ asthe ■ boat-.: and, ratt were seen ■to meet. ■'■vry-.A .-jug 'of ' strong v.beef .tea and some weak. ; branch and -water, had: been , taken by the ; - rescuing < party, and -those -who were lucky s -enough to have a''strong pair of (the i'ii-.M boats ■/ wore upwards :■• of a mile away)- conld: seo the jugs exohanging, the .ship-. : .wrecked '.men • seized with- ayidity .upon, the I- strengthening, '.sustaining s:■ mixtures. A . quarter of, an.hour:later,' as, the-ship's, boat 'came , alongside: again, a nngmg cheerbwst 1 : ; spontaneously from, half a-hundred throats,: if i • were - many wet ■ eyelashes samong, ■the and. men choking' down-suspicious • lumps m 1 the throat,' as ithe poor, haggard; attenuated-, specimens ■ of humanity used their • final flicker of energy in attempting -.to answer - it, ,in,hoarse, • .unnaturally guttural tones; i. There were five of them—four :'men • and a. lad—and of thesesthree had to :be carried;up : ; ,. .-tho gangway, so,utterly.exhausted: we're they.: Thcfy.wero received at the head of the gang- *, way. by-ijMr: l Cresswell, tjie ohief . steward, who handed them over to Mr. Clements, tho : ■ ::i second-class: steward, •to -whoso ;• untiring / efforts on their behalf they owe their present .:oonvalescont condition.; -The • ? Sydney inter--, viewers' found it ■ very- difficult to get" .any * definite,- or coherent;statements;-from tho: : survivors of the tragedy.- They "were all too • weak;t<j do wastlto'tfcll dreadful tilings that ( it' has lever falkn to , . ,the lot; pf seafaiing : men ;to' , experience. These idisjourted sentences gave 'only an „ inklmgs of the awful ' sufferings endured by : the A'ipeopleV; Jfhe "emaciated. ■ i forma of the> ; fiye:.jsuryivors - of« the,, ill-fated <r barque' afforded ~ evidence of their terrible experiences 1 s ! Bjorci Oftdale, 1 iv: mere syouthy when s seen', at- , - the Scandinavian: - Home - thd i -s&me : morning,; fseemed -too weak.to: speak,:but' : when'a nijise- - asked him if he felt sick.- ho [chebrfnllyS w- : plied: -,'Oh, I'mfalL-nght.-, 1 ?-.'* He certamlv did" 1 hot appear to bo all right, but probably ho - i. W-as comparing ?his '-state- 'vnth, that: of a ;few. : ' days .previously f " wheil sk)W " - and> - .certain. ::: -- death ,was _the ; fate he behoved to: be ,'his .portionj yEilertjJensen was in a similar conif, aition . physically j - and; fronr-his appearance he, cortainly could-not,have.lived much longer.' Anders Johansen,. a' middleraged- man, was v cut : about a bit; but he was stronger than the other two

r* . Patrick: Palmer- was -tho . best-conditioned l: man of tho five, and" ho had a pretty .good .recollection' of the fourteen-. days ? Buffering -h'e: had were .-.tho -flast ol ;. ..- twentj4wo,' - ho fsaidj, .'.'that's including the n -. captain's -wife. and four 1 children! ■„•. Five of, !. us got away from-tho wreck on a raft. .Wo went- over - the reef in soaroh'of . water; but found'none, and one of the party- died- on v- tbe-reef. V.We had,somo difficulty ,in building . the raft, -and-tho captain and the second mate both f- got- drowned -in assisting at the task. • The captain-died within twenty yards of r"; whore, his■:wife••• was standing watomng him. • v-.Sho had/ her ,'fourf.cliddren,;;aged • from one year to eight,-alongsido of her.. -Wo thought . , we would be able to find enough water on.the reef..to -: savo :the- -.lives rof -those ;we: had left. ■; on the wreck," continued Palmer.: ''There. >'■ .■■■■■■ was another wreck :on ithe reef, which wo • thought- was a store ahip. Wo 'boarded it, --. but lound- nothing to eat,, and only, about ~• : two gills of, water;: The. carpenter and I - drank' that.' We afterwards found: a little ■ . more; water,-and although it ,was in-a very - bad ■ state %we-: drank ■ it..-. Wo then; decided' ir. to build -a-punt, j and while we were -working • «t this ; wo-livedo,on-shellfish." ... - • ■. • /. r- The survivors, when put ashore at Sydney 1 -' from tho -Tofua, being too - weak even ~to: sit . ■ up, were .placed in ;a cart on: mattresses ' taken-from the bunks of the steamer. The passengers aboard loudly . cheoftd tho'ship-. . wreckjS mariners,, as thoy were driven to tho ■ •'haven- at the-Scandihavian Home. They responded; to: the cheering .by- feebly wavipg their hands. ; 1

PILES. CUBED AJFTEE YEAES OF SUFFERING. 'PROOF- THAT DOA'N!S OINTMENT, WILL: ' CUKE PILES. Piles - rarely kill, but they, cause constant torture. 'Th-.s ;ia especially - trne in the;'case', of those who are: over rso-~. slightly constipated. Piles can -be quickly, and permanently oured, without pain,-outtmg,-or , detention: from business.. This has been proved'- in thousands :of casos of both'sexes, ana of all ages; and in the very worst -as well as in ordinary cases. -No one who has notiSuffered .tho -torturo. of itch-

jng, painful/ and bleeding piles can-appreciate for a: moment' the: marvellous , sense' of relief

■■ - that follows the- us& of , Doan's Ointment. Go ' at :once,.:and; got a pot of this ■ ointmonfc, it will end your suffering ' Thomas J. Lumsden, watchmaker, - Gay -Street," Invercargill, writes:—'"l have Buffered ' :: for .with'itching piles, and. this complaint is very hard to boar, for not only is the day miflOTable.'hut the nights are sleepless. I tried ' .a number of remedios ; ,\Tithout success,iwhen I saw a testimonial from a young man who had '. sirffered tho same as-.-I was .suffering,-and was oured by Doan-s.Ointment. That day-I bonght ' a : -35.-' pot of yoiir ointment.{Before -finishing, this ene pot I was cured. I. send, you this on r :l ; my:.'account,--just' toilet other.:sufferers know' of ' .'my onre, for which I will.ever be thankful.-' Six yoars later. Mr. Lnmsden says:—"l have j; Z been free of tho torture of itching -piles ever sinee Doan's Ointment cured me, six years ' -ago, :I can now get rest and ease. My lasting ' - euro means a great deal to mo." : v- : "Whon wo say that Doan's;Ointment will cure piles, ;wo wean exactly - what wo say, and .we a*o able to malse thiV emphatio statement -: . backed up by such evidence as the above. ' Doan's- Omtment, is sold 'by all : chemists and -Btorekoopers at 3s. per pot, or will ,bo posted - onuoeipt of-price byi Foster-M Clellan Co., 70 Pitt Street, Sydney. But, be sure you get DOAN S. , , 20