PRIVATIONS AT SEA.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5286, 21 September 1876, Page 2

PRIVATIONS AT SEA.

The Sydney Morning Herald lepoits : — Many 43 were the disasten occasioned by tho lato fearful weather on our coast, there is no instance of greater haidship and privation than one winch lias, jmt como under out notice. About ttnee weckn ago tho ketch William nnd Betsy, of about thirty tons burden, sailed from Sydney, in ballast, for Rioken Biy, having on board two men, Joseph Duii and his mate, a Fienchman When off <the south he.id of Bioken Biy, the galo which w.is tho beginning of tho late tempestuous weatho' oM<itook them; their mainsail was bl«i ,1 i ■ shied*, in a few minutes, and the k \ i itself was diiven far iway to sea. Foi 14 d i\t those men were left to battle in then weak ciaft with the ficice wind and sea. They did all they could to keep to the wind, but sail ifter sail was torn into shieds, until none was left. On the third day out a heavy sea bioke away the ruddci, and thus rendered them utterly helpless amid the storm. The little -sensel was almost broken to pieces by the combined foicps of wind and fceu. The bul w.u ks and stanchions weie swept away; and a plank below the vessel's deck was stove in. The greatest efforts had to be made to keep hoi fiee from watci At the same time water and pi ovisions ran feat fully shoit. The small quantity of both necessities which would suffice foi the passage from Sydney to Broken Bay was altogethei inadequate for n fourteen days tossing about on the ocean. Still they eiced out the little they had ns cnefnlly as possible ; but with all theii economy they lan short of watei two days befoie they wero picked up. A small qumtity of floui lemiin^il to them, but without w »tei it wis useless. The fit st violence of the stoim which broke upon them diove them full 200 nnl?s to sea; then a noith-oisteily gale setting in they weie diiven back until thpy sighted Sydney A f ;ain they wero duven out to se\, -\n<\ the next lam' they sighted was at \Volongon,j. They dnfted furthei south till they weie off Jeivis Biy, whoie they mu'i? si^u i!h of distioss to a distant schooner, but \vi>jt> too fin oif to be seen. A soutlioilj gale next iliove them noithw ud to Poit Stephens. Theie tliov wore foitii'nto enough to fill m with the schoonoi Noumea which picked them up md cairied them toPoit StephoiH. The ketch had to be abandoned, it being a peifect wieck The master ami crew of the Noumea .vie deserving of great praise for th«ir behiivioui in rescuing, at very groat risk to themselves, these unfoitunate men, and saving them from the dieadful fate which, iu a few days moie, must inevitably have overtaken them. The schooner herself was short of water and provisions at the time, and on aniving at Port Stephens a telegram was sent to Newcastle foi supplies. These were brought by the steam tug Prince Alfred, which also towed the Noumea to Sydney. The two unfortunate in n mei s have lost eveiy thing, even to their clothing, except that in which they stood. Their vessel was uninsured, so that with it they lost their moans of livelihood. Bans is well known on tho coast of this colony. In fact, he claims to be tho oldest m in mi the coist, having been on it since the year 1838 ; and during all that tirao this is thu ixrai uosnel he !"»» I"''-