PERILS OF THE SEA.

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 July 1907, Page 4

PERILS OF THE SEA.

A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE. [PER I’KESS association.] AUCKLAND, This Day. Jackson, the sole survivor of the wreck Surprise, said she started to drag on Friday night and struck the south end of Watchman rocks. The scow was humping very hard, when he, Stewart and Johansen took to the fore rigging. It then came down, and the vessel slid off the rocks and capsized. He never saw Stewart again. He and Johansen stuck to the main rigging, and on the scow drifting midway to the Coast, Jackson swam ashore. He is a good swimmer, but the breakers treated him roughly and smashed him on Hie rocks. He had been in the water five or six hours, and after climbing half way up the cliffs collapsed from exhaustion. He stayed there all Sunday, a wild stormy day, clad only in a small singlet. He thought be was done for. At night pain became very severe and almost unbearable. When the weather became better he crawled along and eventually reached ,T. McGregor’s house, where ho was put to bed and nursed. A Tairua mesesage states that the stea mer Onslow visited the scene of the wreck of the scow Surprise again yesterday Constable Brown and party searched tVi beaches, hut could not find any bodies They secured a flag, some broken life buoys, and a name board. The steamer called at Oliui, and brought Harry Jackson, the sole survivor, to Tairua. He is still weak. As showing the fury of the storm, dozens of crayfish and dead li-h were thrown up on the bench. Tons of seaweed also strewed 1 lie shores. The ship’s dead dog was lying on the Pawn, nui beach.