TEE BARQUE ELLEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXVI, Issue 9488, 10 August 1891, Page 2

TEE BARQUE ELLEN.

SYDNEY, July 24. Particulars of the loss of the barque Ellen are now to hand. She left Newcastle for Noumea (not Auckland, as at first reported) on July 3, with' seven hundred tons of coals. On July 9, when two hundred miles off the coast of Australis, a fierce gale began to blow, with high seas. The vessel made bad weather, began to leak, and it soon became evident that she was sinking. The crew worked the’ pumps continuously for three days, and then abandoned her, the water being up to the deck. A boat containing all hands left her at noon on July 12, and an hour later the barque foundered. In the hurry the crew forgot to bring away a supply of fresh water, and only a very poor supply of food was found in the boat. Night quickly set iu, and with it began an. unbroken chapter of suffering. The boat was headed for the coast, but fell in with more heavy weather. Waves broke over tbe little craft and threatened to sink her; so that while one half of the men pulled the oars the other half had to bail her out to keep the boat afloat. This went on for some days and nights, with the natural result that constant exposure to the fury of the elements, combined with want of water and no nourishing food, soon had effect on the men. The captain was in hopes of being picked up by a passing vessel, but when, alter a couple of days, no sail hove in sight, ho lost heart, gradually sank, and died. The steward also died, aud two sailors who \ were washed overboard by the sea had to be left to their fate. Another seaman, iu delirium, jumped overboard and was drowned. This left four men in the boat, the chief officer, Mr M’Keuzie, and three seamen named George, Campbell and Petersen. The three first named were drowned in attempting to land on tho south beach of the Seal Rocks. The survivor says they were ninedays without water and two days without

food, aud their sufferings during the time they were in the boat were terrible. Petersen is unable to give the names of the crew. He is still very weak. The following are tho names of tho I Ellen’s crew who were drowned :—Captain j Stephens; first mate, M'Kenzie; crew,! Stuart, Daly, Schmidt, Nelson, Campbell, ( Breach and Barlow. | [The barque Ellen wag a vessel of 499 | tons, owned by W. Anthony, of Newcastle, i New South Wales. She was built at St j Johns, N. 8., in .1865, and was 135 ft long, j 30ft beam and I7ft 7in depth of hold.] July 25. Three of the seamen belonging to the barque Ellen went mad, within three days, through drinking salt water. Their meat lasted till July 20, and a little rain water was caught, but it was brackish owing to the spray which came on board. The signalman at the Seal Rocks Lighthouse, endeavoured to signal to the men not to land, owing to the surf, but could not mako them understand. July 27. Petersen, the sole survivor of tho barque Ellen, is now convalescent. Ho | gives a harrowing description of the j sufferings endured by the unfortunate men in the boat. On the sixth day after j leaving the barque,the captain became mad, j and moved about the boat talking deliri- j ously and laughing. He thought he was | in command of a steamer. Nest day the i steward became ill, and later on both he j aud the captain lay down in the boat and ! died. The sailors did not know the exact i time when the poor men expired, but some [ one went to look at them and found that i they were dead, and hove the bodies over- j board. Two old seamen offered up prayer over the dead as well aa they could with their parched throats. On the eighth day a heavy sea struck tho boat and nearly capsized her. Two men wore washed out and one sank immediately; "bub the other,” says Pet emeu, “ swam after the boat, and called to us to save him. We could do nothing for the wind and heavy sea drove us away. After we lost sight of - him struggling with tho waves, we heard a < last despairing cry from the drowning man. 1 That left only four in the boat.” Of these, aa already related, three were drowned when they had almost reached safety, i According to Petersen tho vessel was an : old hulk, and many of the men had 1 misgivings about her seaworthiness. i