The Traveller.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 211, 5 November 1896, Page 3

The Traveller.

ALONE ON THE OCEAN. ROUND THE WORLD ON A 13-TONNER. Newcastle, Sept 30. — One of the most remarkable feats in ocean navigation is that of Captain Joshua Slocum, of the yacht Spray, which arrived here to-day. Single-handed the daring adventurer, with his tiny craft, measuring only 13 tons register essayed some 17 months ago to make a trip round the world. He started from Boston, in the United States, relying solely on his skill and powers of endurance to successfully accomplish the extraordinary trip. His arrival here created considerable interest, and throughout the day the yacht was the centre of attraction, .^aptain Slocum is in good health, but looks careworn. He had a trying time coming down the coast, the yacht being beset by violent gales, and the voyage from Samoa, the last place of call, occupied altogether about 40 days. He is a typical Yankee, of spare but wiry build, medium height and full of determination, perseverance, and vigor. Upon being asked for some particulars of his strange voyage, the captain readily agreed to the proposition, and gave a resume of his doings since he started. Captain Slocum sat in his cabin aft — an j apartment of limited space, and J stuffed with books, charts, island j and other curios, and including in its fittings two rifles and a carbine. THE START OP THE VOYAGE. He said : — " I left Boston on the 24th April, 1895, and went to Gibraltar, which I reached on the 29th day. I stayed at ' Gib ' three weeks, and had the most elegant time I ever had in my life. From Gibraltar I steered for Pcrnambuco, where I arrived after a trip of 40 days. Nothing special occurred on the run, and the weather throughout was fair. I remained three weeks at Pernambuco, and on leaving I set my course for Rio de Janiero, and dropped anchor there in 12 days from the day of sailing from my last port. Three weeks of Rio was enough for me, so I hoisted sail and stood away for the River Plate, which I made in eight days. I visited Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, and had a pleasant experience in both places. The next part of my voyage was from Buenos Ayres to Sandy Point, in the Magellan Straits, which took me 16 days. IN A GALE OFF CAPE HORN. " I worked through the straits in good time, but when I arrived off Cape Pillar I met a big nor'westsr, which drove me away down nearly to Cape Horn. This lasted four days, and during the storm my sails were blown away. The storm was the fiercest I ever saw, and several large vessels that were in it were dismasted. I rigged a 10ft by 10ft tarpaulin fn place of my sails, and although I had some more tarpaulins I dare not set them, owing to the tremendous seas that were running. While the gale was at its height there were a number of terrific hail squalls, from which I suffered a good deal, the hail hitting my face and caxising the blood to flow. Such seas I never experienced during my life, but the Spray behaved grandly, and rode over them like a bird. I did not sleep much during those four days, but the storm then eased down, and I got into Magellan's straits again, and found myself once more in smooth water. AN ADVENTURE WITH THE NATIVES "At Sandy Point a friendly captain cautioned me to be careful of the natives as I came through the Straits. He told me they were a cowardly, thieving lot, but when together in large numbers they were capable of any crime, and- he mentioned that they first tried to seize, and afterwards to set fire to a Chilian gunboat. I found the warning very useful, but, although I had some trouble, I also (this with a chuckle) had some fun with them. They came off to me in their canoes, but the sight of me on deck with my carbine in my hand made them sheer off. One night a lot of them boarded me, and were rather troublesome to get rid of. So next evening I sprinkled a couple of packets of strong tacks about the deck and that night when they repeated their visit they were not long on board before I heard most horrible howls and yells. They evidently had discovered the tacks, for they soon took to their canoes, j and did not annoy me anymore. A I half-breed, who is a noted scoundrel, wanted to call on me one day, but a couple of bullets from my carbine across the bow of his canoe gave him to understand that I was" not receiving visitors that day ; so lie turned and got out of range pretty quick." 36 HOUItS AT THE WHEEL. After losing sight of Cape Pillar the weather again became very rough, and I had 36 hours at the wheel without any sleep. I did not feel fatigued, however, because T was overjoyed to get away safely from the Magellan Straits natives. I had a pannikin of coffee and some crackers^nd cheese alongside of me, and so 1 was comfortable enough. Talking about the Magellan Straits, my opinion is that it is the most unfinished part of the world I have seen. The next stopping place was island of Juan Fernandez which I reached in 15 days from Cape Pillar. The population of the island consisted at that time of 35 souls, most of them Chilians, but there is also a German and a Portuguese. The people seemed happy enough. They have no doctors, no Custom house officers, and, added the captain, laughingly, no newspapers. " I went to the cave that Alexander Selkirk lived in, and chipped off a piece of the rock. This is it," showing a piece of what looked liked ironstone. " I also saw the tablet which records the fact of Selkirk's residence on the island I left Juan Fernandez on the sth of May last, and 62 days' sailing brought me to Samoa, and when I appeared at Apia I had a great reception. I had a splendid time when I was there ; and when J was coming away I had a great

send-off. The people of the mission eofl'ee house especially were very kind, and loaded the Spray with , flowers, fruit, and vegetables. I , sailed from there on August 20, and j had a quick run down to the point ,of New Caledonia. There I lost the trades, and have since met with a ! succession of gales, with high seas. l WHY THE VOYAGE WAS UNDERTAKEN. i ' In reply to a query as to his object in setting out on his present • voyage. Captain Slocum said he had ( several reasons for it. He loved the i sea, to begin with ; then he thought , he could do more good for himself than by remaining at home. He : had been a shipowner, but there j was nothing in ships now. He had lost his money in them, and so had most shipowners he knew. He meant to try and make a little money by his venture, and he also wished to demonstrate that the voyage round the world could be made in such a small boat as his, and he was certain that it could be performed quite as safely in a boat half its size. Further he desired to show the Australians that they were not so far away from the rest of the world as they might suppose. An interrogation dieted the response that he felt no loneliness while at sea. He had no feeling of solitude, for, said he, with considerable earnestness, I have my books. There they are; all my friends; there you see them. My friend Cervantes; all the great English authors; then there is my friend Robert 'Louis Stevenson, and, with a quaint gesture of enquiry, " What's the mattor with Robert Burns ?" I feel that all the great men are my companions. I read slowly, and sometimes, when I come across something I don't understand, to read it over, and study it until I d I and then don't I enjoy it ? During this voj-ago I have had pleasures and experiences that mon</y could not buy. HOW THE SPRAY WAS SAILED AT NIGHT. Some curiosity being expressed regarding his disposal of his vessel while ho slept, Captain Slocum said lie neither hovo-to nor put out a sea anchor when he went to sleep : he just let her bowl along as usual. Of course, when there was any appearance of bad weather, ho did not take any sleep until it had passed. Sometimes he slept at night,at other times during the day. He had never been short of provisions since he started, and he had an abundance of fresh water on board, enough not only for drinking and cooking purposes, but sufficient to furnish him with a bath whenever he required one. He had made the entire voyage on dead reckoning, only once having had the opportunity of making a hmr observation. His health had been good all through, and he had had no occasion to doctor himself. The captain states, with some pride, that lie built the spray himself at Fair Haven, Massachusetts, in 1893, no one else having had anything whatever to do with her construction. She is 40ft long, with a beam of 14ft, and a depth of 4ft 4in, and she is decked all over. She is a splendid sea boat, and her behaviour in the fearful weather oft' Cape Horn proved that. She is also a good sailer, for up to the time of arriving at Samoa she averaged about 100 miles a day.