EIGHTEEN DAYS ON THE ICK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7353, 13 June 1885, Page 3 (Supplement)

EIGHTEEN DAYS ON THE ICK.

Ok April 25, in latitude 46deg. 30min. north* longitude 45deg. 54min, west, the brigantine Seretha, of St. John's, Newfoundland, rescued from an ice pack Captain Bowden and two of the crew of the British barquantine Marinee. The Marinec -fauk in the 100 floe, badly crushed. On April 5 the first and second officers and the remainder of the crew wers lost—Captain Bowden thinks on the weather edge of the ice pack, where there was a mountainous ocean swell playing amid the Hoe. The survivors were nineteen days exposed to all the inclemencies of snow, sleet, and rain storms. The rescued men are hope* lessly crippled. The Marinse was at sea from Lisbon to St. John's 120 days. The following report was given by Captain Bowdon : Wc started from Figueiara on New Year's Day, and all prospered with us till we reached] the Western Islands. There we encountered a succession of terrific varying gales. Day s after day our decks were swept, rail and bulwarks were carried away, and large quantities of water washed down into the hold. On th&. $. 17th of February ice was first met with. We were compelled to seek shelter in it from fthe fury of the gale, bui- unfortunately, the wind moderating, we got 'firaaly jammed in the ice till March 6. On that- day the ice pack" loosened and we sailed through loose ice till - evening, when the ahip sprung a leak. Wg at once took'in canvas and. moored the vessel to a large ice growler, and made an examination of the damage. We discovered both the. vessel's sides pierced by contact with the ice. Tbe cargojwas trimmed aft to raise the ship's head, and sheets of copper bolted over tarred canvas were placed over the broken planks. Next day we threw about nne-third of the cargo overboard, and on the 12th about sixty tons were jettisoned. By Aprils despite all our efforts pumping night and day, there were five feat of water in the hold. All hope of saving the vessel was now abandoned. The first officer, Mr. Davis, with all the crew except William Sheaves and William Adams, who manned the small jolly-boat with me, took to the longboat. Tne provision!! of the ship, now a hundred days at sea, were reduced' to a bag of bread, a piece of pork, and about two pounds of butter. These were distributed „ between the two crews. At 'bis time the* ship was nipped tightly in a heavy ice string,, surrounded ou all sides by water. Mr. Davis steered his boat away southward, and we soon lost sight cf him as night rapidly closed down on us. We, however, in cur little, v cookie-shell, deemed it more prudent to adopt a different oourse. We hauled sur boat upon large piece of ice, and remained there till' next morning. When dawn broke over us.' the Marinee had gone down to the deep, and' we were alone on an ocean ice. During the night dismal cries were heard from the wind* ward, where the longboat had proceeded to reach the weather edge of the ice, and there is too much reason to apprehend that these' • voices were the drowning cries of oar companions, sinking amid the cold, pitiless waves, their boat, already damaged in the launching, Buocumbing to collision with the icefloes. From the 9th to 'title 13th we remained on the ice floe. The weather was alternately frosty and wet, or else we had the terrible visitations of sleet and glitter that encased us in a coat of rigid ice. We were now all badly frost-bitten, and suffering excruciating pains in hands, feet, and' joints. Sheaves got laid up, and threatened ~ hourly to collapse. On the 20th we were '. jammed or sailing at intervals during both day and night. Hunger now began to work its dire effects on us. We were too weak to use an oar, and almost unable to steer the boat. Next day we were " simply drifting through lakes of open water,, at the mercy of a howling gale of north-west " wind, with the weather very cold. We had now reached latitude 46 deg. 56 min. With! our slender canvas we tried to make the ■ land, but our efforts were unavailing and our prospects growing gloomier every .hour*. Vast masses of field ice were now seen on every Bide of us, rising and falling on the ocean swell. Contact with any of these cruel floes meant instantaneous death tons; but large bays of water intruded into these,,' ice patohed, and through one of these there ; might be faint hope of deliverance. Belief" from our harrowing situation came sooner than we anticipated. Shortly after noon on the 25th -the welcome brigantine Seretha :' : bore down, took us on board, and convoyedj; us safely to St. John's, whither she wart bound. Our unfortunate shipmates, how- < ever, in the longboat made no sigh/ and were '. nowhere to be found, being at the moment of our deliverance too surely sleeping on the , bottom of the Atlantic. '.., ' , ,