DEATH FROM EXPOSURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LII, Issue 156, 30 June 1914, Page 10

DEATH FROM EXPOSURE.

SAILORS' TERRIBLE PLIGHT.

LOST FOR FOURTEEN DAYS.

[from our own correspondent.]

London, May 22. Four mon have been rescued by tho United States revenue cutter Seneca, after being adrift for a fortnight in an open boat, by which they escaped from the blazing steamship Columbian, burned at sea on May 3, They were landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia. They alone of the 15 men, who took in one of the lifeboats of the Columbian had survived the 14 days' exposure, Eleven of their compai ions died in the boat from hunger, thirst, and oxposiue. Two or three of them died from hunger and exposure alone, but the majority drank salt water, which drove them insane. One of tho last to expire was n giant Russian fireman, who tlien to murder his companions then living, and was only overpowered after a desperate struggle.

The four survivors are Robert Tiere, first officer; Adelarrl Helangcr and Oxan Noddal, seamen; and Michael Ludwigsen, fireman. Mr. Tien- i.- a Liverpool man and only, 22 years of ago. Ho will probably have to have one of his feot amputated owing to gangrene.

Passed by the Olympic. Worn almost In a skeleton by hunger and thirst, Mr. Tiere described the terrible sufferings of the men in the boat. His narrative started with an account of the series of explosions which occurred after the Columbian had become enveloped in ilames, wliirh hurriedly drove the crew It. the boat.'-. He spoke of the high hopes that weir raised when the White Star liner Olympic swept, by them early in the morning, and the despair into which they were plunged when she passed by less than three-quarters of ,a mile away. Their hopes were again raised by seeing two other steamers in daylight next day, but they wore too fur off to notice tli'o little craft tossing in tho water. For the following three days they were tossed about in the rourji wf.ather, and several timeiJ the boat be;amo half full of water. Then followed i gradual shortening of rations of biscuits and water. From three "hard tack" and half a pint of water a day for each man, they were brought down to one biscuit and half a pint of water to every four men.

•Mr. Tiere spoke of the terrible agony of the sailors who drank salt water and met their death. A Hard Fight. " There were," the first officer proceeded, "only fivo of us alive then, and poor Prieve, the mess boy, was so weak that ho could not stand.' This was about five o'clock on Friday night. I was sleeping when Bolaiijjer woke me and said that Jakob had gone crazy. Ho was sitting in tho bow with an axe in his hand, and swearing that he would go ashore for drink. I talked to him a bit and coaxed tho axe away from him. I got him to go and lie down, and took everything I thought he could use for a weapon away from him, but I had hardly fallen asleep when he got tho boat stretcher •and came aft, threatening to kill us all. There was nothing left but to tio him up. Jakob was ordinarily a very powerful man of about 40 years of age, and Kendal, Belanger, Ludwigsen, and myself had all wo could do to handle him. Ho was screaming at the top of his voice that we wore trying to keep his money from him so that lie could not go on the spree. Ho shouted out that I had his pass book and would not give him his pay, and that he was going to 'lay for mo' particularly. "Wo had » pretty hard fight to get him under control, but we finally tied him down in the bottom of the boat and Irfshcd him to the thwart, He lived for five or six hours longer, screaming the whole time at the ton of his voice, Then ho became exhausted, and wo forced a little water between his lips, but it was no use, for about one o'clock on Saturday morning he died."

Shoeleathor as Food. Other survivors stated that when tho boat left the burning steamer they had only with thorn a tin of biscuits and a keg" of water, but these provisions wore so carefully husbanded that at tho end of ten days all the men were still alive. After the second day tho ocean within.' their range of vision remained destitute of shipping of any kind until they saw and were seen by the Seneca. On the eleventh day Seaman Oeorgo Hull died from the effects of exposure and hunger, and in the succeeding three days ten others succumbed. The bodies of the dtad were thrown overboard by the steadily-weakening survivors, who kept themselves alive by chewing their shoeleather, eating the few crumbs that remained of their stork of biscuits, and drinking such rain-water as they were able to collect. Their condition when the Seneca picked them up was pitiable in the extreme, and between their weakness and their joy at a rescueof which they had abandoned all hope—they wore almost de-1 lirious. I