SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 98, 4 May 1907, Page 8

SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

THE Slooi> NAUTILUS STRIKES A CORAL REEF.

23 Drowned, 34 Starved, and 64 Saved.

Tfae Pirate's Inhumanity.

Feeding on the Bodies of Their Dead Shipmates.

The queenly ship !. Brave hearts had striven, , „ . ■ 'And true ones died with her : ! We saw her mighty cable riven, Like floating gossamer , We saw her proud flap; ,, that morn, , A star once o'er the. seas. Her helm heat down, her deck up--1 torn— And sadder things than these. Felicia Hemans..

On 'January 3, 1807, \\\s Majesty's slooP Nautilus, commanded by Captain Palmer, was sent by Sir Thomas. • Lewis, then commanding the squadron of the Dardanelles , with important despatches, on the voyage to Britain. The sloop ran, under a light breeze from the northeast, rapidly out of the Hellespont, passing two vessels of war under the enemy's colors, off the island of-T«ne-dos. During the day she sighted many of the islands of the Greek Archi(TeJago, and towards evening approached Negropont, m latitude 30.30 N., and 24.8 E. longtitude, where, owing to the close proximity of a -number of smaller islands, the navigation became more intricate. As the, wind continued fresh and. the night approached, with indications of a coming gale, the Greek pilot counselled their lying on till morning, which was complied with, 'the vessel resuming ' her course at daybreak. Steering for Ealconera, the Nautilus arrived off that .island m the evening-; but could not see the island of Milo, lying fifteen miles further, owing to the HAZINESS OF THE WEATHER. ■ That night set m extremely dark/ but' the gloom was repeatedly lighted up with vivid flashes of lightning. The wind continued to increase, and though' carrying but. little sail, the Nautilus bowled along at the rate of nine knots an hour over a rolling sea. . Matters continued ,m . this condition till, about half-past two m the morning,, when land was descried from, the deck, which was believed to be the .island-' of Cerigotto. It was thought that all danger was now left behind. Passing the, island the sloop continued her course until halfpast four, when suddenly, at the changing of the i watch, the man on the look-oiit cried out— "Breakers ahead !" , • , ' Lieutenant Nesbitt, who was on deck, ordered tins helm hard-a-lee, but instantly the vessel struck, with a tremendous crash. So violent was the shock that the sailors were thrown from their hammocks, and unable to stand; Everything, was m confusion, and the utmost alarm prevailed,, The crew rushed upon deck, the ladders giving way -beneath them and leaving many struggling m the water, which already flooded the hold of the vessel. The captain, who had not turned .m, •■•ran upon deck, and, seeing the situation of the vessel, immediately went round among the people, and, did his best to quieten their apprehensions. He •then returned to his cabin, and destroyed all his 1 papers and private signals. Meanwhile each returning, sea lifted up the. now doomed Nautilus, and dashed, her against the. rocks with irresistible force, and, in -a short time, the crew were . compelled to take shelter m the rigging, where they remained for more than an hour, exposed to the fury of the waves, which were incessantly brealc.ing over them. The lightning had now ceased, and the darkness was so intense that it was impossible t 0 see even for the length of the ship.. The seamen had, however, discovered a small rock near them, and they hoped that, when the mainmast fell, it would form a bridge by which they might reach it. This fortunately happened about half-an-bour before daylight, and numbers of them thus reached THE ISOLATED ROCK. In this attempt, unhappily, so great were the panic and confusion, that several of the crew were drowned, and. others cruelly maimed- and lacerated. Captain Palmer refused to quit the wreck so long as any ma^ remained on board. In consequence of his remaining to the last, he was severely bruised and injured, 'and must inevitably have perished had not some of the sailors, at the risk of their own lives, dragged him through the surf. Attempts ' wcire made to save the boats, but one after the other was staved and broken UJ) before their eyes, till it was believed that all of them had gone to pieces. The hull of the vessel, being to windward of them, sheltered ' the shipwrecked ' crew for a long time from the beating of the surf, but when the Nautilus broke- up they were forced to abandon the small portion of rock which they had reached, and made to another which appeared somewhat harder. The first lieutenant led the way, but those who fallowed him encountered immense quantities of loose spars, and pdeces of the wreck driven violently about m the channel they had to cross, and many were lamentably bruised and wounded m making the passage. Some had their bare feet dreadfully torn by the sharp rocks, while others were helplessly main?d. Daylight came at length, and disclosed, to the unfortunates the horrors by which they were surrounded. The sea was covered with fragments of their ill-fated sloop'; many of their comrades were seen drifting away on spars and * pieces of the wreck, and around them, on the rock, the dead and dying lay mingled together. They now saw that they had been cast away on a coral rock, almost level with the water, and about 300 yards long by 200 broad. They were twelve miles distant from the nearest islands, which were those of Cerigotto and Pera. It .was reported tba* a few mcii had

escaped m a boat, but even if the rumor were true, there seemed- .little hope that an ordinary ship's boat could have weathered out the gale. Deeming that THEIR ONLY CHANCE of rescue lay m some passing vessel, they 'hoisted a signal' of distress at the end of a long pale. The weather was exceedingly cold, and, to resist its inclemency, they kindled a fire by means of a knife and a flint which a sailor happened to have m his pocket, and some damp powder that .was washed ashore. They next raised a small tent with such old boards and canvas as could be got from the wreck, and endeavoured to dry a few clotluee they had saved. Thus the day passed away, and a long and miserable night ensued, all-aviated only by, the hope that their fire, which they constantly fed with pieces of wreckage, might be seen m the dark, and tak-' en for a signal of distress. , The. report concerning the boat was true. When the ship first struck a small whaleboat was hanging, over the quarter, into which Geoirge Smith, the coxswain, and nine others immediately jumped, and ultimately escaped. After rowing, ten or twelve miles against a choppy sea, they reached the island of Pera. Here they found no inhabitaats save a few sheep and goats, and but very little fresh water, which had been preserved m a hole m tire rock. At first they imagined that s ail . their shipmates had perished, but formed a different opinion on observing the fire burning at night. The coxswain, feeling sure that some of their comrades had kindled the lire, proposed returning to their relief, and, though at first objecting to it, four of his companion finally agreed to accompany 1 him. It was about nine o'clock- on the morning of Tuesday, the second day after the shipwreck, that the unfor^ lunate, survivors on the rock saw the whaleboat approaching, and welcomed its appearance with a shout of joy. The coxswain tried to persuade Captain Palmer to get into the boat, but he steadily refused. "Nev-, er mind me," he said,, "save your shipmates if you can." Upon consideration, it was decided that the Greek pilot should embark m . the whaleboat, , and- make the best of his Wa,y. to Gerigotto, where some fishermen would probably be found, who might come TO THEIR ASSISTANCE. The ' boat left with the pilot and as many of the sailors as it could safely carry, and soori after the wind began to increase, with every indication of a storm. In a short time the tempest came on with fury ; the billows beat over the rock, and washed out the fire, and the poor fellows were forced to scramble to the highest part. Even here they were only prevented from being swept away by the aurf by holding on to one" another, and to the rope fastened round the summit of tho rock. In this wretched condition nearly 90 persons passed the night. These deplorable hardships sadly thinned their numbers. When the day dawned, many were found to have perished' from cold and privation, more were m the agonies of death, and not a few had gone delirious under the effects of famine and thirst. It was also feared that the boat had foundered m the storm, as it was impossible she could | have reached the island before the ' rale set m. Hitherto the crew of the Nautilus had been the sport of dire calamity; but they were now to be made the victims of an act of inhumanity deserving ,of eternal reproach. Not long after daybreak on Wednesday they made out a vessel under full sail running before the wind, steering directly for the rock. They made signals of .distress, which were answered by the stranger, which hove-to, and hoisted out a boat. The joy of the miserable creatures, m anticipation of immediate relief, may fee conceived. The boat approached till the castaways could see that she was full of . men m European dress. But when within pistol shot there was a pause. The men m the boat gazed for a few minutes on the scene before them, and then turned and rowed back to their ship, leaving the famishing and now frantic wretches on the bare rack to their fate. The barbarity of this infamous act was further heightened ,by the fact that the strange vessel employed itself before their eyes the whole day m picking up the floating property from the Nautilus.' The newcomer doubtless was a pirate, who possibly intended returning again for the spoils when time had nassed sufficient to allow the crew of the slooP to starve. A century ago the value of human life was trifling. • With the prospect of INEVITABLE DESTRUCTION before them, the shipwrecked crew now^ fell into despondency., In their intolerable thirst many grew desperate, and drank salt water m such quantities as . to bring on raging madness and death. When night came they crowded together, and huddled their wet rags around them to keep off the cold ; sleep under such circumstances was, of course, impossible. About midnight they were unexpectedly hailed by the crew of the whaleboat. The shout .from the boat was answered by the imploring cry for "Water— water." Btit no water could le given them. The coxswain might have brought water could he have found cashs or bottles, but he had nothing save some open earthen pots, and these could mot have been carried through the surf. He told them, however, that m the morning tWey .should all be taken off m a fishing vessel, and this assurance m Mine measure consoled them. Ofl the fQur-tB meteing *fteis .the;

wreck the sun shone upon the survivor's for the first time since the calamity, but the day wore away, without the promised succour having reached them. Hour after hour passed, but neither the whaleboat or - the promised vessel appeared to mitigate the sufferings of the famished men, who were now glaring with greedy eyes upon the lifelessi bodies of their shipmates as the only means of satisfying the cravings of inordinate hunger.. As the day, ; advanced, famine overcame their na r - tural repugnance to the loathsome" diet. They chose the corpse of a young man who had. died the pre-< ceding night, and made a meal of' human flesh. It does not appear, that? they derived much 1 relief ..from the horrible expedient, for before the day; declined death made sad havoc amongst them. Captain Palmer, who ; had "nev«ir murmured, but had exerted himself to the last, died-; so did the first lieutenant and several of the seamen. During the following night some of the men , resolved upon attempting, the construction of a raft, upon which, with a favorable wind.fithey might reach the island of Cerigotto. With the dawn of the fifth mornins they carried their design into execution, by lashing together a number of the larger spa,rs. FULL OF HOPE,; they endeavoured to launch it, but scarcely had the structure been floated upon the water when the lashings became loose, and the raft went asunder, to the bitter disappointment of the onlookers. .. Driven to destruction by the failure of a plan which had for some hours given renewed hope to all, five of the men hastily put together a fewv spars, and at once embarked upon the raft thus formed. It was the act of men demented and frenzied. The small dimensions of ; the platform now launched gave' them, but a narrow space wherein to stand, and the raft being carried away by the ocean's treacherous currents, the unfortunate seamen, just after bidding adieu to their companions, were swept a;way, and drowned before their eyes^ : On that Friday afternoon the coxswain came again m the whaleboat, and said the Greek fishermen would not venture m their boats for fear of the weather ; neither would tn&y lend them to < him and his comrades. He encouraged them to hope,' however, that, as the weather was moderating, the boats' would come on the morrow. While he was speaking, more than a dozen of the men plunged into the sea m the desperate hope of reaching the boat. Two got so far that they were itaften ins but one was drowned, while the Others had the good luck to return to the. rock. Had but half, of them reached- the whaleboat she would I have swamped, and the drowning of the lot would have been certain. When the sixth morning dawned , upon the rock, there were but few ' of the survivors capable of maikin'K the ledst exertion for their safety. But succour had come at last. When one of them, on looking out to sea, •nnouncod the arrival 61 tha longrpromisod -and long-prayed-for deliverance, they were raised suddenly from the slowest state of despair to-' the MOST' EXTRAVAGANT JOY. The boats, -led by the coxswain, headed for the ropk all .too slowly* but when they reached it with a supr ply of food and water, never was relief more needed. The survivors quenched their thirst and appeased their appetiites m a hurry and got' on .board the boats m a livelier mood than seemed possible, Of the 122 persons' who were .on board the Nautilus when she struck, 58 had died, 3<t of whom succumbed to starvation. About 50 were taken into the fishing boats, and were landed the same evening at the island of Cerigotto, mak-v ing the cumber of the saved,, reckoning those who had escaped m the ■ whaleboat, 64. The 50 had passed six days upon the rock, during which time they had received neither water nor food of any kind, excepting the flesh of their dead shipmates. The first care of the survivors was to send to the island of Pera for. those of their companions who had been left behind when' the whaleboat came down first \to the rock. It was found' that- they had- exhajustgd all the fresh! water, and lived upon the sheep and goats which they caught among the rocks. They had been m great anxiety or the safety of those who had left them m the boat. Having no other material for bandages, the rescuing Greek fishermen leaidily tore up their scant underclothing for the purpose, but it was soon found that experienced medical aid must be obtained , otherwise more lives would be sacrificed. Accordingly, after a stay of fourteen days with their preservers, the reecued seamen set sail for the island |of Cerigo, 25 miles distant from Cerigotto. Lanaing at their destination, the men applied to the British Vice-Consul, who afforded them all possible help, and procured for them medical aid. He finally arranged withi tlie captain of a RusIsian ship to convey them to Corjfu, where they arrived on March 2, 1807, about eight weeks from the time ' THE DOOMED NAUTILUS ■ i commenced her voyage. All this hapfT>ened, not on some reef m our lonely southern shores, hundreds of miles from the nearest land, nor yet upon the barren ice-bound shores of the Arctic regions, but m an island-stud-ded sea, arut nut a few . miles from the dwelling-places of Europeans.