SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 100, 18 May 1907, Page 8

SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

THE LAST SAIL OF THE STRATHMORE.

Strikes the Crozets m a Fog.

Survivors Live a Rebinson Crusoe Life*

•Among shipwrecks of the "RobinSon Crusoe", class that of the Strathraorc must ever bold a foremost place. Forty-nine persons cast away on a remote island, and) existing there for nearly seven months, cut off from the rest of the world, given up as lost by their friends— such is the tale, we have to ohronicle. Stern reality is very diEcrent from poetic fiction, and the Crozots, on iWhich the people of the Strathmore :took refuge, afforded but meagre entertainment compared with Defoe's delightful island, or that yet more luxurious dwelling-place on which the "Swiss Family Robdnson" were fortunate enough to light. THE CROZET GROUP consists of five principal islands, situated m mid-Pacific, about lat. 16 IS., and long. 48 E. They were of „v olcanic origin, gloomy, precipitous, and repellaiit— a well nigh, inaccessito'le abode of ocean, birds. Whalers have occasionally visited. them m search of Be a ls and birds. Of the five, Possession Island is the largest, being 25 miles m circumference. Next m size Ss Penguin or Inaccessible Island. 'Big' 'or Hog Island was so called from •the number of swjne that abounded on •It, these being, the progeny of some pigs left there by Captain Distance m .1834. East Island rises to a height of 4COO feet. That on which ,the Strathmore. was wrecked is called Apostle Island-, and, with East Island, lies at the extreme noxthiwest of the group, some 50 or 60 miles distant from the three larger ones. It scarcely deserves to rank .with the other four', being, merely, a group ' of rocky islets. The group owes its name" to a French navigator, M. Crozet, , who discovered it m 1772, m con-junction with his superior officer, Marion dv Fresne. The Strathmore, a "fine iron clipper of 1*72 tons, sailed from Gravesend for Otago, New Zealand, on 'April 19, 1875, having on board 50 passengers and a crew of 38 all told. fThe' crew seem, . for the. most part,

not to iiave 'been bigoted" teetotalers. They ;got at some liquor, . and a good deal of drunkenness and disorder prevailed on the voyage; yet none imputed any, blame to .the captain. After ' the Strat&raore «ot into southern latitudes, sfce was boset f or many days by mist and fog. No observations could be takes, and consequently her. position bad to be guessed at . BY DEAD RECKONING.' On June "30 the captain calculated that the vessel was about 87 miles distant from the Crozots. So at least he told ,a Mr Crombie who gave a graphic picture of the wreck. That Captain Macdoaald was uneasy, about his position is shown by 1 the evidence of Allan, the third mate,, trbo was- among the survivors. He says :— "About two a.m. of the morning cm which she struck,, the captain called me into his cab- f m, and asked me if I should have a fclass of grog. I was suffering, from toothache, and he gave me some, Whisky as good for it. He told me then that he was not quite sure of our position,, owing, to the fog, but that he believed theru were five islands thereabouts— which, however, he did not name. I left him m his cabin, and he lay down iii his clothes. He appeared very anxious. He was a very careful man. Crombie, after speaking to the -captain art 2 a.m., bad gone to his berth, 'but was roused m a couple of hours by a grating noise, and immediately after the doomed Strathmore struck with a crash that 'shook her entire frame. All was confusion. The older was given to clear .away the 'boats, but at the critical moment they, were found immovable. Allan, the -third 'mate, describes himself as rushing from one to ths other, but not one could be launched. The shin was already sinking ; the man was

UP TO HIS KNEES ; m water, and had to take refuge "m inizzen rigging. One boat was, in-

deed, launched, but not by the crew, Peters, the second mate, writes : —

"On reaching the poop, I saw the first mate and some of the crew clearing away the port quarter-boat. I mustered together a few hands to deal: away the' star-board cjuarterboat; but we had no sooner cut the grips, and ' lifted the boat a few inches with the tackles, than, the sea came rolling over the ; poop, washing away the two men who were knocking out the chocks, the rest of usbeing more or less washed about. I gathered a few hands together, and tried it again, but by this time |tbo seas came rolling, over the pop? m quick succession, making it impossible for us to get that boat out and scattering -the men who were working with me, a good many of them feeing washed overboard and drowned. Those who "had been getting th's port qiuarter-boat out had also atendoned her, as she had been stove by a sea AND RENDERED USELESS. "As the ship was now fast settling down aft, most ..'of those who had been working at the tquartcrboats, now got into the port lifeboat, and, after cutting the grips, a heavy sea came rolling over the Poop,, floated her clean over the starboard live-boat and starboard davits clear of the wreck, and eighteen of the crew and passengers aboard of her, a ladiy being included m the number." ' . . Crombie describes his own escape. He and the other passengers rushed on deck at the first alarm, and found that lit was still dark. Confusion reigned supreme, and Captain Macdona Id seems to have quits lost his head, as he cried out, "Good-bye to you all ! It's all over -; save yourselves. To the boats at once." He was afterwards seen walking up and down the poop with his hands behind him like one demented. Then came A SUCCESSION OP. BREAKERS, 'sweeping the decks, and when the third had passed the captain and the first mate had disappeared. The passenger, Crombie, who had- been among those working, at the port boat with the first mate, now took to the riaaing. .■; Here several miserable and anxious hours were spent till the j daylight crept up, chill and grey, over the sad scene. Eighteen persons had got away m the life-boat, as we have seen ; a number of poor wretches were clinging to the risgmv; but, the vessel's deck having,, sunk under water m fifteen minutes after she struck, all who had taken refuse on the poop, including six women, had) shared the captain's fate, and been washed to their- restless grave. As soon as it was light Cxoaihie made his way to the roof of the deck-house, which was :;till above water. There he assisted the , second mate, Peters, and others m launching the gig and the dingTi , ihs #ig setting off with Peters ..vs-d edght others, the dingy with the third mate, and both steering to- I wards the rocl:s, wiiich lay about J 100 yards away, rising from xhe sea like a lofty, precipitous wall. Eleven remained on the deck-house and one m the rising. ' Peters, who had spent- the hours of darkness m the mizzen-top, describes ■ the way m which the- castaways were lande:l :•— " Seven or ci pit of us gpt into the Rds/and'l told those who were left on bond that I -would come lack for them as soon as I could find . a- kndi-na:.' After somo trouble we- found a place where we could scramble ashore, but with danger to the boat. As we -followed towards it we sighted the port lifeboat, with 18 persons -m it- She, was full of water, so that they could not pull her through the 1 seaweed towards the landing. After putting ashore all but three we returned to the ship, but as it was impossible to take off that night all who were left we took those m the mizzen-top first, as being m greater danger than those on • THE FORECASTLE HEAD." The island on which "the survivors landed was a , desolate place, a refuge for , sea birds, and devoid of .trees. It was About two and a-half miles long and half a mile broad. One of the first-class nassengers, Wilson, says of his experience the first ni'sht and the following day :— " The first thing I did was to knock over a white bird, something like a crow. The gig went back that day, and brought the five out of the mizzen-top. A fire was lighted, and!. the white bird and some albatrosses v;ere cooked. There was a fire outside the ' tent, and some of the sailors 'gathered round it, and would not move. Some of them appeared to be drunk. The second mate was ' lying half under a tent, and calling out all night, giving orders as if he were on board.

'•'We slept out on the bare rock until about 6 a.m. Then I

CREPT UNDER THE CANVASS ; but a passenger was brought in 'and laid right over me. He died •'before I got up, but I was not aware of it' until he was moved off. That, morning the gia: went to the wreck again, and the lifeboat and dingy, to try atti'd recover what they could. The gig returned wi<th the rest of the survivors, and some clothes and matches. All that day the -.■.■."boats were .picking .■ up I wreckage ; while, we on shore looked out a site for the hemse. ,We pitched upon a place half-way up the'. Mil, where there was an overhanging rock,' and by nightfall had raised a wall three or four feet high. Its size was about "lß 'by 8 feet. We stretched a boat covering over as far as we could.. It was blowing a gale. Most of us took shelter m this house ; but Blue Jack and some others went aljout twenty yards higher up, and' ESTABLISHED THEMSELVES THERE." : Says Peters :— "We passed a miserable, night, the softest rock being our- bed, which was not rendered more agreeable by the cold weather. Coming ' back from the wreck we had picked up a • few cases of spirits, which were, allowanced out. m. the night to everybody, thereby keeping a "little heat m our bodies. I was clad when daylight camp, so that I could visit the ship, which I found as we had left her Ihe night before. I asked the men m the forecastle head to get all -the clothes they could out of Hhe forecastle, and pass them into .the boat, before I took them aboard themselves, most, of the persons ashore Being only halfclad. Besides the clothes we secured a few boxes of matches, and about a dozen .biscuits, being all that could be found tin the shape, of proyisiofls..''..

During the Bight that followed a great and irreparable misfortune qccurred— the boats were lost. They had been moored m smooth water, m a place of supposed safety, Blue Jack and a man named VininK •bein.-s left m chaise. In the interval the. wind had chopped round '; perhaps the WATCHMEN WERE CARELESS ; at any rate tfae boats got adrift, and could not be recovered. "We had the pleasure of seeing them floating- afljout, Uo-tftoni up, completely out of our reach," says Peters, "If there had been a beach anywhero m the island 1 we might have saved them by hauling them up, but the island was so steep and rugged that it was with the utmost difficulty we ourselves could scramble ashore. The less of our boata was a great misfortune, as we ■■ were unable to pick, uu any more firewood, or. go back to the wreck, nothing of which could te seen tut a few small spars entangled among some of the gear, and thus kept floating over her side."

The condition cf the surviveirs was now pitiable. They numbered 59, including Mrs Wordsworth, her son, and a three-year-old boy named Walker. There was no wood on the island, but an abundance of fresh water and sea birds. Absolutely nothing else save a sort of weed, which they cooked and ate. The birds were everything to them— food, fuel, and after, a time, clothing. The stores obtained from the wreck were not of much account.

On the first day a chest of blankets was picked up, and inside it some knives, forks and a couple of parasols were found. The wires of the parasols, cut down and sharpened, were used as needles, and using grass for thread, penguin skins were stitched together to form clothing. Some cases of confectionery were also found, and the tins proved very serviceable as pots till they were 'worn out. In addition there were saved two barrels of gunpowder, a cask of port wine, two cases of riim, two of gin, one of brandy, and one of preserves. The liquor seems to have been served out recklessly ' at first. In five weeks it was nearly gone, and then it was decided to keep the rest FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES. Throughout, the whole period' that the castaways remained en the island, Peters kept a sort of diary, which has be?n rublished. Some extracts from this will give an idea of th' 3 life that he and his companions lived throughout the „gl6omy weeks and months of waiting they, were destined) to endure. Taking up the narrative on July 4, three days after the wreck we find this entry :- ...

''Sent two parties out to erect two flagstafls, going with one myself, after which we went round g no side of the island and saw the boats— gig, dingy, and lifeboat, the two first being bottom up, and the lifeboat m halves,' and no means of getting at them, they having been washed during the nipht through a sort of tuanel. which led through underneath our island. We caught a few birds, and came down to our hovel. When the other party came m they ■ told me that the ship had backed astern and gone down m deep water. Ttiere are to-day about twelve of us laid up with frostbitten and swollen- feet, find, of course Uiey are no good for doing any hhrd work, or hunting: ,I'irds.^ Our stock of wood is very limited, and. I see -no means of ..getting more, as there- is no beach, and we have no boats. We had our evening meal of '

YOUNG ALBATROSS, ! white crows, and what we call grayj backs which we devoured with good appetites, and comforted ourselves afterwards with a small .ulowcuioe of grog, and th'n packed our.selves a\w for the night. As we canno'i ,a?l sleep under one ledge, some of us had to find other holes m the rock, where we couldi stow ourselves away. We passed a scrambling sort of . a ni-gJit,. being 'compelled to lie almost piled on top of, on© another, so. as to keep warm and economise room." To increaso tbo sleeping accomodation they set to work to hollow out, a cavern, but for want of proper tools their progress was slow. They also tried to manufacture . signal rockets, but owing to the powder having x/ieen saturated, it was not possible to do much. More successful w/as,. tihe lamp they devised to economise matches, winch consisted of a bottle filled with albatross fat, m which a cotton wick was inserted!; it gave a satisfactory light. Most of the entries during July speak of pold and rain, storm and mist. On 'the 17th. a passenger was seized! with lockjaw, arid m two days he was dead and buried— a chapter from a Bible being read as a funeral service at the grave., By the end of the month the firewood had runout; henceforward their cooking, fire was fed with the <fiatty skins of birds. Tihree huts were constructed before the end of the month, m which THE SURVIVORS HUDDLED During August certain species of the birds commenced laying, and a slight change of diet was obtained. The weather also continued to improve ; the worst of the winter was past. On the last day of August a sail was sighted, which welcome sight iihrillod every, heart. 'But the ship was too far distant to make put the signals, and m a short while , sho passed -/beyond the horizon, leaving the eager watchers more despondent than before.

On .September 1 a large iceberc; drifted i into the bay, about a mile south of the huts, and the, visitor made the- air perceptibly colder fpr. a time. Next day a Mr Henderson, who, "from the first, had been m delicate health, expired.

On the 13' th another sail was reported m sight, and this time the ship came so close m that her hull was visible. Signals were made from the higfhest point, a blanket was run up on the flagstaff, and every ■ heart beat quick with emotions of hope and fear. On came the vessel, scudding before a stiff southerly, but maicing 'her way through the narrow, rock-strewn channel, .she passed on into the haze; giving the sufferers another disappointment. Thus the dreary weeks passed by. till November came with its legions of penguins, who frequented the island for breeding purposes. 'On December 8 a terrible disappointment came. Between 1 and 2 o'clock a large barque was seen on the north side of the island. She was so close that her fore and a/ft stays were seen distinctly. A counterpane was soon waving from the flagstaff, and the company felt so assured of immediate relief itliat they, beg^n to pack, up. a

few curios^ But the vessel went on her way, On Christmas Day, the child Walker died.,

New Year's Day completed a half* year of ' captivity „ 'As m <all that time they had seen only three, yes* sels, they were forced to the conclusion that they would have to

SPEND ANOTHER WINTER on the islands T'hev began :to make preparations accordingly. Thous= awls of .penguin skins were driod and stowed away, while (quantities of fat were melted down to provide light and warmth when ■ those terrible 15---hour nifgihrts should come again. They bore up bravely meanwhile. The following extract from Peters's diary gives a .vivfd picture of their condition after six months' oapitivity •'■—• "On the first day of the .year we are divided into seven lots ; thirteen living m it.he hut that I live m, eleven m another, six m another, two m another, and three huts with four m each— mak>*2; m all forty-four which is Ibhe half of the crew and passengers that wero aboard when the vessel was lost.

"We are now cooking m all sorte of articles, only two of the confectionery tins 'being m fit condition to boil meat m ; and these two, being in> the biggest .huts— the other huts baying to fry their meat on the sides of the old tins, or m stone fry-ing-pans, picked up oh' the island after a diligent search. Stone fry-ing-pans are only STONES HOLLOWED OUT so that they will hold a little fat to fry the meat with ; and, we have to find them hollowed out by Nature. "As our eggs are all done, %chad to look around for. another substitute for soap ; \%<hich we found m the shape of blood from pen>guins k or the livers of young penguins. First of all, we go over among the penguins, and stun a few with out clubs;, then we bleed them by cutting their throats .; and as the blood trickles from them we catch it on bits of rags, which we thoroughly soak : we tfyen run down to the gully and wash, by rubbing the blood all over ourselves, and 'then washia.2; it off with water." On January 3 they commenced the erection of a scivare tower of turf on the hilltop, with the view of attracting the attention of any passing ship, and as a kind of shelter for the lookout. The digging of the turf was n 0 lii?ht task for men without tools, who were compelled to have recourse to their fingers ; yet, BY PERSEVERANCE, a solid structure, 14ft square by 10ft high was erected toy the lSthMeantime the cry of "Sail ho !"• was heard once more. It was on Friday, - the 14th, at daybreak ; the watchman had yust mounted his posrt' when he saw a ship, under full sail standing, to- the eastward. The counterpane was again run up to attract attention. But once more crushing disappointment was m store for tfaenn\ The. sihip passed out of sight. But the hour of ' deliveranoe was at length due, • Another week passed, and ' then, at 4 p.m. the cry again vi«c<nt lip : "A sail!" The old signals were displayed, and as evening was coming on, a huge bonfire was.kindled. For a while the ship held on her course, and the fate of the castaways hung m the balance. But sud- , denlv the vessel was hauled to windward, and her bow headed to the inlet. Let Peters describe that longpray od-jfor.- hour :— ■ : "As soon . as she came about one mile to the eastward of the island she backed her mainyards and lowered t'K'o boats, to our intense delight. They pull eld-' tp the' north side of the island, thinking to • get a landing there, but found it was' impossible to effect -it. Our sail-maker asked one of the boats to come as close as it could ; which being; done, he jumped into the water ..and was hauled a-' board the boat. As soon as they got him aboard, they pulled- round to the other side of the i-skund, where we had at' first landed ; but as it . was , •fast^getting dork, the captain, who was in -one .of tks boats, "frold, us foe would be .unable -to -take us off that night ; 'but directly- he knew there was. ....'..-'■ A LADY AMONG US, he brought his boat as close as he could! safely, and jgiot airs WordsWorth aboard . And being told that her son was on shore, he also took him aboard, besides two invalids and myself ; at the same time putting some bread and pork ashore for those that remained, until he should come .back m the morning to take them all off. The captain then gaye orders to pull 'back to tthss ship— which we found out to be the American whaler Young. Phoenix of New Bedford, Mass., Captain G-inbrd."

The third mate, Allan, summarises the conclusion of the narrative :—

"There were six camps ; and the Wad characters seejm to keep together. The lady, was treated by every one as well as she oould be treated. Tlio strong r. n took from the weak ; for example, they <took a pot from ► us wef were weak. .... Thero are two or three caves which ' run. right through , the island. We built up a tower of turf to the height of about 12ft, and put an oar on top ; and When. we 9aw ships we used to

SIGNAL WITH BLANKETS. We saw four ships, two of which | were very close- The fifth took us oG. :T-he captain, as 1 hear, had gone up aloft to have a look at the islands, and noticed somc-'tlwn'ft unusual, and was standing mto see what it was, Swhen tins lookoiit reported that ha. saw our rignals. Tfi'oe boats caniei of! that night, and took away fivei persons and Mrs Wordsworth. They brought us beef adud bread. Before the 'boats left the weather became thick. Next morning they took us all off. The captain wished to leave us on Hog Island until he had finMiod bis cruise ; 'but tho crew would not have it— thinking, as I believe, that he would put into port to land us, and that they would have a chance of bolting. We should have done well enough on Hog Island •■: for it is a sealingpstation, anil there were PIGS AND RABBITS and a hut and boiler there." On board THE YOUNG PHOENIX tlney were treated with kindness. On [January 20 Captain Gi Fiord transferred the rescued people to the Sierra Morona, Captain Kennedy, who landed them at Galle on February 24, nearly ten mouths after they had sailed from Gravesend.