SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 106, 29 June 1907, Page 8

SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

THEvEAST-INDIAMAN HALSEWELL

Storm-Tossed and Staggering. ,

STRIKES THE ROCK-BOUND DORSET COAST

H Saved, 166 Drowned.

fThe ,Wr«ck"s af« all- ithy. aee'4,l nor doth .remain; . „.-'. \ J A : shadow of man's ravage,, . Save his owSV . ' „. ■ • flWien, for a. moment,; like a. drop of rain, ■ He sinks into thy depth's with bubbling .groan ';,,... .Without :a ©ica/ve, ./-unknelled,- uncofi fined, and unknown., v . ■- •• s j■■ '■ r-Byron.; Of all the.splendi'i ships'inthe service pf the East Iredia Company at ibhe:^ fef^inming" o% : 'the year 1786, there (Was no fiiier or of better repute than ithe. v Halsewell, of : 758 tons -burthen, captained 'by Richaird Pierce. She had maide two 'Jong voyages-iiii safety, and was m. vthe autumn of 1786 chose»n by the directors |o make a third. She completed her' iadinig according 'to. ) ' Custom at Grayesend, and sailed • through the Downs 1 on New Year's 4Day, with a valuable: cargo and aihoiib 240 passehgefs, including . sev- - oli'al ladies. Captain Pierce'ih'ad with ihimliis "two-daughters, Eliza and Mary Ainne, awd" two young relatives, * 'Amy and Mary . Paul; . .Other .- ladies were relatives Sof officers- m India ■; .. ■ ; - others had just oompiJeted their edu- ' ; many ware^ going oiit to new homes and f fesh ' spheres . . sOne ■: mian . . named Schutz, was ' A'oyagilig fo'ithe far East, -bent updii-' ; \ .' ,.? COLLECT-INa A LARG-E FORr tune -, . ° : ;.' which ■durif^: .previous years of toil he hafti'a'masiseia; Vjxeve, and was. entardng-; iip(on a last voyage to bring back 'the treasury, with : the (view of ending his days m repose. As , was usual m these ships,' soldiers, aaid their wives and families, formed a. considie^ra^le portion ; of ', the' passeii- ' gers: ; ■ ''■■.'' ' '■': ■■ \ ■ •'-'' On the after noon, pf 'January 2 a. breeze— premonitpr of disaster^T-caine ! up from the south". ' <A : fruitless at>-; . tempt .was made, by; s-tanding . m shore, to. land/ the pilot. The weath.er became: ;'pj|:pl6xinig,.. thei* /atmps- ' fphere thick* le winds bafflio^ "Esenr ; ing .was: su'e^eediafl by fliiigihi;, I.';1 .'; aiitf ? 119 ' improvement : -liaving' decurfed, anchor, .was cast m deep water. Every jndi-; cation ofi wintrv storm' appeared l^ The: snow. felV heavily., and the sailors -in •tlseir effijiits tP furl the sails '.- could but parraally perform their duty oh y account of the severe fros-t. ' . : At 4 o'clock the «ext morning- I>he storm had ;. becomje a* .violent giale from the: worst quarteLv , from which; it can come4n •thewd-n'tier ; jpf nprthern latitudes, namely;,, the east and north. The fine" ship 'began to drive, and m the dark tempestuous morning orders wero given to cut 'the cables and let Jier runto sea r With great difficulty/ the pilot,/ who -? • to have heen landed 6n the previpus; * was now transferred to a passing brig, and the Halsewell bore down the channel with, as- much canvis as it was deemed; ■ expedient ;tp": carry. .The wind 'dropped pebtind to : ■

he south', and sails were reefed td MEET THE NEW GALE which burst ioxib. at r ,lO o'clock at ' night, although a press of canvas was soon nefcessary to keep the vessel off shore. By-anfl-bye, the hawse plugs being washed away, a ereat deal of water • shipped on the gun deck. To make matters worse, that terrible discovery for sailors— a leak— was made. . All the pumps were set to work against the dread enemy 7 but five -rfeet .of water- m- t<he hold is not easily igot rid of. Misfortune fQllowed misfortune. ! At 2 o'clock on Wednesday morning it was necessary to cut away the mizzenma&t, m order, to wear, ship ; the devipe did. not ifucoeed,. and it soon, became' known ;tna-t : m spite of the ; labors ?of the. men at the pumps, the five feet of water m the hold liad become seven, ■and that the leak increased rather than diminished. ■< A shocking plight ; <yft;a, danfferpus coast, m a with a .ship . almost. unni^haffSable.-, Danger of • fpunderiwe; rose ; nJainmas't,; sKaredtJie fate o£- the^rdfizzenmast , and, worse than • in;^uttiyv* it a^ way t . M or eton , th^t. Coxswain 1 , arid! f our i; seamen • ' : ■'"■%' : '; 'MWEto^ARRIED' OVERBOARD;^ with: iiltte^ggjHig, and; lost. It took; some; hpdf^itb clear .away the .:debfris, but things began to lie ship-shape' by 'breakf&st ti'riie^ .jand the vessel . was;- not onily got' before the wind, but kept therefor two .hours. The terror-stricken people on board took ■courage, at th!i,s, and hope revived a-g-aik Wihen it was found that the war ter in' the lipid -was xeduced at^least two feet. TheHalsewell, 'however, wasibeoom'ing .<& aner© log. True; the wind abated as =%c morning, wore on> Init the ship labored, and by-and-ibye tlje fpreTtpp^i'a^t gave way/, and m its falL'spliti the fpresail to pieces: -The sailorsii' -though 'begdnning to des- , pajr and lose ©nergy , ; assisted the officers to rig jurymasts, and it was decided to return to Portsmouth. A gale from .•■ili-e. south sprang : up on Ttorsday night, and with it : the diffiiculties -thickened. ; In.', spite of the b-est efforts of the crew., the ship continued. to-, drive towards land, until, finding themselves dangerously c1(>50.,;;16 St.". : Alib ari's Head they cast aij^iof . For iiv liour the ship rode . Then :; it was necessary to- let go another'anchor, and after' the lapse of two .hours; the ship, driving again, Captain Pieroe, -cohsultsd with Iws chief Meriton, the, ;.■■■' BEST CCHJRSJE TO ADOPTS 'X sad moinent ..it was; ' depend upon it, when tlie'se men. admitted to each pthier the 'dangerous, position m which thiey were placed, Cand saw- that „it was only; a. iq;uestii6ii;pf time when v the vessel should strikev jCaptain Pierce, torn with -; :a»x;iety. as to the fate .of his own -.daughters, implored the mate to think of some method Of Tlhe 1 ; mate,*> cooler than Iris

skipped "liaving nothing but his duty to distract his attention, calmly said [that nothing could T>e done but to Wait. | Without a word the captain threw his hands and' eyes aloft,, resolving that the mate's advice was the only, thing possible, yet expecting every moment the shock which could not much longer be •delayed. St. Albaa's Head is on the Dorsetshire coast, and there is slight oba<nce for a ship -heavily cast upon it. Almost at the moment when the ajgO'iwsed captain made his • demonstration >of grief, the' Halsewell struck hard-o n the rocks. -A shriek ascend'o'd from 'the hold of the ship, ■where the passengers, huddled together, had for many a' dismal hour been expecting death. From taie cabins passengers and sailors' rushed on deck m the -dark wintry mornimg. The Halsewell, however, 'was beyond human 1 help.: She had struck on the iron-bound .po'ast»ibetween' Pevieril's Peak and St. Allan's Head, and was now pounding upon the. rocks' and being stove in.-- {•■ • .'■'■■'■■■■ Mate Meriton's courage' and .coolness were maintained to tTie last. ' He recomm-ended tlio,passengers\and ci r ew to remain* on the side nearest tits rocks, and seize the earliest opportunity of leaving the Vessel.- The ladies were clustered m the deckhouse, where the officers, forgetful ofi „, . ; THEIR OWN PERIL;, endeavored, to console them. Th/ose who liave sailed'-'along thfs •stretch of coast on a^unrmer's afternoon, with the sunlight striking .the tall, white cliffs, uii'til they glittered like snow, have 'been loud -in admiration of the, steep, toold shapes of 'the ■ cliffs-, and tttoe grotesque character of the rocks. Just now, though, these cliffs were- objects of unspeakable horror and 'dread to 'the shipwrecked peo~ Rlc-wfe made their/ 'aacpadntance m temipsst and wreck. . Wfoen Friday morning dawned they fo-uuVd ijh'eir ship spanning the . mouth of a^'de cavetn, whose Ecrpe'ii'dicuiar and slippery walls seemed to quencli tM.Ht-tjje •hope of rescue that ; had■bosii olverisliod. One -by bn^th'e pas-sengers-.and officers had crept to the roundhouse. . until the number had in■endased:to (fifty. -The. .floor 'vfias strewn with" musical instruments , furniture; and packages.. The captain mournfully pressed his daughters to his bosom. Three coolie women and two soldiers' wives had been admitted, and their lamentations added to tho MISERY OF THE SITUATION. This was the scene 'which presented itself to Meritoii on returning after doing his best to comfort the men, who crowded on deck. 7 At he busied himsolf m procuring lights .; then he calmly seated himself to carry into/ practice the ; s -advice he had given , to his " superior, .namelyA torwaitV; till morning"} . then, still tlioujrhtliii for others, he 'searched for . and .found, a ibasket : of to relieve the ladies. ' v v \y" : : Meanwhile the cre^'afeKl:: soldiers . were forsaking the" j^reek; { throwing themselves i'; up on theinici'cyjLo|^ the waves and unknown cn J c{ v officer's experienced oye '^swßireP^teoli^ ed a change hi the : p"o]^i^o.i# :The ,■ upheaval -pf the de%,' >&k|\ ythe swaying, of .thd tinuhers, Wid end. ' -.-wieis- .near, "\ Gome;; f6'fwa^'*y J 'v^c ■saw; that' thc\ship had brokex* ik two, and that \liere was no |.moi;e\ hope. There was not .a mo:bc/nt „tig ■ lose;; what could he done mjfei ;^<s done quickly. Espying^ spar,} coiiv- • niunicating'; as he; depnied j wiM the shore, he slid alofig ; it only i.o\ become aware that t|ie >f urther"/en.d\iiid not -touch the rock; He..?was raecipitated' into the surf, aird,, . after being buGeted to and :?ro . fdr several minutes, , was : dashed : ' Into the cavern, A small projection of ['. rock afforded him a momentary hold, a seaman, wjio had climbed to tlie ledge above assisting him to gain' a stand- . point above the reach of; the waves. How many, jniet their deaths 'by being beaten against the walls of the cavern no one can tell,, but that large numbers so suffered there was no- doubt. In the piercing;; blackness of the night, the bubbling; ! groan of many a comrade was'iheaid; by those who' had succeeded m climbing out of immediate danger. Sut now., their turn came. Men who had clung to a bit of a crag, and /hoped for succour, would gradually weaker and more benumibed until their fingers refused to . grasp,, and tfosy fell back into the seething water,; others would be mangled upon ■ the rocks, while the cries of those still attempting; to leave the ship: would reach the survivors, as if to 'prepare them FOR THEIR FATE. ■How pfteii it happens that ,'ttie thing for which people have craved disappoints them the keenest when it comes. These castaways had for three hours been fervently wishing for the - day, and behold daylight broke only to intensify their despair by revealing to them worse jiprrors. . ■ They were imprisoned m a huge cave, overhung -frith beetling crags. From tho lancll there was no' more hope, and no ; expectation from the sea. . "Nothing r in all the narratives ofi shipwrecks which have been written have more- arrested one's attention than the dogged tenacity? with. Which sailors hope on and strive on to the last. The natural instinct of self-preservation is implanted strongly within the fereast. of everyone, but the hardy mariner seems td cling faster and longer to life \'han any other class of men. In the case of the Halsewell, hemmed mon every- liahd with steep cliffs 200 ft high," and. confronted Vith asurging sea, all that remained was to die, 'But no. Th© men made desperate efforts to seal© the cliffs, and, notwithstanding the deaths of many who made the attempt, a few succeeded m reaching the top. The cook and a quarter-master, being the first to reach the top, aroused some iquarrymen living m the vicinity, and they, with their employer, one Garland, hurried down to save the remainder. , The coura'geV of the mate had not failed him, bruiseid ashe was by the fall from the spar., He continued to scale Ifche cliff, to within reaching distance of the edge, and with both hands he seized $ small ledge of stone upon which ■."■■ A SOLDIER STOOD TREMBLING, lest at any moment liisi slight foothold shoul'di give way and consign him to the melancholy fate of so many of his comrades. IVfrr-jton fed scarcely time to imagine Ihe had struck some luck, slight ' tlknigh it was, before a quarryman on the. top of the c^iff lowered a ro^e. toLthe sol-

dier. The man clutched at if so vigorously that he loosened the stone, and Meriton was already falling; when he saw another rope swinging near him,, arid leaping at it f/ was ihauled into safety,- saved by : the skin of his teeth. Captain Picrco anti the luckless young women .around 'him m the decfe'bouse ha I * . learned to look up at the miate with confidence, and his absence was soon -noted. The third' mate, Rogers,, answered itfoe captain's inquiries by saying that Meriton had gone on deck to see What could' be don©. The ladies, m the midst of the-ir own terrors> expressed to Rogers, when pre^ sently an unusually heavy sea broke over the wreck, their apprehensions of the chief officerer's fate. The captain, still, grieving al ! ©ut his girls, and HOPING AGAINST HOPE,, looked out of the stern windows to see if there was any possibility of escape/, From this point of view, not tfoel cavern m which Meriton had found shelter, but an: apparently endless and smooth surface of rock, could alone be seen.; .so the captain aod third officer agreed there- was no I hope, Captain Pierce sorrowfully returned to the 'deckhouse, sat between his: daughters, placed an arm round | each, and m this touching position father and children met their death, j The thi-rd officer, passenger Schutz, a midshipman named Majrms, and a passenger named) Brimer, resolved, at all costs, to ■.■hazard an.attempt to esoape from the ship. For-; this purpose they made their way . to the poop— not a moment too 500n ..;-. a. tremendous sea broke upon the-ship, anda;bove the thunder of its fall they iheard -the.-. . SHRIEKS OF THE LADIES m the deckiiouse— -shrielcs which became- fainter and fainter as the remorseless waves deprived one after another of life. A 'bJenpoiop instinctively seized by Rogers and • Brimer carried them to' a y , rpek; on which they vrere thrown f bi-eathl&ss and. bruised. The wealthy passenger, Sohutz, aoid the -'young .midshipman were never seen afterwards. Upon the rock where Rogers : and Brimer wore cast twenty-seven men* had already found refuges'- but it became apparent that as the tid-o flowed- they ' must be washed off, aaidamowm&nt was madef -in tins direction of the cavern, .'Of the whole -number, only 8 wore able to battle successfully .against thtTsea ; the remainder hems; drowned. Rogers and Brimer gained tire sides of the cavern and ; climbed; up to narrow, niches, as twenty'others had done before them. In this perilous position, they stood, not daring to'move, watohing the dying struggles of their friends,- arid listenr in^ to their cries. .Rogers caught of the chief mate on the rock nicar himself, and' the.' two hailed each other, just as ' ;A. DREADFUL -WAIL ' piercodV ti'SiSc-.^cars and hearts. . The sea 'hud at'^s't ■ gone over the Halsewi&ll", ■burying'her for all time m ils , depths. Several poor fellows- at the .mxjjnfen't of .'their rescue suecumtod to ;M|phaf^shipis '.:they./ha'd suSered, am-. ; ongst 'them ' B rimer, who had been married but iiiine days. In. the morning -he was discovered on; a tiiiy Lo3g«e of rock, and a rope was lowered to Mm, but as it was being idrawn up he let go, fell headlong, -and was yinstantaneously killed. There; were Wvcral oth&iv instances of this kind. \The ■cfuarryiu'en on 'the ciiil .worked li& Trojans" to succpur the ni?n,am.4 by Mi.i'ghtiaii. 'the' survivo.rs 'were' sateiy housed. iOne soldier, beiwe;, overlooked, maintained li is foothold till t'h'O following day. It was a ;.; BRUISED AND FE-EBLE conupany to w-hose ■w-ants Garlamd,' tJie master' : quarryman, ; administered, and' of the 240' persons' who. on that Nfcw Yiear's morn "so long ago : had sailed blithely;* ■throug-K the • historic Downs, 166' had perished.