TRAGEDIES OF THE SEA.

NZ Truth, Issue 160, 11 July 1908, Page 7

TRAGEDIES OF THE SEA.

TRANSPORT ARCHDUKE CHARLES.

Fogbound and Badly Handled.

Ends Her Career m the Dark.

Lite have strawod our test to the W«ed s ' • unrest, , To th« shark *nd sheering guif .' U blood be the price of Admiralty, Lord' God, tre ha 1 paid m full. — Rudyard lUpling.

,T?he Archduke Charles, transport. Captain Brown, left Quebec on May 69, 1816; bound for Halifax, with the right wing- of the Royal Nova Scotia Militia Regiment, under Colonel Darling. There were on board, m addition to the crew, 11 officers, over 800 rank and file, and 48 women and children. ■ 1 On the' tenth day the Archduke was clear of the St. Lawrence, and her course had been set for Halifax, when at about 7in the evening she was gradually begirt by the black ring, Iwhich showed she was within the prasp of the fogbank. There was no means of. escape, .and so, as -she was In the' track of the homeward-bound ' West India ships, she was put under easy sail, and precautions were token against , collision. ■ Look-outs were /stationed fore and aft, and ;t>he drummers were ordered on deck to keep itheir drums going' as a caution to all ithat passed- As the v , ' DARKNESS GREW DEEPER, Hen of the soldiers, under Captain trlennie.'were told off to look-out ait 'and on the forecastle were stationed ton other soldiers m command of 'Lieu tenant Charles Stewart, w/ho was m charge of the grenadier company. fChe sea was running . high, but .wind thereswas little, and the vessel worked 'heavily on the heaving surge. The for was at times so thick that it was Stnpossible to see f f oin one end of the deck to the other. Picture to Yourself the sturdy .'transport. With everything taut and trim, with her *tail spars running out of sight, the tfcanvas at times flapping heavily on ihe invisible yards, the watch on the Jook-out, the soldiers also fore and 'aft peering forth into the night, and at every writhe and plunge the sullen fcrreak and scroop of the sorely-tried timbers rising for a moment above the incessant roll of the drums. Eigh£ o'clock passed and there was no change ; the fog was as thick as lever, and the drums rolled on. Nine 'o'clock came, still there was no change. Just, ten o'clock the fog lifted a little /from the water; and ihen dead ahead Stewart saw al ight. CURTAIN OF FOG ,' dropped almost instantly and shut it 'put as Stewart made his way ait to ! 'report to , the . pilot on the poop . To Ihs astonishment he found the pilot <jdrinMn°- the Colonel's health, and his reception was anything but cordial. /'A light !. Impossible !" lauehed -the pilot, "Go back to your dui&v.

sir I" growled/the colonel, and to the forecastle he went. He had not been there lone: before another lift of ithe foe? Rave another glimpse of the light. Again he returned aft to report and again. 1 he was received with angry incredulity, and ordered to go forward and remain there. At halfpast 11 a dark object-probably a fishing-tooat— shot across the bows of. the ship, and over the roll of the drums was heard a shout, "Take care of the rocks I" Stewart stopped the drum to listen, but there was no sound of anything further, no sound of breakers; the fog had thickened acain. and all was; still. The drums resumed their monotonous roll, -and I Stewart for an instant went below. [ Suddenly there was ' A TERRIFIC CRASH, the ship jerked and reeled" and crashedagain): and began, to sink— bilged } on the rocks; ; ; ; .'./ The confusion on board was heartrending. Of the captain nothing was seen 1 or heard ; the women and children ran 'about m the darkness as if distraught. The sailors .rushed to the spirit-room ; discipline was at an end; the ' officers lost all control of the troops ; and the colonel disappeared up' the rigging. His, wife, whom he had left to shift for, herself, found Stewart standing quietly on deck, and, clinging to his knees, begged him to save her. < Nothing, however, could then be done, and, wi^bhthe ship slowly settling down, her shrouds crowded with: men, as thick as bees, the hours passed until about 5 m the morning', the light grew sui?? ficienrt; for those on board to make out their thereabouts. They had run dead on to the Jfeddpre RocJrs. a mile and a half from the Shore, near Green Island, 42 miles east from Halifax N ; ,\: -„.-. ■ . ■■ ■ - '*'■• ■'.■;'•'.•'■'• • ; 'Fifty. yards away from them there was a rock standing above water, to which, if a line were led, they might make their way. Who would swlmV; THROUGH THE BOILING SURGE? For "the wind had ' risen, and the waves were beating furiously round the ship. On board was ■" an old Trafalgar man," brave as a lion. Would he not date the journey ?. Alas; ime "oM Trafalgar man" was found hopelessly drunk, prostrate, and unconscidus. Who then, would take the rop.e ?" The sailors hung back, and 1 Stewart, urged; by ■fche.men, volunteered. ' ' * Fastening a half-inch line round his waist," he dropped- overboard from the forepbains. He. was sucked under the ship 1 , and only great effort ,' 'beine a powerful swimmer, did he at • last make way towards the rocks. He reached it. but the seaweed kent

him from landing, and when he pulled | himself hand over hand on to "Ohe j summit he could find no crag or knob to which to fasten his rope. As he crawled across m search of footing or holding, tKb seaweed gave way ami he slipped into the sea. So roueh were the waves on this, the other side of the rock, that he was half an hour before he could forge far enough through them to reach his old start-ing-place. And then, almost exhausted, he scrambled up, <and crawling along the side • found fixing 1 for his rope, i As he appeared on the top of the rock, his comrades, who had been PAYING OUT THE ROPEand had given ' him up ? for lost, caught sight of him. He motioned to them to send a tackle ,to him by the line ; and then a boatload of women and children were started from 'the ship. From where Stewart crouched he could see another and larger rock, to wbieh the road was fairly smooth, and thither the boat,, • following his signs, was taken. The tackle, However, came to bis rock, and by means. of it, m a sort of breeches-buoy, the men were brought off the ship. One of the captains left his wife and child behind Mm. In vain the poor woman shrieked for her huslband. not to leave her. He was brought of? by the tackle to be greeted by Stewart /with, '-'Ah, my good fellow, you will never -be. turned-, to a pillar of salt for looking behind you !" .-• ';.: _' . -.•./; ' ;. „>■'" ' . •;;•;■• ".. .■:-.■■ •■.'; "•' 'The women, and children, the; shift's captain, and the boat's crew were on the ' larger rock m comparative; safety^ the two hundred troops were on the smaller . rock only a tew feet above the waves. -Stewart had FAINTED FROM EXHAUSTION. A boat from the ship was worked along the line, and" into it the colonel and some officers proposed to get so that they m%hi clear off. The meit would not allow them to enter the boat, and there was .a noisy mutiny. The officers were menaced, and it was bnly through,, Stewart.. coming back to consciousness and remonstrating with the men, that the' disturbance was quelled. The colonel and the officers and the pilot were allowed to go. and Stewart" ' ,renva:in»d "on the rock m com-ma-nd of 208 men-: * ■ . : . * -■■ X * • '■■ '. ■ So(sn afterwards . the Ship went to pieces entirely, and tlie sea was crowded with ht?r timbers aM . carisro. As Stewart and his men watched the wreckage boating- past it' occurred to them .that the tide was, risinfr. The seaweed had been torn away from the top , of the rock so as to' afford room for the men 1 . Amongst its masses were a few loose stones. T,wo of these Stewart took up and pit.at ztlve water level: In : a few liiiau;tes they were covered by ''the waves. A- ' gain were two 'stpnes taken. and placed just above the wafcer level,, and/ agjain mfa fey minutesj they were covered. The tide was raping ! Afeothbr stone was taken and put above the water level, but; the waves never reached it- Fortunately . THE TIDE HAD TURNED. Oh the rock; was no water; and the men had had no* .food for hours. Stewart saw a cask approach-ing oorne on the waves straight to th-e rock. Thinking it contai-ncd rum, and knowing the frightful consequiences of its getting into the clutches' of has mep.', he ordered a sergeant to stand by with a /heavy 'stone! to smash m its. head. as it. camie ashore. 'On came the, cask, on the crest of a mig-hty wave. The- sergeant threw and ni-issed ; 'the' cask was hurled right 'into the middle of the excited crowd; and r before, a band could be lifted to 'save it, was broken, into and found i to contain—^water .t . ■ The men drank, ' freely and thankfully ; all thou'C^it of mutiny was at an end. and henceforth every, order and suggestion met with prompt and cheerful attention:- --• '•■ ••■'■'■.■" • : ■ ■ » But the miKi were tired out, and day was closing m. Th« rain came down in ' torrents, and a cold northeaster blew. To get the needed rest the seaweed was further cleared away and the men. lay side by side on the bare rock with; others lyin« on them so -as to keep them warm-. Others again lay on them, and 1 THUS DID MANY SLEEP, gaining warmth from each other. Many, but , not all. Just before might fell a speakmg-truin>pei came floating past, v and was . secured aby one of the sergeants. A few minutes afterwards "another sergeant saw something shining m a crevice, and picked it out. It was, a find of illom'en—a button of the 69th Regiment ! Twenty, years! before there has been a terrible; wreck on these very rocks, m which many of the 6*th were drowned, anid here was the j only trice that had "ever been found of them ! The sergeant knew the story.. EDe picked' up the button m; silence, and passed it stealthily to ' SteWart, who said not ,a word, and hid it m his pocket. And then' ndght : closed m, and the fog settled down again, and on the rock lay the pyramid, of sleeping men, with only two of them awake- and watohing-r one of them the sergeant who had found the button, the other the grenadier , lieutenant ' who had re- : fused to abandon his command. Meanwhile the sailors aurd officers had got safely away from the otiher island to the s-hore, and leisurely proceeded m searoh of help. After some time they bargained with a few of the fishing craft they found at Jeddore to fo out to the rescue. The women* and were - all taken off their" island, and then the rescuers started to fin-d Stewart and bis, men. ■•' ■ .'■■ "* ■-•*'{ :* ' ; About 11 o'clock a lighit was seen from the rqek. ' LOOKING RED THROUGH THE FOG. The light approached dangerously near, and Stewart, taking tie speak-ing-trumpet, shouted forth a warning. A small 'boat was launched, and, m reply to . Stewart's inquiry through the- trumpet of how many they could take, there came bade the shout, "Eleven." Stewart awoke his men, and formed them, as m military order. Then he numbered them* oU from the left, and every 11 he separated. Wlhen the boat emerged from the darkness and rowed x t 6 the rock, the first 11 stepped into her, and away they were taken, to the schooner whose light shone through the gloom. Again and again the boat worked backwards and forwards, 19 times' m all, and at every iourney 11 men were taken into safety ; the last man to leave the rock, the 11th of the last 11, 'was the lieutenant. And thus, with the exception of 10 who were lost when the ship (was

left, all who had started ■' from Quebec were saved ; for all were taken to Halifax without delay. And bow were the chief actors ' m this stirring- drama dealt with? The colonel who LEFT HIS WIFE TO PERISH and vanished u,p the rigsrns;, and who deserted his men to take refuge with the women, was promoted, became Major-G-eneral Darling, etc.. G-overnor. of Tobago, etc. He had "influence." Lieutenant Stewart was threatened with court-martial for having left the. wreck without orders from his commanding, officer, who had disappeared' (up the mizzen shrouds into the 'fog ; he had to m/ake good Ms company's pay, which went down with tbe rlireasure-chests m the Archduke Oharles ; an-d/ although recommended for his step by tbe G-oyernor-G-eneral of Canada, for distinguished service on the lakes, 1 was passed over again and ag.ain, j and 14 years after the wreck was ; graciously promoted to be "Captain Unattached," m .which rank h^ died. He had*"no influence."