DREADFUL SUFFERINGS AT SEA.

Otago Witness, Issue 399, 23 July 1859, Page 6

DREADFUL SUFFERINGS AT SEA.

The following painful statement, made by John Elliot, mate of the Dromahair, is taken from The Times of the 12th April :—

" The British barque Dromahair sailed from Quebec on the 30th Nov., 1808, for Greenock, Scotland, loaded with lumber and manned by 13 persons, including the captain and mate. She carried no passengers ; she was built in New Brunswick, and carried 850 tons. On the 18th of Dec. the vessel was in about 50 degrees and 30 minutes north latitude, and 30 degrees west longitude. The captain ordered sail to be taken in and the deck cleared. At 3 o'clock the ship was hovo to, but the winds rushed roaring on, tossing her like a feather on the foam. At 7 o'clock she shipped a sea, capsizing the long-boat and the life-boat, which was inside of it, forcing both from the Ice-rail into the sea. The long-boat was stove to pieces, and hiid to be broken up still more to save the life-boat. The ship had already begun to make water, and- all hands but three were put to the pumps. Thus the night passed, occasional showers of hail being driven furiously down upon the barque. Between these showers the moon occasionally pierced the tissue of fleecy clouds, and tipped" the crest foam of the raging billows with a wa\y, tremulous light. About 5 o'clock on the 19th of Dec, the little barque shipped another tremendous sea, which carried away the port bulwarks and stanchions, split the covering hoard, carried away the cook-house, tore the lii'e-boat from the deck, where it had been lashed, carried away the companion and the steerage-wheel. Mr.'Geo. M'lntosh, the pilot at the wheel, was struck by the mountain billow. The little boat hanging at the starboard davits was also swept away, with a large portion of the standing and running rigging, Nearly all the sails were now blown from the yards. YVhcn the wave struck, r.ll the men were at the pumps. They jumped for their lives, and when the water cleared off they found themselves jammed into corners about the deck. One man was hi^h up in the rigging. The waves swept as high as the maintop. The water ran into the cabin, stove the bulkheads, and flowing into the breadroom, destroyed nearly all the bread in it. They had only one barrel of bread left after this calamity; it happened to be stowed away in a spare locker. The cabin stairs carried away, and everything torn up that impeded the course of the maddened waves. Sea after sea swept over the labouring ship, the men seeking merely to cling to her, knowing that as she was loaded with lumber she could not go down. Whenever they could they worked at the pumps, trying to keep down the water as much as possible. All day Sunday the storm continued, but not quite po violently. About 8 o'clock on Sunday ni<>iit the pumps were utterly disabled by a sea. -Then the storm began to moderate, but the water gained on us. At 1 o'clock on Monday morning, there were 13 feet of water in the vessel. "Seeing there was no hope but in the pumps, we commenced to repair them, and as the wind had somewhat abated, we got them to work, and the ship free from water by noon of Mondny. We cleared away the wreck as much as possible, and tried to get some canvas on her, to steady her. We made a tiller, and got her so that we could work her pretty well; but at 8 o'clock on Monday night there arose a tremendous gale — a wind even more furious than we had heretofore had-— dashing the sea over the ship fore and aft. The storm was so violent we could not remain at the pumps. The wind continued to blow all night fearfully. At 6 o'clock on Tuesday morning the water was up over the cabin floor. We were all obliged to go into the cabin to save ourselves from being washed overboard, as the bulwarks had been torn away. But as sea after sea swept over us and filled the cabin, we were compelled to run from it and get into a small forecastle house on deck, built in with the rise of the keep, and about three feet above the deck. When the Dromahair was used as a passenger-ship this house was used as a eccond cabin. When we were forced to leave the cabin we got 30lb. or 40lb. of bread, put it into a bag, and took it along with us to the little duck-house. We had no water, and no other food, except some salt meat which we got afterwards. The storm continued, and we remained in the house a few days, then the bulkheads of it were knocked down and the water got free access to it, passing through it at every lurch of the vessel. The barque was now completely waterlogged, and would have sunk had she not been loaded with lumber. The storm struck us on the 18th of December, and we remained in this condition till the 9th of January. On the 22nd or 23rd of December a steamer passed within two or three miles of us ; she was standing to the southward, appeared to be propelled by a screw. She could see us, but made no sign whatever to us. We lived on half a biscuit a day. A barrel of salt beef and a barrel of salt pork were under the hatches, and after the storm somewhat abated we could get at them by watching our chances between the seas. This was all the food we had. We had no water except what we caught when it rained ; there were several little showers, one almost

every day ; we could just get a mouthful of water, not enough to at all satisfy our burning thirst. We got it by putting our mouths to the masts and licking off the water as it trickled down them. Our sufferings were most intense. The salt meat eaten raw created a fever and inflammation in the bowels, causing a burning thirst. About the 25th of December one of the men, John M'lnnes, began to show symptoms of insanity ; he had drunk salt water, and its effects could be seen upon him. He died on the 31st of December, and was buried or thrown overboard on the Ist of January. Henry Frost had become deranged previous to the death of M'lnnes, and on the 2nd of January he jumped overboard, not knowing what he was doing ; though in the sea he at first clung to the side of the ship; two men laid hold of his hands to haul him in, but he finally broke from them, and was drowned. On Tuesda} r , the 3rd of January, the boy, James M'Grail (aged about 17), was washed into the cabin and drowned there. The rest of us lived on as best we could ; the biscuit gave out on the 3rd of January, and after that we had nothing to eat but raw salt meat. On Saturday, the Bth of January, John Murray and Samuel Cochran died, after ho ving been crazy for some time. We buried them on Sunday morning, the 9th, just before being taken off the wreck. To satisfy our thirst we tore up the deck to get at a cask of fresh water which had been left there, but great was our disappointment when, after two days' labour in getting to it, we found it with the bung out, and rilled with salt water. We saw no vessel except the steamship before alluded to, and a craft of some kind that passed near us during a dark night— she could not see us, we only saw her lights— until Sunday morning, the 9th of January, about noon, the ship Centurion, Captain Caulkins, from Glasgow for New York, came alongside and picked us up. It was blowing hard, as it had been all the time of our wreck, and a high sea was running. The mate of the Centurion, with a crew, came alongside in a boat, removed us into it, and carried on board the ship. This was no easy task, as most of us were unable to stand, and had to be raised into the vessel, while a heavy sea was running. Captain John Hutchison, the narrator (mate, John Elliott), and Hector M'Naughton were the only members of the crew who could stand when rescued by the Centurion. The other men saved were — William Henderson, Hector Munro, Dugald Campbell, and James Henderson, making seven saved and six lost. Our wants were all supplied by the kind officers and crew of the Centurion. Everything that could be done for us was done. We lacked nothing the ship could afford. Our abiding gratitude is due to the honourable captain of the Centurion. On the 24th of February, the Boston vessel Magellan, bound to Swansea, South Wales, passed us, and five of our crew having recovered their health during the 45 days they remained on board the Centurion, were put on board of her. I and Hector M'Naughton remained on board the Centurion, and arrived in New York with her on the 23rd inst. We have put ourselves under the charge of the British Consul at this port.' These two men appear in pretty good health, but their feet are still covered with sea sores. Mrs. Captain Caulkins fortunately accompanied her husband this voyage, and the rescued speak in terms of the highest praise of her geutle and unremitting exertions for their benefit.