THE DUNDONALD WRECKED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2803, 4 December 1907, Page 33

THE DUNDONALD WRECKED.

ASHORE ON DISAPPOINTMENT ISLAND. TWELVE LIVES LOST. RESCUE OF THE SURVIVORS. TIMELY ARRIVAL OF THE HINEMOA. / Fnox Our Own Cobbesfondest.)

INVERCARGILL, December L j The Government steamer Hinemoa, which returned to the Bluff from the Auckland Islands yestexdajK with a party of scientific explorers, brought with her 16 castaway seamen, the survivors of the crew j of the barque Dundonald, which was ) wrecked on Disappointment Island, seven ' miles from the mainland of the Auckland Islands, on March 7, with the loss of the captain and 10 members of the crew. Of those who escaped, the first mate subsequently died of exposure, and the survivors eventually made their way, after ; months of privation, to the largest island of the group, where there are stores of food and clothing. They were found by the Hinemoa on her down trip, and on her return she brought them to the Bluff. THE DEATH ROLL. Those who lost their lives were: — Captain Thorburn, of Castle Douglas,' Scotland, aged 57. James Thorburn, aged 16 yeare,*son of the captain. William Smith, of Fahnouth, steward, aged 52. He leaves a wife and family. John Lee, of Arklow, Ireland, carpenter, aged 26, a single man. Thomas Crawford, of Sunderland, eailmaker, aged 63, single. John Anderson, Swede, 45, A.B Harry Largilboni, Finn, 59, A.B. He leaves a wife and family. William Haldesen, Norwegian, 23, single, A.B. Manuel Navarette, Chilian, 26, A.B. John Cromariy, Leith, Scotland, 16, A.B. John Low, Bristol, 47, single, A.B. James .Watson, St. Helena, 56, A.B. fie leaves a wife and family. -' THE SURVIVORS. < The rescued men are r — J. M'Lachlan, of Old Kilpatrick, second mate. \ K. Knudson, of Olsen, Norway, third mate. Alf. Finlow, Manchester, A.B. • H. Walters, Norway, A.B. XT. Judge^West Ireland, A.B. v R. Ellis, Port Adelaide, A.B. S. Marino, Chili, A.B. • M. Poole, Russia, A.B. John Putto, Russia, A^B. J. Stewart, Auckland, A.B. # . J. Gxattan, Arklaw, Ireland, A.B* J. Ivemy, Southampton, A.B. A. Roberts,. Cardiff, A.B. H. Querfeklt, Hamburg, A.B. €T. Eyre, London, A.B. HOW THE WRECK OCCURRED. For the following particulars I am for the most part indebted to Mr Knudson, the third mate of the lost vessel: — " The barque Dundenald, owned by Mesere Kerr and Newton, of Glasgow, and insured at Lloyd's, left Sydney under Captain Thorbnrn on February -17 last, bound for Falmoutb, England, with a cargo of wheat. About a fortnight out 'she encountered thick weather, which did not lift, and the captain, being unable to see the eun, had to go by dead reckoning. On March. 6 he made out that by midnight he would be about 40 miles northwest of the Auckland Islands, but his reckoning was out, for about 1 a.m. on the 7th THE VESSEL WENT ASHORE j on the north-west \of Disappointment Island, about seven miles off the mainland. The vessel struck against a rocky coast, and soon, began to lurch !-".ards_«id settle, the forward part of the ship goioff lowest. Heavy seas dashed over "^e ship, and the crew were separated, .Strfc most of them followed the captain aft, and ac the vessel continued to eink the survivors betook, themselves to the ri'sg LagWhen morning broke it m fcund "that the CAPTAIN AND TEN HANDS had disappeared, but alter » while three were found to have climbes to the top o£ ' the mast and thenc» a^bore* while two others had made their Tray to a ledge of rock, from which they were eventually rescued. The 11 men. an the royal yard managed to throw a Una- to the three on the top of the cliff, and some of the tunning gear was m%de fast to the shore and all got across the intervening 30ft safely. The line was then lowered to the men below, *n4 they wer-3 hauled up. During the first day some rope and sail cloth were got ffcom the v/reck, but an attempt to seeing tma of the yards to make a raft faileS through the breaking of a rope. The jparty found FOOD JDF A SORT in the shape of m^Qyha^rks, wKich at first were eaten^raw, but tK© water was co bad that as soon as ihe weather cleared sufficiently- a party set out to explore the island. Good Water was found on the eastern fiida of. toa island, and. the whole

I party, .with the exception of the first mate, shifted there.' The first mate was so badly affected by sleeping in his wet clothes that- lie became PARALYSED FROM THE WAIST ! DOWN, | and it was thought inadvisable to shift him. Before the shift was. made it was discovered that one of the sailors had' 11 wax -vestas and another a box half full of wooden matches, and^tha party was now able to 'dine on cooked mollyhawk and seal meat. > A portion for the mate ; and seme- good water in an'oikkin coat wa* carried* over each day. No ' o DEATH OF-'THE MATE. The mate continued to sink, and on the twelfth day after the wreck he died, and was buried in the sand and covered with | sods, a splinter from a- spar serving as a shovel. # • The party had now got their bearings, and understanding that depots exited on the mainland^ the opposite coast,, six miles and a-half away, /was carefully scanned, and though most of it was rugged, a little beach was noted and the hope cherished that come means might be found for reaching it. The matches were carefully husbanded, but they gave out at last, and for four months and a-half the fire was kept burning. A WATCH FOR PASSING VESSELS was kept, but only once was ona sighted. It was towards dusk, and a huge fire, which should have attracted attention, was kept up all night, but in the morning the 6hip had disappeared. Meanwhile the men were LIVING IN HOLLOWS ! in the sands, covered over with tussocks. After the party had been on Disappointment Island for four months and a-half some wood was discovered, and it was determined to endeavour to construct' a boat of this, and the available canvas. Most of the canvas had been used for clothes. Caps and boots- of' a sort had been made of the akin of the hair seal, but the clothers- were unripped and used in the construction of the boat and afterwards resown. The boat completed, they had to wait a long time for a calm sea. The first party, consisting of throe men, could not find any' depot, and returned to Disappointment Islandi About two months later another, attempt was made. ' The party gob over, but their boat was smashed, and- the carefully-guarded' fire, which they carried across jn a sod, was lost. They were so fortunate, however, as to , FIND THE DEPOT and a good boat. They had arranged to return next day to Disappointment Island for their mates, but the weather was co bad that the attempt could not be made till nearly a. week later, when they rowed and sailed round the island,, 30 milca, to Disappointment Island. The TRANSPORTATION OF THE PARTY took place on October 15, two trips being made. When all had arrived at the depot the second mate served out the clothes-. Th^ro wa» not much to eat at the depot, but there wa» a gun an£ amrau- ; nition. and as- there were plenty of cattle on EwJerby ' and Rose Islands, which could be easily, reached in the depot boat, the castaways tbenosiorth fared well, and when the Hfaemoa found them five weeks later — early xk the morning of November 16— they ha* PBETTY WELL RECOVERED from the effects of their privations. They .jjffe're not yet, however, able to escape from these desolate islands, for the Hin«moa had to leave for the Campbell Ishtnds and the Antipodes, promising to- return in a fortnight. She returned in 10 days, however, and the BODY OF THE FIRST MATE was brought from Disappointment Island and buried near the depot, about 70 persons being present at the funeral. The captain of the Hinemoa read the burial service. After placing stores in the depot the Hinemoa left on Friday week, and arrived yesterday as etated. , Their arrival and the story of their adventures and sufferings aroused great interest in - the Bluff, and also in Invervargill, hundreds of townspeople going to the. port by this afternoon's train to hear the story for themselves and to see the rude boat to which the castaways trusted their lives in getting from Disappointment to Auckland Island. The FRAMEWORK OF THE BOAT consists of branches of trees tied together with rope ends, and looks like a".dilapidated open wicker orate- distorted into an oblong. On Saturday night steps were taken to raise some iqoaeg for the uofor-

tunate men, and to-day the Bluff Band gave in open-air concert on the wharf in their aid,- and a fair sum was raised. At present the men are lodged at Whealler's Hotel, and are fairly well clad, the stores at the Auckland Islands depot hay- j ing- been levied on. , It is also expected that something will be done for them by the Shipwreck Relief Society. ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS. T?rom Oub Special CoßiaspoinMNT.) BLUJfV, November 30. From all accounts this appears to have been one of the most remarkable of the many wrecks that have taken place on the rock-bound coasts of the INHOSPITABLE AUCKLAND ISLANDS. Much heroism was displayed by the men ia assisting- each other to land, and a great deal of resourcefulness and energy was afterwards shown by them in maintaining life on an inclement little island, and afterwards in finding their way to the pro-, vision depot at Auckland Island. The PATHETIC DEATHS of the captain, his sori^ and the mate are especially to be lamented, but many* will doubtless rejoice at the good news that half of the crew of a ship that has long been posted at Lloyds as missing are alive and well after living for eight months in one of the most ' miserable climates in- the temperate zone. The following brief account of the chief incidents of the wreck , and the subsequent manner of life of the , survivors was obtained from Charles Ey^e, an able seaman, aged 21. The ship was about. 17 days out from Sydney, and the captain, supposed that he was some 40 miles to. the windward of the Auckland Islands. However, he had obtained . . NO SIGHT OF THE SUN that day owing to the dirty wea*her r and j the compass had been showing marked irregularities. These facts may account to some extent for the mistake in his reckoning. At any rate, ~£jst after midnight a rocky point of land was dimly seen in fflont of the vessel. An endeavour was made to beat off from, the shore, but this failed, and it ma followed by an unsuccessful attempt to wear ship. lno unfortunate vessel then STRUCK STERN FIRST, . and immediately afterward was forced ; broadside on to the rocks with the masts j canted towards the shore. At the moment J of striking she was carrying her main- j sails and maintop sails. It was evident from the first that the position was Eerious, and,' indeed, affairs were v much more critical than were imagined. Yet the mate lighted hie pipe and said tnat he would have a smoke, even if it were his last. Preparations were immediately made for LAUNCHING THE BOATS, but it wasr soon seen that these would be useless. The men then threw off their sea boots and outer clothing, remaining clad .only in their dungaree trousers and shirts. The mate ordered everyone forward under the forecastle head in case the spars and masts, should- come down and some of them be killed.' They .scarcely been there for two- minutes when, the WAVES- BROKE IN and drove them out to the foreeaetle head. Soon, however, waves again broke over them. Eyre was twice washed off and ' swirled round in Hie sea, but on the first occasion he regained hold of the bulwarks and on the second seized a rope, by means of which he managed to climb to the fore- . top-gallant yard. Whilst going up he heard some one coming up behind him, and this turned out to be an able seaman . called John Judge. These two olimbed to the shore end of the yard, thinking it rested against the cliffs, but they found, to their horror, between it and them a gap of soms~l6ft or 17ft. At this time they thought they were the only two of the crew st'll living, and that .air the others had been washed off the vesse^ and drowned. Xhey themselves were in- such A TERRIBLE PLIGHT that they must have abandoned all hope of life. However, when morning broke they found out that there were nine other* on the mast below them, amongst these , being, the mate. Shortly afterwards cries j reached them from the cliff, and these, it appeared, came from three men who had climbed up the jigger when the stern sank, and, finding the mast resting on the cliff, had managed to reach the shore by this means. The first who had attempted , tjiis perilous T»»y -to safety bad j ! FALLEN FROM THE MAST * ! ■ and^ had been killed or drowned. A rope i * was* then thrown from the mast to those [ ashore, and by means of this , all who I j were upon the spars were able to reach } the cliff. It was then discovered that . the captain and his son, a boy of 16, were * amongst those who had perished. With i come difficulty the cliff was ascended, but ( not before two men were found perched a on a ledge of it unable either to get up ] or down. Above them was an overhang- f ing reef of rock, and over this a rope was £ lowered to them, 'and by its means they ] were dragged to the top, though their c hands and limbs were- much lacerated .in the process. Sixteen men ill clad and without food or shelter reached the shore J in safety, though much exhausted. The mate told them that there was a food c depot close at hand, and as they regained f their strength during the next <Jay or two j a thorough ; . SEARCH OF THEIR ISLAND g was made. The island is little more d than a mile and a-half wide and perhaps 1 1<

* couple of miles long, but Disappointment Island was again truo to name, anc no depot wss found upon it. After thit the mate, who m» an elderly man and no< very strong; seemed to GIVE UP HOPE, and became weaker and weaker, and h spite of all that, could be done for him, after 12. days he died. When it wai found that there was no store of provisions on the island it was seen that an attempt would have to be made to live upon penguins, albatross eggs, seals, and such other food as the island itself might provide. Meanwhile some of the crew bail climbed* back to the masts, and removed several sails and brought them to land. Already the HULL WAS COMPLETELY COVERED with water and quite inaccessible- These sails were later to prove their salvation. At first they were used for bedding. Th« masts disappeared after 12 days, and the sails were the only things of any valu* obtained from the chip. No wreckage came ashore, -as the beat must have sunk in comparatively deep water. For a day or two the members .of the crew were in too exhausted a condition to do much for their own comfort. Then they got a fire, and after a time they dug themselves shelters in th« ground with, their hands, and roofed them over with sticks. They LIVED CHIEFLY ON MOLLYHAWKS and other birds and upon scale. In order to avoid the ill effects of a diet consisting 1 .exclusively of meat, they cooked the tuberous root of » large- herbaceous plant abounding on t6e islands (This is the Stillocrapa poturia 'of the botanist, and very similar to the Ponmof Stewart Island.) When they- had killed some seals, sealskins were uaecf for bedding and in part for clothes, fart* of the sail also were now converted into* tuoueers. Having thus provided, a* far as possible, for their immediate! wants, the shipwrecked crew now turned its attention to obtaining means of ' leaving' the island, With this end in view CANVAS BOATS WERE MADE. The framework was constructed with" branches- of trees of suitable shape. They, were afraid to use their knives in the shaping of theae, as the wood was hard and should their knives be broken they, would lose- the meat valuable tools the;, possessed. The framework of the canoes was covered in with, canvas, and in these frail boats it was. proposed to cross the four or five miles of stormy eea that separated- them from the mainland. Ther« was another difficulty to -be considered^ Those who reached the* mainland must hay« the- means of making a fire for them* selves, as without this, they would probably, perish from cold unless they found the depot immediately. Now, et the time of the shipwreck they had brought ashora in their pockets about two boxes and a-half of matches. These had been most carefully economised, and four or. five fires had generally been kept alight in order to guard against possible loss or accident to the remaining matches. Now, however,* in spite- of Jill care^ the number^-of matches was reduced to six. Tbtee were given to the craw of the first boat which was to attempt to cross. They waited long for a fine day, which came at last — on July 31, — and the boat succeeded in ita PERILOUS ENDEAVOUR to reach the mainland. The men In her climbed the first range of hills and, seeing only range after range beyond*, thesa covered with impenetrable forest and enveloped in xniet and rain, they became discouraged, and after nine days returned to Disappointment Island. However, HOPE WAS NOT ABANDONED of reaching the depot. The original boaf was now -too leaky and strained to accomplish- the passage again in safety, so in September another boat was made. The • courage and ingenuity involved in the making of these boats, was most remarkable, for the sticks, used in the framework had often in part t<v be- shaped by fire in order to save the knives, and tome o{ the canvas trousers had to be unmad< in order to provide a covering for th« woodwork. The needles wed in 6titching the- pieces together were wrought out ol birds' bones* and thread was obtained by unravelling the clot* iteelf. - THE SECOND BOAT was ready in September, but was smashed to pieces before it' could be used. Undaunted by this misfortune, however, th( orew set to work again and built A THIRD BOAT. In It four men managed to row to th< mainland! A breeze sprang up while th«> were crossing, and the boat was upset at the landing place. One of the men, Harry Walters, on this occasion bad a narrow escape from being drowned, and onlj saved himself by clinging to some seaweed. It had been agreed that on landing the four men should kindle a fire in order' to acquaint the- remainder on Disappointment [aland of their safe arrival. With this snd in view THE LAST TWO MATCHES lad been entrusted to their care, and they ia<l been given a sod with smouldering ;m!bers upon it. Eyre made a dive at the ;od as the boat upset, but failed to secure t. The two matches were wet. For hree days they stayed where they landed rying to dry the matches in the passing ;leams of wintry sunshine. On the third lay they endeavoured to strike them, and o their exceeding disappointment failed.

Afterwards they learni that those on Die- T appointment Island CONSIDERED THEM DROWNED. On the fourth morning they started early, and walked round the north end of the island in hopes of finding the depot, which they knew to exist somewhere in the neighbourhood. They had, been living on raw seals' meat for several days, and were in a miserable plight. Towards evening they came across a sign post: "TO THE DEPOT, Four miles." At this their joy knew no bounds. They rushed through creeks and streams and scrub in the direction indicated, but only succeeded, in getting bushed, and night had fallen before they reached their goal. Their one aim now was to rescue their companions on Disappointment Island. There is a boat at the depot, hut it would be a long row of from 20 to 30 miles from there to Disappointment Island, with the probability of encountering heavy adverse winds on the journey. So next morning, having reclad themselves ~ with clothes from the depot without waste of time, they began once more to unmake the canvas trousers which they had with them and restore Asm to their original form of a 6ail. By means of this they hoped the more readily to reach their companions. The making of the sail took a day, and on the following morning they