ENGLISH MAIL NEWS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 831, 10 July 1879, Page 2

ENGLISH MAIL NEWS.

SATED FROM THE SEA,

SAVED AFTER PASSING TWENTYTWO DAYS ON A WRECK. On Friday, the 21st of April, the ship Otago sighted a wreck about 500 miles north-west of San Francisco, which on closer inspection proved to be the schooner Ellen J. McKinnon. She cleared from San Francisco on the 20th March last, with a captain and a crew of ten men. When but a few days out she was caught m a fearful storm and capsized. Some of the men were drowned at once ; others clung to the rigging until they could make themselves more comfortable, but eventually succumbed to the hardships to which they were exposed, all except one man, Victorino Lopes, who was rescued by the ship Otago, after being exposed for twenty-two days on the wreck. The story is heart-rending, and on reading it, it is felt that Lopes' escape was due greatly to his excellent judgment and heroic determination. THE SURVIVOR'S STORY. Lopes tells the thrilling event m his own simple way. He says : "We sailed away from San Francisco on the 24th of March. On the morning of the sixth day I was at the wheel from two to four o'clock. The captain, whose name. I never learned, came along and ordered the first mate, O'Brien, to reef the sails, to heave to, and keep her head well off. This was done, and then the mate took the wheel from me and lashed it, and told me to stand by. At about ten minutes to three o'clock I was still standing at my post, with the wheel lashed, when the vessel, a fiatbottomed one, sheered, and before she could right again, she was struck by a wave aft and kneeled right over. At that time O'Brien, the mate, George and Johnny, of the port watch (I don't know them by any other names), the one I belonged to, were on the deck. They clung to the rigging. I hung to the wheel, and noticed that the forward scuttle had floated away, and I knew that the water must have run into the "forecastle," and prevented the men who were sleeping there from making their escape. The captain clambered to the side of the vessel, and hung there. THE CAPTAIN" SWEPT OFF. The sea was running very high at the time> and one wave, which seemed to be much higher than I had seen before, caught the captain and carried him away. "When light dawned, and 1 could see about me, I took my sheathknife, and, after running along [the side ofthevasael, cut away the main and forward rigging the braces. In a short time the mainmast snapped off and fell into the «ea, and some time after the forward mast also went by the board. I made my way to the cabin, and found a keg of whiskey and a box of fruit, and also a bag of potatoes. These I secured, and lashed them to the forward part of the wreck. We then took the mainjib and made a sort of tent of it, and five of us got under the cover — the first and second mate, and two sailors, be- , sides myself. As the day wore on the wind moderated, and we floated . with the tide. The provisions which I had secured I took charge of, and dealt but sparingly- We kept watch and watch m the hope of seeing a sail. At the end of the third day the second mate died. I had managed to secure a small cask of syrup, which I gave to the men, mixed with the liquor. THE PROVISIONS LOST. On awaking I found that the men had gone to the liquor and provisions that we had, and unlashed them and let them fall" overboard, thus leaving us without anything to eat. With a pole I managed to get to the hold and draw up another sack of potatoes. We ate them raw, and subsisted on them alone to the ninth day after the wreck. On this day I could see the bodies of the dead men m the " forecassel" right under us, My companions were becoming weary, and I knew that unless I got some food for them that they would not long survive ; so I had to do the best I could. I fished m the "forecassel" for some cans of fruit and meat I knew to be there. I got. a piece of iron and made a hook and lashed it to the end of a pole and commenced fishing. I got hold of something and l hauled it up, and found it was the body of one of the water watch. I put the hook down again and hauled up a sack of potatoes, and after that I brought up. a box of butter. From this I cannot give an account of the days, as I could not keep any track of them. Fresh water wehad none, and were forced to drink salt water. We came m sight of a large number of birds and sea galls, which were swimming by, and with a piece of wood, which I hurled at them, I killed one. It floated towards the wreck, and I took it \ip and greedily sucked the blood, and then tore the flesh m pieces and gave each of my companions a small piece. I then made a hook and bated it with some of the flesh, and with that managed . to catch some fish, which I ate eagerly. A PRAYER KOR WATER. One of the men, George, was becoming very faint, and I saw he was going to die. I asked him if he thought he

was going to God, and he said " Yes." 1 then said : " George, when you get to where God is, tell him to send us some j water." He told me that 113 would and i then begged of me to throw him overboard as soon as he died. He became insensible, and m a short time he died. I let his body remain under the cover one whole day, and then put it m the sea. I believe that he kept his promise, for soon after he died a squall came on and the rain fell m toiTents. I held out my sou'wester until it was full and treasured the water. The other fmen lapped the water from the sides of the vessel just as dogs do. The first man had become crazy from the effects of drinking salt water, and ho died soon after George. That left me and Johnny on the wreck, Johnny was getting very weak, and I thought I would make one more effort and see if I could get some preserves m order to sustain his Iffe. With a piece of iron I cut away a hole m the deck and fished where I knew pre-t serves had been stored m the hold, bu I was unable to get any at all. Some time after that Johnny died. Then I was lift alone on the vessel. I said to myself, " Now my turn is coming and I am left alone. IKB.RBSCUa. It was then I caught sight of a vessel which was tacking about and going from the wrecki I tried to halloo, or I did halloo, but my voice Was not heard. As 1 saw the vessel going away from me my heart seemed to cease beating, and I thought the last hope was gone. But I managed to get strength enough to raise my sou'wester and shake it over my head. Some one on the vessel seemed to get the signal, for the vessel j hove to, and then I saw a small boat coming towards the wreck. This is the last I recollect. Five days afterwards, as I was informed by the Captain of the Otago, I came to my senses, when he told me that my signal had been noticed. Calculating the time from the day the vessel capsised to the day the Otago picked me up, I was 22 days floating on the wreck, and according to the captain's statement the schooner must h&ve drif ted about 100 miles west from the point where she capsized. "