FRIGHTFUL SUFFERINGS AT SEA.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 69, 3 July 1863, Page 2

FRIGHTFUL SUFFERINGS AT SEA.

We (2T«r Zeaiander) are indebted to Captain Webster, of the Firing Fish, for the following ' Tinrrative of the fearfnl suffering of the crew of a email »!oop tbat sailed from Fanning, bound for Washington, North Pacific, •which they were unable to fetch, and were for ninety days exposed to nil the aeonies consequent upon want of food and deficiency of water. We give the narrative in the language of the writer, who tells his sad tale with much natural pathos and simplicity. Extract frsm a log kept by Giles Oarley (American), in charge of the sipop Sea Horse, belonging to Mr I»glis, of Fanning Island. North Pacific, which railed thence on the 9th June to go to Washington Ts^nd. distant about seventy miles. The crew cor.si.-t^l of himself, Mr Wheeler, an Irishman, a cooper b- trade, and a Sandwich Islanrfer named William Nichols, and a Sandwich Island boy nampd Mac^v. On the 14th of June, finding that t'?ev wer^ un«uccessful in making Washington Island, they tried to return to j Fannin?, and ran t<> the eastcrml. — " June 28th. Provisions getting low. 29th. Caught a shark and saitpd it ; wood getting short, also provisions; took dinner off porpoise and shark; only me meal a dav. 30th. Caught a shark. July Ist. Caught a shark, saved the fiver for oil, sn'.ted the restlo eat. sth. Spoke ft barque (French) which left them but gnve them the longitude at 156 deg. 30 mm. west. fith. Tried a?ain for Fanning Isl«rd. 7th. No cooking to-day ; our wood and grnb are all gone, excepting some bard bread and chnrk : nn *n nllowanee "f brend half a biscuit a dnv. 9th. TTard livin?; bread and nothing else 31th. Triod again for Honolulu. 12th. Caught a »hnrk. 13th. On a very short allowance of bread, loth. Grah almost all gone. 17th. Small allowance of shark md bread. 20th. Canght n skipjnck. 28*h. Shovt allowance of bread and a little shark 5* nil we get. Auju-t 7'h. We have only got about fourteen pounds of bread left for four of us. 9th. We have only got ten days more of br^ad. and after th'nt we hr\ve nothing to eat. G<>d have mercy on us. 11th. Very Khr.rt allowance of bread ; nothing else to eat. »nd hut vpry little of that. 12th. Still working to nindwnrd. but the old boat goes very nlow: half a biscuit a day's allowance, and only a few dav<? more of tbnt ; I expect some of us will croak by and bye. 13th. Short of grub and very hungry I 14th. This date ate the last of our bread- now we have got nothing to eat, not a single mouthful, loth. L >nesome times these — no eating, no smoking, and vwy dull. lGth. Nothing to" eat this day; pretty hungry, I tell you. i~fhT Wo have had nothing to eat for four days. 19th. Our boys have given up. mid T expect that we shall have to die before long if we don't see land nothing to eat : what wonld a man give for somerbing to eat ; I tell you we are a pretty hungry sat of follows, bat we mast trust to Providence ; we ■re in hopes of seeing a «hip or catching a shark 20th. Still working to windward; only two of us aMe to do aßvfhmg. 21st. Nothing to eat ; hard titx*; our boat leaks considerably ; only two of us tn do anything; the two boys laid up or weak, and can't work ; nard times, 1 tell you. 23rd. Had one meal to-day of flying-fish and a little old coffee cmunds ; the two boys appear to be very poorly ; I fear they will not stand it much longer unless we sse the" land before long. 24th. This day Wm. Nichols died with a sort of fever, and part hunger. 2>">tb. Still working for the Sandwich Islands. i This dav a native boy by the name or Maeow died, I something the matter with his inside; he had not A bad much to cat so long, I expect, was the cause of A death. Dut night we caught a shark (hook was with n piece r.f the dead boy) small but good for us; it will last. I suppose, about fifteen days by pinching. Oh God, when shall we get in: if we don't see land to-morrow, I shall tack the i ship for California, and see if we can reach the ! coast, an-1 run the risk of seeing some vessel on , the way. 27th. Stood to the northward, bound to California: our water is getting very low. September 3rd. Taught a gannet to-day, skinned and ate it ; very good, should like to catch one tomorrow. Very short of water and grub ; half a pint a day and" vry little shnrk indeed. Nothing to eat until the 7th of September, when at 9 o.clocb uaw a sail to leeward, which to our gre t joy proved to he her Mij-^ty's ship Tupar." They hu'l on hoard a good two-day chronometer, but let it run down either before or af'er leaving Fanning Island, which was the cause of all their M^^^^ J. A. WEBSTEB. *