THE LOSS OF THE JUNO.

Colonist, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4171, 22 June 1885, Page 3

THE LOSS OF THE JUNO.

ABKIVAL OF !THE SURVIVOES IN CAPE (From the ' Cape Times,' U&j "7.) , .. The .Namaqua, which arrived in Table Bay yesterday morning, brought with her the four survivors of the crew of the ill-fated Swedish ship Juno, which was destroyed by fire on the morning of the Bth April, in lat.. 87*84 S. and long. 11-80 B, The Juno, of 1,800 tons burden, and commanded by C&pt. T. Kjeller, was bound from Norway to Melbourne with a cargo of deals. At one o'clock on the morning of the Bth April, in the latitude above jtnentioned, one of the men discovered fire in the galley, which had been locked up by the steward at 10 o'clock on the previous evening. The galley was immediately opened, and after search it was discovered that the ? ' ■■ FIRS HAD REALLY BROKEN OUT in the cargo, and had already burnt a hole in the deck. ,By order-of the captain the- hole was widened, so;aw to allow of • water being poured in, and all hands were at once set to work to endeavour to'extinguish the fire. It was not long, however, before it was ascertained that the fire had been burning for some time, and had made considerable progress amongst the inflammable material it had to feed upon. On account of the smoke nothing further could be done on the galley deck, and holes were then cut in the main deck, throngh which large quantities of water were pouted; By this time the heat had, become intense and it was with difficulty that the men could continue their courageous efforts to extinguish the, fire. Shortly afterwards a loud rep/ort w&3 'heard, and for a ; moment it was thought that the main deck had; broken in. It was found, however, that the hatches had burst open through the heat. Other similar reports followed at intervals, the heat becoming more and more intense. At eight o'clock „, AN EXPLOSION . which made the ship quiver warned the captain and his crew that it was no longer safe to remain onboard— they had already realised the fact that no human efforts could now save the ship. The ship, indeed, wasthen in one blaze, and after the bursting of the main deck the captain determined bo take Jol^hM(JibatsiA.iiijiauhchirigi! which the first boat was swamped, A.ll hands , twenty-two all told, then »ot safely into the long-boat',; which was very .slightly, provisioned.,. Half, m hour after leaving; the mainmast went overboard'; and- two 'hours"later the fore part of the .ship'and the mainmast were completely' enwrapped in sn"e flames, >and almost burnt downs. The boat steered foij a, vessel which the .men.^thought they had seen the 3ay before, and which they 'hoped; ihey would be able to;,find out, but when the morning light'came nothing jould be seen of ; 4her. ; '"After Says' sailing, during which ,!-.,. GREAT .PRIVATION "> ::?;..-; f bad to be undergone for want of 6uffijient fobd, land was sighted at a point, supposed to be about 20 miles below ihe Orange Biver. <The heavy breakers ilong the sHore induced the men, howaver, to keep out and endeavor to find i better place for landing. "But tHe increasing roughness1 of the.sea, and the exhaustion of the men, led to the decision that an attempt must be made to land at all hazards. The attempt was made; ■ A few seconds more and the boat was,, capsized in the furious breakers, and the captain and crew, who had only so recently escaped from one 'awfuldeath,-we're iU■'■'•' '■'-* ... STRUGGLING FOR THEIR' LIVES V"^ in theVseetlnug waters. They triedvto save; themselves by swimming, but, wc.AL'utd by want of food and rest; their efforts were' of no avail. Only four out of the twenty-twO succeeded in gaining Vrr -} -^ye. The next morning the survivors went to the point where the attemp\Ho; raM iiLall''been made,, and found that one dead* body had been washed ashore: This they buried, and then, thinking the country was uninhabited, made ip^ the- southward. On the third day, after under-going-all the torture of 'starvation, they met two Hottentots, by whom they were guided' to Port, Nolloth After .the arrival of the survivors at Port! Nolloth, a field-cornet was:dispatched to the place where o;the boat was capsized, to make'searchfpr whatever bodies might,.have^^ been washed on shore. E[e ; found.four, whichrwere in sujch a mutilated condition through being dashed against the rocks as to be quite unrec fpgtiisable. Some days later1 remains: of other bodies .were founcjl and buried. The mate (Ellert Eller'sten) suffered .violent pains for several days, caused by exposure and* ; hpnger, andf together "with his fellow survivors, was much bruised through being knocked against the rocks,.. On the L arrival of the Namaqua; yesterday morning the survivors were received and' ■'■■ taken care of by, the Consul Creneral for Norway arid Sweden (Mr Akerberg), the men being lodged in the Sailorß' Home. ■ ■«'•.;