Wreck of the Derry Castle.

Colonist, Volume XXX, Issue 5024, 6 October 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Wreck of the Derry Castle.

FIFTEEN LIVES LOST. PRIVATIONS OF THE SURVIVORS. FIVE MONTHS ON UNINHABITED ISLANDS. RESCUED BY A SEALER. [Melbourne ' Argus,' September 22.J On the 12lh March last the iron barque Derry Castle, belonging to Limerick, and chartered by Messrs. Gibbs, Bright, and Co., left Geelong for Falmouth loaded with wheat, and for 192 days she was -never heard of. No trace of her could be found in any port, and she was posted at Lloyd's as missing. To the surprise of all who heard of it, the sealer Awarua, a craft of 45 tons, sailed up the bay yesterday, having on board eight survivors of the wrecked barque, which, as they narrate ', had been cast away on Enderby Island, one of the Auckland group, eight days after commencing her homeward voyage with a fair wind. The vessel struck the rocks at 2 o'olock on the morning of the 20th March, and broke up in a very short time. The captain, both mates,- and 12 seamen, were drowned in trying to reach the reef-bound shore, and seven of the crew and the only passenger, James McGhie, endured for five months a series of privations and adventures which seldom occur in real lite, and are generally read of only in the most stirring works of romance. THE WMCK. The Derry Castle made a quick passage to Enderby Island. She had a fair wind, at limes amounting to a gale behind her. and she made the most of her canvas. On the night of the 20th March, only one day more than a week from clearing at Geelong, tbe ' catastrophe occurred without the slightest > warning. Neither the man at the wheel nor ' the look-out reported land; which tho suri vivors of the watch say could not be seen. 1 The night was hazy, the sky cloudy—what sailors call a rather dirty night—and the wind freshening. Vyithout the slightest alarm being given or effort to change the course of the vessel, she ran bow on to submerged rock?, and bumped over them for some distance with terrific force. Then her bow dropped into deep water, and the stern rested high on the reef, with the seas rolling over it. The vessel listed heavily to starboard, and began to break up. She was so close to the land—about 2c)o yards—that the ; frowning coast line now rose clearly into view. The captain, M'Ghie, and the watch ; below ran on deck partly dressed. The smashing collision with the reef left no room f< r doubt that a struggle for, life had coma. The ship's company ran ait to the port side of the stern, which was highest out of water, and there was a call for life-buoys, as the boats were broken up. Tke captain and the mate went to the lazaretto and handed out the life-buoys,^but some of the crew chose to trust to swimming, and would not wear them. In a few minutes the ship parted amidships, and as the seas broke over the group on the poop, one by one they were washed off, or threw themselves into the water. M'Ghie was the second last man and the last survivor to leave the ship, and strike out as a forlorn hope for the uninhabited shore. Only eight half-dead, storm beaten men faintly called to each other when the strnggle was over. The" surf had beaten 15 others to death on the rocks or sucked the swimmers back into the open sea, which did not give up its dead. ' - A PITIABLE OBOUP. It was a pitiable group that drew together to count the roll. Nearly naked some of them, spent with fighting the waves, and without food on an uninhabited island—they had still to look death in the face. The missing were 15, and the living eight, but there was still another shipmate whose life hung on the balance and might be added to their number. He was the sailmaker. He had climbed the mizenmast of the doomed ship. In the morning he was seen still clinging to his perch, and then he made a fight for life. He threw himself into the sea, and the castaways on the desolate beach with nothing but life left them, saw their shipmate bravely strive to swim to land. He breasted the water for a time, ond got nearer to the hands outstretched to save him, and then a hurling breaker struck him and swept him back into the vortex, and he was seen no more. The eye-witnesses state that the poor fellow must havo been numbed with the piercing cold of that inclement night and hia cramped position on the mast, or his life might not have quenched so easily. The daylight brought with it new horrors whioh the night, terrible though it had been, had veiled. The castaways began to search for shell-fish among the rocks. And then, pointed out by .the ravenous sea hawks, some ghastly sights were seen. There among tbe seaweed at the foot of the cliffs were three bodies, whose heads were crushed by the cruel breakers pounding them against the rockl, but.worse than all, by the sea hawks, who bad thus early made them their prey. The captain's face was the least recognisable, and in the holes that the eyes once occupied : there were no longer eyes. The dead were stripped of their clothes tor the benefit of tbe half-naked living, and then, ia graves dug with a knife the bodies were interred. The corpses were borne to the grave by men who were themselves in a living grave, with the dread upon them of perishing with naught to give their corpses the. protection of burial against the devouring sea hawks. A DEPLORABLE I'LIOHT. For their plight was at this time truly doplorable. They had no fire, no food except shell -fish, which was very scaroei and but little covering, while autumn had set in and. winter was approaching in a bleak southern latitude. They were out of the reach of attracting- the uttention of any passing vessel, as they could not light a beaoon nor even exhibit a flag of distress without material, flagstaff, or tools. The Only palliation of their sufferings was that they found that they could climb to tho top of tho cliff, which was impracticable at any other patt of the coast. The it-land was explored, and the miserable party were much cheered by finding on tbe other side of the harbour a small gipsy-like hut, whioh it appears was formerly used as a depot for stores for shipwrecked seamen. The plaoo was opened with the, expectation of finding food, and it was a terrible disappointment to Qnd that all that the hut oontained was a pint bottle of salt. The New Zealand Government, it seems had formerly maintained four depots for tho relief* of castaways on tho Auckland Islande, but latterly dispensed with all but one, on the mainland at Pot Ro<=s. To Port Ross, whioh was Untalisingly in sight, tho survivors ueol to strain their eyes in hopeless yearning to reach it, but they had no materials to make a boat. • t'lha wraokage whioh came ashore from time to time after tht Dewy Castle totally disappeared on the morning after she Wfiut ashore would have pudled to make at

least a raft; but there were no implements to fashion it. So that, in spite of something being seen on the foreshore of Port Boss, which some thought to be a rock, and others affirmed was more like a building, day after day passed without any prospect of escape. At this time, that is to say, for the first week after getting ashore, the men were undergoing great privation. The only food which floated ashore was two lib tins of herrings, a pumpkin, and some wheat, which soon began to grow mouldy, and germinate on being removed from the water. At the end of the first week, hunger drove them to kill a seal, of which there were many (but more properly speaking Eea lions), but the raw, rank flesh was too disgusting for even starvation to overcome, and some of the men grew more skeleton-like every day upon the miserable diet which a few sheU-fish affordedThere were no birds' eggs, but on one occasion a -shag was killed and eaten. To keep themselves warm the; had two blankets which flouted ashore, several bags and couches of grass, which were spread on four wickerwork beehive-shaped huts, which everyone assisted to build. For boots they had pieces of sealskin sown round the feet by means of a sharpened nail and some rope yarn. AN OPPORTUNE FIND. But their sufferings were respited by a most opportune " find," which shows how ingenious men become in turning everything to the best account when they are in distress. The great desire of the castaways had been to "make a fire, which they needed, not only for heat in their ill-clad state, but also to enable them to cook the grain, which was their staple article of food, and which was becoming more spoiled and unwholesome day by day. A box of wooden matches had been found, and had been eagerly prized, albeit they were thoroughly soaked. The matches were dried in the sun, but one after another had refused to light until the last one was exhausted in vain endeavor, when no hope remained. Then M'Ghie told his shipmates that he had another resource, which he had been too anxious concerning the doubtful success of the experiment to make known before. He had found in his pocket a revolver cartridge, and when he exhibited it hope rose anew, and there was much consultation as to how it should be utilised in order to obtain the much-wished-for fire. At last the device was agreed upon. The bullet was taken out of the cartridge, and in its place was put a frayed piece of a cotton handkerchief, which had been worn next to the bosom in order to thoroughly dry it. Then a hole wag cut in a piece of wood to hold the bullet up to its neck, and the cap was detonated by the application of a nail driven against it by a stone. When the powder ignited the cotton: was smouldering, and by careful fanning a blaze was procured, which provided a fire, and this fire was kept alight unremittently until the party effected their escape. They told off each other as watchmen to sit up all night and feed the precious flame, by the aid of which the grain which floated ashore from the wreck was made a tolerably wholesome article of food. They used to parch the grain like roasted coffee, and then beat it down into powder, mix it with hot water, ami drink the decoction. Happily there was plenty of fresh water, which gushed out iv many: rivulets from the hillsides, so that the tortures of thirst were not added to the semi-starvation and the privations of their lonely banishment. After about a month of trial, with no prospect of deliverance, the devoted band had farther cause for despondency in the finding of two more bodie3. Only a guess.could be made as to the identity of one of the corpses, and the state of the other did not even admit of a conjecture as to whose remains were being interred in the little cemetery made 0/ the knife dug graves, for nothing but the skeleton was left by the hungry waves and the still hungrier maws of the sea vultures. Once more the mourners, who have themselves been mourned as dead by their friends, performed the last rites, and then to mark the deso'ate spot as a place of burial some rude monuments were reared, Over the captain's head wa9 placed the piece of the wheel of the lost ship whioh bore her name and which had floated ashore, and at the other side of the little square which euclosed the five coffins a rude pillar, encircled with one of the Derry Castle's life-buoys, was set up, to tell other shipwrecked mariners on this treacherous coast maybe of the fate which befel some of those who were their forerunners into peril. A GLEAM OF HOPE. But on the 92nd day of this servitude and suspense, a prospect of release suddenly presented itself by the discovery, almost hidden in the sand, of an old axe head, whioh bad : been left near the old depot by some whaling party. Here was the tool for making a boat —a very odd one, it, was true, but still a boat —at last, and the work was immediately entered upon with hopeful zest by everyone. As the boat could not have been launched from the side of the island on which the barque was wrecked, on account of the surf, the mfo carried bundles of the wreckage up the cliff and across the island to the old depot, where the boat was in due course constructed. . It was nothing more than an oblong box, 6ft. by 2.} ft., with the ends running up a little li':" a Norwegian prow, ao as to do duty as a keel or cutwater. The caulking was done with odds and ends of rope yarn, driven into the seams with a piece of hoop iron, which had also been left, together with the axe and an old pot, by the whaling party, whose gifts, valueless as they doubtless considered them, were worth as much as the Midaa nugget to the castaways, who were bravely struggling to hold to the lives which had already passed tbrough many perils. The boat was launched, and with many hopes and fears for their safely and that' of their rude vessel, two of the party—Sullivan and Eennie—pushed off from the shore and essayed to cross the water which divided' the half-starved, nearly naked mariners from a feast of plenty, if only the stores at the Port Ross depot. could be brought within their grasp. The dingy gradually passed out of the sight of the six wretched men standing on tho uninhabited coast, and one must hear them relate their experiences in order ta vividly understand their feelings as the frail craft went away freighted with tbe hopes of men whose lives depended upon the success Of her mission. Whito she was gone they were subjected to ANOTHER CaWEIi DISAPPOINTMENT. A sail hove in sight—a sail appeared in the harbor—while they had the means of making such a smoky beacon aa a passing vessel might be fully expected to see; but the beacon was made in vain ; tbe vessel put about and left the harbor behind and the men to their fate. It seemed to them that she must be a poaching sealer, who mistook the fire for that of people who were on the watch for poachers, and so gave the island a wide berth ! but be that as it may, she came and went and the survivors were left to rely on their crank punt, upon tbe truaty sailors who manned it, and the fulfilment of the belief that the Government had stocked the depot with provisions. Two days passed without any message from the punt, and then on the third day smoke was seen on Port Boss, which assured the watchers that their gallant emissaries were safe. They soon came back with glad tidings, and provisions and clothes, to prove what they had seen in spying out the country. At last, after four months of harassing anxiety and insufficient food, shelter, and clothiug, they would be housed, fed, and dlothed in comparative comfort, even though their Robinson Crusoe life should be prolonged indefinitely, or until tho New Zealand Government steamer Stella .should make her next periodical inspection to the Auckland Islands in search of shipwrecked mariners. The transportation of the men and the remainder of their store of roasted corn from Enderby Island to Port Boss was accomplished without aeoidont, although several trips had to bo made before the whole could be freighted across. An attempt was made to employ an old boat that was found on Port Boss, but after binding her round with wire to prevent her going to pieces, Bhe took in water so freely that she was abandoned. The dingy, too, had to bo frequently patchfd up, but Bhe did the work required of her wiiuout mishap, yet in a very slow and toilsome way. In a few days tbe whole of the band, with guch possessions as they had, were established at Port Boas depot, which contained clothing, fat, and biscuits, but these were luxurios to the shipwrecked band, who, howover, had still before them the prospect of a long and undesirable detention at tho port. , lISSOCED AT liAIIT, The men were still tortured by the oncer, tainty as to when they would bo released, They had been from the SJOth March to the 18th Jute on Enderby Juljafid—they kejit count by notching »qql) day a,a it paused - V

and thej were destined to remain without farther Bucooar until the 19th July, when the Awarua pal into Port Boss in search of a boat whioh she had left there some time previously. The men on shore, overjoyed at hearing the vessel arrive and drop her anchor —it being after chrk—hniled her, bat as the weather was bad they did not venture to board her in their punt. Early next morning Captain L. F. Drew went ashore from the Awarua, and had a great reception from the shipwrecked parly, whom he immediately took under his protection, and finally brought to Melbourne at. considerable loss to himself and to his crew, who have shares in what was intended to be a five months' sealing cruise in Bass' Straits. Under this system of shares the provisions on board a sealer belong to the crew, who pay for them out' of the profits of the cruise, and hence, while the captain and owner have lost their cruise and the use of their vessel for a'period long enough to spoil the trip, the mariners who form the crew have had to pay a great deal out of their small means in contributing to effect a work of humanity in saving the shipwrecked people. It surely is only necessary to explain how the loss has occurred and. upon whom it falls in order to ensure that compensation shall be made either by to ;. Government or by the generosity ol »he public. The survivors of the barque, on their arrival in Melbourne, obtained a cordial reception at the Sailors' Home, and with the exception of M'Ghie, who is badly affected with rheumatism, none of them appear to be much worse for all that they have undergone. Captain Drew, who knows Enderby Island well i says that if the Derry Castle had only been 100 yards further to seaward on the course she was making when she struck the rooks, she would have passed the fatal point, and no one on board of her would have known the danger-Bhe had been in. The point in question juts out. in the shape of an acute angle, and tbe ill-fated barque was sailing broadside on to it when she was lost. Nothing is more clear in connection with, the deplorable catastrophe than that the land was not seen by anyone up to the time.of the striking of tbe ship ; but whether, this.failure to descry the coast Jine was due to negligence, tbe state of the weather, or to any other preventible cause, can only be determined by inquiry before a competent tribunal. THE SURVIVORS. The actual names of the survivors are not given, but from the names mentioned in their narratives we find the following mentioned: James McGbie (passenger), and. seamen Nicolas Wallace, Alexander Nyeberg, Alfred Jarnwell, William Kennie, Daniel Sullivan, Osborn, and Logan. THE DROWNED. The o»ly names of those drowned giver are:—Captain Gelfe* -Bobbins (Ist mate), Ras mussen (2nd mate), and Peterson andMcGill (seamen).