LOSS OF THE JOSEPH SCAMMEL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2215, 16 June 1891, Page 4

LOSS OF THE JOSEPH SCAMMEL.

The Captain’s wife, her child aged six,and the stewardess,spent a most uncomfortable and anxious time on board all night. Mrs Chapman has thus described her experiences;—The ship kept striking violently, and presently she began to roll so badly that we could hardly keep our feet. She had what we call a lame side —that is, the cargo Was badly packed—and on the voyage out she always bad more or less of a list to port. Now she would roll first to starboard and then back again to port, and when she got on her lame side it seemed as though she would never fight again. On deck we could bear all sorts of noises, men tramping up and down and orders being shouted, everything in alarm and confusion ; but the worst of all was the horrible, way the ship creaked as though every separate timber was being slowly broken. After a bit we crept into the forecabin, where we take our meals, and climbed np against the ship’s side on the starboard. We had just to hold on and wait, without knowing what was being dene or whether the' ship was sinking or not. Presently my husband came down below and told na there was no immediate danger, and that we were safer below than on deck. He only stopped a few minutes, and when he went on deck again the most awful part of the night commenced. The stewardess did not bear up very well, but my poor little girl never made a complaint. She just sat there with]

both ®f ns holding her, nursing her cat on her lap all the while. The ship was bumping and rolling, bo that it took all our strength to hold on. After * while —I don’t know how long, but il seemed hours, my husband came into the cabin again, and told us we had better pack our boxes, We> "o' out the trunks and commenced to ptv

them, just putting iu anything that came first, more to keep our minds off the danger than with any hope of saving anything, bat when the ship, rolled the trunks all fell away down to port, and we climbed up again on the starboard side, and went on waiting and thinking ef what a terrible night it was. It seemed years before the dawn broke. In the middle of the night we managed to make some tea in the cabin fire, and that cheered us up a bit, but not for long. As soon as it was light 1 crawled on deck, and then for the first time I fairly gave up hope. We were quite close to the shore, and the surf was awful. 1 made op my mind that we should never get ashore. Josephinb tells me that 1 was quite cool and calm, but it must have been the calmness of despair. When the boatswain went away in the boat 1 never thought he would come back, but he was used to the surf, and knew exactly how to manage the boat and control the other men. It was very risky work getting into the boat. We bad to climb down the rope ladder and hang on till the exact moment that the wave brought the boat just under us. I tell you I was glad when 1 got ashore.