LOSS OF THE BOKHARA, WITH 125 LIVES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7431, 28 November 1892, Page 2

LOSS OF THE BOKHARA, WITH 125 LIVES.

Henry Prickett, the chief officer, in the course of a statement, said :— " The water put the fires out in the stokehole, the engine-room skylight being smashed. We had these covered up with tarpaulins. The chief engineer reported to the commander that the engines were practically useless. At that time I had gone on deck, and the engineer told me that he was going to re* porb to the that captain the fires were out, and that the place was so full of steam it would take some time to get the fires going again. The soundings up to eleven o'clock registered about twenty-five fathoms. I re* mained on deck after we shipped the three seas until we struck. The ship remained about the same, her head being E.S.E., and the wind and sea nearly abeam. We tried oil during the evening through, the latrines with fair success. After shipping those seas we set all the latrines— six or seven in number — flowing with oil. At twenty-five or twenty minutes to twelve the quarter-master of the watch came and told me to go on the bridge, saying that there was land to be seen on the beam. When X went on the bridge the captain said : ' Ife is all over—goodbye; we have done our beßt. 5 Then he went to call the passengers on deck. I saw the land distinctly. There was no moon, but a slight misty light enabled us to sea a distance of about two hundred yards. Two minutes afterwards the vessel Btruck along the whole length of the Btarboard side. She then heeled over to the port and struck again. We immediately shipped some tremendous seas, which, washed the third officer, myself and the helmsman and quarter - master off the bridge. I was washed clean on to a reef from the bridge, striking my head against the lower bridge as I swept off. It was a perfectly flat reef, extending for about two hundred yards from the shore. I had not a lifebelt, though there were lifebelts on the bridge. When I picked myself up I found one quarter-master who had been acting as helmsman. Afterwards I met the other quarter-master of the watch and an officer. I also saw several Lascars, fifteen altogether, and lastly the third officer. It took about half an hour for us to collect on the beach. We could just see the masta of the Bokhara sticking out of the water, which was like a white table-cloth, for the foam from the beach went over the ridge of the hill, or rather was blown over. We there found a hut with Dr Lowason inside, where we stayed for the night. Lieutenant Markham, a passenger, and a fireman with a broken leg afterwards turned up. Nothing whatever could then be seen of the vessel. We next started to forage for food, but the Eea was too rough for us to go to the end of the reef. On Tuesday morning rain commenced to fall, and the wind subsided gradually, and in the evening had fallen. We saw a mast floating in the water some distance from the shore, which was probably attached to the ship's stays. The foraging for food resulted in the finding of a few tins of biscuits wetted with salt water. We also discovered a small well containing brackish water. Towards the evening we managed to light a fire with the aid of some signal rockets found on shore. An hour after daybreak on Wednesday a number of fishermen landed for the purpose of picking up wreckage, in which they were successful, because the island was covered with wreckage. We persuaded them to take us off the island, which they did, conveying us to Fehoe, a small island to the south-east. There we were lodged in the temple and looked after by one of the priests, who treated us very kindly. On Thursday j morning we proceeded to Making to the mandarins, and were there most hospitably treated." Dr J. A. Lowason, assistant superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital, was a passenger by the Bokhara from Shanghai, and was one of the two European passengers saved. He wished to testify to the gallant conduct of Captain Sams and the officers during the storm. He was also asked by Lieutenant Markham, of the Shropshire Light Infantry, the other European passenger saved, to add his testimony. 4 s far- as the passengers could see, the officers stuck to their work all the time. Dr Lowason was astonished to see how well they were able to doit.