WRECK AT THE AUCKLANDS

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9099, 2 December 1907, Page 4

WRECK AT THE AUCKLANDS

LOSS OF THE FOUR-MAST THIRTEEN I SJCVEN MONTHS ON DIS SURVIVORS LIVE ON S DARING VOYAGE I CASTAWAYS RESCUE! [Fbom Ott* Com BLUFF, November 30. > Th© Hinemoa, which arrived at the Bluff to-day with the members of the •üb-Aafcaretic expedition, had on board fifteen castaways rescued from, the Mtepot at Port Ross, Auckland Islands. They are the sole survivors of the officers i and crew of the four-masted barque Dundonald, which sailed from Sydney for Falmouth on February 17, p. 907. On the morning of March 7, *& 12;30> the ship struck on the pre» ' teipitous cliffs of Disappointment Island, \ > hefvy sea sweeping overboard twelve . »f the unfortunate men, including the tsaptain and his son. The weather was very thick. Nothing could be seen but high, black rocks and white foam. The ship went into the cliff stern first. jThree men got ashore by means of a jigger-mast, which touched the rock, and reached the top o fthe cliff, where they spent the night half-clad. Two gained A ledge of rock from the mizzenrtopeail yard, and the remainder passed through the dark hours clinging to the foremast, which alone was not submerged. Daylight broke, and when bops Was almost gone the men perceived one of their companions on the Summit of the cliff. W^th difficulty >ne!of the topsail buntlines was got pver to him, and the end being made fast to the top-gallant yard aft, one by .one the men got ashore hand over hand along the sixteen feet of rope, the sea boiling sixty feet below. It isjpitiiul to record that the mate, Jabez Peters, worn out by fatigue and by the alarming discovery that the i»l&nd wag not the- one on which the depot, with its store of food and. clothing, was situated, died after a forttHght. Seven, months were spent on fch)& most solitary and desolate island. Fortunately, the young mollyhawks were on the nests in great numbers, and these, together with the creeping i thick stems of a plant called Stilbooarpa polaris, provided ample food, and when the seabirds left, the hair seals fcvere clubbed and furnished both sustenance and clothing. The castaways lived at first beneath the shelter of a sail, which, with a piece of the mast, some knives, a few matches and a most scanty supply .of clothing, was their sole possession, later on they dug holes in the peaty ground, roofing them with brushwood and tussock grass, and making rugs of the mollyhawk skins. '. The discovery of veronica scrub led io t the making of a canvas boat seven f6et long, the pieces of canvas having to. be sewn together with needles made from, bird bones, since the sail had been previously made into clothing. In this frailest of crafts three of the men conquered the five miles of ocean which Beparated them from the main Auckland Island, but constant fog hindered their finding the depot, and after seven dJSys, four without food, they made a perilous return voyage and regained Ksjeppointment Island. A second attempt to reach the depct was successfa], and the very difficult country, filled prith almost impenetrable j6crub, be* tween the precipitous west coast and tjie Port Ross depot, was successfully traversed. Here, the boat provided for bawtaways was found, and the heroic men set out to rescue their companions, who . never abandoned hope. The Weather drove them back on the first attempt, but on the second the relief boat reached the small island. Some of the men were taken off, and landed on the west coast-, and the remainder brought to Port Ross. Here theft remaired until the arrival of the BftneDloa, and, thanks to the stores provided by the Government, soon recovered irom the effects of their dreadful experiences, and. at the time of the Hiziemoa's arrival, were in the best of health. THE SURVIVORS. The names of the survivors are :— 4 M'Lachlan, second mate. Knudson, third mate. Walters, A.B. Judge, A.B. Finlaw, A.B. Santiago, A.B. |frre, A.B. Herman, A.B. Pretze, A.B. Ellis, ordinary seaman. Pul, ordinary seaman 1 . . vGrattan, ordinary seaman. ij. Stewart, belonging to Cambridge, IWaikato. , Inreney, deck-boy. Roberts, cabin-boy. LIST OF THE DROWNED. Those who were drowned were : — . J. Thorborn, captain. J. Thorborn, jun. W. Smith, steward. B. Lee, carpenter. T. Crawford, sailmaker. J. Cromarty* deck-boy.' J. Halterson, A.B. Ji Anderson, A.B. H. laagerbloom, A.B. ! W. Lowe, A.B. B. M. Navarat, A.B. S. Watson, A.B. Thp mate/ Jaboc Peters, died on the >land.

ED BARQUE DUNDONALD LIVES LOST. APPOINTMENT ISLAND. ! EALS AND SEA BIRDS. N A CANVAS BOAT. )'£Y THE HINEMOA. IESPOJTDENT.] On Thursday, November 28, the shipwrecked crew were taken by the Hinemoa to Disappointment Island, to recover the body of the mate, which, ■ with much difficulty, they brought over i the rough tussock slopes. The burial at that most piteous spot, the little graveyard at. Port Ross, was most im-. ( pressive. Captain Bollons read the ; burial service in the presence of the ' castaways, the officers and men of the , Hinemoa and the scientists. v ( , < FURTHER PARTICULARS. ] . < THE SCENE OF THE WRECK. ■■ ] LIFE ON DISAPPOINTMENT J ISLAND. , Disappointment Island has such a • precipitous coast that it has been * thought impossible, that any ship- i wrecked men could land. There is thus 1 no depot or boat, but Captain Bollons j has now examined the island for a ] •suitable site for such. The men who ] managed to get ashore after the vessel struck were aft at the time, and as t the vessel sank they climbed on to , the cliff. The remainder of the crew f were at first on the forecastle head, when a sea came aboard, and filled the j ship, the men then clinging to the . forecastle rails, the whole disaster from start to 'finish occupying le6S ' than five minutes. When daylight came the survivors decided to swim for their lives, but' fortunately, before making such a desperate hazard, no- ' ticed a Russian, Michael Pul, on the > cliff, and a rope was finally thrown to him by Charles Eyre. Two boats, made of gnarled veronica and canvas, were built, but one. sank. Ihe boat was given a trial trip and ' found fairly seaworthy, but such a ! craft to oross a stormy ocean was , surely never seen before. The castaways had only half a box of matches. Six were allotted to the , first forlorn hope, which tried to find ! the depot, and arrangements were made for signalling by means of fires, , but the matches got wet. 'Four were ' struck fruitlessly, and the remainder were kept in reserve. The three men, • ( when on the brink of starvation, noticed a fire on the ielard, and thought ; it was a signal for them to return. Really it was to call the attention of [ ,a distant ship. Finally, the party ' which reached the depot took over burning peat in the canvas boat,' but a sea came on board and extinguished it. They remained at the landing fMaee on th© west side of Auckland ; sland for three days, so that their three matches might dry, but even then they, failed. They tried to make . fire by rubbing two pieces of wood to- ( gether. This also was a failure. Their ( want of fire compelled them to seek { the depot, and after plunging through all obstacles, by the aid of a fingerpost and good luck, they found it. At the depot was a gun. but in bad , order. This righted, they eet out for cattle on Enderby Island, and from , tfhat time on Charles Eyre says, "we lived the life of a gentleman, hunting big game." ■ Questioned as to the food, Eyre said: , "■ Seal is all right when cooked properly, but is not very nice raw, and mollyha.wk is good, but penguins are very tough." At the depot they cut their hair. "We previously looked like spring poets," said Eyre. They dressed in the warm clothing provided, so that when they rejoined their mates on Disappointment Island they were hardly recognisable. The canvas of the boat was again made into trousers, and these some of the men were wearing at the time of the rescue, as also their sealskin caps and shoes. - ■None of the crew had ever seen seals before, and when one showed its 6naky head above the water they thought it was.the sea serpent. However, they decided it must, be good to eat, and so lowered come of the party over the cliff by the rope, armed with clubs. These they used with no avail until by accident a seal was struck just above the noss. when it rolled over, and so a new food supply was available when the yomng mellyhawks departed. The tueock-covered dug-outs were the design of Michael Pul. Trho had seen a similar arrangement for housing pigs in Russia. There were fourteen^ in all, including a store-house and kitchen. Rough as they looked, they were very warm and dry, a-nd a most excellent shelter in the constantly wet and boisterous weather. The mollyhawks proved splendid food, enormous quantities beina; consumed during the three months these birds remained, each man eatinsc about three daily, arid thriving accordingly. At first they roasted them, but only half-cooked the birds. Finally they built a closed smoke-house, and here they could perfectly cook both birds and seals. While living at the depot the castaways amused themselves constructing: an excellent model of the Dnn<iona!d fi-om the trees of the neighbouring forest. These wrecks at the Aucklands are partly the- result of there being tm> light on the Snares, since to avoid this ,

dangerous group ships are wont to go too far to the southward. A subscription was raised on board the Hinemoa for the shipwrecked men, and a sum of money to provide them with tobacco and pocket money was left for them at the Sailors' Home at the Bluff. The want of tobacco was keenly felt at first, and rope yarn was smoked as a substitute.