WRECK OF A SHIP.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIX, Issue 8122, 19 April 1906, Page 7

WRECK OF A SHIP.

TEN LIVES LOST.

STORY OK THE DISASTER,

Tho Union steamer Taviuui brought to Auckland ou Thursday the oaptain and offioera aud crew of the Olydo-bnilt four-maatod ship County of Roxburg, which drove ashore ou Takaroa Island on the evening of February Bth, tho date of the cyolone which devastated the Puamotu Islands. Out of a crew of 26 men ton were lo?t at the wreck. CAUGHT IN A CYCLONE. The County of Roxburgh waa bouud from Caldera, Chili, in ballast, to Port Phillip, for orders, when she was caught in tho oyoloue and driven, ashore in thick woatber. Of the ten mon who lost their lives, one, Dieatel, a German sailor, was killed while a boat was being launched; two named Parsons and Anderson, a Swede, wero washed overboard; nuothor, a Gorman seaman named Wagner, lest his life •when attempting to swim ashore with a lino, aud tho ross were drowned by the aapsizing of a lifeboat which had not left the ship's davits. Only one body, that of the seaman Wagner, wbh reoovered. Two of the survivors, Stirling and Richardson, are aDprentices. They were in the boat at the time she oapi sized, and both were wearing lifebelts. Stirling could not ewim, but botli be and Richardson were washed ashore, although a long way from each othor. Both imagined that they were the soio survivors, becauso when daylight broke they could see nothing of their Bhipmatea nor of the ship. The captain and some of the orew stood by the ship, living on board of her in fine weather, but they feared when she went ashore that the masts would roll out of hsr and crush all on deck, aud when the weather waa at all bad they lived on shore. As it waa, the orew were all more or less badly knocked about, and were the subjects of kindly care on the part of the natives of the island. A LINE TAKEN ASHORE. 1 When the vessel struck and the two boats were lost, Mr W. Miller, the chief offloer, dived overboard with a line, which he succeeded in making fast to a tree, enabling all on board to get ashore. The weather wasvery bad at the time, and the ship was bumping heavily. : Those who got ashore by She line were severely knocked about. The whole of the survivors were so badly injared by the washing about of ventilators and other top-ham-per on deck, aud by the buffeting of the waves when eudeavouriug to reach the shore, that the natives had to complete the erection of a tent which had been begun, but whioh th<» sailors were too weak to finish. DEEDS OF BRAVERY. Captain Leslie, master of the vessel, states that on rinding that the vessel would go on shore, lifebelts were given to all hands, and the lifeboats were ordered to be got oat. The starboard lifeboat was awang out, bat it capsized. Fortunately no one was on board of her. The port lifeboat was then swung Out, but she was swamped by the heavy seas. WASHED OVERBOARD. Within five minutes the vessel was in the breakers, and struck on the reef, off the island of Takaroa, one of the outlying islands of the Paumoutus. The poop was cleaned out, and L. Parsons (apprentice) aLd L. Anderson (A.8.;, were wasned over - board, and wore seen no more. P. Wagner, one of the seamen, made an attempt to swim ashore with a line, but he had hardly made a start when he was sucked under the bottom of the ship, and was seen no more. 0. Dieatel, another of the seamen, shortly afterwards, whilst assiscing to get out the starboard lifeboat, was crashed between the boat and the ship, owing to the boat swinging inwards, and went ,'over the side, and was drowned. All the orew were by this tini« more or less injured. A GALLANT DEED. At nine p.m., the position being desperate, Mr Miller, the chief officer, decided to make an attempt t( take a line ashore, in order to lane the crow. After a gallant effort, h< managed to land on the island, the sea washing him on to the land, anc the crew landed. The next morning those who were able returned to the ship, anc landed provisions, canvas, et o. A search was made along the is land for any of the missing men but without avail. On the mornini of the ytb, Rohardson and Stirling the two apprentices who were sup posed to have been lost when thi boat capsized, put in an appear ance, having been washed pshore al a point further east of the island. John Paasohburg, A.8., a nativ< of Germany, states that an attempt was made to get out the starboan lifeboat, but it was smashed agains the side of the vessel by a big sea. A SAILOR KILLED. "As it caught the poop rail i jammed a German sailor, uamei Diestel, and smasheed his chest in He dropped overboard, and was no seen any more. The boat wa smashed to oioees. Then we trie to get out the port lifeboat and eigh men got into it but a big sei lifted the boat up and everybod thrown out. They were all lost bu two apprentices named Riohardso and Stirling. They were washe( ' ashore but the others who were al tine swimmers were drowned." ./IN THE WATER FOR SEVERA HOURS. The apprentices, Stirling am Richardson, who were the onl ones saved from the capsized boat were in the water for several hour before reaching land. They wer supported by their .lifebelts, whic had been put on by the captain' orders when the wreck was seen t be inevitable. Riohardson says th ship was about a quarter of a rr-i! off shore when the starboard boa was launohed. Stirling, the Othe apprentice, whose life was saved oould not swim, "but all the others who were drowned, were good switr .mers, and I can swim myself," aah jßiohardson.

Continuing his narrative, he said: "I imagined I was the solo survivor of the ship, for, when I reached dry land, there was no one else about. It soomed vory lonely to be left like that. I could see no signs of tho rest of tho orew. Darkness coming on, I lay down to sleep, and covered myself with loavea. My olothes had all been torn oil me, and 1 had nothing to wear but a lifobelt. Next morning I set out to look tor the vessel, and 1 found tho other members of tho orew round a point. 1 had been washed up about five miles away from whore the bout was capsized. 1 met Stirling next morning. lie was like myself, naked, except for the lifebelt, and also much cut about the body, as wo all were. Stirling had groat difficulty iu ioaohiug tho shore Ho was washed back several times, but I was washed straight into tho trees." ...«£«&&