TERRIBLE STORY OF THE SEA.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 310, 28 March 1879, Page 7

TERRIBLE STORY OF THE SEA.

* BL £? 0 ? 01 '? 8to fl. of tbe seahßß been narrated by Captain Wilson, of the Waulenab, of Pictou, N.S., which has arrived in Belfast from Si'w^l'w L°u ai if m Stafces tbafc earl * last Saturday, when 115 miles W.S W of the Fastnet, a small object resembling a boat was " discovered at a great distance off by the look-out. Under the belief that there were some persons in distress in it, the vessel was headed in that direction. On approaching closer it turned out that the captains surmises were correct, for the object proved to be a small boat, having an oar rigged for a mast, whioh had a coat flying from &?,*£ M * v£ Dal o£ di i tre3S " A youn g m <™» in a completely exhausted condition, was found lying in the bottom, and was taken on board the Waulenah. His head and shoulders were covered with blood, and means were promptly taken to restore animation. He has wTfr the Tr fo H owltl S account of himself :-His name, he says, is wiuiam Harrison, and he is an ordinary seaman, and a native of London He belonged to the ship L. E. Chapman, of Prince Edward ioland, bound for Queenstown. Tbe ship encountered very rough weather at sea, and capsized in a storm. The catastrophe wa 3 so sudden that the crew had but very little time to anticipate it, and toe captain, the cook, and three seamen were precipitated into the water and arowned. The remainder of the crew were more fortunate, inree of them, and a captain who Was a passenger, managed to get one of the boats launched, which they got into, and Harrison and two other members of the crew succeeded in launching another boat and getting into her. Signals of distress were hoisted. The two boats kept pretty close together, and hoped to bs speedily rescued, as the' Huron, of Londonderry, had been sailing with them the day before, and was not. far off. The Huron observed the signals and bore towards them, when the inmates of the first boat were taken saf«]y on board. The sea was very rough at the time, but two of those in Harrison s boat managed to leap on board. Harrison; who was now the sole inmate, was about to make a spring to get on board the Huron, when the boat's painter suddenly snapped, and in a moment afterwards the boat drifted far away to sea. He suffered dreadfully trom the injuries he received, a heavy spar falling on him shortfy before leaving the capsized vessel, and in consequence he was scarcely able to make any exertions. He lay 2r> hours ia the open boat nearer death than life, until he was picked up by the Waulenah. He received every attention on board, anl is at pressnt doin" well.