The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-04-01 00:00:00

THE "STRATHMORE."

SIX MONTHS ON A DESOLATE ISLAND.

The following official information respecting the loss of
the Strathmore anti the rescue of the survivors from the
barren island on which they remained more than six months,
has been received at Lloyd's. It is dated Galle, March 3:—
"The Strathmore, of Dundee, reported by telegraph
as lost on one of the Crozet group, on Ist July, 1875.
She struck at half-past four in the morning, and be-
came a wreck in a few minutes, the persons who were
saved, one lady being amongst them, being almost in
their night dresses. They subsisted on this barren
island for six months and 22 days upon albatross,
penguin, and other birds. The master of the whaler
who rescued them showed them every kindness; gave
each a suit of clothes and a pair of boots. Those
rescued were taken care of by the local authorities,
and a subscription has been raised in the colony on
behalf of the passengers."

The Ceylon Times gives the following particulars :

"The British ship Sierra Morena, Captain Kennedy,
bound from Sutherland to Kurrachee, came into port
on Thursday with twenty persons, being part of the
passengers and crew of the ship Strathmore which was
wrecked on the Ist July last on the largest of the
Crozet group of islands, lat 46.15 S., long. 15.0. E.,
called the Twelve Apostles' Rock. The Strathm,or e
was on her voyage to Otago, New Zealand, and was
75 days out, when the disaster occurred. Captain
Kennedy reports that on. the 26th January he was
boarded by an American whaler, Young Phcenix,
in lat. 42.41 S,, long. 53 E., having 44 persons
on board, rescued from the Strathmore. Owing to
insufficient supply of water, Captain Kennedy
could only accommodate twenty persons to Galle ;
namely, the second and third mates, carpenter, sail
maker, first and second stewards, cook, and one sea-
man, three first-class and nine third-class passengers.
The captain and chief mate of the Strathmore were
drowned, besides others. Five persons died on the
island. The survivors experienced the greatest pri-
vation on the island, being bereft of suitable clothing,
and having to subsist on a species of bird, large flocks
of which inhabited the place. The whaler treated
them with great kindness, and supplied warm clothing.
There was one lady passenger. But for the tinaely
rescue by Captain Gifford, the crew would have suf-
fered greater privations, as the food supply was
lessening."

The Times of Wednesday gives the following sum-
mary of the wreck of the vessel
It appears that the vessel, an iron clipper of the Dundee
ICBli7psp,
heravLiinnge,al,c4r7e2wtoonfs,3li3efthGanrdays,essellndtooldn.tanhedl9canth oyfinAgpfirfitl,
y
passengers. Her voyage was not without Incident., for before
she reached the Eqiiator her crew broaclied'the cargo and
got at the liquor. When crossing the Equator the usual cere-
monies appear to have been observed, and some drunkenness
prevailed. When in southern latitudes, and sailing under 'a
gentle breeze, the weather was so thick as to prevent the
taking of observations. The day before the shipwreck.
there was a dense fog. The captain, who is admitted on all
hands to have been very careful, said in ConversatiOn with a
passenger two hours before the ship struck that he cal-
cnlated that the ship was then 87 miles from the .Crozet
Group and south out. About a quarter to four on the let of
July the ship struck, and settled very rapidly by the stern.
Efforts were made to lower the boats, but, except in the case
of one lifeboat, wholly without success. While attempts
were being made to lower them, seas broke over the ship,.
and the unfortunate people who were unable to take to the •
rigging lost their lives. In this way Miss Henderson, the
captain, and first mate were washed overboard. 31rs. Walker,
who, not seeing her husband and child, refused to enter a
boat, met a like fate. Percy Joalen and his brother, who were
in the rigging, jumped for the lifeboat as she pissed under
them. The brotner was puccessful, but •Percy was drowned.
All but five of those in the rigging made their way down the
masts to the deckhouse, and from there to the foreeastle-
head. Here they waited till day broke. The second mate
and a Tarty then launched the gig from the deckhouse, wile
the third mate and three others put off in the dingy. After
rowing about s..me hours the gig found a lanoing-place, to
wh,ch she towed the lifeboat, which had emiped man almost ,
miraculous man .er. Returning to the ship he met the
11 ingy and directed her to the landing-place. . On her return
journey she brought away the live survivors from the rig.'
ging, leaving a large party orl.,the forecastle-head.. 'lt,
was then too foggy to admit of heertittitir,'Whd"ria• the night
was spent by those on the forecastle-head in hunger and
extreme cold. Next morning while these were brought off
the other boats searched for wreckage, of which they re-
covered but little. That night the ship went down, and on
the third night the boats were lett. Five of the unfortunate
people died, but 44, including a lady (31rs. Wordsworth), re-
mained on the Island till the 21st of January, when they
were rescued by the Young Phceniz, an American whaler.
On the Nth she transferred twenty persons to the ship Siorra

Morena, Captain Lumley Kennedy, which landed them at
Point de Ga.lle on the 24th 01 February.

The fo!lowing is a list of the survivors:-
Ist ClaN.—Mrs, Wordsworth. C Wordsworth. 11, Keith,
S. Joslenl F W. Pentley, G. D• Crombie, A. Walker. 2d
Clam—None: Intermediate.—J Ward, G. Ward, T Stand-
ring, R. Wilson, G. Skidmore. SLeerage.—R. M. Lennie.
W Wilaob, W. Roeke, J. JUight.
Crew.—Mr. Peters, second mate; Mr. Allan, third mate ;
J. Pirle. Carpenter; .T. Nichol. enzineer ; J. Smith, cook; C,
R Jackson, boatswain • W. Smith, sailmaker ; E. Preston,
apprentice; Carmichael, apprentice; H. Turner, appren-
tice • J'. Leask, boy; J. Warren, A. 8., J. Wilson, A. 8., J.
A.B ;J. Wilson, A.B , J. Evans, A.B.' E. Sharp, A. 8.,
H Erickson, A. 13 W. Vining, A. 8., G. Rainwater, M.
Raoldon, A. 8., J. Trail, LB., J. Blackmon, 0 S., C. Tookey,
OS., G. Filzmaurice, 0.8. G. W. Buttenshaw, flrairclass
st,mard ; D Wason; second-class steward; J. Duck, second-
class steward. •

--
Died on the Island.—W. Walker (a child), first dais: T.
G. Henderson, first class; G. Mellor. intermediate; G.
Stanbury, steerage; W. Husband, A.B. seaman.

1 The Daily News of Monday gives the following :
Mr. Allan, the second mate, says that a thick fog
prevailed on June 30, and Captain MacDonald ordered a
sharp look out to be kept for Crozet Island. The log
was constantly thrown. At midnight there was a cry
of "Breakers ahead," and the ship struck on the Twelve
Apostles group of rocks. She soon began to •settle
down, and boats were made ready for launching. One
boat with eighteen persons in it, including Mrs. Words-
worth, was floated from the deck by a heavy wave and
miraculously kept in an upright position. About
twenty of the crew and passengers assembled in the
mizzentop. The fore part of the vessel was still above
water and stuck on tne rock, and here the survivors
clustered and waited till daylight, when it was found
that the ship was wedged between perpendicular cliffs
of rock hundreds of feet high, and other points standing
up like so many needles. Seven or eight got into the
gig under the charge of the second mate, who said he
would return and take off the rest if he succeeded in
finding a landing place. He found to his astonishment
that the boat, with eighteen on board, which had been
washed away daring the night, was knocking
about half full of water. The one boat took the
other in tow and succeeded in reaching the rocks, up
which the shipwrecked persons managed to scramble.
Those left on board were saved in like manner, but
two days elapsed before their rescue was accomplished.
Some matches, spirits, and biscuits were all that could
be saved. The biscuits were given to Mrs. Words-
orth, as she could not eat the rank birds' flesh. A
case of confectionery was much prized, as the tins
became bandy for boiling birds in. After a few
days on the island the boats were dashed to pieces
on the rocks and lost. This was a great misfor-
tune, as no more visits could be paid to the
wreck. The firewood lasted a month, after which
a substitute was found in the birds' skins. Five
deaths took place on the island. The corpses
were not stiff, but remained as pliable when buried
as when in life. The first death was on July 2; the
next, that of Thomas Henderson, in September ; the
next in October; the next that of William Husband ;
and the last, a little child, on Christmas Day. Death
resulted from mortification following on frost bites ;
toes and fingers rotted off. Four ships passed, but did
not notice the signals, till at last, on the 21st January.
the whaler, Young Phcenix, took all on board, and
treated them with extreme kindness. To the credit of
Captain Gifford it must be said that he decided to sail
for the Mauritius, although by so doing he knew he
would lose his season's fishing.

The Times (of Wednesday) gives the statements of
several survivors, amongst others that of Mr. George
D. Crombie, of Stockwell, London, a first class pas.
senger

"We left London on the 17th of April, 1876, and Graves-
end on the 19th. The Strathmore, in addition to her crew
of 33 persons all told, had 60 passengers, of whom seven
were women, and 17 children. We carried no doctor. Our
captain, whose name was Macdonald, had been at sea some
thirty odd year.., and appeared to us a careful man. Some
three *reeks after leaving, some of the crew broached the
cargo and got at the liquor. The captain, however, caused
the forecastle to be searched, and the liquor found there
was taken possession of. After this all proceeded well.
On the 27th, 28th, and 29th of June, when we were
in southern latitudes!, the weather was so cloudy as to
preclude the possibility of observations being taken; and on
the 3ath it was very foggy. On the night of the 30th, during
the first and middle watches, I was in conversation with the
captain, who told me he thought we were about 87 miles
from the Crozet Group, but from what subsequently oc-
curred I think that he judged our position to be further south,
than it really was. I turned in at two am. We were
awakened about a quarter to four in the morning of the let
of July by hearing a grating noise. and almost immediately
afterwards we felt her strike. We at once got up and
huddled on our clothes. Bentley, as soon as he could
went to warn tho ladies, but found them all up. We
then rushed on deck, and found it quite dark. The
captain just before I came on deck called out, 'Good-
bye to you all I It is all over! Save yourselves! To the
boats at once l' The port quarter boat was nearest to me
as I got on the poop, and I put my plaid and the rug I bad
brought with me into it. We then all tried to get the boat
down, but a sea came over and washed us away I then lost
my companion, and to save myself took to the mizen rigging.
I remained with others in the rigging till daybreak, by which
time the ship had gone under water all but the forecastle-
head. On day breaking I got along the mizen topgallant
stay t 3 the mainmast, and from there down the mainstay to
the roof of the deckhouse There was a heavy swell, but
every wave did not break over us. Several others scrambled
to the same place, while others were in the rizging. The
second mate and several others of us managed to get
the gig and dingy off. The gig went off first, in charge
of the second mate, with eight persons, and after her
the dingy in charge of the third mate. The captain
and chief mate had been washed away when we
made for the rigging. The boats left us going towards the
rocks, which we saw in front of us about 100 yards off rising
like a wall several hundreds of feet out of the Water. Eleven
of us then remained, as we believed, and one on the rigging.
We then went on to the forecastle. Late in the afternoon
the gig returned, and took away five passengers whom we
had not before seen and who were clinging to the mizentop.
They went off, and we were left shivering in the cold, the
dense fog rendering it impossible for the boat to return.
The night passed in misery and terror, all our sustenance
being a few biscuits. We were wet and almost
frozen by the extreme cold. After daybreak the gig came
back, bringing back to us the hope of life which
had almost left us. The gig took us all off; some lying
down in hcr. The sea had now got calmer, and we
found a landing place about one and a half mile to the
south and east of where our ship had struck. We found
the dingy had safely landed her crew, and that the port life-
boat had brought 19 ashore, including Mr. Spencer Joslen,
who with his brother Perry had been washed overboard.
The brother was drowned, but Mr. Spencer Joalen was picked
up. This lifeboat had immediately after the ship struck,
been cleared away in an almost miraculous manner. She
was on the skids, and was cut free. The wave coming over
lifted her clean over the ship, between the main and mizen-
masts. We had thought her lost, and were delighted to
find her safe, with the one lady who was saved, Mrs.
Wordsworth, and her son. We thus numbered 49 in all,
including one child, a little boy of three years old whose
father was saved but mother lost. Mr. Henderson, whose
sister was on deck with him, saved himself from being
washed over by clinging to the rail. His sister was washed
away All the women and passengers had rushed to the poop,
and when the boats were found to be useless they were all
washed over. The ship settled down by the stern shortly
after she struck ; so that those who could not take to the
rigging, the boat failing, could vet be saved. The boats
had never been out of the chocks from the day we lef r, and
so had got jammed. The quarter bats had to be lowered
first before the lifeboats, two boats being swung on three
davits. The starboard lifeboat was, therefore, useless, and
it was only by a miracle that the port lifeboat was
launched. Had she fallen on the deck she must have
been smashed. The captain, after the vessel struck, appeared
incapable of action. Ile remained walking up and down the
poop with his hands behind him, and seemed rather to court
his fate. The chief mate and he were washed overboard to-
gether by the third wave. We found the island to boa deso-
late place, a refuge for seabirds, and devoid of trees It ap-
peared to us to be about two and a half miles long and about
half a mile broad at the broadest part. When we first arrived
we slept on the bare rocks, but in two days we had built a
shanty, and after a time others were built of stones and
turf, but the cold was so great as to render touching
the stones a very painful work. We found that the alba-
tross were on the island and a sort of gray bird. We sub-
sisted on these for some time, and when they left us we had
a flock of moliyhawks. These were succeeded by the pen-
guins, whose eggs we found a great luxury. Their skins we
used as fuel, and, stitched together, we made of them
clothes and boots. After a time the pengetins showed fight,
and came at us with their beaks. Their flesh was black As
we settled down our party was divided into camps, there being'
six of these. On the third night of our arrival the boats were
lost, but with the aid of the lifeboat we had saved two barrels
of gunpowder, one cask of port wine, two cases of rum, two of
gin, one of brandy and one of preserves, and a case of eight tins
of sweets. The liquor lasted four or five weeks, being served out,
at first, night and morning, and afterwards at night only, till
it was reduced to a small quantity, which was reserved for
medicinal purposes. The tins in which the sweets were
packed we used as pots and lamps. A few matches had been
saved from the wreck, and we kept a latap, fed by fat from
the birds, burning continually. When we first landed, every
one, sailors and all, gave up to Mrs. Wordsworth everything
that she required, and she entertained a very high opinion
of their behaviour towards her. The first week was
mild in comparison with those which followed. We
appeared to have arrived at the beginning of winter,
and suffered much from ice and snow. Of fresh water
we found a plentiful supply. For vegetable food we had
the tops of a tuber resembling carrot tops. On the first
night Mr. George Mellor died of exposure On the 19th of
July a young men named Stanbury, of Dover, died of lock-
jaw, caused by injury to his feet, over which, to protect
them, he had put albatross-skins with the flesh inwards.
On September 3, Mr. Henderson joined his sister, who had
been washed overboard. On the 23rd of. November a
quarter-
master named Husband succumbed, and on Christine-sea: r'
Mr. Walker lost hit child. Our number was then. reduc d;
to 44, at which it remained until 'we were taken off by :the
American whaler Young Phenix, Captain Gifford, wltc;
with his wife and crew, treated us with the utmost kind-
ness and consideration. We had sighted four vesselr pre-
viously, but they either failed to see us or would not take
pity on us. The vessel which passed on the 13th of Septem-
ber went between us and Hog Island, within two miles of s. .
The Young Phenix was cruising for whales when she s w
our signals. The Captain transhipped 20 of our number to t e
Sierra Morena, Captain Ketmedy, which landed us at Galle
on the 241 h inst. To Captain Kennedy and his crew, as Well.'
as to the cap,tain and crew of the Phcenix, we are indebted
for our lives. '
• 41(
The Times, in a leader upon the wreck of the Strath.'
more, and the rescue of the survivors from the island
by Captain Gifford, remarks :
"Days, weeks, 'months passed and no ship came near, or
came near only to pass on without notice of their ineffectual
signals. What was to be their fate? Were they to remain
thus for ever shut up within sight, from time to time, of'
those who might save them, but with no means of reaching'
them or holding communication with them 2 ; It'
was a gloomy prospect this of a life-long bondage,,
away from the flesh-pots which have before now
made bondage itself tolerable. Doubt was • turn-
ing fast to certainty, but it was to the certainty of despair.
Those seven months of suffering and suspense must, indeed,,
have been a sore trial of the powers of endurance, physical
and trieutal, of those who were compelled to go through
them Our surprise may well be that so few of them gave_
way under it. But before the last sad extremity was reached,
while the pulse of life was still beating, and while life itself
was still worth a last : truggle, the rescue came, unexpected
we may be sure, since too many expectations had before
ended in the doubled sorrow of disappointment, The'
vessel which at length arrived was a United States
whaler, on her course to the South Sea Fisheries. Her captain,
acshwahncoemohf
etlfieousenasd
annt 'tshpereraflotzes itosr,
anthde
of care which they could not
em- with him. Weeare sure
shwwaahekvoeae are
1 a, trteohe:
iedi
vn,
epoorlpaevi
ef edch urecer :
had
ttaahunare
amounttak e
nt h
the English nation-will judge_as it deserves of the sacrifice to
dtasisflai?eitfinioniird
mertsubmitthatedu
bareand whoilnlourno,ttolatihletdoededo
a nhodn whichot
ou r
thaaenr 'min
~_ _

"J. C.," writing from ShrewsbtFy to the Dal!!!
Telegrpph says :
Sir,—l most heartilY a 7
gree with'yorr irliggestion that some
public acknowledgment should be made of the gallant and
noble conduct of Captain Gifford in his rescue of the sur
vivors of the ship Strathmore. We are not slow to appre-
ch.te merit in our own people; but let it not be said that our
sympathies are only insular. All honour to our kinsmen of
the Stars and Stripes! Humanity is not a matter of locality
—it makes the world akin. I trust that a public meeting in
London will testify to the worth of this generous American
sailor, who without hope of re ward,pade a sacrifice that we

should have been proud of in an Englishman. I beg to for-
ward £5 towards a testimonial.

Dr. Litton Forbes, M.D., F.R.G.S., Regent. street,
Llndon, writes to The Tinto :

"In DecembP; 1874, I missed close to -the Crozet Islands.
upon one of which the fine ship Strathmore, as rested in
your columns, has been lost. A few particul irs concerning
this comp iratively MIJMOWD group mu possibly be interest
lag to your readers.

The Crozet Isles were discovered by Marion du Fresne,
in command of a French expedition, as long ago as-January,
1772, but this unfortunate commander being shortly after-
wards massacred in New Zealand. nothing was known of
their discovery until three years afterwards. Captain Cook,
In 1776, was Informed by Crozet, Marion's second in com-
mand, of their existence, and they have since been visited by
Sir James Ross in 1840, and by the French frigate L'Heroine.
"The group consists of five islands. all of volcanic origin.
Apostle Island up in which the Strathmore struck, consists
properly of two islets, both almost inaccessible, and sepa-
rated from each other by a narrow channel studded with
rocks. Possession Island, the largest of the group, is about
twelve miles in circumference, and consists ot volcanic
racks, covered with scanty vegetation. Penguin or Inacces-
sible Island is next in size, and has received its name from
the enormous number of sea birds by which it is frequented.
It is barren and precipitous, and at a distance appears to be
a collection of curiously-shaped pinnacles.
"The Crozet Group lies in lat. 46 27 S., and long. 52 14 E.,
right in the middle of the great Eastern highway to Aus-
tralia and India. Dangerous as the group is, it is neverthe-
less frequently approached by outward-bound vessels, as it
affords them an opportunity of testing the accuracy of their
chronometers. At certain seasons of the year fog and ice
are met with in this neighbourhood, and materially increase
the dangers of an Australian passage. Whale ships occa-
sionally visit the group for the sake of the seals and birds
which frequent it, but of which the supply has greatly fallen
off in late years.
"The Strathmore is by no means the only vessel that has
been wrecked on the Crozets. In 1821 the sailing cutter
Princess of Wales was lost on Possession Island. The crew
were taken off in comparatively good health after a detention
of a year and ten months. One of the sailors, named Good-
ridge, subsequently wrote an account of his life on the island,
somewhat aftenthe style of 'Robinson Crusoe,' and lived for
many years by the proceeds arising from its sale, chiefly in
Devonshire and Cornwall"