The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-10-05 00:00:00

A GALLANT RESCUE.

The Ltserpool Daily 41'ion narrates the following :

On Thursday, the 22d of June, 1871, about noon,
the Knight Errant, a Liverpool ship, bound to San
Francisco, might have been seen in sore distress. For
a long time she had buffeted the storm, but the fierce
blasts and yet fiercer sea of the Antartic Circle had
begun to tell fata'ly upon her. One after another the
lower and topsail yards had been carried away by the
gale. The sea, breaking over her, had by degrees
cleared the deck. One by one the boatewe re washed away,
and at last the very steering wheel was torn from its
firm foundation. The ship then lay in the trough of the
sea, an unmanageable wreck. While inthie helpless con-
dition, at 2.30 p.m., the Knight Errant wan happily dis-
covered by the San'. Ccarns, another Liverpool ship,
also bound round Cape Horn. The Sant (Yearns had
felt the fury of the gale but somehow had made better
weather of it. Yet, When Captain Williams ordered
the helm to be put up to near the wreck, he could
scarcely hope that it would be in his power to render
her any assistance in the face of such a fearful gals.
On approaching within signal distance flags were seen
fluttering in the rigging of the Knight Errant. These
were soon made out to be No. 7.831—" Want to quit
the ship, but have no boats ; " a touching appeal,
which went home to the brave hearts already nerved
to do battle with the elements on behalf of their
brother sailors in distress. Captain Williams replied
with his flags, "I will stand by you and send my
boat," and we may imagine the cheering effect of the
signal. Accordingly, the Sant Crams was put under
snug canvas, and hove to near the wreck, and a little
to windward.
Edwin James Wright, the chief officer of the Sam
(Yearns, now comes prominently into notice. He asked
permission to get out a boat and proceed to the wreck
with a boat's crew of volunteers. Captain Williams,
anxious for the safety of his own crew, felt it would be
madness to attempt the rescue until the wind and sea
had gomewhat moderated; but, to please his chief
officer and crew, gave a reluctant consent for a boat at
least to be got ready. But the boat ha i scarcely been
got off the skids, or resting place in the centre of the
vessel, and landed on the deck as a preliminary to her
being hoisted out, when a big wave tumbled on board
and stove the boat, making her, for the time being,
quite useless. This settled the question of delay, and
the carpenter was set to w, rk to repair the damage.
At 8 p.m., the wind having moderated a little,
the gallant mate and crew of the Sam Cearns pleaded
for per:Mission to get the other boat out, and Captain
William, consented. As it was the only boat available
at the moment, it was an anxious time till she was
fairly in the water, and the gallant Wright and his
volunteers had started. Through the whole of that
weary night they laboured on, and the difficulty
and danger were so great that each trip to the
wreck occupied four hours. Still, at each trip, eight
souls were snatched from death by Edwin Wright
and his crew. About 8 a.m. of the 23,1 of June, the
third trip having been successfully performed, and 21
of the Klaght Errant's crow having been safely trans-
ferred to the Sam ('earns, Captain Williams requested
Mr. Wright and his crew to leave the boat and let the
second officer and • fresh crew relieve them. "No !"
was the reply, "our shipmates' lives are as precious to
them as ours are to us. We have saved 24, and by
God's help we will bring back the other five." So
away they went for their final trip, and soon had the
five men safe in the boat, Captain &obis being the
last to leave the Knight Errant.
About noon the boat, with her precious freight, had
got safely alongside of the Sam Crams, but by this
time the wind had increased and the sea had again be-
come very dangerous. Captain NV thiarns shouted to
the crew to be cool and cautious, and faithfully they
obeyed his command. The ship was rolling fearfully,
and it required the utmost care to keep the boat from
being dashed to pieces alongside the vessel. As the
boat rose on the top of tt e sea, poor Captain Stobie
grasped at the lee forebrace, which was hanging over
the side ; unhappily the rope was not fad, but yiel led
to his hand, and, worn out as he was with fatigue and
exposure, he missed his hold, and fell into the sea
between the ship anil the boat. Forgetful of their peril,
and regardless of the caution that had been givers
them, the gallant fellows dropped their oars, with
which they had been keeping the boat from coming
too close to the ship, and made a desperate effort to
rescue him. The next moment the ship rolled heavily
on to the boat, smashing her, as the ship's chains came
in contact with the boat's gunwale, and capsizing the
eleven seen into the water. Four belonging to the
San: ('earns were with great difficulty saved, but
Edwin Wright and a young man mused William
Dawson, who had gone in the boat on her last trip, to.
with Captain St 'hie and his four men, all disap-
, peered. Everything that was loose about the Sam
Crams' decks was thrown overboard in the hope that
the poor fellows would hold on until another boat could
be got out, which was done in an incredibly short space
of time. But it was all in vain. Their heavy wet
clothes had dragged them down, and they perished at
the moment that their safety seemed to have been
secured. Reluctantly the boat was hoisted ha, and
with :sorrowing hearts the rescuers and the rescued pro-
ceeded on their way, leaving their brave dead to rest in
an ocean grave, and'th& _ e wor abandoned Sig& *rmu
t• beat tin ems a IN kegs.

To Captain Williams and his gallant boat's crew
medals and other awards were liberally voted by the
Liverpool Shipwreck sad Humane Society. nand-
some commemorative testimonials were sent to the re-
latives of Edwin James Wright and his young ship-
mate. A. puree of £l4O or £'lso was collated for
Wright's widow and orphan boy, and a small pension
cliaranteed to her for a few years. All honour to
those who thud sought to do honour to the brave.