The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-29 00:00:00

pas-
rind concel
Airy. honoured.

Mania the South Bee. The men 'Of the
Airy ForecAfter a liiea of AdvelltWeis and
succeed&Fin reaching Tahitfr4hefe- they w:
for by the British consul, who placed them on
the Crockarci for this post on their waytonse‘s 'During
the first day outOlse Crockard • experienced faui
weather, and, being a fast sailer, she sped rapidry
towards her destination. On the second day she Of-
countered stiff breezes and heavy seas, but being a
staunch craft no fears were entertained. About dunk
the gale began to oome in "squalls, and rain fell. '• ALC
11.30 o'clock a heavy squall suddenly struck her witlb
such force as to throw her on her beam emits; 'The
halyards were let loose, and an attempt was madtrio-ger
the sails off forward, but after a momentary struggle *co'
vessel yielded to the force of the elements and turned
bottom upward. The calamity carne .so suddenly that_
those who were below had not time to escape. Many
of them awoke in the water with every avenue of
escape cut off. The crew of tI4 'schooner being on
deck had time to realise theirperil and make their way
to one of the boats. Calititin aodfrey, who had just
before gone below, escaped is a skylight. Of the
Cle

hafirship64
,erti—cartct

through .
four passengers in the cabin, Capt. —older, of the
Airey Force, alone succeeded in making his way out.
Of his men, who were all below, but ,even were ever
seen afterward. John Elder, the second mate of the
Crockard, who was asleep, was drowned, and _
met the same fate. Fourteen men, including the tWtti,
captains succeeded in reaching one of the boats an
getting Clear of the vessel. They remained near
until dtylight, when they succeeded in picking up a
few oranges and a kit of mackerel. With no other
provisions but these, they set out for the Island of
Matahiva, 130 miles distant, this being the nearest
land. After four days, during which their s•
from hunger and thirst were intense, they re
island. It proved to be uninhabited. To their disma
they were unable to find any fresh water, and the only
food it yielded was a few cocoanuts. Foreseeing that
they must perish if they remained there, the captain-
resolved upon a desperate attempt to reach Tahiti.
.With six men he started on the following day in an
open boat. On the second day after leaving the i.land
'they were picked up by the Tahitian schooner Islam(
Belle, which immediately started for the island and_
rescued the remainder of the party in an exhausted-.
condition. The captain of the Island Belle fed ana
cared for them and transported them to the Island of
Awaa, where he transferred them to- the schooner
Mary, by which they were conveyed to Papete, where
_they arrived 26 days after the loss of their yeasel. The
Crockard, which was built on the Sound in 1870, was
169 tons burden. She was valued at 16,000 dols., and
was insured for half that sum. Her cargo, valr
6,000 dols., was fully insved. .

Osgood-1-

'tied-at, I-

THE ARCTIC. •EXPEDITIONosmada,
,
On Saturday the Empress Eugenie and the Prince
Imperial, accompanied by Comte (lary, Baron Cor-
viaart, M. Pietri, and Comte and Comtesse de Turenne
and Comtesse Lebretonne, paid a visit to the Arctic
ships and exhibition. The-Imperialvaity left Chisle-
hurst at 9.18 a.m., for London-bridge, whence they
travelled by a special saloon carriage attached- to the
ten o'clock train for Portsmouth. On their arrival
they were received by Admiral Elliott and driven tst
the official residence in the —Dockyard of the Naval,
Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth. Here they
took lunch, Sir Hastings Doyle, Sir Leopold and
Lady M'Clintock, Flag Captain Sullivan and Mrs.
Sullivan, Captain and Mrs. Nares, Captain Stephen.
son, Commander Markham, and the Admiral's and
General's immedjate . Staff being present to- me -
theta." At three p.m. they left the Admiral's house in
open carriages and were drivento the Arctic Exhibition. '-
There were only offidials present in the dockyard as
the Imperial party proceeded to the Exhibition shed.
Their cordial greetings however, were repeatedly
cknowledged by the impress, who was dressed in
deep mourning, and carried a simple bouquet of lilies
of the valley in her hand. At the door of the Exhibi-
tion they were received by Admiral Superintendent
M'Clintock, who explained all the appliances, the
sledges, tents, clothing, and samples of food and cook-
ing utensils. Among the articles on view were some
samples of the comfortable woollen-knitted wigs for
which the Expedition is indebted to the Empress her-
self, who has shown a warm interest in the preparations.
Captain Nares was present, and his services were
brought into requisition to satisfy the eager curiosity
of the Empress and the Prince. After going over the
museum, the Empress took Captain Nares' e arm an
proceeded to the ships, where they were received by the
officers and their wives. The Prince Imperial was too
indisposed to accempanythe Empress to the ships, and
remained at Admiralty House. Drawn up on either
side of a bridge over which the Imperial party had to
pass were the crews of the two shins, just mustered tO
march off to Southsea, where a dinner had been pro--
vided for them by the Corporation of Portsmouth.
The Empress acknowledged the salute with which she
was received, and having inspected the two lines, ex-)
pressed to them, through Captain Nares, how glad she
was to have seen the brave men who were about to do
their country such distinguished service in the fri -
regions of the north. She said she felt the great..
interest in their proceedings, as she had intimately
studied previous British expeditions to the Arctic
- regions. Her curiosity was in the first instance
excited by what she had heard from a French
lieutenant of the imperial yacht, who. had taken
part in one of them. The Empress was und,
stood to refer to Lieutenant Emile de Bray, of the
Imperial Navy, who served in the _Resolute. • Her
own contributions to the comfort of the crews, she
, said, were only a small present, but she hoped they
, would accept them as an indication of her earnest
- wish that they might achieve their object and return
safely to their native land. The men having givena
three cheers, Marched off, wed the Imperial party pro-
ceeded, to the ships. Captain Stephenson, Com-
mander Markham, and the other officers escoKtea,„
ithem over both vessels, on which-'they' spent - a con-'
!siderable time. Shortly beforaHlare- o'clock the Eria
tpress and party were c*veyed in carriages to the
Irailway station, and reftted to town by the 5.10
'train.
I The Mayor of Portsmouth having invited Captain
INares and the officers of the Expedition to a banquet,
Ot was felt that the crews of tiefivio'fihips should not
be forgotten, and the ilienabers of the Town Council
'entertained the men at a substantial dinner on Saturday
afternoon at the Portland hall, The decorations had
been left untouched from the previous banquet, with
the exception of the plate, which had been returned to
its owners. The men, who, including sailors, marines,
and ice-masters, numbered about a hundred, marched
to the hall at four o'clock, headed by the band of the
St. Vincent Training Ship, and, having taken their seats
at the centre benches, were waited upon by the members
of the Town Council, the Mayor, and a few privileged
guests being accommodated at the cross table in front
of the dais. The gallery was crowded witti ladies and
townsmen. Whet i the crews had all assembled it VMS
impossible not to be struck with their admirable phy-
sique and jovial appearance (says The Times of Mon-
day, from which we are quoting). They are of course,
all picked men, health and strength and temperament
having been insisted upon as necessary conditions. It
was noticed that out of the whole number assembled
there were very few dark men, the large majority
being fair-haired or reddish-brown. But a heartier,
healthier, and, we must add, more boisterous collection
of Jack-tars it would be difficult to muster anywhere.
One portion of the preliminary medical examination
to which they had been subjected was devoted to an
examination of their teeth, perfect mastication, which
-is so necessary to health under all circumstances being-
rightly regarded as of vital importance in the bleak*
and inhospitable regions whither they are about to pro-
ceed. It need scarcely be said that the practitlal.-evi- •
dence which they gave of the soundness of their teeth
and of their powers of mastication on the_oCCaSi(22l WAS
irresistible. They kept the carvers find: the dater,
actively employed, and the demands uponalie-seivices
of the gentlemen who handed round the beer were in.
11 cessant. The temperance movement, however, hat
rrthade considerable headway among the men of - the
Navy, and the continual popping of corks showed that
-there was a brisk demand for effervescing drinks, even
,aniong those who would soon find it difficult to
&obtain their favourite beverage except in a solidified_
form. But there was an abundance of everything for
Wl ; and such, indeed, was the surplus, that the w.
'little ones and sweethearts of the gallant fellows .
I:subsequently called in and treated with a eopiom
aupply of beef,-plum-pudding, and wine. This was all
that was required to make the happiness of the party
complete. Just as the feast-had concluded, Captain
Nares and Fleet-Surgeon Corum entered the hall anl.
overe received with loud cheers. Commander Mark-II
,;batu also subsequently entered and took his seat at the'
cross-table, and his presence was recognised with st-'
' three times three," The conduct of the after proceed-
:lugs ,almost exclusively devolved upon the men- them-
pelves. They sang antunber of comic and patriotic songs; I
,and when the chief boatswain of the Discovery treated
the company to a pieee of a devotional character, and 1
the Mayor declaimed some verses in which a local lady. I
bade the explorers "„God speed," the men cheered the 1
sentiments with the same energy with which they bad
honoured the reference to the -Union Jack, and appre-
ciated the remarks of the first pst.ty. , officer of the
Discovery, who appealed for their musical assistance on,
the grotind that they would be no good for ansAretiel
i
_Expedition unless they could join in a chorus. In.,
proposing-the "'Navy, Army, and Reserve Forc,es,':
the Mayor (Mr. H. E. Davies) said he had theprivilege,
ton ,Thursday night of prope-sing the health of tlie-
- gallant captain and the other officers in that hall. It
was no fault of Captain Nares that the health of the
,crews of both vessels was 'nee coupled with that of the
Offi3ers, for when be sawthe toast list he said "Can't you
strike out ' officers ' and put in 'Captain Nares and
the members of the Arctic Expedition.'" It was only.
when tAd that the Council were going to welcome the
men there by themselves' with their sweethearts and
wives, that he consented to allow the toast to !ganef in
the phraseology in which it was first written. Hesasked
them to drink the health of their gallant captain,
ctaipled with the Navy and the other names he had '
given them. The band here gave "Hearts of Oak,"
-'and the crews gave three.timea three cheers. Captain
' Nares said be thought his ;work there was vanes
pleted two nights ago, and tie was not iat
prepared to answer propekak ,the $O4#Ol.A.
.6
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