The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-24 00:00:00

Perils of the Sea.

(From the Montreal Gazette.)
The following story of severe suffering has been
taken from the lips of Mr. Marcier, second mate and
sole survivor of the crew of the schooner Leader:—
" The Leader, Capt. Vigean, 122 tons burthen, left Mon-
treal, Nov. 22, 1864, for St. John's, laden with flour and
pork. Her ship's company numbered eight--vii., Capt.-
Vigneau, Blanchard (first mate); A. Marcier (second mate),
Pike, Willett, a Frenchman called Frank, and Marcior.
Off Quebec we were run into, and had to repair before we
could sail again. 'We got as far as Quarantine Island, 30
miles below Quebec, when we took head winds. On Sun-
day, Dec. 4, we got a fair wind, which carried us 30 miles
S.W. of Anticosti. Dec. Bwe got a fair wind again, and
steered south-sfaith-east until evening. Then suddenly
we came upon land, and put the ship's head north. The
wind was blowing a hurricane, with driving thick snow.
Friday, Dec. 9, our foretopsail was blown away, and we
then laid her to under reefed main staysail ; no land to be
seen. That night it was my watch ou deck. All hands ex-
cept myself were in the cabin. I saw a ground sea rising
close to the vessel, and bt3fore I had time to sing out it
came aboard. I caught hold of the foot-rope of the foretop-
gallant yard, which was lashed on the rail ; but I was
knocked senseless under the wheel. When I came to, I
looked round and saw that the cabin was gone, the main
staysail carried away, and not a soul to be seen but my-
self. Presently I saw the Frenchman and the steward in
the water to leeward, swimming towards the vessel ; but
before I could help them they went down. I next saw Mar-
cier crawling out from under the wreck of the cabin. The
back of his hand, from the wrist down, had the skin
saipped off it. I asked him if he was much hurt. Ho said,
' No, except his hand.' I then heard a man moaning under
the loose boards of the cabin, and told him to get out of
that as fast as he could or he would be washed overboard.
He said, I can't ; my back is broken, and my two thighs.'
This was Willett. We put him in the forecastle. I then
went to look for the captain, and found him with his head
on the deck, and his feet upon the rail. I carried him into
the storeroom. I never saw the mate or Pike after the
cabin was washed overboard. They were asleep, and went
over *with it. There were now left out of eight—the cap-
tain, Marcier (no relation of mine, though the same name),
Willett, and myself, and all injured but me. I determined
to heave the vessel to and wait for daylight, when there
would be a better chance of reaching land. I then tried the
pumps and found she was making water so fast that we
couldn't keep her free. Everything had been washed away
with the cabin but what we had on. About two o'clock the
next morning I saw we were going ashore against a very
high cliff. I sung out it was time for each man to save
himself, and asked the captain if he would come on deck.
He said he'd try. Willett could not move, and we had to
leave him. The night was very dark, and the sea running
very high. I saw what looked like a cove to leeward of
us, and told Marcier to steer as I directed him. Between
us and the cove there was a reef of rocks, and when the
vessel got close to the breakers I sung out to Marcier to let
go the wheel and save himself. He ran up in the fore
rigging. The captain was standing on the port side near
the fore rigging. The first sea that struck us went two
fathoms over the vessel and knocked away ten feet of the
stern, nearly to the mainmast. The captain was washed
to the lee side, and I took a rope, and crawled to him and
made him fast. He could not walk. His head had swollen
tremendously, and he was sick and weak from swallowing
salt water. For half an hour the seas continued to break
over us, and then the vessel worked in over the reef to
where it was a little quiet. At length she grounded about
20 fathoms from the shore. We got the boat out, but the
painter parted, and she drifted against the cliff and
turned bottom up. It was freezing very hard. We
remained on board the vessel till daylight next morning
(December 11). I then cut the mainmast away, thinking it
would fall towards the beach, and make quite a bridge for
us to get ashore, but it fell fore and aft alongside. I then
told Marcier to fasten a rope round him and tried to swim
ashore, and if he found he could not I would haul him on
board again, but, if he could, to keep hold of tho rope, so
that we might get the rest ashore. After much trouble he
landed on the beach, but unfortunately let go the rope. I
bad hard work to get ashore through the surf, but finally
managed it. The place where we landed was Well Cove,
between Coal River and the Bay of Islands. We two then
set out to look for a house. This was about 9 o'clock in
the morning. We walked all day, climbing hills and cliffs,
but could find no sign of people living there. At last we
discovered part of an old tilt, used by the French in the
summer. We spent the night there, trying to keep our-
selves from freezing to death. Our clothes were frozen
hard on us. I had on boots, but Marcier had nothing but
indiarubber shoes. Our sufferings that night were dreadful.
Next morning we set out again, and walked till the after-
noon, when it came on drifting snow, and wo were afraid of
getting astray, so we returned to the tilt about four in the
afternoon. In walking over the hills the sharp rocks had
worn through Marcier's shoes, and the soles of his feet were
cut to the bone, so that every step was tracked with blood.
After resting awhile I started to go aboard the wreck to get
some flour, and to see if the captain and Willett were alive.
But when I got to the beach I found the water was too high,
and I returned to the tilt and remained there all night. At
this time Marcier and myself were very badly frost-bitten.
On the next morning Marcier said he must give up, he could
not walk, and might die as well there as anywhere else. I
made him as comfortable as I could, and that afternoon suc-
ceeded in getting on board the wreck. I found the captain
was dead, but Willett was alive. The latter told me he had
eaten nothing since I left, and was almost starved. I gave
him some raw pork and flour, and then took as much as I
could carry back to the tilt. Here Marcier and myself re-
mained four weeks. We tried every_means to get a fire, but
couldn't succeed. Marcier was horribly frost-mitten. Every
day or two I would go on board the vessel to feed Willett,
for he was not able to help himself. The weather was very
cold. I covered the tilt with a piece of old canvas, but we
had no covering to keep us warm. Marcier's legs were frozen
hard from the knees down, and I was afraid to look at my
feet. After four weeks a tremendous fall of rain came down,
which thoroughly drenched us, and immediately the wind
came in from the north-west, with severe frost, so that we
were literally frozen to the ground. It is impossible for me
to tell what we suffered. I made upmy mind we must perish
ii we remained there, and told Marcier we must return to
the wreck, where we should have better shelter. We
started for the vessel. Marcier crawled a quarter of a mile
on his knees, and several times gave up altogether, but I
cheered him on, and persuaded him to make this last trial
for life. The flesh dropped from his legs as he crawled. I
could not carry him, because I could hardly walk myself.
After long time we got on board. I wentbelow and managed
to get up ten or a dozen barrels of flour out of the hold to
make a place for us to lie down in. We did the best we
could to keep ourselves alive, but we were all the time
chilled to the heart. We had had hardly any clothing, no-
thing to cover us, no fire, nothing to eat but raw pork and
flour, and only now and then a little water. Days and
nights passed without hope of relief. At length, on January
27th, a few hour s before daylight, Willett, who was in the
forecastle, called to me and said he was out of his berth
and couldn't get back. I told him I was so frost-bitten I
couldn't help him, but he begged so hard that I wont and
got him into his berth. Soon after he called, and said he
was out of his berth again. I told him I could not come to
him. Next morning I managed to get into the forecastle
again, and found him frozen dead on the floor. The poor
fellow had lived eight weeks with his back and two thighs
broken, and badly frostbitten besides. I went back to the
hold and told Marcier Willett was dead. He said it would
be his turn soon. About 3 o'clock that afternoon Marcier
asked me for some water. I mixed some flour and water for
him, and he tried to drink it, but he was too weak to swal-
low it; so I got him on my lap, with his head resting on
my arm, and tried to feed him with a spoon. While the
spoon was in his mouth I heard the rattle in his throat, and
almost immediately he died. I laid him down beside me,
and there he remained till March 21, when I was rescued.
Marcier had no flesh on his legs from his knees down. The
bones were bare. I was alone now, and many times prayed
to God to release me from my sufferings. But my heart felt
strong all through. After Marcier died I remembered there
was some linseed oil in the vessel, and after finding it I ap-
plied it to my feet, and it did them great good. When I cut
off my stockings four of the toes on my right foot dropped
off. The bones I pulled away. I have now come to March
21. Three months and 11 days had passed since 1 Was
wrecked, and of this'time I had been alone since January
27. On March 21 some of the crew of a sealing schooner,
from Channell, the Lilly Dale, Captain Osborn, came on
board ; I was below, but heard them talking alongside. I
crawled on deck, and sung out to them. They did not see
me, and the echo of my voice against the cliff frightened
them, so they ran away. I begged them for God's sake to
save me. They then returned, and aided by six others from
Capt. Evans's schooner they lashed me to a stick, and carried
me four or five miles over rough and open ice. After I got
aboard I made up my mind to cut off the last of my toes, so
I got a knife, notched the edge like a saw, and took it off.
Vremained in the vessel till she returned from the ice, and
arrived at Channell on the sth May."

WELSH GOLD MINING MADE PROFITABLE.—The
obstacles which have hitherto been encountered in
the attempt profitably to extract the precious metals from
the gold ores of Wales, owing to the "sickening " of the
mercury by the sulphur, &c., present, are now on the point
of being overcome by the modification of the old salt pro-
cess, just introduced by Mr. Crookes, at the Castel]. Carn
Dochan and neighbouring mine. For some years past the
evil complained of has been remedied in California by the
judicious use of common salt (chloride of sodium); but
Mr. Crookes conceives a greater advantage to result from
the use of the sodium in the metallic state, in which form
it may now be obtained at ss. per lb. It had previously
been considered that the chlorine in the salt played quite
as important a part in the cleaning of the mercury as the
sodium, and the consequence has been that the use of com-
mon salt has been general, owing to its cheapness, except
where chlorine could be obtained as an almost waste pro-
duct at a merely nominal price. The discovery that
metallic sodium will alone accomplish the object in view
entitles Mr. Crookes to the greatest credit for research, and
his opinion of the injurious effects of the chlorine has like-
wise the merit of novelty. It may be hoped that gold
mining in Wales will prove a brilliant success.-211ining
Journal.