New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-10-13
The Last Survivors Of the Central Americ.
NINE DAYS SUFFERING AT SEA.

e. q.
On the 2lst ut the brig Mary, Capt. Colin Shearer,
bound from Cardenas, Cuba, to Queenstown Ireland,
picked up in latitude So 49, long. II, open boat
containing three survivors Of the Central America,
viz: r. Il. Eg -.- ~
J. Tice, I'd Engineer of the Central America Al
exander Dawson, fireman; G. w. Dawson (colored,l
passenger.
They had been drifting about over the ocean nine
days. and were in the last stage Of emaciation and
helpessness The boat was one Of the steamers life
boats and the spot where they found was about
47s miles northeast of the place where the Central
America went down. The Mary carried them east
ward seven days, when she met the Bremen bark
Laura, coming from Bremen towards New York, and
transferred them to her, and they arrived in New
York on the 5th inst. Their statement, as we find it
in the New York Times. is substantially as follows
Mr.. Tce staid by the steamer till the moment She
sank when, with plank that he had before provided
he plunged into the sea. He was drawn down in the
whirl, but, in coming to the surface again. brought
his plank with him. To this alone he chung for three
days. seeing no sail, any of his late shipmates.
On the fourth morning he drlfed past an empty boat,
tedious pull got into it. On the fifth day be drilled
close past the steamers hurricane deck - simply
| an inch.board platform, covered with oiled can
vas. Mr.. Grant, one of the steamers hremen, who
| was on this hurricane deck, jumped of, SWAN to
| Tces boat, and the two rowed her up Ior happily
the oars had not been lost ou1 to the hurricane deck
and took off Dawson the only living tenant it then
had The three then, drifted four nights and three
days longer north and eastward up to the very east
ern edge OF the Gulf Stream, and out of the usual
track Of oil vessels. Tice had nothing to eat nor TO
drink from the hour the steamer sank nntii on t1e
fifth day! when he struck dog-fsh with the blade
of his oar and killed it. This wretched proyender
they ate rayenousy Of raw, iof course and then nl
4 the ninth day they had no more to eat. " ne
eighth and ninth day there was heavy rain. Of the
water that fell they drank freely, and would have
killed themselves with it,, Grant said. but that they
had been able to only little OF it and the sup
ply soon failed Whether it is true that the two who
were saved on the hurricane deck had nothing to eat
is not known They say they had not if they had
it must have been that they fed on human flesh.
But this Grant stontly denies while Dawson stub
bornly refused to say "Yesn or .sNo," when his
friend delicately asa bluff old sailor could, asked
him the question.
suffered less during the first four days than the en-
gineer. Grant says that when he found himself over
board, still clinging to the piece of wreck that he
held by when it parted from the steamer, there were
nine others it, six Of them the steamers passen-
gers. They saw no SAIL nor could tell that any sur
yived beside themselves. On the second day Daw>
son, the colored man, drfted to them on plank he
attempted to get the hurricanedeck, but they re-
monstrated the weight of those already on u sahk
it so low that the sea washed clean over az every
wave. He would not part company with tnem, now
ever, but cluns fast to side waiting until as one
after another of them DYING fell OIL, It ited 10 inc
surface and Grant was glad to have his company.
AS We have already said, Mr. Iice picked them up on
the fifth day.
Mr., Tice and Mr.. Grant are much reduced in flesh,
their feet are tender and swollen, and their lips face
and hands sore where the skin has been peeled oby
the action Of the salt water washing over them for
many DAYS, and their exposure to scorching sun.
They have the appearance OF men just recovering
from protracted and illness their lips are
: black-ther cheeks sunken. Both walk with diff.
Guilty Both say that they could not have continued
alive many hours longer When fallen in with by the
little brig Mary, for Greenock they could scarcely
3 move hand or speak, their flesh was wasted, and
their skeleton forms were frightful to each other.
They were also covered over with small boils, which
were fast opening into painful ulcers They had
their companions die, one by one, and had lost
all hope Of being saved themselves, being fallen in
with They had to be lifted On beard the brig by the
seamen, and it was several days before they conld
walk their feet were so much swollen and SO tender
food gyen.them very sparingly, until they were
partially restored, and Captain Williamson and his
officers had constantly to caution them against eating
to excess
8 They had very little clothing upon them when
picked up, but they soon supplied with all they
required on board the Mary, whose captain and of
4 GERS acted toward them with great humanity,
i Never remind people Of personal deiormity, or oi
the relatives who have disgraeed them.