Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-03-23
PERILS OF THE SEA.
A ships Crew Attacked by SayAges In
the Straits OF Mag ellan-Fish- Hawk $
With Deaths re ads-Reseue of SuE-
ferers.

1
u ferers.
The schooner Sarah HI. Merri,
!, which sailed from New York on tn
!. 29th of October, 1868, for Valpa
f raiso, entered the Straits of Mage
} Ian on the Goth of December. Earl
in January the vessel touched q
, Port Gallant, in the Straits, and
large number Of savage looking ma
tives were seen on the shore. Tn
British survey ship Nassau was lyin!
there, which was found very con
venient as a protection against The
Indians, who made many attempt.
to come alongside or get on board
The Captain says:
Owe opened our side ports and
ran out two stovepipes fifteen inches
in circumference, painted black,
which were taken by the savages for
guns. All hands were called to
arms-those that had no muskets
shouldering capstan bars, and the
harpoons also being gotten in read,
mess. These proceedings kept the
Indians at bay, and at night
a yigilant watch was kept
on board to guard against sud
den surprise. Whilst we remained
here the Indians made several at
tempts to take a small boat that was
surveying the harbor, during the
absence of the steamer, which was
surveying another, at some distance.
Though the thermometers stood at
90 degrees, they were entirely naked
except small piece of seal skin,
about two or three feet square, worn
around the shoulder by some, and
by others about the waist. Their
faces were deeply painted. The
heavy gales from the southwest,
heavy rains and the blank desolation
of Port Lamar, induced q vague
feeling of discomfort. Neither hu-
man nor brute life could be seen on
shore, and the few water fowls and
mysterious fish-hawks, with faces
like a death-head, flew round our
vessel with malicious cries that only
made the loneliness more real. No
tongue can express the fOrSaken,
rough, rugged aspect of the country.
In the midst Of a severe gale, on
New Years day, we sighted small
row boat with a signal of distress
flying, and containing a crew of six
men. We took them on board, but
not without some difficulty, as it
was blowing a gale, and the sea was
breaking right over the boat. When
the rescued men had recovered to
some extent, they informed US that
they were a party from the British
mail steamer Santiago, from Valpa-
raise for Liverpool, and which, when
entering the western entrance of the
straights of Magellan, ran on 10
sunken ledge and bilged. In three
hours afterWard, she had disappear
ed beneath the water. By dint of
great exertions on the part of fine
captain and officers of the Santiago,
all the passengers, who numbered
two hundred, were got on shore eX-
cept three, who were drowned-one
being'a child eighteen months old,
which had been left by its mother
in bed when the alarm was first
given, the mother being in a frantic
state with fear. A small quantity
of biscuit was also landed, and an
attempt was made to shelter the
women and children by erecting
huts of canvas and brushwoOd, but
with very little success. All were
suffering severely from cold, wet
and hunger, they being on an al
lowance of one biscuit day, The
party who were picked up volun-
teered to 90 to Bunta ARMS to seek
help-that settlement being about
10 miles eastward of our position
when we rescued them. As soon
as possible We FASTENED to the relief
Of the shipwrecked people, We hav-
ing TO work our vessel to the wind
ward thirty miles against strong
northwest breeze and rough sea.
We arrived there on the 9th OF
January, and were greeted with
cheers by the men and the tears OF
the females and children, whose
food was all but exhausted when we
came to their relief, and who hailed
with JOY the prospect of being re-
leased from region where there
was neither food nor civilized III
habitants. We threw overheard g
portion Of our cargo and placed ouI
cabins at their disposal, so that we
might make them as comfortable as
possible, and left the port to con
vey them to some convenient place
of refuge, but when We had pro
ceeded one hundred miles in thu
direction contrary to our voyage
we fell in with the British man-of
war Nassau, January 80, which /:
surveying the Straits, and to tina
vessel we transferred the suffering
people.