Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-07-19
Six Sailors on a Coral Reef,
THEIR RESCUE AFTER FIFTY-ONE DAYS.
WRECK OF THE MERCURIUs.


they had managed to exist 81 days. The
Silver Craig sailed from Islay on the after
noon of the 10Th of May. When about |
ten miles from the Rocas Reef, off Pernam- |
buco. the weather clear and a moderate |
breeze blowing, Capt. COhu discerned a
lump on the reef, which he knew he was
approaching, and made it out to be hut
of some kind. Drawing nearer, he observ-
ed mast, with something like a signal of
distress flying, and he at once bore down
toward the reef, and hauled boat out and
prepared her for launching in order to Wis
it the reef. AS he drew nearer the island
he was enabled to see that the supposed
flag was a striped shirt, hoisted half-mast
high, and disposed in lieu of a better sig
nal The Silver Craig was hove to within
a mile and half or two miles of the reef,
and then six men came alongside in two
small boats which they had constructed
from wreckage found on tie reef. They
said they believed themselves to be the sole
survivors of the ship Mercurius, Of Liver
pool, which had been wrecked on the reef
while on a voyage from San Francisco to
Liverpool. They had little or no clothes,
but, with the exception of colored man,
were all in good condition, having lived
upon birds eggs, shell fish, fish, and even
turtles, drinking fresh water, which they
had the good fortune to find on the reef.
! They had with them a basket containing
about 200 of the large eggs which had been
their principal source of food and they
were delicious eating when cooked. Capt.
| Cohu and his officers and crew took the
castaways on board the Silver Craig, sup
piled them with food and clothing, and as
already stated, brought them to Liverpool
The Mercurius was a fine new iron
clipper ship of 500 tons. She left san
Francisco on the 9Th Of January, and was
wrecked on Rocus Reef, a dangerous reef
lying in latitude 307 81 south, longitude
30o 20| west, in early morning on the 18th
of March. 1t was dark and raining heay-
lily. The side of the ship grazed the sharp
edge of the coral below the water, and She
struck heavily twice, being apparently over
a ledge Of the rock. She soon began to
fill, and preparations were made for launch
ing the long boat. Suddenly the ship
lurched outward, fell over the edge of the
rocky shelf into deep water, and went down
in about eight iathoms. Her yards had
previously been braced, to bring her off
/ the reef before she struck, and when she
fell over, the sails, which were thus lying
sideways to the mascs. carried down, it is
supposed, most OF the crew. Those who
regained the surface We're swimming about
in the darkness for TWO hours or more, I'M
til at length, as the tide fell, they felt they
had gained footing on the ledge; and
when day broke they were able 70 move to
the unwa,hcd parts of the reef. At this
time it was supposed there were only five
survivors cut Of twenty-five who had been
aboard the ship. The carpenter, Henry
Murray, was seen alive near the reef, but
q large wave came and washed him into
one of the large holes or small cayerns
which the sea has worn into the coral, and
he was not seen again. In the course OF
the day another survivor was discovered
on another part of the reef
The ship struck about o'clock in the
morning and when the day broke all that
was to be seen Of the Mercurius were the
tops Of her fore and main mast, in the deep
water alongside the reef. Afterward she
partly broke up, and some of the wreckagt
washed ashore, but no provisions or cargo
which consisted of grain. The survivors
had a dreary prospect before them. The
Rocas Reef consists of two coral islands, il
extent about Is acres each. They are sep,
arated at high water, but the space be.
: tween them can be walked over at low wa.
ter. They both lie very low, and have
patches of white sand in the centre, bu
, little or no grass. Some few years ago The
British Consul at Pernambuco had then
planted with cocoanut trees, that the rec
might be visible to ships approaching, bu
only one or two of these have grown. Tht
London clipper Duncan Dunbar wa
wrecked on the reef about two years agt
= on her passage to Australia, with a ricI
5 cargo and numerous passengers. Portion
= Of her wreck are still visible and also re
r mains of other vessels. These sad relic
t were of the greatest use to the six surviv
T. ors of the Mercurius They found tw
+. iron water tanks, with a capacity Of fou
\ hundred gallons each, and having iron GOV
> ers, deposited in convenient positions ant
filed with water, having been placed Their
a from the wreck Of the Duncan Dunbar Il
the early part of 1869. From the wreck
: age strewed about they built themselves
log hut, as comfortable a place as could b
. expected, even under more favorable cir
! cumstances, and with the aid of a broke
sheath knife, hammer, a two ounce weigh
and a large copper bolt, they contrived
out of pieces Of planking, to build tw
small boats, the nails with which they wer
put together having been drawn out of tn
), old wrecked timber strewn about. Fo
= food, they had plenty of birds eggs, youn
birds and shell fish, and occasionally man
L aged to catch fish and turtle Fire wa
. procured in the Indian mode, by rubin
{ two dry sticks together; but this was a wea
G ry process, two hours rubbing being requir
J, ed to produce light, and the fire once oh
d tanned was watched day and night as jeal
e ously as the sacred flame of classical time,
y 1t was kept burning near the hut at nigh
II time to attract the attention of passing YES
G sells Two or three times during the Sc
If journ on the reef the fire went out, and ha
h to be rekindled in the manner described
e The timber of the former wrecks-callin
5. up sad thoughts served for fuel, for 0
5. the island there was naturally none. Til
e men suffered severely from the rays OF th
IF fierce tropical sun-they were in latituG
if 3, south of the Equator-for they had Ii
Is tie or no clothes on when they reached ii
reef, only one of them having been on dec
the rest in their berths when the shi
n struck. The reef swarmed with ants, vel
" much like the English ant in size and a
b. pearance, but Of most venomous natur
sc and the men suffered great pain from CO.
20 tinual bites. A fortunate addition to the
N stock of fresh water was a cask of that Ii
!" aid, washed ashore some time after tn
Y had been on the reef, most probably fro
"A the wreck of the Mercurius but there we
,r no marks by which it could be recogniz
9 as belonging to that vessel. To prott
-, their heads from the sun the men knit
of hats Of cocoanut fibre from the only II
they could find on the reef, and sewed tn,