The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1871-10-28
Terrible Shipwreck and Loss Of
Eleven Lives!

Terrible SnipWTSCk d1O LOSS OF
Eleven Lives!
By the arrival Sunday, Oct. ODD, of the steam
err Moses Taylor, we have the following distress
ing account of human suffering and loss of life
at sea. The brig SheHehof, Captain Hopkins, it
will be remembered, took a cargo of cattle from
these islands to Tahiti in December of last year.
The following statement from the pen of I'll.
NJ. Whitney, Esq, who was a passenger by the
steamer, will be read with absorbing interest.
On Thursday, Oct. 10, at 8 A. NJ, a sail was
discovered by the wheelman on the steamer
Moses Taylor. The vessel lay directly IN the
steamers track, and appeared to be disabled,
/ having but one mast standing, and only her lower
topsall set, running before a fresh southeast
wind. On approaching her, it proved to be a
brig, water-logged, with her mainmast carried
away, apparently deserted, no persons appear
ing in sight on board. A sail spread over
the forecas:le, and n tent rugged in the foretop
cross-trees, showed that the crew had occupied
these places for some time. At every lurch, the
sea made a clean breach over the vessel from
stem to stern. TO all appearance 1T was a wreck
which had long been water-logged. and her crew
taken off by some passing vessel. Her stern
was broken away, the bulwarks on both sides
gone, and her sails flying from the foremast III
rags.
On reaching the wreck, the steamer stopped,
and Captain Bennett sent off a boat TO ascertain
whether any persons were on board, and 1t none,
whether any record could be found respecting
her. The sea being quite rough, the brig lurched
heavily, and the boat approached her with some
difficulty. She was boarded, however, by the
third officer and a seaman from the steamer, VINO
Immediately went aloft into the foretop' ana
finding no one, went into the forecaStle, where
thew discovered a weak, emaciated man, whe ex-
claimed, as he saw them {" Great God Almighty
am | saved ?' He was lifted ihto tne p1ae, 10y
with him being a small canvas bag containing a
nautical almanac, and a vial inclosing a sheet of
paper, with the date of the wreck ana names of
the crew and passengers.
1t proved to be the American brig Shelehoff,
I 2l3 tons register, of San Francisco, bound TO
Callao with a cargo of lumber. The survivor
was Capt. Luder Hopken, the last of twelve
persons on board at the time OF the disaster.
The brig was caught in a cyclone on the night OF
July 3. the same date of the solar eclipse. Soon
after midnight, when the cyclone was at its
height, she was thrown on her beam-ends, and
found to be rapidly filling, and IN order to prevent
a total loss of the vessel and her company, her
malnmast was cut away, and she righted up. NO
time was allowed to save any provisions or cloth
ing from the cabin, and the crew were obliged to
retreat to the foretop to prevent being washed
overheard, as every wave made a clean breach
over her. The mate, Mr.. johnson, died first, six
days after the disaster. Two halfbarrels of
salmon, a half-barrel OF tongues, and a box OF
China starch were fshed up out of the hold, but
the drinking water was all found to be brackish.
The salmon, tongues, starch, and a few fish caught
with a hook from time to time. and occasionally
q little rain-water caught in a sail, and always
more or less brackish from the salt spray, were
all that the ships company had to subsist on.
Capt. Hopken's account of the sutferings OF
his men and passengers is a most heart-rending
one. After the death of the mate, on the 9th OF
July, none occurred till Sept. 6, when they began
to become delirious and weak from hunger and
thirst, and several died, or jumped overheard in
their delirium. Boils and disease, induced by
hunger and saltwater, added to the intensity OF
their sufferings.
Nine or ten days before the steamer rescued
him, Captain Hopken states that a bark ran
down to the wreck, hove to for "A few minutes,
and then squared away without sending off a boat
or making any effort to rescue the lives OF those
on board, of whom there were then eight living.
The bark came so near that persons could be
seen moving about on her deck. Those on the
brig were so weak as to be unable to stand, but
got on their knees and waved pieces of sailcloth,
hoping to attract attention. Their feelings as
they saw the bark square away, when so near
them, NAV better be imagined than described.
Their last hope being gone, they lay down, and
one after another died or leaped overheard. The
bark displayed no flag, and all that Captain ii.
can recollect of her appearance was that she had
q new bright spanker set.
Soon after the disaster occurred, Captain III.
set the foresail and Jib 1.-THE only sails used), and
rugged the rudder so as to steer the wreck from
the foretop. This was accomplished by running
the rudder-ropes through a block aft, ard then
carrying them forward to the foretop. In this
way the briggs course was shaped towards these
islands tolerably correct, without compass or
chart. The accident occurred in n. lat. 16 and
w. long. III, about $40 miles southwest of
Cane St. Lucas. The wreck was fallen in with
in II. lat. 26.40, w. long. 1852, about 400 miles
of Hawaii, showing that they had run
nearly 1000 miles in 100 days.
The brig sailed from San Francisco June 22d,
with 10000 feet of lumber on board. The deck
load was swept off by a heavy sea soon after she
became water-logged, and a portion of the lumber
in the hold worked out the stern, which was car
away. What remains is probably rendered
worthless by the worms. The foremost was
loose, and will be carried away in the first gale.
that the vessel and cargo may be set down as
total loss.
Too much praise cannot be given to Captain
of the Moses Taylor, for sending a
boat from the steamer to examine the wreck,
which, to all appearance, was abandoned, and
nine out of ten shipmasters would probably
have thought it a waste of time to stop and
examine her condition. But his humane course
has saved the life of one person, whose gratitude
no words can express. If the passage of the
steamer has been a long one, caused by constant
head winds, compelling Der to deviate from the
usual course, it is a satisfaction to know that an
all-wise Providence directed the winds and
the helm, and led to the rescue of a
human being, who had existed for 100 days
literally without bread and water, and endured
which few mortals could survive. The
facts given in this narrative should teach ship
never to pass a wreck without ascer-
if possible, whether any persons remain
on board.