Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-11-15

The Pacific Commercial Advertiser prints th'
following narrative of the rescue of the only sur
vivor of the ship Shelehoff, written by passen
ger on the steamer Moses Taylor, which made
the rescue:
On Thursday, Oct. 18th, at eight a. NJ, sal
was discovered by the wheeman on the steam
| or Moses Taylor. The vessel lay directly in the
steamers track and appeared to he disabled
| having but one mast standing, and only hei
! lower topsail set, running before Il fresh south.
| east wind. On approaching her ii proved to be
a brig water-loggcd, with her mainmast carried
| away, apparently deserted, no persons appear
ing in sight on board. A sail spread over the
forecaStle, and a 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 it 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 foremost in
rags
On reaching the wreck, the steamer stopped,
and Captain Bennett sent off a boat TO ascertain
whether any persons were on board, and ii none,
whether any record could be found respecting
her. The sea being quite rough, the brig lurch-
cd heavily, and the boat approached her with
some difficulty. She was boarded however, by
the third officer and a seaman from the steamer,
finding no one, went into the torccastle, where
they discovered weak, emaciated man, who e2S-
claimed, as he saw them: Great God Al
mighty am saved" He was lifted into the
boat, and taken TO the steamer, the only article
brought with him being a small canvass bag
containing a nautical almanac, and vial in
closing Il sheet of paper, with the date of the
wreck and names of the crew and passengers.
1t proved TO be the American BRIG Shelehoff,
213 tons register, OF San Francisco, bound TO Cal
lao with cargo of lumber The survivor was
Captain Luder Hopken, the last of twelve per-
sons on board at the time of the disaster. The
brig was caught in cyclone on the night OF
July 3D., 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 pre-
vent total loss of the vessel and her company,
her mainmast was cut away, and she righted
up. No time was allowed to save any prOY-
sions or clothing from the cabin, and
the crew were Obliged to retreat to
the toretOp to prevent being washed
overheard, as every wave made clean breach
over her The mate, MIR. Johnson, died first,
six days after the disaster. Two hall-barrels of
salmon, half-barrel of tongues, and box Of
China starch were fshed up out of the hold,
but the drinking water was all found to be
bracllish. The salmon, tongues, starch, and Il
few fish caught with hook from time to time,
and occasionally little rain-water caught in
a sail, and always more or less brackiSh from
salt spray, was all that the ships company had
to subSist on.
Capt. Hopken's account of the Sutferings of
his men and passengers is a most heartrending
one. After the death of the mate, on the 9th of
July, none occurred till Sept. 6, when they be-
gan to become delirious and weak from hunger
and thirst, and several died, or jumped over
board in their delirium. BOils and disease, in
duced by hunger and salt water, added to the
intensity Of their Sutterings.
Nine or ten days before the steamer rescued
him Captain HOpken states that bark ran down
to the wreck, hove to for few minutes, and
then squared away without sending off 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 Oh 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, may better be imagined than described.
Their last hope being gone, they lay down, and
one after another died or eapGd overheard, The
bark displayed no flag, and all that Captain II,
can recOllect of her appearance was that she
had a new bright spanker set.
Soon after the disaster occurred, Captain H.
set the foresail and ih 1.-THE only sails used), and
rugged the rudder so as to steer the wreck from
| the foretop. This was accomplished by run
| ming the rudder ropes through block aft, and
| then carrying them forward 70 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 500 miles southwest of
| Cape st. l,HGgs. The wreck was fallen in with
| in n. lat 26.40, W. long. 14o59 about 100 miles
| northeast of Hawaii, showing that they had run
| nearly two thousand miles in one hundred and
nine days.
The brig sailed from San Francisco June 22d,
W n nm