Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-11-18
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SUFFERING BIZ sHIPwRECK.

An account has recently been received
of the wreck Of the American brig She
lehoff. which occurred July Sd in gale
on the Pacific. on her passage from San
Francisco to Honolulu. All the crew died
on the wreck, and when the steamship
Moses TAYLOR fell in with her on the 18th
of October, Capt. Hopken only was bare
IL alive. The rest of the crew and foul
passengers persisted from hunger and hard
ships.
The following account of the falling II
with the wreck is furnished by passenger
on board the Moses Taylor:
On Thursday, October 10, at s A. NJ.
sail was discovered by the wheelmar
on the steamer Moses Taylor. The vessel
lay directly in the steamers track. and APP
peared to be disabled, having but one
mast standing, and only her lower topsail
set, running. before fresh southeast WING.
On approaching her it proved to be oriS
waterlogged. with her malnmast carried
away. apparently deserted, no persons
annearin1 in sight on board. A sail spread
oyer the forccastle and tent rugged in
tbe foretop crosstrees showed that the
crew had occupied these places for some
time. At every lurch the sea made clean
To all appearance it was wreck which
had long been waterlogged, and her crew
taken on 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 wheth-
err any persons were On board, and ii none
whether any record could be found re-
speeding her. The sea being quite rough
the brig lurched heavily, and the boat APP
preached her with some difficulty. She
was boarded, however, by the third Off
Ger and seaman from the steamer, who
Immediately went aloft into the foretop,
and finding no one, went into the fore
castle, where they discovered weak,
emaciated man, who exclaimed as he saw
them, "Great God Almighty am | saved3''
He was lifted into the boat and taken to
the steamer, the only article brought with
him being small canvas bag containing a
nautical almanac and vial enclosing a
sheet of paper with the date of the wreck
and names of the crew and passengers.
The survivor was Captain Luder Hop
ken. the last of twelve persons on board
at the time of the disaster. The brig was
caught in cyclone on the night of July
5, the same date of the solar eclipse. Soon
after midnight, when the cyclone was at
its hight, she was thrown onh her beam-ends
and found to be rapidly filling. and in Or
der to prevent a total loss of the vessel
and her company her mainmast was cut
away and she righted up. No time was
allowed to save any provisions or clothing
from the cabin, and the crew were obliged
to retreat to the foretop to prevent being
washed overheard, as every wave made
clean breach over her. The mate, Mr..
johnson. died first, six days after the dis
aster. Two half barrels of salmon, a
half barrel of tongues and a box of China
starch were fished out of the hold, but the
drinking water was all found to be brack-
ish. The salmon, tongues, starch and a
few fish caught with hook from time to
time, and occasionally little rain water,
caught in sail, and always more or less
brackisl from the salt spray, were all that
the ships company had to. subsist on.
Captain Hopken's account of the suffer-
ings Of his men aud passengers is "a most
heartrending 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 over
board in their delrium Boils and dis
ease. induced by hunger and salt water,
added to the intensity of their sufferings.
Nine or ten days before the steamer
rescued him Captain Hopken states that
barque run 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 barque 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 barque square away, when so
near them, may better be imagined than
described. Their last hope being gone
they laid down, and one after another
died or leaped overheard.
The barque displayed no flag, and all
that Captain Hopken can recollect of her
appearance was that she had new bright
spanker set.