Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-05-25


A correspondent of the St. John Telegraph
gives the following account of the disasters
to the sealing vessels already briefly reported by
telegraph:
The steamer Nimrod has Just brought sad
news from the coast of Labrador, of the loss of
one OF our scaling vessels called the Huntsman
with forty-fve men, all of whom have met with
wateTy grave. The following are the details
of this depressing event. as far as known at
present: The Huntsman, Captain Robert Dave
of Bay Roberts, was off Cape Charles on the
coast OF Labrador, on the 2Sth April. A ire
mendOus gale set in from the northeast, and the
field ice was quickly broken up into foes and
formed into one Of those drifting packs" that
are so dangerous. Scores of huge icebergs were
also moving about, rending the field ice with
| their blows, as if with the hammer of Thor,
and dashng against each other in wild COM
motion. The fierce noreaster was pressing the
ice upon the land and under the lee of the YES
sci, grim and frowning, were the savage shores
OF Labrador. The only chance of the Hunts
man lay in battling her way through this pack
near the shore, so as to reach the more solid ice
at some distance, where she might find har-
Dor of refuge. For a time she fought her Way
brayely, lodging the outsets of the foes, eseap-
ing marvelously the crush of the meeting ice
hergS, and seeming to have charmed life. But
before she could clear the dreadful pack of ice
monsters that were roaring around, night came
down dark as pitch, and the storm seemed to
luCIbdSc WIFI Tue hight. bIl0llg SnOM-0rlitS
swept along the sky-the freezing spray fell
upon the deck-the wind howled aloft the noise
OF the crashing foes was awful. The Inflated
Huntsman was now at the mercy of the waves
and IN the grim darkness nothing could be done
TO avoid peril. About nine O'Clock tremendous
sea struck her, hurting her bodily on Fish Rock
where she began Immediately to break up
Three of the crew leaped overheard, hoping to
escape, just as she was about to strike but the
poor fellows were struck by foe and killed in
a moment. The remaining fifty-nne men took
TO the rigging as the sea was breaking over the
ship; but they were only few minutes there
when the maSs went overheard, hurting the
whole of them into the seething caldron Forty
hve,ot them sank to rise no more, or were crushed
amid the floating ice-masses, the captain
and his son among the number. Seventeen
managed TO scramble upon the ice, but in a
mos pitiable plight--sOme had both arms
broken, some broken LEGS and ribs. Only three
escaped uninlured. What an awful situation for
human beiugsl Lying MANNED on the ice, with
ing in agony, the sea drenchiug them, the fierce
nol'easter chilling them darkness around, the
blows of the Frost Giants resouuding on all
sides and making night hideouS. At any mo-
ment the ice on which they lay might be rent in
pieces, and they hurled INFO the boiling surges
No wonder they almost enyied the fate OF their
comrades, now at peace beneath the waves
When morning at length broke, after the dreary
at hours of that terrible night, they saw vessel
some distance with the suspicious name of Res
cue The poor fellows managed to crawl along the
ice, aiding one another as best they could the
sound men half carrying the Others with broken
limbs, and so they passed over nearly mile of
broken ice, and at length got on board the Res
cue, more dead than alive. One of the saddest
features in this case is that the whole of the men
who persisted belonged to one little fishing viii
lage, called Bay Roberts, which is now literally
''piace of weeping" for there is hardly family
but has not lost connection or member. There
are thirty -four widows, and more than a hun.
dred children left fatherless most of them dest-
tute, by this catastrophe,
The steamers Bloodhound Blaine ,Jobnstone
& Co.. and Retriever ridley & Sons, y were
crushed by an iceberg during the same gale in
which the HuntSman was lost, and near the
same place, The bloodhound was the frst to
meet her fate. About midnight she struck on a
mighty berg, half mile in length With great
difficulty she was kept afioat till morning, and
then the crew was forced to abandon her and
take TO the ice, without anything but their
clothing. She sank Immediately after, The
men painfully scrambled over the ice to the
Retriever, two miles distant but only to find
that she too had received her death blow from
the same ice giaat and was sinking. Both
crews then took to the ice, and managed to reach
Battle Harbor, where there are number of in
hahitants, and mercantile establishment
owned by Blaine, tombstone & Co. Here they
were Hospitality entertained and cared for By
firing signal guns they succeeded in attracting
the attention of the Nimrod and Mastif two |
passing steamers, BY them the whole Of the
shpwrecked men were conveyed in safety to
their homes, without the loss of a single life,
telegram from ST. Pierre informs us that
the steamer Monticello sank about 1870 miles
from that island; crew and passengers were
taken off by French banker and conveyed
safely to st. Peters. She was on her way to
Boston, after having finished her sealing voyage
1t is pretty certain now that our total catch
will not much exceed 100000 seals, or only
third of that of last year The loss of so many
lives and vessels has thrown a deep gloom over
the community. 1t is feared too we do not even
yet know the worst. Two vessels, with IS men
on board, are still missing, and there are grave
apprehensions that all have persisted, Trade
will be depressed for time, but the success Of
last year, which was so marvellous, will enable
us to tide over present difficulties, provided we
get good cod fishery. The weather is wretched
Six inches Of snow fell on the 10th The cold
is still almost that of winter. Farmers can do