The Hawaiian gazette., 1873-03-05

was uldue 10 IcdOu DduOA Sih'' .
convict settlement, and the coaling station
of the Pacific Mail steamers, about two
thirds of the way through the Straits OF
Magellan, but our course could only be
determined by the sun and stars 1t was
then mid-winter, the mountains along the
coast were covered with snow and ice, and
the mercury must have been several de
| grees below zero. We pulled close to the
land, working all night in fair weather,
and during a heavy blow landing and GO
ing into camp There were plenty of scrub
trees along the coast, and as we were pro-
vided with two hatchets and good sup
ply of matches, fire was always to be
procured During these visits we secured
quite a good supply of shell-fsh resem-
bling the mussel, but we found that this
diet brought on constipation, and the en-
tire party became unwell. For about
twenty days the men held out admirably,
but in the bitter cold a number were FROST
bitten, and our legs and feet were terribly
swollen. On going into camp we con-
structed tent of the boats sail and the
mizzen-royal with the oars. a fire was
built in the centre, and the fourteen men
sat around it the night through. We SUI;
fered terribly from loss of sleep, as no
one dared to remain away from the fire for
fear of freezing to death, and the tent was
too small to hold all in a reclining position.
At the end of the twentieth day the gen
eral debility from insufficient food, and the
extreme pain in our limbs, rendered the
progress slow, and very often we en-
camped for several days at a time The
allowance of bread had been reduced to a
quarter of biscuit day, and very often
the men did without for a day or two to-
gether to help out the supply. Their con-
duct throughout the dreadful ordeal was
most courageous. Every man rendered
implicit obedience, and although the raw
ages of hunger rendered each almost an
animal, the general welfare was never lost
sight of. Almost the entire month of July
was spent in pulling in what we believed
to be the direction of Sandy Point. The
only human beings we met were an Indian
and two squaws in canoe They treated
us cordially, and willingly exchanged a
duck for a small quantity of tobacco, but
they had no other provisions. We had
secured from the ship two rifles, and one
of the crew shot a duck, but the powder
became wet and our weapons were useless.
A dead duck found among the rocks was
also secured and eaten, but with the ex-
ception of the shell-fsh this was the only
food we secured.
In the latter part of July the weather
became fearfully tempestuous, and after
several days of fruitless buffeting we went
into our last encampment. 1t was a ter
ribly bleak and desolate spot, shut out |
from the sea by high cliffs, and filled with
low stunted trees. We found, however,
few roots, some berries, and, strange to /
say, little celery, and not knowing
whether the vegetables were poisonous or
not, each man partook ravenously of what
ever he could find The high tides pre-
rented our securing any shell-fsh, and the
ew seals we saw were too timid to cap
.ure, but we secured water in abundance
rom the streams running down the noun
ain. Here the men became seriously i'll.
Their legs were swollen to frightful pro-
but few could wear their boots,
md a majority wandered about with their
eet tied up in old cloth and pieces of can
'as. Some, unable to walk at all, crawled
bout on their hands and knees. At length
man named White, a seaman, became
lelirious and shortly atterward died. The
,round was frozen so hard that it was i'm
possible to dig a grave, so we carried the
,ody short distance from the tent and
aid it in the bushes. The next one at
acked was young fellow we called Dan
sailors, you know, never give their full
lames, except on the articles-and he died
within three hours after he became deli
ious. The carpenter, man from Liver
'ool, was the next victim; then we lost
charley, a German seamen, and finally
mother sailor called Frank. All of them
lied within ten days ofeach other, and all
we're laid side by side out in the bushes.
As each one left us we took his clothes to
,eep the living ones warm, but during all
hese days not one of us had mouthful
# food.
At length the steward taking one of the
nen out with him into the bush, returned
With slices of meat, which were roasted
'ver the fire and eagerly devoured. We
IL of us knew we were sustaining life on
he body of our dead companion, but no
nan asked a question. Sometimes we had
t boiled, and sometimes roasted. 1t tasted
like beet, but it makes me shud-
Ter now to think of it
When we had eaten almost all of the
asst body. the schooner Earle of Port