The true northerner., 1876-05-12

more, an English ship, In the Southern
ocean, and the subsequent humane and
unselfish rescue of the survivors from a
barren rock by an American whaler,
whose captain disinterestedly abandoned
the prospect of profitable catch in or
der to succor human beings in grave dis
tress. There is no ocean cable to far
off New Zealand, in the neighborhood
of which are the Crozet islands, upon
which the Strathmore went down, and
news from that quarter travels slowly.
Though the wreck occurred in July Of
last year, and the rescue in January of
this, the details reach us only now, and
come via England. .Gasao
The story as told by the survivors is as
interesting as De Foes celebrated nara
tive known to every school boy for gen.
erations rs Robinson Crusoe. 1t fully
bears out the first information received
in which the conduct of the American
seamen was presented in so excellent
light as to call forth the warmest enco-
miums of the English journals. The
Crozet islands lie in the latitude of the
southern extremity of New Zealand, and
due south from Madagascar. They
were discovered in 1772 by the French
navigator, Marion du Fresno, and named
after his mate. The group was after
ward visited by the great English navi-
gator, Capt. Cook, who named one of
them Prin 10 Edwards island, after the
duke of Kent, father of the queen.
Upon this island Cook left horses, pigs,
and rabbits, The latter animals have so
increased and multiplied that it would
have been fortunate for the shipwrecked
mariners if they had been cast upon this
instead of the island upon which they
were thrown.
The Crozet group are of volcanic
origin, and, though they contain an
abundant supply of fresh water, and are
reached by accessible harbors, yet veget-
alton is so scant, and the rocks so bar
ren, that they have never invited settle
ment. 1t was in heavy fog on the
night of the 1st of July, 1875, that the
Strathmore was thrown upon the rocks
of the Crozets. The captain and the first
mate were swept overheard and lost.
There was great confusion, especially as
the second mate seems to have been i'll
suited for the chief command, and the
crew were but an Indifferent lot How
ever, two boats were launched at day
break, and succeeded in making land
ing, though the prospect from the ship
was one of perpendicular and unbroken
rock. The boats carried off few of the
crew and passengers, leaving the remain
der to abide the result. The gigs re-
turned before nightfall and brought off
five of the passengers, the others being
compelled to pass the cold night in the
rigging in great agony and terror. When
the ship left Gravesend she had crew
of thirty-eight hands, and carried fifty
passengers. Thirty-nine persons per-
ished when she struck upon the rocks,
and four persons died of subsequent ex-
posure. The number of the saved was
forty-four.
The island upon which they found a
refuge from the waves was only about
two and half miles long and half a mile
! wide at its broadest part. Winter had
set in and they suffered intensely from
the cold, and were greatly yinconvenienced
in the measures they took for shelter by
the ice and snow. At first they slept
upon the bare rocks, but afterward they
were enabled to build huts of stone and
turf. On the third night of their arrival
!; they lost their small boats and were
|
wreck, but, before this unfortunate loss,
they had secured two barrels of gun
powder. several casks of liquor, one of
provisions, and several tin cases of
sweets. The liquor was doled out spar
ingly and lasted about four weeks. The
tins in which the sweets were packed
were used as pots and lamps, and as oil
sufficient for the supply of the latter
was obtained from wild birds and a few
matches had been saved from the wreck,
the castaways were never without light.
There was no dearth of birds, upon
which they subsisted almost entirely.
Their tameness was shocking to see.
First there was a supply of albatross.
They migrated, and were succeeded by
} gray bird, which, in time, was sue
ceeded by mally hawks; and finally came
the inoffensive penguins, whose eggs
were found great luxury, and whose
skins supplied clothing and shoes.
Fresh water was, as we have said, abun-
dant, and for vegetable food the tops of a
tuber resembling the carrot served.
Six dreary months passed by without
bringing them relief from their island
bondage. Sometimes they saw ships in
the distance, but though they used every
effort to attract the attention their sig
nails were unseen or unheeded. Once,
as ship bore by within two miles of
their island, they were filed with hopes
of deliverance which were rudely shat
tered, as she kept on her way regardless
of their signals. Finally, on the 21st of
January, the American ship Young
Phoenix, cruising in the Antarctic waters
for whales, discovered these castaways,
and at the expense of seasons catch,
carried them to port of safety and
abundance
During their long confinement on the
rocky island, though it afforded them
safety from the deep, inhospitable shore,
the crew and passengers of the Strath-
more quarreled, as idle people will, but
there were no very serious alterations,
for, the grog gone, there was nothing
much to fight about. The birds were
abundant, and every man who had
strength to move was equal to the task
of gaining livelihood. They wore
found considerably emaciated, and suf-
fering greatly from the use of bird skins
for clothing.