Wilmington daily commercial., 1876-04-25

ty-one days on sea birds and a kind of weed
like the top Of a carrot growing on the is
land, which was one and half miles long.
Half of it was perfectly bare rock, the other
half was covered with rank grass. Their
fuel for cooking was the feathers of the
BIRDS. A few matches we're saved, and they
kept lamp perpetually burning with oil
expressed from the birds as fuel for the
lamp. Nothing hardly was saved from the
wreck. The boats they escaped in were lost
the first night, the rocks beng perpendic u
lar and no beach to heave them upon.
Mr.. Allan, the second mate of the Strdh.
more, says that thick fog prevailed on
June 80, and Capt. Macdonald ordered
sharp lookout to be kept for Crozet Island.
The log was constantly thrown. AT mid
night there was a cry of "breakers ahead !"
and the ship struck on the Twelve Apostles
group of rocks. She soon began to settle
down, and boats were made ready for
launching. One boat, with eighteen per-
sons in it, including Mrs. Wordsworth, was
loated from che deck by heavy wave, and
miraculously kept in an upright position.
ABOUT twenty of the passengers and crew
assembled in mizzentop. The fore part OF
the vessel was still above water and stuck
on the rock, and here the survivors clus-
tered and waited till daylight, when it was
found that the ship was wedged between
perpendicular cliffs of rock hundreds of
feet high, and other points standing up like
so many needles. Seven or eight got into
the gig under the charge of the second
mate, who said he would return and take
off the rest if he succeeded in finding a
landing place. He found to his astonlsh-
ment that the boat with eighteen on board,
which had been washed away during the
night, was knocking about half full of wa
ter. The one boat took tine other in tow
and succeeded in reaching the rocks, up
which the shipwrecked persons managed
to scramble. Those left on board were
saved in like manner, but two days elapsed
before theirrescue was accomplished. Some
matches, spirits and biscuits we're all that
could be saved. The biscuits were given
to Mrs. Wordsworth as she could not eat
| the rank BIRDS flesh. A case of confection-
cry was much priced, rs the tins became
handy for boiling birds in. After few
days on the island the boats were dashed
to pieces on the rocks and lost. This was
| great misfortune, as no more visits could be
paid to the wreck. The firewood lasted a
month, after which substitute was found
in the birds skins. Five deaths took place
on the island. The corpses were not stiff
but remained as pliable when buried as
when in life. The first death was on July
2; the next, that of Thomas Henderson, in
September the next in October, the next
that of William Husband, and the last lit
tie child, on Christmas Day. Death result
ed from modification following on frost
bites; toes and fingers rotted off. -Four
ships passed, but did rot notice the signals,
till at last, on the 21et of January, the
whaler, Young Phoenix, took all on board,
and treated them with extreme kindness,
To the credit of Capt. Giffard, it must be
said that he decided 80 sail for the Mauritius,
although by so dong he knew he would lose
his seasons fishing.