Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1877-10-19
A singular Rsenpe

In the winter of 1873, very un-
seawOrthy merchant sailing.vessel
"a Siamese), the 7ye Vat, set out
fIom the north of China to Siam,
with cargo of bean-cake, etc.
The weather became excessively
stormy, and 1T last the old vessel
actually went to pieces many miles
from land in the Gulf of Pe-che-le.
The crew consisted of eight Malays,
who worked the ship; the captain,
an Englishman; and in addition was
one Chinese woman. They had no
boats on board; no time to make a
raft or means of doing Sc; and as
the vessel was rapidly sinking, the
wretched people looked round IN
despair, when a hope of escape
struck one of them as his eye
lighted on a very large wooden wa
ter-tank which was on deck. This
tank was strongly made, about six
feet long, five feet across, and five
feet high, with a large hole at the
top into which man could squeeze,
and tight-ftting cover. There was
not moment to lose; a hole was
bored in the bottom to let out what
water it contained, then quickly
plugged; and ali ten squeezed them
selves in hurriedly, put on the lid,
and awaited their fate. In a Quart
er of an hour after they we're thus
packed the ship sunk under them.
They first whirled round, and then
foated off freely, and felt them
selves rolling and tossing about
frightfully on "a stormy sea. The
weather was intensely cold-so
mach so that Icicles had hung from
the rigging of the sunken ship the
day before; and being so tightly
packed, perhaps it was fortunate
the weather was so cold. In their
haste to save life, they had brought
only part of a ham which the cap
taiE had snatched up, and bottle of
brandy; and thus these poor crea-
lures were tossed about from day to
day, hungry and thirsty, jostled
like potatoes shaken in a barrel;
now and then, whea they dared, let
ting in little air by raising the
lid.
The situation strongly reminds
one of Gulliver in his box when the
eagle carried him out to sea from
the land of the Brobdignags.
On the fifth day the Malays said
they must kill and eat the English
captain; but the poor Chinese wom-
an ito the credit of her sex) vehe-
m6ntly opposed them, and succeed
ed in saving for that day. On the
sixth day the Malays said they
must eat her; but the captain IN
turn saved her for that day. 1t is
difficult to imagine more horrible
situation than that of this poor
EnglishmaD, surrounded by eight
starving men, determined to eat
him-which they certainly would
have done had not an English yes
sci rescued them on the seventh
day. 1t happened thus: the captain
of that vessel sighted large box
tossing on the waters, and at hrst
never thought of minding it, only
supposing it part of some wreck, as
the weather was so bad; but as he
looked, to his utter surprise head
popped up through a hole IN the
center, and then vanished, to be fol-
lowed by another figure, making
frantic gesticulations. With -much
difficulty this strange box was got
alongside, hauled up, and It's poor
inmates dragged out to light, bare
ly alive, and emaciated fearfully,
finding the man-hole easier to pass
out of than to get into, which was
reversing the fable of the weasel
who got into the barn. The cap
tain Of the rescuing vessel was
kind Englishman, and did all IN
his power to restore his guests
Thew were still in the Gulf OF re-
ehe-le, and did not reach the port
Swatow sooner than six days,
where a doctor was called in to WIS.
it these liberated "Jacks-in-a-box."
He said they were a singular PROOF
of how much human beings can
endure. All lived and recovered
perfectly. Certainly they were all
uoa,no people. The Malays went
home. The English captain went to
Singapore, and showed himself real
" grateful to the poor Chinese
woman who had saved him from
the Jaws of the Malays.
Cham6erS's Journal