Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1877-11-22
ADHSFT FOR SEVEN DAYS.
The Terrible SuGe rings Of q R0at's
Grew without Food or Water.

Anew Orleans. Times reporter intel
viewed the five men Of the steamship Gus
sic: who for seven nights and six days
without food or water. were the sport o
the waves in the Gulf Of Mexico. Summed
up. the narrowing details OF their suffer
ings are 10 the following effect:
The steamship Gussie. Captain Riclar'
Hill. owing to the fact of the tanks at Indi
anola being destroyed by the storm. lef
that port with a cargo Of cattle and with
out he,neccssary supply of water. Capt
Hill made for the Southwest Pass TO re-
plenish his water and then proceed on his
journey to Havana. On the morning o,
the 10Th of September the weather was fir.
wind northwest. blowing about seven
knots an hour. At 1920 p. m. the same
night Southwest Pass light bore north
northeast. distance nine miles. At iO:35
p. IN. the ship was hauled for the light.
when the ,tarboard shaft broke. Finding
it impossible to remedy the evil. and loath
to drift around al the mercy of the winds.
Captain Hill concluded to send boat to
Southwest Pass for assistance. The boat
was launched and at midnight the wind
veered west by north. blowing good sin
knot breeze. South Pass was sighted.
and after some delay in the tug Rio Grande
took the Gussie in tow. bringing licr to the
city.
In the meantime the unfortunate men
We're passing through a terrible ordeal of
shipwrecked mariners. After leaving the
ship. the boats crew. consisting of John
Duffy. chief officer: Dan Mcdonald. Mat.
BayrOn. John O'Neil. Dan Crockett and
Joseph Davis. pulled for the Southwest
Pass light. secure in the seawOrthiness of
their metallic lte-boat. and without a
thought of the danger thar threatened
them. Not a man of them but thought he
would reach the light in three hours 1t the
most. yet as hour after hour slipped by
and they found that they made no head {
way against the current. despair beset their s
souls. Encouraged by Mate Duffy. they '
bent to their Oa,s. but TO no avail. Day. {
light found them with their compass and '
two lamps out of sight Of land exhausted c
by their exhertiOns. without food or water, Q
and prey to the elements. On the morn G
Ing of the 10th they saw ship, supposed
to he the Medora. and so close that they e
could see the men at work on board the $
vessel. but in vain they tried to signal her by 6
means of a shirt hoisted on an oar. She e.
VAS soon lost to view and despair bcset b
hem. Davis gave out and lay exhausted il
n the bottom OF the boat On the second ir
lay they saw a steamer low down on the
lorizon bound eastward. but at too great 81
distance TO see them. Truly. then they hi
ave themselves up for lost. Byron. how Sc
yer, manager to improvise a sail out of ii
hrce shirts. and slowly they breasted the fc
urrent until the gale reached them. and d.
or three days they were storm-tossed on "
he crest Of the waves. Then followed L
aim. yet the sea ran nigh. Their parchcd OF
hroats craved for wafer Mcdonald dcs- a
erately drank the saline which surround If
! him. but found that only augmented his az
lirst. Desperately they glared at each In
Their. Hunger gnawed at their vitals. vet III
ley refr:,ined from cannibaism.
Sharks surrounded the boat. c,rveting NJ
tle wafer as if in anticipation of the DR.
,inty morsels Of human flesh in store for ov
em. il possible lending additional horror II
} the scene. The plug was taken out of an
le bottom the boat. and the wafer entered Or
until she was half full. Then the men err
turns lay down in the wafer until thor up
lghly saturated. thus distilling the water III
to their body. In vain. the unfortunates ed
y, they attempted to think of a hereafter: fer
e most trivial things in their life passed fac
fore them like panorama. Bayron AM
ought of watering the cat on the Gussie. die
ID imagining that he was revcling in the br'
Dughs. Mcdonald had visions of gla- in
seemed in their dclirium-to be
Elysium only TO return TO the full real tina
.tion of the surroundings. Ing
On the morning of the seventh day the pit
ig Coque,te. Captain Coynel. hove in tig
,llt. and with last expiring effort they the
mailed her. The brig saw the sign of en-,
stress and bore up for them. reaching s"i
Pm only TO find that. with the exception stu
Bayron. all helplessly lay about the vii
at. They were taken aboard and kindly mes
ated, but despite the efforts of the Cap day
n Mcdonald died. ~.