The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1882-04-20
MODERN CRUSOES.
NEARLY TWO YEARS on A DESERT ISLAND

/
Trinity, of New London, lost in the South
| Indian Ocean in the fall of 1880, are al
most as interesting as those of that well
known and hardy mariner Robinson Cru
soc. From time to time the columns of
the New York Herald tell the tales of yes
sells laundering in mid ocean, of crews
clinging for days to floating spars and
wreckage, or going down forever with the
vessel that failed them in the hour of
peril. But the story of the Trinity is not
| often matched, and its relation would
seem to lie more properly within the
| province of the novelist than the columns
| of chronicler of facts and events. The
| officers and crew of the Trinity are now
on their way home-all well save two
unfortunates, who persisted Iliserably in
the search for food, and whose bones
| lie within the shadow of wooden cross
on a far off South Sea island. One of
| the officers arrived in this city within a
| few days; the others are expected soon.
| Defoe has told us of many wonderful
| things on islands that abounded in game
and tropical verdure; Charles Reade in
one Of his novels depicts the sufferings
/ of a small party wrecked on a Southern
| island and the triumpns of mind over
matter in the arrangements of food and
shelter provided by nature and controlled
by resolute men, and desolate and uuin-
habited islan ds have scores of times prov
ed valuable to the playwright and the
novelist; but the crow of the Trinity has
to tell of an actual experience of nearly
two years OH en- island where ice and
snow abounded aud storm succeeded
storm with pitiless regularity. Their
hardy resistance to fate, their cheerfulness
and discipline under the severest trials,
were probably the secret of their success
fui rescue, and adds another page TO the
history of the American sailors heroism.
The Trinity left New London, Conn,
| in June, 1880. There were sixteen per
| sous in her crew all told, including the
master, John Williams. She was owned
by Lawrence & Co., of New London,
dealers il whale OIL and that firm Intend
ed somewhat new departure by sending
her TO Heard's Island, in the Southern
Sea, for elephant oil. The second officer
thus describes the voyage to the island:
"She was bound for Cape de Verde
Islands, where she arrived after passage
of twenty five days, and shipped nineteen
| negroes to assist in hunting tie elephants.
She sailed again the same day for Heard's
Island, in the South Sea. Nothing re-
maTkable occurred until we arrived in
latitude 40 degrees south. Then we had
to encounter several very heavy storms,
amounting to cyclones and hurricanes,
| with sleet, hail and rain at times. The
ship lay to occasionally, but the Trinity
| brayed it well. On the 4th of September
we arrived at the Island of Desolation
and found beautiful harbor, which is
called Pot Fl rbor OH the charts There
we sent down our topgallant yards and
spars fore and aft, and made our ship
light for anchorage. We landed three
months provisions and made preparation
to go on to Heard's Island, about two
hundred and ten miles distant from Des
olation Island. We sailed on the 2Sth
of September for Heard's and arrived
at Clinton Bay October 2, where We
| landed four men, with provisions enough
for three months. Then We sailed fur
ther down the coasts toward the south
and east end of the island. TIE sea ran
too high to effect landing with our
boats Each Gay she lay at anchor, The
weather proved no better, until the even
ing of the 10th OF October, when there
appeared every indication Of a very heavy
storm. The appearance OF the horizon,
heavy swell from the northeast and q
light breeze northward told us that heavy
weather was at hand.
cat midnight the ship lay about three
quarters Of mile off shore In ten faith
oms of water, the lead showing the ground
to be gray sand ard stones. There were
two heavy anchors down, one weighing
two tons and the other a ton and half,
with cable OF five iuch iron. At two a
NJ the 17th the wind increased and we
reeved out some cable on both anchors.
at four 4. III. the storm increased to q
hurricane and We reeved out all the cable
on both anchors, and the ship began to
drag toward the reef. At A. NJ she
was in six fathoms OF water; she leaked
badly and the pumps were put to work.
At half past six she had dragged into
four fathoms of water, while the heavy
gale from the northeast continued The
captain called a counsel of the nauds il
the cabin to know what was best to be
done to save our lives. The genera
verdict was to slip the cables and run the
ship on shore. The captain thought il
was our only chance. At nine A. NJ. the
southeast point was three and hal
miles distant. At half past nine We slip
ped the cables and made sail, knowing
the ship would not clear the land on an,
tack"
The position of the unfortunate crew
was thrilling enough then. There was
wild waste Of waters on one side, a rocky
icebound coast on another, icebount
cliffs and icebergs ahead and line o
foaming breakers astern. The only ques
tion was to find the softest possible spo
of beach to lay the Trinity's timbers. L
a short time the ship ran aground abou
fifty yards from the beach. The Sc
8 made clean breach over her with ever
lurch. Volunteers soon appeared an,
several of them jumped into the wave