Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-02-25
From the New York Sun. !

ana n mllu6" All HOOu-
Driven to Drink Salt Water-Asleep
from WEAKNESS While Rescue Came
Near.
From the New York SUM-.
When thirteen men, rescued. from the lost
Bermuda steamer Bahama, arrived here last
week Wednesday, they reported that twenty
others had been drowned. Seventeen were
in boat that swamped. Two of them swan
back to the sinking steamer. Three men had
refused to quit the steamer in the two heavily
loaded boats They were Felix Clistre, the
second cook, Gaudiose Baker, porter, and
Napoleon Mathurin, seaman, called Paul for
short.
a. The steamer foundered on the night of
February 10 in latitude 800 81 north, 1ongi-
tude 100 49, west On Thursday of the next
week, six days later, Theodore Note, look
out on the brig Pearl, Captain Brightmansin
latitude 800 25', longitude 730 49, saw man
on a raft waving o signal. 1t was in the
morning, and the raft lay right ahead. The
Pearl bore down, lowered boat and took
the man off. He was Paul, the able seaman
who had stuck to the Bahama He had been
six days and six nights alone on the raft, and
had lived that time on one cracker and one
drink of water.
The Pearl got to New York with him yes
terday afternoon. He is a tall French Can
adian from st. Thomas, near Quebec, where
his family live, and is q years old. His
father is a pilot of the St. Lawrence Steam
boat company. Paul shipped on the Bahama
at Quebec on Nov. is last.
''I belonged to the watch of Second Mate
Ross -" he said to a Sun reporter, land was
below when the Bahamas bulwarks and two
boats were carried away. helped to get
the captains boat out, and SO many got into
her that 1 didn't go. When Mate Ross
launched the. second boat he told me to get
in. But it was only thirteen-foot boat, and
there were already thirteen in it, and knew
if got in the other two men who were still
on the Bahama would get in, and then the
boat would swamp. So stayed behind and
saw the boat disappear. It was cloudy, and
the moonlight was dim. I saw the captains
boat upset Charles Smith, sailor, and
Charley, fireman. swan back, and we hauled
them aboard. They were weak and sick and
lay down on the deck I had a little Ratchet
and ran forward and tried to cut away
ladder to make raft The stern began to
sink, and then the whole vessel sank. There
was tremendous explosion that stunned
me. [ suppose it was the air in the compart-
ments blowing out. The suction pulled me
down very deep. When I did come up
found a small spar and got on it.
The sea washed me off several times. The
spar struck against hatch by feet Ba-
ker was sitting on the hatch. I got on with
him. He said it was not big enough for two,
and I told him we must do our best with it.
A few moments later he was washed off. I
heard him hollering and l shouted, Are you
alive?' He answered, YES but | saw no
more of him. At daybreak I saw fifteen
feet away large piece of the forecastle head
fifteen feet long, nine feet across at one end,
and five at the other. l swan to it. 1t was
upside down, with the cross beams upper
most. Over these were nailed planks that
had been the ceiling on the ice house. I'm
der the planks was good deal of sawdust.
pulled on board two doors that were float
ing near and some large sticks. Then I lay
down, for T was dead tired. After a time /
got up and saw vessel. She was SO near
that could see the men On deck. l tied my
jumper to stick and waved it, but they did
not see me-. I found three sea biscuits in the
water and picked them up. [ fixed tho
doors against the beams SO that they were
some protection against the waves, and they
made enough sail to carry me out OF the
wreckage At o'clock in the morning the
sun broke through the clouds and the wealth
er became warm I was too lonesome to
sleep that night.
"The next morning, Sunday, the wind rose
and raised the sea. Sometimes the waves
carried me clean across the raft, but never
entirely off. But lost two of my biscuits.
was very hungry and ate the other. In the
afternoon I tried to signal barkentine,
three or four miles away, but she did not see
me. At night I tried to sleep, sitting back
against the doors, but the waves doused me
and woke me every two minutes.
Monday morning there was heavy chop
sea. The sun did not come out all day. I
was getting weak. At noon L saw sail to
leeward, but she was too far away, and did
not try to signal her. Sharks, SIX to ten
feet long, rubbed their noses against the
raft, and turned over on their backs. I hit
them with my sticks and Tended them off,
but they kept coming back. Then I saw
big turtle floating, and 1 thought if
l could catch him he would be good eating.
took one of the doors and pushed it under
him, and then tried to pull him up on deck,
self company. 1t was Canadian song The
wind died away at shutdown, and at night the
stars came out. Toward morning [ slept a
little.
F'On Tuesday morning the weather was
clear and the sun came up very red. felt
cold and thirsty, but was no longer hungry.
I saw sail far off, and did not signal it.
The sharks were around all day. That night
the sea was so rough could not sleep.
"On Wednesday morning the sun came up
finely and the weather was clear. At 8
o'clock little rain fell. I tried to catch
some in my oilskin coat, but could not. l
scraped some mildew from the. boards and
tried to eat it, 1t tasted very bad and was
salt NV throat was very dry, and dipped
up big handfuls of salt water and swallowed
it without tasting it. I know that was wrong,
but think [ was little out of my head
The water made my mouth and throat sore
and my tongue SO thick that I could not
speak. Toward evening l saw a bark, but
SO far away that [ did not signal her At
midnight fog settled, and 1t ralned heavily
few minutes. I made bag of my coat and
oamght enough water to have good drink.
The rain killed the wind, and managed to
sleep two hours.
"When woke up on the morning of
Thursday, the sixth day, was cold from the
drenching had had. 1 slept again half an
hour, and when 1 woke again saw the Pearl
very sleepy I lay down and went to sleep