The Portland daily press., 1882-01-09
FAMINE AND DELIRIUM.
The sufferings OF the Grew Of the Almon
Bird.

Reports from Gloucester say that the i've
men picked up in an open boat by Capt, Saun-
ders are receiving all the care that can De pe-
slowed on them. They are still in very en-
feebled condition and are all suffering more OF
less from frost bites. 1t is almost miracle
that they lived through the terrible storm ana
the bitter cold which prevailed along the Mas
sachusetts coast since Sunday. The Almon
Bird was Rockland vessel and from Windsor,
N. S., week ago for Alexandria, Va, laden
with plaster. She encountered no heavy gales
or particularly bad weather until Sunday put
all that day heavy seas and high winds as
sailed her, and the men had hard work to keep
from freezing. AS the evening set IN the
storm increased and when off Boone Island
the schooner lost her topmast and shipped
heavy sea. The ropes and sails were frozen
stiff and there seemed to be no possibility OF
saving the vessel Still the men worked all
through the night and kept her afloat. Mon
day morning dawned and there was no encour-
agcment in the appearance OF the weather;
the wind had increased and the sea had risen.
By o'clock heavy wave torn off the schoon-
ers bulwark and flooded the decks, freezing
almost instantly. The matches were torn away
and the doomed vessel began to fill with wafer
She was now unmanageable and the crew az
length decided to abandon her. Hastily col
Letting some articles OF food they TOOK 10 inc
large boat. No extra clothing could DC pro-
cured and not even an oar was to De nad.
There was no time to be lost, too, and the poat
was hurriedy pushed off amlda roaring tenn
pest and seething sea. She drifted about, climb
ing from bilow to billow and receiving an oc-
casional bucketful of water which swiftly froze
the clothing Of the castaways. Inc Aimon
Bird labored for over an honr and then SANK.
men-Capt G. A. Packard, William Harri-
man, Allen Small, A. B. Henderson, Ferdi-
nand Hilton Horace Small, Charles Chapies
and man whose name cannon now pe ascer-
tanned They had no hope OF ever reaching
land but the instinct of self-preservation was
strong. and thew huddled together for shelter,
while the icy spray fell over them, chllilng the
yerv marrow in their bones They had no
means of telling whether they were drifting
toward land or out to sea before the gale. Ihey
and Their frail craft were tossed about ike
cork all day Monday, and then the darkness .ss
set in. The moon was obscured by the driit-
inc clouds and the heavy snow storm, ana no
man in the boat expected TO see Ine sun fise
again or look on aught of life. When one OF
them attempted to picture the feelings OF MINI
self and his fellows after rescue shudder
ran through his frame and the recital was
stopped for prudential reasons. Tuesday morn
ing found them still alive, but suffering terrl-
bly, from the cold. The sea had gone down
somewhat and the storm had abated. Their
stock of provisions was fast giving out and the
terrible picture of death by starvation ana
thirst rose before their minds. During the al
ternoon they saw sail and made frantlc Ell
forts to attract the attention OF those on board,
but they failed, and as the second nlght APP
preached they saw the unknown vessel pass
out of sight below the horizon Another night
of horror and darkness closed in on them and
hunger, cold and exhaustion were fast taxing
away all hope. Wednesday morning found all
hands alive, but suffering terribly. Two men
were delirious In the wildness of their frenzy
hey tossed themselves from side to side, while
the chattering of their teeth and their insane
mutterings foretold the speedy termination OF
their sufferings On wednesday evening Inc
first death occurred. One of the deirlouS men
became furious for a short time, then coiled
himself up at the bottom of the boat and died.
Two more men passed away during the night,
and when Thursday morning dawned the boat,
laden heavily with ice, contained I'VE men IN
the agonies of despair and tho three dead
bodies. There was not sail IN signt-nothing
but vast expanse of sea and sky.
The pangs of hunger and thirst and the ter
rible exposure to cold were unsettllng the
minds of the survivors. There were no pro-
visions of any sort and furtive glanceS were
cast at the bodies of the dead companions. A
hasty consultation was held, and it was decided
to opep the veins in the neck of one OF these.
There was not dissenting voice, ana the
operation was speedily reformed. The red
stream flowed freely at the touch OF the KNIFE,
| and the parched threats and frozen lips OF the
crew were moistened by the still warm blood.
| The desperation of their act gave them sort
of logged determination to sustain life
q while longer, and hopes were revived that q
| vessel would cross their path during the day.
| They decided TO keep the dead bodies IN the
| boat, more from selfish motives than from any
| consideration for their late comrades AT .
| o'clock sail was seen, and to their great JOY
| it was coming in their direction. Desperate eff
| forts were made to attract attention, and this
recital is the result of their success.
When Captain Saunders saw the CHASTITY
! crew he was struck with horror. Their faces
| were purple their lips and hands stained with
| blood and their threats SO parched that hardly
| a sound could be emitted. They were almost
| delirious, and so de5ilitated by exposure that
he was afraid they would die before reaching
| Pigeon Cove, thirty miles away. he brought
| them in safely, however, and two surgeons
were summoned, WHO bestowed that care that
| was needed Those who were rescued are Cap
| tain G. A. Packard, VIM. Hartman, Allen
| Sewall, A. 3. Henderson and Ferdinand HAM
| ilton.
Three of the crew will go home today. Cap
/ tain Packard and Frank Hamilton who were
| so badly frost-bitten that it was thought their
| feet would have to be amputated, viii, 1t is
| thought recover the use of them. The name
| of the unknown man has been ascertalned to
| be Patrick Hogan. Funeral services were held
| at the town hall, Gloucester, Sunday afternoon
| and were attended by all the clergy. Small,s
body will be taken to Rockland and Hogan
will be put in the tomb at Gloucester