The Portland daily press., 1883-06-05
THE "P. G. MERRYMAN.,
THE TOUGH EXPERIENCES OF A PORT
LAND BARK.
She Rescues the Grew of an English
Vessel.

letter received by the father OF Capt
FRANK Il. Young, master of the Portland bark
n. Y. Mer yman," gives very interesting
account of the vessels experiences in the same
storm which wrecked the Oracle. We publish
the following extracts We will first state the
p. Q. Merryman left Montevideo in January
and two months after had to pnt back TO the
Falkland Islands; the letter is dated March
18th.
The Merryman went along all right, al
though she experienced gale after gale, with
light airs and Gains, until she reached 740
west on the 4th of March when tue glass went
slowly down to $50 and it commenced to
blow hard from w, N. W. Got every thing in
except lower main topsail and mizzen staysail
The wind increasing to hurricane furled
mizzen staysail, and goose-winged lower main
topsail. At midnight the footrope on the top
sail started and we had to haul the sail up and
furl it. AT this time the wind was blowing
with hurricane force and tho sea tremendous.
never saw such sea and don't believe
there ever was such a sea before off Cape Horn
After we slowed the lower topsail we had no
sail on the ship and we had to set the Inizzen
the sheet parted and tore the sail badly, that
was on March 5th Then we had nothing to
keep the ship to the wind and sea, SO we got
the main hatch tarpaulin in the mzzen rigging
and that kept her up pretty we'll but not quite
to the vino, and sometimes she would break off,
the sea making all the time, On the morning
OF the 9th, the wind blowing with great
violence, and the sea very bad and high the
wind hauled about two points when all at once
the bark shipped an awful sea ON the quarter,
filing the decks full and breaking the tiller Of
the rudder oil close to the rudder head and
then the rudder was going first one side and
then the other thought then that we should
lose our rudder. AS soon as we could we got
tackles on the radder head and fixed the tiller
as we'll as We could, with the sea that was run :
ming there. But the head OF the rudder was
so badly damaged we had hard work to fix it;
every time the sea struck the RAIDER You could
sea the rudder twist below the deck aud was
afraid If We got another gale the rudder head
woald go. All that night the rudder was creak-
ing and grooming and We had to keep to work
at it all night to keep the wedges In the wind
blowing with hurricane force until a. m. On
the 7th it began to moderate. Got sail on the
ship to keep her steady and the next day fixed
the rndder as well as possible. But the mate
aud second mate both came TO me and said
they did not think the rudder was fit to pro-
coed with and that II We got another gale we
should lose the rudder head. Called all hands
and they said they thought We had better 60
back. Under the circumstances thought il
best 10 go back to the Falkland Islands. So
that forenoon, March It'll, we fixed the rudder
head and tiller the best we could aud at D.
m, finished the rudder and made some sail
and kept away, the wind about west, moderate
At p. m. sighted an English nark with en-
sign upside down on one weather bow. Came
mp to her and fonnd her to be the English bark
Jessica from Talchuanaha Bay bound to the
Channel for orders, with cargo Of grain shifted
ana IL feet Of water in her hold. Ran close
to her and found She was in bad condition: her
hulwarks all washed away. all her boats gone
excepting one, and the vessel sinking fast.
The captain wanted to leave her as the pumps
wera choked and she could not be saved So
we lay by her and the crew came on board
after making two trips, sixteen hands al told.
Inc captain said he never saw such gale as
that was His vessel was iron aud good one,
The sea was heavy that it broke her iron
stanchions and washed the baiwsrks all away.
His men were all played out. They were all
sores and boils and bruises, and il took me
most all the time to doctor them. We nave
done what lay in our power to make them
comfortable. At the time we took them or
board l asked the captains advice about our
rudder and about keeping back for Valparaiso
we had been RAINING off only an hour--and
he said he thought il would be very unwise as
We might lose one rudder in case OF another
gale, and advised me to go back TO the Falk-
land Islands. We arrived at Stanley Harbor,
Falkland Islands, at II a. N. Found three
other vessels here in distress much worse off
than we are. Que Dutch bark put in with
nothing bat three lower masIs standing. Two
English vessels, one the San Carlos with cot
ton. The captain told me to-day that he had
been off the Horn for weeks trying 10 get TO
the westward and at last sprung MS rudder
head. The other English bark run before the
gale and had her decks swept clean and has
got to discharge, We shall be- able to get our
rudder repaired here and proceed ON cur
vnvaOa