Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1884-09-23
EATEN AT SEA.
A Boy Killed and Deyoured by Fam
ishing Men.
SOME OF THE TERRoRs OF THE DEEP.
TWENTy-FoUR DAYS IN A BOAT.

TWENTy-FoUR DAYS IN A BOAT.
New YORK, September 22.-The story
of the murder of Richard Parker, the boy
on the English yacht Mignonette, by the
captain and mate, after the yacht had foun-
dered and the men in the boat had run out
of provisions, is one of the most horrible in
the annals Of ocean horrors. Yesterday
Captain Dudley and Mate Stephenson we're
committed for trialin London on the charge
of killing the boy for the purpose of eating
him. They were admitted to bail Seaman
Brooks was discharged. The story Of the
tragedy as told by the mate, is as followsi
eve left Fay's Yard, Southampton, about
) p. m, on May 10, and had light, favors-
BILE winds to Madeira, where we filled up
with water and got little coal and provi-
sions We had the ordinary weather to the
equator, the wind generally freshening.
The vessel was put under reduced sail until
Saturday, July 3, when at p. m (the wind
being about SIS. W., blowing a fresh gale,
with high sea, and the yacht being under
storm trysail, reefed square sail and No. 3
jib)
A Heavy Sea Struck Her.
was at the helm at the time. The master
and the other two hands were securing the
skyEghts, &C., when, observing the heavy
sea coming, | called Look out! at the
same moment jamming the helm hard up
but the sea went clean over. On recover
ing myself-the sea having knocked me to
leeward Bit saw to my borrow that the
weather topSides and bulwarks sbaft the
beams had been stove in. | cried out, Ny
God! her topsides are stove in; she is sink
ng! There was nothing but confusion.
We got dingy out; the master ran below
and brought up few tins Of provisions
He had just time to jump into the boat
md in five minutes from the sea striking
her, down by the stern went the Mignonette.
. A Terrible Position.
Here were four Of us in an open boat
fourteen feet long miles out Of the track Of
hippng, and everything we had eatable or
drinkable was two pound tin of preserved
turnips. Our boat leaked badly, and as
fresh gale from the south was blowing we
kept her all night before it with the oars
and sea anchor. We also recovered the
sextart and chronometer floating after the
vessel foundered. We could do nothing but
drift before the wind and sea, the danger OF
swamping being so great, On the third or
l.,,4L Jo,- D,ola frnn1 North
west to southwest On the third day as we
suffered very much from thirst, we opened
one of our tins of turnips. There were FIVE
pieces, or halves in the Tin; we divided one
piece between two. Thus the first tin lasted
two days. That one mOuthful seemed
So Cool to Our Parched Throats.
On the fifth day we caught small tur
tie, but our boat shipped so much water that
Te lost most Of the blood which we greatly
needed for our thirst; bit we were so over
loved that We ate our other tin Of turnips
on that day; and now the thirst began to
get worse. When sGuall would approach
US. We would button our oilskin coats,
which we fortunately had on, the behind
part before, and, spreading our arms out
with the coat resting on them, we waited,
with burning throats and stomachs, PRAYING
to the Almighty for water until the squall
had passed. think it was on the eighth
day we commenced drinking our water and
continued drinking il at times until we we're
picked up. On the twelfth day our turtle
was finished for the last two days we had
been chewing our skin for moistures.
We Used to Sit and Look mt Each Other
gradually wasting awsy-hunger and thirst
n each face. We were 20 weak and cramp-
ed that we could hardly move. On Sunday,
the fifteenth day, we made a sail as We
thought we might venture to run the boat,
although when we did before it was danger
Gus, her square stern shipping so much
water. The sails was made out of the shirts
belonging to the master Brooks, and myself
two on top and one below. A piece o.
plank split did for yard, and an oGr for
mast, securing the same by strand from
The boats painter With this and the stcrr
seats Ia. he'd up, we found the boat would run
rs long as there WAS not too much sea The
.eemed to cheer us q bit. our object heing IN
get 10 The westward, in the track Of ships, as
fast as possible.
"Th~ lad Parker was now getting very
weak and i'll. He had, unknown to us, at
night been drinking salt water. He told
us this when he was ILL., Our nights were
the worst time; they seemed never to end;
,gp dreaded them very much. We had now
leen eight days without food and FIVE days
without water. The lad dying before our
eyes, The longing for his blood came upon
US. and on Friday morning, the twentieth
day Of our being cast away, the master has
tened death by bleeding him
In minute all was over. ]
will leave you to imagine how
We subsisted ON the Body
until Tuesday, July 80, the twentyfourth
Jay Of our being in the boat. when we we're
picked up by the German bark Montezum,
Of Hamburg, Captain Trenousen. bound TO
Falmouth, from whom we received every
kindness. We suffered q great deal for
some days sferward The extremities
seemed 10 have entirely los, life. We had
thus been in the boat from July ), al FIVE
p. m, until July 90, at ten a. m. nearly
tventy.four days, having drifted and sailed
distance ofabout 300 miles viz. from lat.
2T los, long Q 30 " to lat 2420 s., hong
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