Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-18
on A HOsPirABLE SHORE.
loss orthe ship Reindeer, the ttsrdssips or
aIsriorn Hope.


New York 1imes.l
The ship Pactolus. which arrived yester-
Gay from Kobe, japan. has on board the
secord and third officers Of the ship Rein.
der. Of PhiladclDhia, which was wrecked
nmong tbc Marshall islands. in the Pacific,
Inst January.
The Experiences Of the Reindeer's crew
were OF an unusual nature. Wrecked in an
out-oi-ihe.way corner OF the world. inhab-
tied 10y balf.savage natives. portion OF
their number was obliged to set out IN a
small boat in search OF aid. After strange
wandcrlnSs, and after the loss Of one man,
The boat, crew reached q civilized port,
aud IN An ericaa man.of-war was sent 10
INC rescue u the slipwrecked seamen.
The Reindeer LETT Philadelphia for Japan
viii cargo 81 oil abOu. August 1, 1898.
She was then Just OF the stocks. and was
ono 0i the finest sailing vessels ail0at. She
measured about 1900 tons. Captain Nor
riiOn. one OF the best shipmastcrs Of the
American merchant marine. W., in con-
mand. On board her were twenty-five
persons. including the wife OF Chief officer
Humphrey. All went well until the eve
ming OF January I'd last, when the ship
wa- in the neighbOrhOOd OF the MIR.
shall islands, which are a small group In
the Sulgrayc Archipelago. Without any
warning the reindeer struck heavily on
4 submerged reef. She remained fast. al
though every effort was made TO Goat her.
The night was intensely dark. and no llud
could be made out in any direction. The
captain was Of the opinion that he had
struck on submerged reef not marked on
The charts. As soon ~ il was light the
crew discovered that the vessel had struck
4 -. Al
shout = mile in length. This was Ujae, the
principal one Of the thirteen islands which
compose the Marshall group. Renewed
efforts were made to manpuyre the ship of
the reef. hut she remained fast. and it be.
csmc evident that there was little chance
Of her ever moving off the reef.
A number OF natives were seen gathered
on the shore and watching the great vessel
which had 20 Unexpectedly made rs ap-
pcarance. One Of the ships boats was
launched. snd Captain Morrison approach
ed the shore. The natives simply wore
short mats around their waists. They were
unnfmcd and appeared peaceful. The boats
crew landed. the natives could not I'M
derstand English. but by signs they in
formed lhe ship-wrecked mariners that
they would be Hospitality treated. Captain
Morrison soon asccrtained that the King OF
the Marshall islands resided, with about
30 Of his 80 subjects, on the island
near which the Reindeer had been wreck
ed. The King at length made his appear
ancc. His dress wa, no more extensive in
its character than was that OF the humblest
OF his subjects. but his appearance was
imposing. lie was evidently about forty
years OF age. and was extremely ugly. Tie
received the Captain, however. with marked
courtesy, and led the way to the royal PAL
ace, which was built largely oi light reedv
material, aud was about twenty by thirty
feet in area and eight feet high. The
King and his three wives Immediately
moved into an annex establishment.
leaving the royal quarters at the
disposal Of the Captain. The latter
then sent for all hands TO come ashore.
and qusrtcrs for all were found among the
huts Of the island. The people lived prin.
cipaily on bIead-fruit and cocOanuts. which
grew in great abundance. Captain Morri-
son called his officers and Il council OF war
was held. They we're in an out.of-the-way
corner OF the world, and II was evident
that unless something was done they would
be obliged 10 pass the remainder OF their
days in the society OF the hOspitable na-
tiycs. Tie Marshall islands are In latitude
- 30| north and longitude 1872 30| east.
The nearest port where assistance could
be obtained was Uan, which was about $50
miles distant.
The captain decided TO send boats
crew 10 Ulan. and SecOnd-Oflicer III. W.
Dr0han was selected to take command OF
his forlorn hope. \ picked crew Of four
men was selected. and on the eighth day
after the siranding OF the Reindeer the
largest Of The boats was stocked with water
and provisions md provided with
sails. Charts and instruments were
placed on board. and Mr.. Drohan and
bis men embarked. THEN comrades. to.
gether with The King and Sc
lcct crowd OF his subjects. stood
on the sands and watched the boat ~ il
sped out to sea. Scarcely had the little
island faded ont OF sight before the weather
became threatening. The sea was rough
and the winds were contrary. The boat
naS unable 10 head toward it, destination.
Seas were shipped. and the bread and
meat became spotted. Mr.. Drohln was un-
able TO make the port that nc stcercd
for. The crew began 10 despair Of
ever saving Themselves. II was al
most impossible TO eat the spoiled pro-
visions, and some OF The men slowed signs
OF exhaustion. The weather continued
rough and seas boarded The boat, and It
was necessary to bail her out frequently.
Thirteen day, after the boat had loft the
island Mr.. Droban found that he was no.
where pear the port Ter which he had
started. although the boat had probably
travelled about 900 miles, but this had been
nearly always in wrong direction.
The men we're beginning to give way TO
despair when they saw vessel approach
ing She discovered them aud came 10
their rescue. This vessel proved 10 he the
Catalina. Of London. Captain t.. Williams.
bound from Newcastle. New South Wales,
for sig0n. in Cochin.China. with 4 cargo
Of coal. soon after boarding the bark
Peter Lawson. one OF the boats crew died
from the effects Of hunger and exposure.
ana was buried at sea. On thr twenty
fifth dlv after the rescue the Catl-
lima reached Sigon There Was no
American Consul there. The French
Consular Agent was supposed to took
ont for the Americans who straycd into
Sigon. but he refused 10 givesny assistance
10 the Renders men. {. +. Tumlett, the
British Consul. took the responsibility OF
psyIng the passage OF thc men 70 Hong
Kong, where. he SAID, thev would lind the
American man. of-war Essex. He also gave
them a letter to Colonel Mosbv, the Ameri- |
eau Consul at the latte: port. The steam.
shin Benyue was the vessel which took
Mr.. Drohan and his three men 10 Hong !
Kong. Colonel Nosby communicated with !
Commodore Davis. who ordered Captain I
Mccormick, Of the Essex. TO proceed to J
the Marshall islands for the remainder Of !
the Renders crew.
After the remainder o. the Renders |
crew had biGden Godspeed 10 their COM |
rades who had ventured out in the small |
boat. thew set about making themselves a. |
comfortable as possible. They were great
" alarmed by The rough weather which fol- |
lowed the departure Of the boat. A. this |
listed for nearly fortnight. they began To |
Give I'D hopes OF suceor through the boats |
crew. Captain Morrison ard the carpenter |
had the crew bring them quantity OF lim-
Der from the vessel. and they built small |
schooner OF bout fifteen tOns. The King aud |
bis subjects watched the work with interest |
They succeeded in making their guests |
understand that small schOoners OCCASION |
allv visited the islands Ter cocosnnts aad |
hread-fruit. The fact that these vessels |
came only at long intervals was also made |
known. The King was OF the opinion thlt
In the course OF wear or so one OF these |
foreign sehooncrs might visit his domains. |
The royal fleet consisted OF few canoes |
which piled among the thirteen small !
islands. The people were willing to assist |
the sailors whenever they could obtain the /