The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-04-05

Details OF remarkable swimming
feat, have just come to hand from Auck-
land, New Zealand. The facts as stated |
in the local papers which are before us
are verified, if any such verifcation |
were needed, by private letters to the
relatives and friends in this country of |
the hero of the exploit, namely, Cap
tain Haultain, son of Colonel Haultain,
who is 80 years of age and weighs, we
are told, fourteen stone, and commands
a sailing vessel on the New Zealand
coast. The night Of September 8 was,
it appears, an excessively stormy one, a
strong gale blowing from the east-south-
east, dark, rainy and unusually cold.
About 2 A. M. his ship was making for
the entrance of the WhangeTel harbor.
The Captain himself was upon the deck
occupied with some alteration in the
rigging, and while clearing away some
ropes was caught by the peak ''down
alp and flung clear off the ship into the
raging sea. Capt. Haultain had on at
this time heavy overcoat. high sea
boots up to his thighs, two pairs of
trousers, two shirts and two undershirts.
Taking it for granted that a boat would
be sent back to look for him as soon as
possible, he swan with these appalling
membranes upon him, as near as he
could tell, about half an hour in the
wake of the ship, coo-ee-ing, after the
fashion of antipodeans by land and sea.
No boat, however, appearing, he felt
that his only chance was TO strike out
for the shore. At this time he was no
great distance from the Frenchman at
the mouth of the harbor and succeeded
in stripping himself of the load of
clothes and Of the long boots, an opera
ton which in itself must have been ex.
hausting enough, necessitating, sit did,
frequent dives. To make the nearest land
he soon found was hopeless, on account
of the strong ebb tide that was running
and he had nothing for it but to heat
for the opposite shore of the harbor
three miles distant, which two or three
lights made visible through the dark
ness. This extraordinary feat-extra
ordinary, that is, when the crcumstan
ces are considerable succeeded in &C
complisbing, and he was picked up
) after being three hours and half in tn
water, clinging to the beach with hi
8 hands, half senseless, his legs havin
J lost all power Of action and the sur
> breaking over him. In the meantlm
a his men on the schooner had lost n
< time in putting of a boat to the rescu
It of their captain. After rowing fC
y some time they gave up the search 9
q fruitless, and, the boat being small
fe were themselves in no great securit,
The schooner, left short-handed, WI
driven ashore upon the same beach
its captain some time before the lat e
and the boat heading for the same pOil
,g was capsized in the surf, the men stru
+o Cling ashore as best they could, thoul
~ without loss of life. They RENAME
=. upon the beach about three hours, t
,is daylight showed them where they WEI
\ Travelling then along the shore in Il
~ direction of the nearest house tn
.s heard cries as from a man strugglil
Air. in the water, and eventually found thu
a. gallant captain in the surf, as before 4
so scribed. The force of the sea that "
,g running all through that night, say t
~ local accounts, may be realized by t
no fact that the vessel was driven so hi
10 and dry upon the beach that at IN
oso tide it was possible to walk up to /
,ar dry shod.
ses The Auckland papers speak Of it
he the most wonderful performance Il
I'm has ever been enacted upon the n
any Zealand coast, and claim for Capt
uld Haultain the mantle of the unfUrtun
|, it Webb. They note the fact, also, t
he was such determined abstai
that when half dead and totally nuI
the ed with exhaustion he refused to sv
low low a spoonful of brandy. They ex
and with good reason in the fact