Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-10-02
A TALE OF THE SEA.

out Food or WA<er-Cannibaliam Res0rted
70 In Order.tO Preserve Llfe-The Terrible
Experience OF the OnIr Survivors OF the
Wreck Of the Ill-fated Yacht Nignonette.
NEW York, September 20.
T Cablegrams from London announce
the arrival at Southampton of Edmund
Brooks and Edwin Stephens, seaman and
mate of the Inflated yacht, Mignonette.
Stephens was greatly Frustrated, but
Brooks was able to furnish q complete
account of the most horrible experience
| ever known to the sea- The story of
Brooks reads like a tale Of the vampires
and. has created the greatest interest in
this city. The seaman said:
f THE MIGNoSErrE gel
proved a capital sea boat. Prior to July
9TH, the day she wa4 lost. the wind had
been hard and shlfty, but she rode out
the gale admirably. At four O'Clock in
the afternoon of that day Captain Dudley
called the watch-myself and Mr.. Steph-
ens-the boy Parker sharing the watch
with the skipper. Parker had gone down
to wet the tea, of which we were all to
partake when we hove to. He had just
cine up, when Mr.. Stephens called,
s'Look outl'' and L saw tre-
mendous sea, reaching, I should
think, quite half way up to our
masthead, coming down upon US. The
Captain and Parker had held on TO the
main boom tosleeward, and the nnainsail,
being furled, had broke thesforce of the
sea upon them. Mr.. Stephens held on
by the tiiler ropes. When the sea had
passed Stephens almost directly said,
'sOh, my Godi her sides arestove int"
The Captain ordered the boat out. /
he. ped get the boat out. In fact, was
able nearly to throw her out myself. We
got in-Stephens, I and Parker-and
called several times to the tCaptaln to
come on board, and he presently did SO,
the Mignonette
SINKING IN FIVE MINUTES
I after she was struck. We then found
our boat had been stove In on the port
side, and she leaked great deal; but I
stopped it as we'll as | could with piece
of waste 1 found on the bottom boards,
ana this kept the water out till the morn
ing, when Captain Dudley made it more
secure. Parker took the ssl1ip wreck very
kindly believing that we sh ,uld soon see
Iuuu: Dut Ol COuTsC LAC TSSG Oh us knew
better than that. He was q nice, steady
and COED boy-as good boy. in fact, as
ever sailed with in my life. We did
not open our first tin of turnips till
three days after the wreck, having
eaten nothing at all in the mean
time. We knew the tins con-
tanned only turnips, for l had acted
rs a sort of cook GU board the Afignon-
cite. On the fifth day out I was steer
ing, and saw turtle swimming almost
to windward Of us; in fact, we had all
most passed it when I saw it. It's head
was some distance out OF, the water,
and / pointed it out to the others. I
and the Captain pulled the boats head
to- sea- and Mr. Stephens got hold of
the creature by the fms aud turned it
over. let go the fore one, and, al
though it was pretty good sized fish,
it came on as liglk as a fly. The turtle
lasted us till the twelfth day. We ate
everything, skin and all, throwing the
shell overheard. If we saw. little
bit of the turtle fat lying about that
had been left, we picked it up and
| ate it. III 4sf 5Hnf3 nst
PARKER, TnRBoY, .,.3a.@
had several times expressed desire to
drink the sea water, and I and the other
two strongly warned him against such
course, saying that-if he did SO it would
kill him, but his reply always was,.I
must drink something" One morning
Think we must then have been fifteen or
sixteen days out, but can't remember
exactly-about five O'Clock, DicxeyI told
US he had drank the bailer, which would
hold quite quart empty, and half full
again. He hid been gradually getting
weaker, and was, in fact, the we kest Of
us all. The salt water put his inside out
of order, and he suffered very much from
diarrhga, being at times In an agony of
pain fr. m this cause, and we all thought
he would die. He appeared at times o
be delirious; be would lie In the bottom
of the boat and try to sleep, aud if ne
went eff, when he woke up be- would say
he Wante. to ship. To get en toa d .
ship was all ever heard him expr IS q
wish to. do. 1 sad TO him several times: Il
.'Cheer up, Dickey, it will a come
right and the Captain ana Stevens did
all they could in the same way. We
had several times, spok II between he
three of us about casting lotsias to who
should re killed, and Parker had heard
this, but I ant Mr.. Stephens would not
hear OF it, ana said that ii we were to de
Is ALL DIE. TOGETHER.
Excepting Parker, Mr. Stephens suffered
more than any of US. He was seized
with pains internally, and his legs We're
SO much swollen that he could hardly
move. One night he was so bad that
thought he was going to die, and took
hole of his hand, and we prayed together
to the Ami hty to- save US. July Goth
when Parker0 life was taken, was very
fine day. Excepting little piece Of
the skin Of the turtle, with alittle drop
of water We had caught in a STORM
which passed over our heads, we had had
nothing FOR eight days. Dick was lying
in the b- tom of the boat, grooming with
pain; but he never said anything to
lead us to suppose that his life was at
burden to him. l believe The captain and
Stephens had spoken about it. in the
night, though nothing had been said to
me directly or Indirectly of any intention
to kili the boy, and Mr.. Stephens, I be-
lieye, would never have consented to it. d
had been at the helm three or four
hours, and was lying in the bows of the I
boat; and Stephens made signs to me 1
which unds rstood to mean. that the
Captain intended to take the boys life, as
he was dying. believe he was dying,
and If he b ID not been killed, have not
the slightest doubt We should all have
died. did MT see the deed done. had
my oil-skin coat over my head trying to
get to sleep, a..d was not aware when it
tain say to Mr.. Stephens:
'sHoLD HIS REET,"
and / uncovered my head and then saw
the boy was dead. l tainted away for q
minute or two, and when I CAME toe