Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1889-10-14
FATE OF THE SHIP GARsTON.
stranded On a Coral Reef In the Mid
die Of the Pacific Ocean.
JEropn tha Gan Francisco ChronicJe

stranded On a Coral Reef In the Mid
die OF the Pacific Ocean.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.l
Full particulars Of the wreck of the Brit
ish steel ship Garston, bound from Sydney
to San Francisco with GOAL, on q coral reef in
the Pacific Ocean on August 18th, and the
experience of the twenty-one men known TO
have escaped were received by the Australia,
which arrived yesterday from Honolulu, to
which port the British man-of-war Espiegle
had taken the rescued men.
First Officer Davies and twelve of the
crew of the Garston arrived here on the Aus
tralia. The passengers were familiar with
their story, and on the way up a subscription
was raised for them, netting the sailors three
dollars and seventy-fve cents each, and the
carpenter, George Lanqui, ten dollars. An
other subscription was taken up for one of
the steerage passengers named Alfred Du-
bois, who is an invalid, and was very sick
during the voyage. He was in destitute cir
cumstances and worthy object of charity.
Fifty-four dollars was subscribed by the
passengers, and to this was added twenty
Eve dollars by the Australia's crew.
The history of the wreck, as told by the
carpenter, is as follows: ''We left Sydney" !"
he said, in his broad, honest accent, with q
full cargo of coal, some two thousand eight
hundred tons, on June 20th last, bound for
San Francisco. Everything went all right,
with every prospect of pleasant and speedy
clear, beautiful night, and the stars were
all shining. We were then in latitude $50
south and longitude 1853 west, when Of q
sudden at about half past nine O'Clock, we
ran plump upon the coral reefs off Starbuck
Island. In a minute all was confusion. We
soon found that We had gone ashore and had
made a bad mess of 1t, too.
"Ths captain at once lowered all three of
the boats,. and, hastily getting them ready
feared that If we remained on board the
steel masts might fall and kill some of us.
She had been making but little water, and
had only eight inches of water in her hold
when we left her. We hovered about her
all night; but the next morning the sea was
breaking 80 high over her that We found it
utterly Impossible to board her at all; so, by
the captains orders, we abandoned her and
turned to find landing place on tho island,
but we could find none. We searched all
day. As night was coming on We were Or
dered to pull for the ship again, 80 as to keep
in sight of her, but the current was too
strong to allow us to make any headway, 30
| we turned back and gave 1t up.
"During the night We lost all trace Of the
gig containing the captain, second and third
mates and Eve seamen. We never saw them
again and do not know what became Of
them. They perished, no doubt. The bal
ence of that night we rested in our boats.
| We had two-one containing the chief mate
| and ten men, and the other myself, nine men
and two dogs. We drifted very much that
night, for the next morning we could find no
trace of either the ship or the island. After
| pulling all that day and night in wild eff
| the larger boat-a Hfeboat-and let the other
boat adrift.
"We soon found, however, that we could
make but little headway with the oars, and
set about hunting for the sails belonging to
| the boat, but could find none. Then our
| trouble began in earnest. We were on the
wide ocean, in an unknown place, with moth
| ing between eternity and twenty-one mon
! but frail boat, and without sails. We soon
| made two sails, one out of four old shirts
and one out Of an old bag. We bravely
headed in what we supposed to be- the direc-
| ton of Cookies Group, which the mate
| thought must be about one thousand miles
away.
| "We did not know that there were any is.
| lands near us. We were short Of provisions
and water, having only few tins Of meat,
q small cask of bread and water breaker,
which we managed to partly ELL with rain
water, caught in an oilskin coat. From ther
until the 28th Of July we lived on an ounce
of water q day apiece and three pounds and
a half of meat, divided between the twenty
one men and two dogs, share and share alike
On the merning Of August 28th, about
half past ten o'clock, we sighted an leland
the Humphreys group, in latitude twelve de
oreea south lOn0ftndo one hundred and eix