Morning journal and courier., 1889-07-24
THE BARK MARY FRASER.

Captain Lapham's Story of Her Aban.
dOnment-OblIged by the AuthorI.
ties OF Flores to Drop Anehor-This
Causes the Loss of Five Lives and
the vessel-The Whaling Bark Sea
Fox Blown Up.
NEW BEDFORD, Mass, July 23.-Barken-
tine Moses B. Tower, Captain Azevedo, ar
rived from Fayal this afternoon having taken
thirty.one days to make the passage. She
has twenty cabin passengers and full COM
plement in the steerage, all being Portuguese
from the islands and nearly all bound to
California where they will SETTLE. Among
the cabin passengers was Captain J. g. Lap-
ham, of the Bark Mary Fraser, of Edgar
town, before reported found floating at sea
abandoned and set on FIRE by British steam
er and destroyed as dangerous obstacle to
navigation while her nautical instruments
and some personal property were taken on
board the steamer and carried to Boston.
Captain Lapham gives further particulars
OF the abandonment of the Mary Fraser.
After the bark had been released by the Por-
tuguese authorities at Fayal, in response to
the demand from our State department, she
sailed May II for the island of Flores, where
Captain Lapham desired to complete his
complement of men, needing twelve or four
teen more to make up his crew. On Satur-
day. May 10, the bark arrived off Flores and
Captain Lapham went on shore. Here he
was very much surprised to be informed by
the authorities that he would not be permit
ted to recruit men or even receive his letters
unless the ship was anchored. There being no
other alternative word was sent on board to
anchor the ship in spite of the fact that there
was no suitable anchorage in case of change
of the wind. On Monday nine men were BE-
cured and sent on board the bark, Captain
Lapham and his first officer remaining on
shore to finish recruiting. About o'clock
IN. the wind sprang up from an adverse
quarter and the ship, although secured by
The second and third mates were on board
and they did all possible to secure the ship.
but finding that the wind increased and that
there was no apparent probability of saving
the ship from going ashore they reluctantly
concluded to abandon her. Two boats were
launched, commanded respectively by the
second and third mates. One contained
eight and the other twelve men. There
was an angry sea setting directly in for
the snore. The men, although mostly
green hands, pulled we'll and got well into
shore, but on reaching Che surf the small
boat capsized and five of the eight men, in
Guiding the third mate were drowned.
These, with one exception were all shipped
at the islands and included four Portuguese
and one Kanaka. The large boat was stove,
but the men succeeded in reaching the shore.
Both boats " ere entirely destroyed. Captain
Lapham on discovering the dangerous po-
| sition of the bark, sought to get on board
and offered as high as $50 to any one who
| would put him on board, but was unable to
/ secure passage. The men who escaped We're
| cared for by the authorities and the
drowned men received suitable interment.
During the night the wind changed and
| the Mary Fraser swung away from the shore,
parted her cables and was sent out to sea.
Captain Lapham lost his instruments and all
his personal property he had left on board.
When the bark Sarah for Boston stopped off
the island Captain Lapham hoped to get on
| board, but high wind prevented and he had
| to rely on the packet running between the
l islands to get to Fayal, where he went on
board the Tower. The loss of all his papers
prevents him from knowing the names of the
lost men, but three of the men belonged to
Fayal, one he thinks to Pico and the fifth was
a native of the Cape de Verde Islands. Nine
men who had shipped on board the Mary
Fraser, one of whom was boat steerer and
| the others before the mast, all being Portu-
guese, were brought to this port by the Tower
1 as consulmen.
THE CREW OF THE SEA FOX.
Il 4u0 AIItlc IOLsuSuCbc 5CAOOuoI SnAOAuu al
rived here from Bravo, Cape de Verde Islands,
having on board seven of the crew of the
whaling bark Sea Fox Of this port, on board
of which an explosion occurred at Equimina
Africa, in March last, which killed the cap
tain and four men, The entire after part Of
the vessel was blown away. The remainder
of the crew were sent from St. Paul DE-
Loanda to Port Prior, g. v. l., and thence
to Brava Fourteen of the crew are on boarc
the schooner Vale Pain, to arrive here in {
few days.