Morning journal and courier., 1889-06-11
HIPWRECK ON DESERT ISLAND. The Terrible Adventure and Escape
 of Fen Naked Sailors.
 [

VOiVeO.
 HIPWKECK ON A DESERT ISLAND The Terrible Adventure and Escape
 of Fen Naked Sailors.
 From the London Standard.l
 PLYMOUTH, May 25.-In the mail steamer Para there arrived here to-day some ship features of no ordinary interest. They are Captain Stewart, the second mate, the car- penter, the sailmaker, and five geamen, sur vivors of the crew of the Gettysburg, bark, of Aberdeen, which was wrecked off Morant Cayes. thirty-three miles from Jamaica. The Gettysburg left Monte Video on Februa- " 9th with 8 crew of sixteen all told, in ballast, for Pensacola. On April 1st, at half past twelve 8. m., she struck on 8 coral reef outside Norant Caves. The night was very dark, it rained at intervals, and there was a high wind blowing. The current had car ried the ship southeast of her course. Im- mediately she struck the bark fell over on her port side and commenced to break up, and the stern sank in deep water. Two boys, John Tolfrey and Henry Johnson, both about sixteen, apprentices from the training ship Warspite, who were in She cabs in, went down with the bark, and Henry Bence, John Olsen and William Vogwill were washed off her stern and drowned.
 Captain Stewart and ten of the crew clung to the part of the bark's bottom, which was still above water, and while they were in this position one of the vessels boats was washed within their reach. They tried to hold on to the boat till daylight, but at two a. n. heavy sea struck the boat and car ried it seaWard. Captain Stewart and six of his men were washed off with the boat to
 sS and became useless. Four men managed to get back to the wreck, but John Forbes, of Aberdeen, chief mate, and John Lindsay, of Rhode Island, steward, were drowned. Captain Stewart seized an oar and hoated until 8 heavy sea washed him upon the reef. He afterward joined the survivors of the wreck. At dayb the Caves was made out 6 mile to the westward of the reef. William Garter swam out to two spars, 8 mast, and yard, and, with the assistance of James Crawford, ordinary seaman, who joined him, constructed raft alongside the reef. By their effort the lives of Captain Stewart and six of their shipmates were saved. They were lowed on the raft to the nearest Caves, Carter swimming all the way, and thus steering the raft. There they found three cocoanuts to eat, and no water, the is land being uninhsbited. They landed com pletely naked.
 After being there for two days they dug for water and found some, but very brack- ish. On the third day Thomas Allan, au followed by Garter and Crawford, and stayed there all night Next morning Garter re- turned to the smaller Caves with news of having discovered more water aad cocoa- nuts. The rest of the survivors then swan over, except David Wolfe, a German, able seaman, who was in jured in the wreck, and Captain Stewart, who was too exhausted. arA T11F across. They remained there over two weeks, existing upon shell6sh, small crabs and cocoanuts. During the last two days they caught few birds (boobies) sleeping, and ate them raw, as there was no means of lighting a fire. Some little roots like the common white radish were alse found and eaten, but were difficult of mastication and digestion. A large shark was on the watch to catch the sailors, and they tried to catch him, but neither party succeeded. On April 21st. at low water, Carter, Shaddick, the second mate, and Edward Macdonald, ordi- nary seaman, waded over to an island and secured sufficient wood to make small raft. The sun was 80 hot that they were badly scorched and blistered. A raft was con. structed by Charles Reece Jones, sailmaker, and all the sails were made out of an old piece of bag, some pieces of blanket and 6 bed which was washed ashore.
 On the 22d of April Jones and Allan started on the raft for Jamaica to procure assistance They were victualled with a piece of pork which had been washed up. all the cocoanuts left and nine pints of fresh water in old bottles found on the island. The raft sank to eighteen inches below the water in the center, but both ends were ele- vated. Its occupants were up to their waists in water, and remained 30 for forty-eight hours, when, on the 24th, they landed at Beacon Point, seven miles west from Morant Bay. There they lay down on the beach ex- hausted and slept till morning, when they proceeded to White Horses, three miles dis tant. At this place, at seven 8. m., they found & black policeman, who gave them food and took them on to Morant Bay, where the Collector of Customs gave the constable money to get them moro food, and tele- graphed to the authorities at Kingston. Jones and Allan afterward lay down upon the piazza outside the Custom House, being still quite naked. About three p. m. two gentlemen, one an Englishman named Bar rett, superintendent of the telegraph station, were very indignant at their being left in the street, and protested against their being sent to Kingston in their present condition. Mir. Barrett took them to an out-htter's and pro- vided them with clothes, ordered hot meat dinner for them, and provided them with liquor to bathe and rub their legs, which were very much swollen, laoerated, and ex- ceedingly stiff and sore.
 drsy to Kingston, where they were taken to the Sailors; Home, and the Forward gunboat was sent to bring off Caplain Stewart and the rest of his brew from the Caves. The Forward arrived there on April 26th and took them off, eventually bringing them to Port Royal on the morning of the 27th. The steam launch took them on to Kingston. Captain Stewart and his crew were landed at Plymouth.