Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-03-28
A ROMANCE OF THE SEA.

ROMANCE OF THE SEA.
Remarkable Story of the Adventures of a
Castaway Crew in The South Pacific.
The mail steamer Alameda, London
Standard correspondent reports, took to
New Zealand news of a romance of the
sea In many respects as wonderful as any
recorded in the pages of fiction.
On April 10 last the Henry James, of
Glasgow Captain baltimore - an iron
shi p of 964 tons register, with cargo of
coal, and having several passengers on
board, bound from Newcastle, New South
Wales, to San Francisco = struck on a
coral reef soon after passing the island
CT Palmyra, in the Pacific, about five de-
grees north of the equator. The vessel
had to be abandoned, and the boats being
got out the crew and passengers took
refuge on the island of Palmyra. They
fouEd there plenty of cocoanuts and
some small birds, so that they were in no
danger of Immediate starvation. The
mate and four seamen volunteered to go
IN one of the ships boats to Samoa
distance of 1900 miles, measured IN
direct line. The boat was provisioned
with a small keg of water, $50 cocoanuts,
a little bread, mutton, cheese and whisky,
journey, the intrepid men set forth
upon their perilous journey. They
reached Samoa in safety in nineteen
days, although more dead than alive.
Owing to the milk in the cocoanuts turn
ing sour in consequence of the great
heat. the men suffered severely from dys
EMERY, and were SO exhausted on arrival
that they had to be carried from the boat.
Attention was at once turned to the cast
Always lett upon the island. Among them
were two ladies and four children-two
girls and two boys, their age varying
! from three to nine years. Several of the
passengers were ill when the mate and
| the party left the island, and in their
destitute state they felt the exposure
greatly. Great fear was entertained in
Samoa, lest some, Or indeed all, of them
would be found to have persisted by the
time help arrived. The British consul at
once chartered schooner to go to the
assistance of the castaways, but before
the schooner could reach the island the
ca plain of the Mariposa, mail steamer,
bound from New Zealand to San Francis
| co, happened to hear of the disaster and
very kindly determined to visit the is
land, which lay some thirty miles cut of
his course, in order TO see what had be-
come of the refugees, whom he was for
'unate enough to be able to rescue.
On the Mariposa nearing the neighbor-
| hood of the island, officers were stationed
at the masthead, the captain was on the
bridge, and every available field glass and
telescope was in use by the passengers to
catch the first appearance of land. "At 8
O'clock" writes a passenger, "the mate,
| from the masthead, called out, Land
ahea6' and about an hour afterward we
could make out the island quite distinct
| ly, aud the excitement became intense
when the captain said he could see peo-
pie on the beach endeavor1Gg to launch a
! boat. Before long the engines stopped,
and we lay 80 about two miles off the
island, which was surrounded by coral
| reefs, over which heavy surf was break
| ing. We could now see the castaWays
| dragging their boat along between the
reef and the island, where, it being low
water, the boat would not float. The
boat was, after mile of this work (dur-
ing which the men got their feet cut very
badly through walking barefoot ove r
the coral), got into deeper water. Sail
was set, the shore skirted for some dis
lance further until an opening in the reef
was reached, the breakers were safely
negotiated, and the boat was headed for
our ship. In the meantime, a boat
manned by tie chief mate and q crew OF
four, had put off FROM the Mariposa, and
meeting the boat from the shore trans
shipped part of the shipwrecked crew
and in this manner the whole of the cast
always were safely rescued. Three ring
ing cheers greeted the arri al of each
boat load (three trips in all we're made)
and the appearance of the one contain
ing the women gave rise to increased
excitement. One of the sailors, whose
only covering consisted of a very ragged
pair of trousers. was Suffering from larg
open sores on his back, caused by the
sun and hot water, but with this excep-
ton, and one or two cases of dysentery
the men and children were fairly we'll
The ladies, of whom there were two, ep-
peared to have suffered the most, an6
he mother of the four children, who
shortly expects an increase in her family
was very much overcome with excite
men. and weakness. Contributions Of
clothing, ETC., were soon forthcoming
and in very short time the sufferers
We're as comfortable as it was possible Il
make them.
The survivors had an interesting stor,
to tell. Palmyra island is about eigh
miles long by two or three miles wide
and is surrounded by numerous small is
: lands and coral reefs. The captain O.
the Henry James writes: "We found OF
the island the remains of six huts, also
J quantity of irewood, which had been CO
and piled by some previous shipwreckec
crew. During our six weeks stay on thu
island, with the exception of attacks o
dysentery, all hands enjoyed fairly goot
health. We found water on small Is
: land o. 200 yards diameter about TIVE
miles off. in an excavation dug about Il
inches deep. COcoanuts were in abund
snce, also esls, birds, land crabs and pep
per grass. We also found plenty of eggs
but decided after few days not TO tax
1 any more lest the birds might becoD
scarce. The leeches were very trouble
| some on the island, making their appear
: ance in hundreds after every shower o
: rain and fastening on the bodies of tn
shipwrecksd people; indeed, one wa
b taken off the ships dog the day after tn
! rescue. 1t was after the lapse OF fort
g night that water WAS found,