The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-02-09
SUFFERING ATT. SEA.
The Schooner Melissa Robbins Goes
Ashore and is Wrecked.
Severe Experience of the Crew Of the
Herbert m. Rogers.
other Vessels That Suffered During
the Recent Gales.

On the 22nd day of January, the schooner
Melissa Robbins, Captain Johu Mckenzie,
sailed for La Hare banks on fishing expe-
dition She had good luck, got $4,000 pounds
If cod and paddock and left the banks on
Tuesday. the 9TH of this month At four
o'clock Thursday morning, while the schooner
was proceeding under storm sails, during
snow squat, heavy sea and WESTERLY gale,
she truck the rocks with tremendous crash
that brought all hands on deck. This was
the first and the only warning the crew had
that land was near. The air was so full of
snow one could see but a short distance.
Without stopping to put on their oil suits
everyone turned ont. The waves was dash
ing over the vessel, 1t was bitter cold and
the tide was ebbing. The captain ordered
dory launched, but the moment 1T touched
the water it was dashed in thousand
pieces. 1t then became evident that the
best thing to do was to remain on the wreck
until the tide went out, and enabled the men
to get upon the rocks and reach the shore.
For about two hours the crew remained upon
the vessel, and all this time the water was
washing over them and freezing to their
garments. The suffering of all hands, 10
men all told, cannot be described. Finally
they jumped from the bowsprit upon the
rocks and reached shore. They found them
selves on the northwestern part of Little
Green island. They found hut intoSwhich
they went and kindled little fire to keep
themselves as warm as possible, but all felt
that they were gradually freezing. A little
and afar talx ~.
vessel, and this was all the food they had
during the day. At noon they were visited
by crew of the White Head life saving
station, who took off four Of the men. Be-
fore they reched the main land the United
States cutter Dallas saw the signal
of distress that the crew had
put on pole, and came
to their assistance Captain McKeene, who
was the last man to leave the island, was
taken off just at dark. The cutter then
steamed to Rockland where she remained all
night, so that she could call at White Head
In the morning for the four men taken off by
the life saving crew, and then take all hands
to this city.
The suffering of the men during the day
was very great, and had they not been taken
off that night some of them would hays per-
ished before morning. The vessel is total
wreck. Her cargo Of fish, which was valued
at $1,000, was all lost, 200 fathoms of new
cable and fishing gear worth $500, were also
lost The Melissa Robbins was a schooner
OF Sc tons. and was three years, old. She
was owned by Lincoln & Allen.
A sad tale of suffering at sea is told by
k.l O..&s4 of4 4 G II
bert M. Rogers, that arrived here yesterday
with 5000 pounds of halibut and 5000 pounds
of cod. 1t was bitter cold and stormy at sea
Wednesday night. The gale blew the water
in sheets that froze fast to the part of the
vessel where they struck, and to prevent the
vessel from being overloaded and sunk with
Ice all hands were kept at work cutting the
ice from the deck and throwing it
overheard. The crew of IA men worked
with will for their lives depended upon it,
The schooner was bound inward from
Browns banks, and when off Thatcher's
Island the iron on the main boom broke, the
boom swung to one side and was snapped in
halves like pipe stem. Soon after the
foresail broke. All Wednesday night the
crew worked to save the mainsail which,
with the boom was in the water. They at
ing and proceeded under what sail they
could make. They could not get into the
harbOr Thursday night on account of an un-
favorable wind anil were obliged to put to
sea again and endure another night Of fear
full suffering
Several Of the crew had their cheeks and
hands frozen, but still they worked to keep
the vessel free from ice. They put some 80
bushels OF salt upon the cable to keep it from
being so iced that they would be unable to
get 1t in the event of its being needed Still.
when morning came it was so covered with
Ice that it could not be located. The
water kept washing over the vessel and
freezing. The men had time to eat only a
little frozen food, and to say that they re-
joiced when morning came, and they were
able to put into the harbor, expresses it very
mildly. For two nights the crew of the
Rogers were unable to sleep or partake of
other than frozen food.
The fishing schooner Mary Elizabeth was
caught by the storm Wednesday night and
ran ashore off Fort Clyde. She had a crew
OF eighteen men. The life saving crew near
that point managed to get off three of them
but the rest remain on the rocks. Their YES
sci Is not broken and the Dallas will pull her
off to-day. ~
The schooner Ellen Lincoln came In YES
terday covered with ice. She had 10000
pounds Of cod and paddock.