The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1889-01-12
SHIPWRECK.

The American Ship John Bryce Aban-
doned-One Man DrOwned-Captain
and Crew Reach Samoa After Seven
Days and Nights in an Open Boat
:. ;. Alameda Takes Them to san
Francisco.
On board the s. 5. Alameda were
Captain Murphy and part OF the crew OF
the American ship John Bryce, whose
disastrous voyage and later hardships
are recounted in the following report
furnished our reporter by the master:
The ship John Bryce, of ThOmaston,
Maine, sailed from Port Ludlow October
9th, with ,462 600 feet lumber to w. :.
Prual, of Melbourne, Australia. Lett
Port Townsend November 9th and in a
heavy southeast gale that night was
obliged to anchor in | ort Angeles where
she lay seven days before tug could be
secured. Sailed again on the 18th and
passed Cape Flattery on the 18th.
Crossed the equator in the Pacific in
longitude 147. Thence to latitude 9sOuth
was becalmed six days. Thence to lati-
tude 10 had steady northeast winds.
From December I'd to the 9TH had fresh
northeast winds. On the 9TH the wind
increased to a hurricane which started
the deckload and blew away sails. At
IL o'clock that night hove the ship to on
the port tack, heading TO the southeast.
About o'clock in the morning of the Sth
found the ship waterlogged and all deck
frames carried away. Starb ard bull
warks and standing rigging were all gone,
and by O'Clock the ship was a complete
wreck, all the houses being carried
away except portion OF after cabin and
all boats gone but one. At + a. m. the
gale began to moderate, but up to this
time the sea made clean breach over
the ship. At l q. m. a great sea swept
the decks, drowning Martin Nelson,
seaman aged about thirty-two years and
a native of Norway, and severely injur-
ing Captain Murphy and one seaman.
The Captain had seven ribs broken. BY
in the afternoon the sea had so mOder-
ated that they were able to launch their
only boat, into which they got and pulled
away with a westerly wind. The only
water they had was one barrel in the
Captains bathroom, all the other tanks
having been burst in by the sea. The
castaways started for the Cooks group
of islands, being southeast about three
hundred miles. We steered this course
nearly two days making about four miles
per hour, when the wind changed to
southeast and completely cut us off.
Course was then changed to the Samoan
Islands, distance nearly seven hundred
miles, where they arrived Cat Manan,
the extreme east island of the group
after being seven days and nights in the
boat. We reached shore at noon
on the 18th, where we were met
by an English trader named Edward
Sabine. He at once took us ashore and
made every provision for our comfort.
We were there eight days when we were
taken off by the cutter and carried by
Capt. Young to Apia on the island of
Upola. Here we remained seven days
and sailed again for Tutuila in the same
vessel. He charged us ten dollars each
to bring us from Manua harbOr to Apia,
and five dollars more to carry us to Tu-
tuila, the latter sum being paid by the
American Consul. On the 4th of Jan
uary we were taken on board the steam
ship Alameda of the Oceanic line and
sailed for San Francisco by way of Homo
lulu, Capt. Murphy receiving medical
attendance from the ships surgeon. 1t
seemed rather strange that private
vessel should be employed to bring us
from Apia to Tutuila, while the sloop-of
war Nipsic lay in the former har-
Dor and came down to the latter
place on the following day to receive
her mails. The ships company consists
of Timothy Murphy, master OF her since
1880, Edgar DenisOn, mate, Charles
Brant, second mate, and fifteen seamen.
The second and third mates and steward
remained behind at Apia at their own
request and were paid off by the United
States Consul.
The ship John Bryce was built in No
vember, 1869, at Thomaston, Me-, for
Edward Z. O'Brien by his father. She
has been in grain, lumber, guano and
other trades, in the North Atlantic and
North and South Pacific. Her tonnage
was l 1868 register. Capt. Murphy had
been six years mate and eight years
master of the ship.