Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-02-21

:
crew, under the direction of the captain,
were doing their utmost to put out the fire.
Pumps were going, buckets were being
passed from hand to hand, the decks were
deluged with water, and tons of it poured
into the hold.
"But all to little purpose; and after half
an hours strenuous eXertiOn, l heard the
captain We an order which showed that
he despalred OF saving the ship. 1t was to
/ lower the boats and remove the wounded
to the Santa Anna under the charge of
the surgeon and chaplain.
cit was a dreadful task, and caused some
of the poor MANNED creatures most ex-
! Quisite pain, but sailors are wonderfully
def and handy and the order was exc
cuted IN much shorter Tune than might
"Yet, short as the time was, the fire had
visibly gained ground, and we watched it's
progress from the deck of the Santa Anna
| with unspeakabIe anxiety. But not until
flames, and her destruction imminent, did
the captain give up the attempt to save
her, and order the crew to take to the
boats and come on board the Santa Anna
| which was hOve-tO at about a cables length
| away. He was the last To lnavA tha daolz-
and ten minutes after he quilted it the
! SHecate' was one mass of flame, burning
fiery furnace, the heat of which we could
feel even on the galleOn's deck.
"We watched the fire until it burned
down to the waters edge and was extin-
guished by the sea, leaving nothing of the
once gallant war-ship behind save q few
charred fragments. Then, the wind being
fair, orders were given to make sail, and
/ we went on our course, not without hope,
despite the Omens, of speedy and happy
( termination of our eYentful cruise.
Most of the officers and men have lost
all their effects in the fire; but, thanks to
the thoughfulness and courage of the boy
who waits on me, have saved a good part
of my wardrobe, some writing materials,
and nearly all my books:
''The captain informed me this morning
that he is very well pleased with the Santa
Anna She is one of the best built ships
he ever saw, being constructed of a wood
called teak, hard enough and stout enough
to last century. She is also good sailer,
and, with favorable weather and moderate
! luck, we may, he thinks, reach Portsmouth
In about fifty days.
81 sincerely hope so, and pray God he
may prove a true prophet; for | am sick of
the sea, and so soon as we get home | shall
resign my appointment, and seek a less ex-
citing, if more mOnOtOnOus, sphere Of duty
ashore.
"a terrible discovery was made yester-
day. We are short of water.
According to the purser's calculations,
made the day after the burning Of the
! 'Hecate,' the supply on board the Santa
Anna was amply sufficient for the voyage
| to England; but it now turns out that sew
eral of the casks which he thought were
full are quite empty, and we have not more
! than enough for ten days consumption.
We are already on short allowance, and
| Captain Barnaby has decided to make for
! the BermudaS.
at is very unfortunate this discovery
was not made sooner, for at the best we
cannot reach New Providence in less than
| fifteen days, and if we had bad weather or
contrary winds-But [ will not anticipate
evil. We are in the hands of Him whom
the winds and waves obey.
For two days it has blown a hurricane,
and we have been driven hundreds of
miles out of our course. The allowance Of
water is reduced to quart day for each
man for all purposes, and as it is terribly
hot, and as our diet consists chiefly of salt
pork and hard biscuits, our sufferings are
almost pas. bearing
'Becalmed. Allowance reduced to a
pint.
"Still becalmed. To-day a deputation
| from the crew waited on the captain, and
requested that, in order to ecOnOmize wat
er, and, perchance, save their lives, the
! Spanish prisoners should be thrown over
board This he refused to do, but he or
dered the Spaniards' allowance to be re-
duced to half a pint
"The Spaniards. maddened by thirst.
have attempted to seize the ship. A num-
Der of them, who were allowed to walk on
deck, secretly released their comrades, and
attacked the watch-sOme with cutlasses
obtained know not how, others with mar
line-sDikes, or whatever else came to hand.
! The Englishmen at first driven from the
deck were speedily reinforced, and then
| enSued a frightfu1 struggle in the dark, the
| Spaniards. utterly reckless of their lives,
| fighting with the ferOcity Of despair. But
! in the end they were overcome, the wound
! ed (and fear many of the whole thrown
into the sea, and the survivors forced be-
low and put in irons. The captain, him
self sorely hurt, had great difficulty in pro-
tecting them from the fury of his men,
who; il they might have had their way,
would not have left a single spaniard alive.
"Still becalmed. On, how gladly would
we give this thrice accursed treasure for
few casks OF water, or even few hours
rain!
al am sick-I fear, nay, l hope, unto
death, for l suffer so horribly from thirst
| that death would be happy release. Yes
terday two Seamen committed suicide and
my dear friend, Captain Barnaby, has died
of his wounds and want of water, since,
hurt though he was, he nobly refused to
take more than his share.
"The command now devolves on Lieuten-
ant Fame. He is a first-rate seaman, and
man of resolute and original character, but
he has some strange ideas.
'T write this with difficulty. lam worse.
Tomorrow | may not be able to write and
as / have no hope Of ever seeing England
again, know not what will become of the
ship and her crew. | am about to inclose
my diary (Which contains a narrative of
the principle events that have befallen US
since the 'Hecate' LETT England in water
tight case and commit it to the waves. 1t
may peradventure be found after many
days.
II beseech any good soul into whose
hands these pages may fall to forward them
to [illegible] Surrey, England or to the
Secretary of the Admiralty, London.
ROBERT HARE.
"On board the galleon Santa Anna Feb
ruary z, 1744"
CHAPTER vI.-oF THE SAME OPINION STILL
"Poor fellowi l wonder what became OF
him and the others' But why on earth
didn't they distill fresh water from sea
waterf' were the first thoughts that oc-
| Cured to me after reading the chaplain's
| narrative.
And then remembered that the events
| In question took place in a pre-scientific
age; that there was certainly no distilling
apparatus on board the Santa Anna"
nor, probably, any means of making one
large enough to provide for the require
ments of two or three hundred, possibly
| three or four hundred men.
| Again, why did not they take to their
boats and try to reach land that way in
stead of waiting helplessly for wind,
with certainty that if it did not come