Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-21
APT.STAPLES' STORY
The Wreck of the Dunlap Described
by Her Captain.
DISASTER In AN ILLINOIS VILLAGE.
Verdicts Rendered in the Panama
Bribery Cases.
TRIAL OF THE NEW YORK.
DISASTER In AN ILLINOIS VILLAGE.
TRIAL OF THE NEW YORK.
WRECK OF THE BELKNAP,
The Thrilling Story of the Adventure Told b,
Her Captain.

adventure
Her Captain.
NEW YORK, March 21.-Among the pas
sengers on the British steamer Moray, which
has arrived from Yokohama. was Capt Horace
Staples and his son, W. H. Staples, Of the
American ship Robert L. Belknap, which was
wrecked off Natuna Island in China sea Janu-
airy I6 last.
Capt. Staples resides in Stockton Springs,
Me-. and is the first of the crew Of the unfor-
tunate vessel to reach this country.
Il have no desire to recall our terrible suffer-
ings. SAID Capt. Staples. What We went
through is chapter in nv life which want to
forget altogether. The Belknap was as fine a
ship left the port of New York She
was a 2, l5O-tOn vessel, and belonged to Carter,
Norwand Company of Rockport, Me. We
tool ON portion of our cargo at Hiogo,
Japan, and the rest at Kobe. We left the
latter port December 80, bound for
New York. / headed due north for the
first fourteen DAYS out. but on the fifteenth day
altered my course slightly. Ny object was to
sight the Island OF Natuna, in the China sea. On
January Is the lookout sighted the island. The
weather was very thick. and as the coast is
dangerous 1 hauled the Belknap to the south
west to clear the island.
about 8 O'Clock on the morning Of the
10th land was again sighted the
starboard bow. l Immediately saw that
we had KEEP. the Belknap SO much to the
southwest that had passed the island
during the night. l hauled off, but it was
too late. and at 4 o'clock we struck and
the ship began to fill. The rock on which
we struck is not down on the charts
and consequently the catastrophe was I'M
avoidable. l saw right away that there
nothing to do but to take to the boats.
There was some excitement among the crew
at first, but it cooled down and the men be-
haved well under the circumstances. There
was only one woman on board. the wife of the
chief mate. She never faltered, although we
could feel the old Belknap laundering under
our feet.
There were twenty-eight of us altogether,
three mates. the woman myself and the crew
of twenty three men. The chief mate, his
wife and six OF the crew went in
the first boat. The others followed.
Myself, my and six men were the
last to leave. The Belknap had drifted to
within fourteen miles Of Satuna and the boats
reached the island safely. We decided to leave
separately the next day and trust to luck.
The nearest land was Singapore, 800 miles
away. My boat was the last to leave
the island. What experiences the others
met | do not know. but God forbid
that | shall ever suffer again as l did
on those five days. We had suffi-
cient provisions and water to keep US alive.
though We cou.d have consumed our whole
stock at one time and then have had only fair
hearty meal
we suHeIeu most from exposure. however
Imagine eight men in a small open boat
under a sun that fairly burned under
our skins. There was little wind to help
US along. We had nothing with which
to shelter ourselves during the day and
only few blankets to cover ourselves with at
night. The contrast between nights and days was
terrible.s and as day after day passed and nothing
except water could be seen on any side we began
to get discouraged. When Singapore was
finally sighted We were too weak from exposure
to give vent to our delight. but there was no
mstaking the look in the eyes of the men. The
American consul took charge of us and my son
and myself took passage on the Moray. 1 have
often thought what the suffering of the mates
wife must have been before she was rescued
The British steamer. Empress OF India, which
arrived at Vancouver on the 18th instant re-
ported the safe arrival at Singapore of the
second mate and four Of the crew Of the Bel
KNAPP.