The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1893-08-11
ADRIFT ON THE SEA.
Gruesome Tale Of a Seal Hun.
ter Of Victoria.
GOT LOST FROM HIS SCHOONER
The Spies Badly Treated Must
EcOnomize-- Attempted Shooting.

lAeouore ANDERSON, one OF the
crew of the Victoria sealing schoon-
er Arietis, was among the passen-
gers from Japan by the Canadian
Pacific Railroad Company's steam
ship Empress Of India, recently
arrived. He it was who, with two
companions, lost the schooner in
in fog and was only rescued
after Isidore and Johnnie, his COM
rades in misfortune, had succumb-
ed to hunger and exhaustion.
Anderson still suffers from his ter.
rible trip, and will be unable to
engage in any hard work for some
time to come. He thus tells the
story of his trip, simply but dram
atically:
eve left the schooner at 5 O.
clock on the morning of June 1,
the vessel then being about eighty
miles off Yen-os-Kima. Steering
due west until 11:40, we got a doz-
en- or more seals but lost sight OF
the schooner. Then we pulled to
the windward for q mile or so, and
started for where we left her by
the compass. She must have
shifted, for we could find 40 trace
Of her, after pulling hard until Z
in the evening. We listened for
the boom OF gun, but not sound
came over the waters for fully three
hours. Then we did catch the
sound far away to the northwest
and started to trace it up. All
night we kept pulling to thenorth
west, and listening for a'seeond re-
port of the gun. We didn't get
it till 0 in the morning, and then
it seemed just as distant as the
day before. The water every hour
was getting worse, and we could
see there was gale rising, 50 we
did the best we could to prepare
for it. We took the fifteen skins
that were in the boat with the
mast and.oars and tied them Sc
curely to the painter for q sea
anchor. A shark, however, soon
made way with the skins and we
were Obliged to replace them with
our guns. AS we were lashing the
ammuna ion box also to the ropo
we capsized. The air oompart-
ments in the ends righted the boat
at once. All three of us got in
again end started to bail the boat,
but soon had to give it up as O bad
job. In spite of all we could dc
the boat capsized repeatedly, and
each time left us weaker. The
fourth time Johnnie was lost, /
noticed him a short distance be-
hind when / was swimming for
the boat, and just as | glanced
around again on getting to the
boat | saw the swish of a sharks
tail and knew that Johnnie was
done for. The same shark got all
our provisions when the boat went
over first. The sixth time we cap.
sized Isidore was lost, He was toe
weak to make the boat even if he
could see her in the darkness.
"As midnight came on it grew
calmer, and after bailing out will
the compass box, which, being
lashed TO the boat, did not carry
away. sat down to wait. Two
days and two nights / sat there
helpless and alone, without par
ticle of food, a drop Of water, ar
oar or d sail. Then / was washed
upon little island. / crawled out
on hands and knees and O little
way up the beach found two bask
cts of gulls' eggs which the nat
ives had been gathering. They
returning seemed to understand
and when | said Yokohama, nod
ded their heads and beckoned
Then seeing | was too weak tt
walk, they took turns carryingme.
They took me to their fishing vii.
lage, and from there | went inland
over the mountains on a little
animal something like q donkey
bat not one / never saw such {
beast before. The next place
reached was Yen-os-Kima, wher'
l was taken in charge by the nat
i've police and sent by them t.
Yokohama. The British consu
paid my expenses across and say
that all my necessities were sup
Piled"