The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-04-06
THEIR SUFFERTNGS AT SEA MOST
NARROWING.
One by One the Shipwreclzs Die From
Hunger and Thirst Until Eight of
the Party Passed Away and Were
Cast Oyerboard-The Survivors So
Weak When Rescued That They
Were Unable to Stand.


a boat about forty miles north of Re-
dondo, which proved to be the missing
one OF the Inflated ship King James. The
boat left the ships side when fire drove
them from the vessel about $50 miles off
Point Conception.
They left the ship at midnight on March
Both, and laid by the ship until o'clock
the following morning. At $40 p. NJ. of
the 3lst the boat was capsized. and there
were four men drowned. The Captain,
his boy and the remainder of the crew
climbed up on the keel of the boat and
succeeded in righting her, but the boat
was full of water, and they remained to
their waists in the water fourteen hours.
when the men, worn out and exhausted
and chilled, began dying, and one after
another passed away, until eight, includ-
ing the Captains son, were dead. The
dead were passed overheard, and the boat
was so relieved by this means that those
living were enabled to bail her out.
Ali the provisions, oars and riggings
OF every kind, excepting a small piece of
sail, were lost at the upsetting of the boat.
and 1t was only through an ingenious
contr1vance of making the grating and
boat-lining into rudder ard the use of
the scrap of sail mentioned that they
were enabled to make any Roadway
whatever.
When picked up by the Los Angeles
this morning the Captain and three re-
manning members of his crew had been
i've days without food or water. They
ca col To l0
walk, and had to be lifted from the boat
by the willing arms of the rescuers.
The names of those saved are Captain
William Drummond, Joseph Muller. Il
seaman; Edwin Flint, sailmaker, and
John S. Piney, apprentice. Those lost
were David Ireland, Second Mate; Will
lam Drummond, the Captains son, Third
Mate; James Christy, cook; Oliver Rob-
inson, apprentice; John Johnson, Will
lam Spencer, Peter Peterson, Frank
Kenyon, Stephen Breeder, William
Beese, John Williams and Frank Larsen,
seamen.
The surviving members of the crew
Will remain on board the Los Angeles
until she returns to San Francisco.
fUh1hEk PARTICULARS.
Los ANGELES, April "a special to
the Express from Redondo says: Soon
after the steamer Los Angeles, bound
south, left Hueneme this morning. the
man on watch sighted whale boat.
which afterward proved to be the missing
boat of the British ship King James.
which was burned at sea week ago. A
man was seen standing in the boat way
ing a handkerchief. The steamer gave =
whistle, and the man fell suddenly into
the bottom of the boat. The Captain
ordered the steamer to be put about and
make for the strange boat.
When the Los Angeles slowly steamed
alongside narrowing sight met the
gaze of the passengers. Lying in the bot
tom OF the boat were four men, their
clothing torn, their hair matted, their
bodies emaciated, and too weak to do
anything but wave their arms in feeble
manner. Their faces were scratched and
bruised. and they appeared to move like
men who were ready to gasp their last.
Two men were lowered and called on
the men in the boat to rise and be helped
aboard the steamer, but the men were too
weak and only waved their hands and
moaned in pitiful manner. Each man
was hoisted aboard the steamship. They
were tenderly cared for by the surgeon.
Captain Drummond was in the best con-
dition of any of the men rescued. After
being warmed and fed he began to re-
cover strength, and was able in three
hours to tell the following story:
"After the fire on the King James was
discovered it had gotten such Roadway
that it was impossible to stay it. We nut
out two lifeboats. We provisional both
of the boats and placed sixteen men in
each. You already know the escape of
the first mates boat. We left the shin
on March 30th at 4 o'clock in the
morning. At 6 o'clock on March 3lst a
heavy sea arose and my boat capsized.
Eleven men, including myself, succeeded
in clinging to the upturned boat for six
hours. We hung to that boat it seemed
six years. The men prayed and PRAYED
for help, and it was the saddest scene I
have taken part in for many years. The
men finally succeeded in turning the
boat when the sea had Gained. Then for
fourteen hours we remained in water M
to our waist. We bailed the boat out but
our provisions and oars and even the
rudder were lost. We tore away part of
the covering for the air tanks to make
oars and an improvised rudder. The
second day one man died, the third two
men and the fourth three men, including
my son." Here the Captain broke down
and began sobbing.
II shall never forget those few davs.
Some of the men were like maniacs.
They cried for food and water and we
exhausted ourselves in trying to hold
them down. Before each man died he
would become incoherent and curse and
pray alternately. We could not 90 10
sleep because we were afraid that some
of the men in their moments OF insanity
would cut our Threats. AS the men died
we threw them overheard. We could
not bave,stood it two hours longer. We
knew that we were near Hueneme, and
if we had oars we could have got ashore.
We were drifting there, when the wind
blew us out again. Thank God, we are
saved, and God bless the Captain of the
Los Angeles"
When the Captain spoke of his son his
sobs and anguish were piteous. The
men are at Redondo, and are being cared
for. Two of them are very weak, and it