The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-18
HOW THEY WERE SAVED.
The Thrilling Story Of a Crews
Rescue.
THEY MANNED THE ILL FATED
SHIP CLIFFORD.

Steamer BIakemoor, Whose Captain
and Crew Had Saved them From
Watery Grave-The Blakemoor Resem-
bled Floating Iceberg.
The British steamer Blakemoor, Cap
tain Prast arrived yesterday afternoon
from Trapani with cargo of salt. For
almost month she en- countered nothing
but series of gales much of the time of
hurricane force. The spirit compasses
were used, but became frozen, and Cap
tain Prast had to depend upon an old
box compass, and IAN out of his course.
He was piloted until off the Two Lights
by the cutter Woodbury. and was then
taken in by the tug Salem, Captain
McDuffie.
Captain Prast had with him the cap
tain aud crew of seven men of the Hall
fax schooner Clifford, Captain r. NJ.
MacCulloh. The schooner left New
York January 9th, and was bound to
Halifax with a load of corn.
When off Nantucket Shoals, latitude
10 90, longitude 60-15, the schooner was
caught by a storm that soon became a
hurricane. This was January 18th. and
the wind soon become ga perfect cyclone
and We ran to sea under bare poles, " said
the captain.
ga great sea soon struck u.s. and
knocked the schooner on her beam ends.
Our cargo of corn shifted: tho pumps
were choked, and the schooner was en-
tirely unmanageable, and complete
wreck.
'sWe could do nothing for ourselves,
and expected that she would founder
every moment"
1t was at this time that they burnt a
tar barrel, and the light was seen on
board the Blakemoor
Captain Prast sent his chief officer,
Mr.. Chambers, and four men to the
schooner. 1t was moment of great
peril for all concerned. Captain Prast
feared that his boat would be stove the
sea WAS running SO nigh. At that time
the wind was beyond the hurricane
point, making the attempt to reach the
wreck almost an impossibiIity.
Mr.. Chambers and his men fully rec
ognized the difficulty of the under taking,
and for long time made but little head
way. The sea was so high that the waves
were breaking over the house of the
steamer, and of course washed the DOOM
ed vessel, sweeping all before it. The
eight men on board could do nothing
except to hold on for their lives 1t was
at this time that handsome dog, the
pet of all on board was seen for the last
time. He might have been on board
when the crew left, but probably was
swept off before the boat from the steam
er reached the schooner.
All this time Mr. Cham bers and his
men were guided by the burning tar bar
rel. They could not see the schooner
through the spray and the storm. The
wind was TOO high to enable them to
catch the voices OF those on board, and
on their part the men on the wreck
knew nothing of the struggle the brave
men in the boat were making to reach
and save them.
When the boat came alongside there was
moment of great danger. 1t almost
seemed that the boat could not live, but
must be smashed against the side of the
rock, and it was only with the greatest
difficulty that the captain and crew were
taken off. ''We saved nothing but our
lives" said Captain MacCalloch, "and
that was all we were thinking about saw
ing"
We never saw the schooner after we
left her," said Mr.. Chambers. "The
spray hid her from our sight n an in
stantn
So close was the escape of the men, that
Capt. MacCalloch believes that the boat
did not reach them moment too soon.
and that an hour or even less later and
not a single one would have been saved
:. Then came a fearful struggle Of the
heavily loaded boat to the steamer. 1t
was loaded down to the uttermost point
and was in great danger of being
swamped. 1t was toss up whether at
that moment they were much better off
than they had been while on the schoon-
or. Every man was wet to the skin Mr..
Cham bsrs and his men had hardly left
the steamer before they were wet through
and the night was very dark, and intense
ly cold.
Capt Prast hardly ventured to hope
that the boat loaded as it was, could be
brought alongside in safety. and it was
critical moment. AT last all the men
were safely taken on board.
1t had hardly been accomplished when
the wind freshsned. and from that time,
january 18th. until yesterday morning,
sne steamer passed from gale to gale, and
came IN mass of ice, weighed down
WIN fearful load aecum ulated during
'he previous twenty -four hours.
"hen The crew Of the schooner were
taken on board the steamer was about