The record-union., 1897-03-22
TERRIBLE TALE OF
SUFFERING ON SHIPBOARD.
Almost The Entire Crew Of the Cakes
Died Of SCurVy.
lowed Into Port After Passing
Through Great Perils.

/
Lasting Month, in the China Sea,
Which Blew Her Out of Her Course,
and She Came Round Cape Horn
When the Grew Was Disabled the
Captains Wife Had to Take the
Wheel During Gale and Keep the
Ship on Her Course.
NEW YORK, March 21-The long
overdue American clipper ship T. F.
| Cakes which left Hongkong on July 18th,
259 days ago, with general cargo for
this port, and which had been given up
as lost, was towed into port this morn
| ing by the British tank steamer Kas-
beck, Captain Muir, who picked her up
last Thursday in latitude 3S.10, longi-
tude 6S44. The crew We're sick With
scurvy and six had died. The Kasbeck
was bound from Philadelphia for FL
ume, Austria, with a cargo of OIL and
left the former port on Saturday,
March 18th. Q
O'Clock the blue lights We're seen and
| Captain Muir ordered the steamers
course altered and the steamer bore up
to the distress signals. At 1 o'clock she
was close alongside the ship and stood
by until daybreak, when signals were
observed flying from the ship asking
that boat be sent alongside, as the
ships crew were SO helpless as to be
I IL bA5 n i1f
officer C. p. Helshem and three seamen
at once put off in the Kasbecks yawl,
and when within speaking distance
heard a tale of suffering and sickness
| from those aboard the ship such as
made them shudder.
Captain Reid of the Cakes reported
| that his crew We're all laid up with
| scurvy and that the provisions were
well nigh exhausted. He was unable
to navigate the ship with the few
hands he had at his command and
begged that he be at once supplied
with fresh food and vegetables and
! taken in tow for the nearest port. Mate
! Helshem returned to the kasbeck with
the message and Captain Muir at once
decided to take the vessel in tow. The
weather, which had been threatening
now became boisterous and northerly
gale sprang up. Nevertheless prepara-
tons We're made to pass a hawser to
| the Cakes when the boat with load
| of provisions was sent.
A manila hawser was paid out over
the Kasbeck's stern to the yawl, but
| tremendous wave washed it into the
propeller, which was turning slowly at
| the time, and before the engines could
| be stopped the screw was so entangled
that the engines with the full power of
steam could not move it again. An
effort was at once made to free the
screw, but as it was SO deeply sub
merged and the sea running SO high, it
was found impossible For eight hours
the engineers staff labored to clear the
propellers and finally disconnected the
shaft and found that by placing a
small block of wood between the coup
| lings the screws could be made to turn.
| By that time the Cakes had drifted out
of sight and Captain Muir, despairing
of being able to tow her with his dis
abled screw, determined at least to find
her and supply her with provisions.
All night he searched the horizon for
trace of her, and at 6 a. m. Tuesday
she was again sighted The sea was
| rough at the time, but Chief Officer
| Helshem again volunteered to attempt
| to board her. and as the engineer re-
ported the propeller to be working we'll
it was decided to send hawser aboard
Accordingly a line was dragged by the
| boat, and after a deal of hard work two
hawsers were made fast.
Mr.. Helshem and his boats crew of
/ three did most of fba 1yo,ly ~, tl,o CHIN
They found only the second and third
mates able to help them The provi-
sions they brought were a godsend to
! the scurvy stricken survivors of the
ships crew, and they began to gather
hope that they might live to see land
| again.
From the time the hawser was paid
until night no incident of Importance
| occurred.
| Captain Reid of the Cakes told a ter
rible story Of suffering and privation
When the Cakes sailed from Kongkong
the crew We're apparently in the best of
health with the exception of Captain
Reid, who had been ailing for some time
but who, under the careful nursing of
his devoted wife, thought himself on
the high road to recovery. When about
six days out in the China Sea a terrific
! typhoon was encountered, lasting sew
eral days, during which the fore and
main top masts were sprung. The YES
| sci was obliged to run before the gale
which had no sooner blown itself out
! than it was followed by a second ty-
phoon which blew with great fury for
twenty-four days. The vessel had then
got well out in the North Pacific and so
far off her course that Captain Reid
decided to shape his course via Cape
Horn rather than by the Cape of Good
Hope, hoping thereby to make better
| time.
The weather remained fine until Cane
Horn was rounded, 167 days out. In
the meantime the Chinese cook had been
| taken down with severe cold and died
on November 11th. Afterward a sea-
man named Thomas King was taken
down with what appeared to be scurvy
and died December Goth. In quick sue
cession seaman Thomas Olsen was
taken i'll and died January 18th Thomas
Judge, another seaman, was taken i'll
with cancer of the stomach and later
| Mate Stephen Bunker showed symp-
| toms of scurvy. The latter died Feb
ruary 4th, and was quickly followed by
George King, an old man, who died on
the 9th. On the 18th Judge succumbed,
making in all six deaths.
! One by one the other sailors were
obliged to quit work until on March LIST,