The herald., 1897-03-22
Reaches Port Nine Months
Overdue
STORM. HUNGER AND SCURvY
Disable the Ship and Kill Most Of the
Crew
The Captains Plucky Wife Saves the
Ship by Taking Her Trick at the
Wheel Till Rescue Comes
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
NEW YORK, March 21-The long
overdue American clipper ship T. f.
Oakes, which left Hongkong on July
A. 259 day ago, with a 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. Capt. Muir who picked her up last
Thursday in latitude 3S10, longitude
6S.44. The crew were sick with scurvy
and six had died. The Kasbeck was
bound from Philadelphia for Fiume,
Austria, with a cargo of oil, and left the
former port on Saturday, March 13.
On the following evening at IL o'clock
blue lights were seen, and Capt Muir
ordered the steamers course altered,
and the steamer bore up to the distress
signal. AT l o'clock she was close along
side the ship and stood by until day.
break, when signals were observed fly
ing from the ship, asking that boat
be sent alongside, as the ships crew
were so helpless as to be unable to man
their own boats. Chief Officer c. P.
Helshem and three seamen at once put
off in the Kasbeck's yawl, and when
within speaking distance heard a tale
of suffering and sickness from those
aboard the ship such as made them
shudder. Capt. Reed Of the Oakes re-
ported that his crew were all laid up
with scurvy and that the provisions
were we'll nigh exhausted. He was un-
able 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 taken in tow for the near
est port. Mate Helshem returned to the
Kasbeck with the message. and Capt.
Muir at once decided to take the vessel
in tow. The weather, which had been
threatening, now became boisterous and
q northerly gale sprang up. Neverthe-
less, preparations were made to pass
hawser to the Oakes when the boat with
a load of provisions was sent. A manila
hawser was paid out over the Kasbeck's
stern to the yawl, but a tremendous
wave washed it into the propeller, which
was turning slowly at the time, and be-
fore the engines could be stopped, the
screw was so entangled that the en-
gines with the full power of steam could
made to free the screw, but as it was so
deeply submerged and the sea running
so high, it was found impossible. For
eight hours the engineers staff labored
to clear the propeller and finally discon-
nected the shaft, and found that by
placing a small block of wood between
the couplings, the screws could be made
to turn. BY that time the Oakes had
drifted out of sight, and Capt. Muir.
despairing of being able to tow her with
his disabled screw, determined at least
to find her and supply her with provis-
ions. All night he searched the horizon
for trace of her, and at a. m. Tuesday
she was again sighted. The sea was
rough at the time, but Chief Officer Hell
shem again volunteered to attempt to
board her. and, as the engineers report
ed the propeller to be working well, it
was decided to send a hawser aboard.
Accordingly a line was dragged by the
boat, and after deal of hard work, two
hawsers were made fast. Mr.. Helshem
and his boats crew of three did most of
the work on the ship. They found only
the second and third mates able to help
them. The provisions 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 passed until New York
was reached no incident of Importance
occurred.
Captain Reed of the Cakes told ter
rible story of suffering and privation
When the Oakes sailed from Hong Kong
the crew were apparently in the best
Of health with the exception Of Captain
Reed. 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 terrific
typhoon was encountered, lasting sew
eral days, during which the fore and
main topmasts were sprung. The vessel
was obliged to run before the gale,
which had no sooner blown itself out
than it was followed by second ty-
tventy-four days. The vessel had then
got we'll out in the North Pacific and
so far off her course that Captain Reed
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
Cape Horn was rounded, 1877 days out.
In the meantime the Chinese cook had
been taken down with severe cold and
died on November II. Afterward a sea-
man named Thomas King was taken
down with what appeared to be scurvy,
and died December 20. In quick sue
cession Seaman Thomas Olsen was
taken down and died January 12.
Thomas Judge. another seaman. was
taken i'll with cancer Of the stomach,
and later Mate Stephen Bunker showed
ssH'rtoms of scurvy. The latter died
Fehfuar5 md was: quickly followed