The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-12-24


survive s. These,
numbering sixteen We're brought to
England by the Orizaba from Sydney,
spent the night at the Scandinavia
Sailors home, by the West India
docks, and left for Norway the next
morning:
The bark was on her way laden with
coal from Newcastle N. S. W., to Hon
olulu. They were threading their way
through these dangerous seas, amid
the treacherous currents Which rage
notwithstanding backward and
forward at the rate of as much as forty
to fifty miles in the twenty-four hours
-When late one night they struck.
Ihey backed the yards, but in vain.
The bark was fast, and her back was
broken. Two boats were hurredly
lowered, eight men, including the cap
tain and Mr.. OLSEN, getting into one,
the chief mate and seven men getting
into the other. They lay off the sunk
Ell reef on which they had struck until
daylight, hoping that they would be
able to get more food, and especially
the seXtant and caronometer But
when day daWned the seas were beat
ing 1iercely over her and they steered
northward, hoping to make Christmas
island, or some inhabited land The
crew had only two breakers of water,
few tins of beef, salmon and sardines
and bag or two Of biscuits They
had also a compass and Chart Of the
South seas and various odds and ends.
Being close to the equator, which, as
matter Of fact, they crossed twice
before they eventually reached land,
the sun beat down upon them merci-
lessly, though now and then Clouds hid
it for while, and also kept them sup
piled with water. The rain water was
caught in the sails and thence poured
into the breakers The allowance was
four spoonfuls at in the morning and
four spoonfuls at 6 o'clock at night.
The men kept watch as though they
had been in their own ship-four on
and four Off. One steered, one saw
to the sail, the other bailed perhaps
that is, until they could not walk from
one end of the boat to the other. But
though fearfully weak this was not
yet. The captain was the first to 90,
About dinner time Chow prim these ev-
cry day words sound in dealing with
such story the captain said to Mr..
OLSEN: "Olssen-1 don't think I Shall
last long. ooh, yes, captain, you will
"Give me little water, Olssen,' said
the captain. So OLSEN, seeing that he
was nearly dead, called to the steward
and whispered: "Let him have lust a
spoonful The captain swallowed if
and lay down on the thwarts. When
OLSEN looked down again he was dead.
This was about o'clock in the after
noon. The captain had brought bag
with him and clothes in it, charts and
one or two trifles after the wreck.
They took off his watch, which con-
tanned photographs of his wife and
children, emptied a bag and reverently
placed the captain in it. They spoke
as much as they could remember of
the service for the dead, sang some
simple hymn which is sung in Norwe-
gian houses when one is dead, lifted
his remains on to the gunwale and let
him fall gently into the ocean He
sank at once.
At last they took their last meal and
| for six days never tasted food On the
thirtSeth morning land was sighted and
| they came up to one Of the innumer-
able coral islands which stud the
southern seas. A fearful surf was
| flashing it, but they ran the boat
ashore. She was shivered to little bits.
Two natives of the Fijian group came
running down, one brandishing a
tomahawk and long knife; but he
was able to speak a little English, and
on Mr.. OLSEN saying they were ship
wrecked men, the two natives and their
families proved good friends to the
miserable men. The carpenter was
delirious and could not walk, so they
wheeled him up to the huts in a wheel
| barrow. The rest being too weak to
walk alone took one another's arms
and thus managed to follow their COM
rades.
The Fijians gave them three bottles
of beer and the remains of some chick
en-; they also killed pig, cooking it
in the ground in native fashion. But
not one of the men was hungry. How
ever, in a few days they slowly began
to recover the use of their limbs, all
but poor Chips, the carpenter, who
died. He was man of 60.
And now began their life Oil this
Ch