The times., 1898-04-14
FIFTEEN LIVES LOST At SEA
Two Survivors Only Of the Bril-
ish Ship Marlborough.
FIVE DAYS WITHOUT FOOD
Timber-Laden Vessel Breaks Up in u
Storm and Leaves Her EHew 10
Fight for EXistence-Adrift in AZ
Rotten Boat, Battered by Floating
Logs.


exhausted men. the survivors of the sew
enteen who composed the crew of the
British ship Marlborough, were brought
here yesterday by the North German
Lloyd steamer Saale, which picked them
up on Easter Sunday. They had drifted
for five days without food and drink, sit
ting most of the time waist deep In water
in a lifeboat submerged to the gunwales.
This lifeboat was poor craft. on the
day that the Marlborough left st. Johns,
N. B., with her cargo of squared umoers,
bound for Sharpness, England, the au-
thorities had condemned it as worthless
| piece of marine junk. The inspectors said
that 1t was old, and that it would be sui
eide for any man to brave the sea in 1t.
The sides were rotten under the paint
The Marlborough had two other boats
which answered the requirements. Ihe
! captain took the disreputable Old BOAT
with him, principally because he belong
ed to that school of admiralty Whlch dls-
! likes to part with anything.
| He forgot all about the craft, though,
| in fighting the terrific gale which the
| Marlborough encountered few days al
| ter she had left st. Johns, from whlch
| port she sailed on March IL. The winds
| came from every point of the compass
| and on April 3 there was a storm whlcn
d
after the sails were tightly bound they
were blown from the gaskets.
| There was no hope for the Marlborough
when the wind finally died. Her seams
| parted and the hold filled with water.
| The timber which had been in the KIN
| and was as dry as q bone when IL was
| shipped took up the water. 1t began to
swell. and the decks bulged amidships
with the pressure. The7men toiled at the
| pumps all Sunday night, without having
| any appreciable effect upon the water IN
| the hold The vessel soon began 10
| break up and at o'clock on the evening
| of April the crew of seventeen, 1nciudlts
| the master, took their places In the ola
lffeboat They bound the rotten sides
with ropes. twisted together by means of
| marlinspikes, and waited. There was no
| need of them launching the craft In such
| a sea- They stored water and provisions
| and then cut the lashings. A great wave
| swept over the deck and carried the
| boat over the rail into the sea-a sea COW
cred with wreckage and hoating InperS.
A joist struck the bow of the lifeboat
| and stove a hole. The water broke over
the craft and washed away all the pro-
| visions but two hams. The craft filled
| until the men were waist deep in water
| and the gunwales of the lneboat were
awash She could not sink any further
| on account of the water ught TANKS,
! which Duoyed ner up.
The men bent to their oars, and with
| chill salt water flowing about their
waists pushed showed and sometimes
| rowed until they got the lifeboat away
| from the thickest of the wreckage. Then
| tho Marlborough burst into three pieces,
and there was Maine log boom in mid
| ocean. From the shattered hulk nun
| dreds of squared timbers burst forth
and spread over the sea. Around the
|
| battered They stove another small hole
or two in her. yet the old boat, condemn
| ed to sink, kept afioat
Both deck houses broke adrift The
forward one fioated close to the lifeboat.
| Two of the sailors in spite OF the warn
ing of Capt. Cochran, left the boat. pick
| ed their way over the jam of timbers
| and crawled upon the top of the deck
house Around them was an angry sea,
| which tossed squared timbers about
| them. liixo so many matches The two
! men who took refuge on the forward
deck house were James O'Brien and
| James Walsh This is by way of rec
ord, for they were never seen after that
| day.
! Next the after deckhouse floated
near the lfeboat, which had been Off
| ciaily condemned. Ten of the men, al
though the captain protested, made their
| way to the deckhouse. This too by way
| Of record. The after deckhouse was last
| seen by the five men in the lifeboat at
o'clock on the afternoon of April ..
| The deckhouse was then about two miles
| away. There were two cabin boys cling
ing to it. 1t was impossible, however,
for the men to force the lifeboat through
| the wreckage, which strewed the sea.
| Nothing was seen of either deckhouses
on the following morning.
| Those who were left in the Iifeboat
were the master. Capt. Cochran the first
| mate George A. Masters the second
mate, James White. and two seamen.
James Fannon and Hermann Brock The
| men sometimes stood up in the boat to
exercise their benumbed hands. Most of
| the times they sat in the water. They
| had no food, except a ham, raw and
salt. Why such useless thing was ever
put in the boat. neither of the survivors
can explain. None of the five dared to
| court the tortures of thirst by tasting
| the meat For five days these men were
| without food of drink.
| They could nso the oars only for keep
| ing the boats head to the sea 1t was
| impossible TO row amid the wreckage
| which covered the waves
Hunger, thirst. and exhaustion made
quick work of three of the men, Capt.
| Cochran, only twenty-four years old was
| the first to die.
| The second mate died Saturday morn
! ing, and Herman Brock tottered to his
| feet the same evening and fell dead across
| the bow.
| Seven steamers We're sighted in all The
| lights of five We're seen al night. The men
| had nothing which they could show as a
| signal of distress. They saw another lin
er. with black stack and red band on
April 8. She seemed TO be about two miles
away. Masters and Fannon rose to their
! feet and tried to attract her attention
/ White and Brock lost all hope after the
steamer passed them by
Then, on Easter morning, the SaaIe
| came. The survivors saw a curl of smoke
and took heart again. 1t was Q O'Clock
when they first saw it, and an hour later
| they caught the fash of a single spar
| These men, five days without sleep. food
and drink, rose to their benumbed feet
and yelled for JOY. The Saale saw their
! signals. The sea was smooth and she
| steered alongside the nearly submerged
| craft
| Chief Officer Folger who was on the
| Bridge, ordered a line to be thrown over
| board. Masters caught it and fastened it
| TO the bow. Fannon at that moment ut
| terly collapsed and fell face downward
| over a gunwale. Johann Specht, a sailor
formerly of the German navy, climbed
| down ladder which had been lowered
over the steamers side and got into the
| boat. He fastened lines under the arms
| of the exhausted men and strong arms
| soon hoisted them on deck. The passen-
| gers gave a rousng cheer as the sur
viyorS were brought on board. Capt.
| BIanke, commander of the Saale. cruised
| for two hours amid the wreckage of the
Marlborough. looking for the rest of the
crew. No sign of them could be seen.
| The survivors were tenderly cared for
| Passengers and crew raised a purse of $500