The Portland daily press., 1899-09-08
How Crew Left Sinking Vessel and
ToOk To Boats.
The Men Arrived Here
Yesterday.
Another Wreck Under Similar
Circumstances.

The shipwrecked crew of the schooner
Marie Deiphine which was run into and
sunk whi'e in York Narrows by the Sea
Bird Monday morHing arrived in the city
yesterday and vera cared for hy Vice Con-
sui Keating who provided for them COM
Portable quarters at the Atlantic House.
Captain Douoetts sought the advice Of
counsel with o view Of libelling the :sea
Bird and while thus engaged, the Grew
of four men made their home at the
hostelry on Free street.
reporter of the PRESS visited the
house and there met with.a most interest
ing "old salt'who talked most entertain
ingly about his recent experiences. We
refer to Justin Amero,a French Cana
dian about 50 years old who has been on
the saa for over So years, not only along
the coast but In deep waters and was at
the time of the late accident cook ON the
Marie Delphine.
Asked about the recent shipwreck, the
old sailor said; ''He was just getting
breakfast ready at q. SO a. m. Monday
morning and stepped from the cook house
on deck to ask Captain Douoette when
he would be ready for breakfast. The cap
tain replied TO me just as soon as we get
through York Narrows n'soi
"a few minutes after this while was
cooking breakfast there was crash and
l rushed on deck. didn't think there
was hole in the vessel, but some of tn .
crew who were forward, sang out, I'VE
are half full of water. Next. the mate,
William Tupper. cried out, get the boat
ready The mate and lowered the boat
down and the mate jumped into her and
unlocked the davits. / held onto the
painter rope and as the vessel was going
down, all of us jumped into the boat
and showed her of from the schooner,
because We did not know hcw deep the
water was and ws,wsre afraid that the
suction would draw US down II we stayed
any nearer.
The cook very graphically described how
a small boat might be drawn down In
this way and the danger that might re-
suit and then passed on to say !:
"We had not got away more than a rod
when the schooner went down, bow first,
in about 6 or feet OF watsr--the stern
was just little out of water. 1t was
food tide at the time and we knew it
was only question of time when our
whole schooner would be covered gwith
water.
"we were then just about two lengths
of the schooner from the rocky points of
OTno island and We made for u landing.
Wa reached the'isiand all right and found
nan living there with Ehis. wife In
| a small cottage. They kindly took us In
and cared for us. We stayed there Mon
day night and early Tuesday morning.
the islander took his sail from the dory,
put 1t on our boat and we set sail for
Swan island. distant about three miles.
We got there all right, went to the post
Office and then from there to Old Harbor
to catch steamer to Rockland. We
boarded tho Vinal Haven and reached
Rockland about Wednesday. ".--~
What happened to the crew after they
reached Rockiand, how they reached
| Portland and the prompt action Of Vice
Consul Heating have already been des-
crihed In this paper.
| 1t is worthy of note however that the
old cook who told the story to the report
er was known to the proprietor of the
Atlantic hotel and the latter said: "This
was not your first shipwreok and you
have been with me beforein.
"Oh no." replied the sailor with the
weather bea en- face, twas shipwrecked
about two years ago the coming Goth OF
- her on Black Ledge in Penobsoot
bay. WAS on the schooner e. Raymond
| and making the run to Rockland 1t was
the thickest kind OF q snow storm and we
could not see an inch before our noses.
We struck Black Ledge and then drifted
about half mile, went against cliff o.
rocks and got penned in and In time this
vessel went to pieces, Just about tn,
time the vessel began to split we wen
to the top house, for we ..hoped tina
a heavy wave might wash 1t to the shor,
near the cliff. All OF us before this hat
reps'usd in the cabin except one maj
who caught on to spar just as it fel
Into the water and he olung to 1t TO
about an hour and a half like grim death
By and by q heavy sea struck the top o
the house an earle 1t with us to th,
cliffs and we clambered up the side ant
got on to the rocks. 1t SO happened tina
we had on board some wood and this wal
swept by the water around the vessel an,
the man who had been clinging to the
spar saved himself by being washed witt
the wood to the shore. We all remainei
ON those cliffs from daylight to 10 or u
O'Clock In the morning when we wer
sighted by two masted vessel laying OF
Hurricane island. They sent to our rs
sistanoe their big boat and dory. tool
us from the rocks and landed us safely II