The Jennings daily record., 1902-12-26
4 Dlock
IN AduIlentJ1rc. y
rs. Days l. IN 0psn lssse.
FTER a 14OO-mile jaunt 1

Ten Days II IN Open Hest.
n FTER 14OO-mile jaunt In an
~ open boat. with water soaked
~ bread and moldy beef. Cap
tain J. Nevius Kay, his young
wife. nine seamen and "Whiskers,' y
the cat, of the British barkentine Flor.
ence B. Edgett, arrived at New York
recently from st. George. Grenada, on
the steamship Grenada. The barken-
tine sailed for Buenos Ayres from Bear
River. N. s., ON August IL, with 6OO.-
600 feet Of spruce deal. She ran into
. hurricane ON September IS. and in
an hours time was dismasted and dis.
mantled. The crew stuck to her until
October Is. when they set sail In a life
boat. Ten days later they arrived at
Grenada, having sighted not single
vessel until the night before they land
ed Mt Genada.
I'VE were in latitude 1909 north
and 1890 west longitude when the hur-
ricane struck u.s." said Captain Kay.
1.-THE winds. which were northeast, had
been increasing Oh September II. and
the next morning while was shorten
ing sail a heavy squall struck us and
carried away q lot of canvas. started
the deckload and carried away the port
bulwarks. The gale increased. and In
half an hour we were flooded fore and
aft. the skylights were broken and the
Lighthouses stove In. Then the mizzen
mast snapped OF at the hounds. and
1t wasn't long before the mainmast
and foremast followed suit, carrying
away the starboard lifeboat. the head
gear and jibboom and splitting the
forecastle. The after cabin was full
Of water. and It was impossible to get
about the deck. Two men were sta.
toned ut the wheel. The mems chests
were broken open and foatetl about
the cabin, the chronometers were
smashed and the provisions were
soaked. All the ships papers and
what money had were lost.
"When the hurricane had spent Its
force we fixed up jury rig with the
aid Of the stumps of the main and the
mizzen, and we made little headway
until October IA. when the rudder was
carried away. leaving us helpless. The
next day. the remaining lifeboat hav-
ing been repaired in the meantime. we
decided to take our chances in the little
boat.
''The boat had a twenty foot keel and
two masts. We carried forestaysail,
Il f0resail and a spritsail for a main-
sail-just like Chinese junk. Nobody
had any belongings to take away from
the ship. and our only cargo was fifty
pounds of bread. fifty pounds of salt
beef and about thirty-fivc gallons of
water. fixed mp cabin for my wife.
80 We were all fairly comfortable, al
though, on account of being so close to
the water 1t was very hot.
I'VE made good headway, having the
advantage Of the trades. and logged as
much as 40 knots day. For our
daily rations we had two quarts Of
water and two pounds of bread. Some
of the men We're sick. but nobody
grumbled. My wife stood the hardship
better than any of us. The watches
We're divided as OIL shipbOard, and we
were constantly on the lookout for
some vessel. i have been sailing in
those latitudcs for twenty years. but
that is the first trip ever made with
out sighting something.
II had compass on board, and I
verified my bearings by the North Star
When the compass had deviated half
point L judged that I had made about
half the distance to the mainland. so
steered 4 straight course for the coast
of South America. The night before
we made st. George we saw three
steamers some distance off, but could
not attract their attention. The next
our little boat was rowed in big
crowd of Africans was lined up on the
shore. We got dry clothes. somebody
lis in n group. and five or
six churches took up collection for
us that amounted to S73 Or more
Those natives never saw ship
wrecked crew before. and whenever
any of us went out on the street q big
crowd would collect and follow us
around"
The Florence Il. Edgctt was built ut
Digby. N. S., twelve years ago. She
is of 191 tons register. and is owned
by Troop & Son. of st. John. a. +. The
men were sent back by their different
tOnsuls. and Captain Kay has put the
ease before the British Consul Some
OF the men are at the Sailors Home.
III Cherry street. and others scattered
around With friends i'll the city. Cap
tain Kay and his wife will stop in
Eso0kly York Times.
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The Escape Of ScOu. EurnlSM.