The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-03-03

man would have escaped alive. At
about IL o'clock in the morning I or
dered one Of the boats lowered. but it
/ Immediately capsized and went down.
had but one sound boat left, and in
this I dispatched the mate. Mr.. Evans,
with four men to explore the reef and
see whether any part of it was habit
able. The mate came back with the
boat at eight o'clock the next morn
ing, and asked for food and water. but
refused to come alongside because of
the danger from the seas, although We
hoated him the end of a rope fast to
piece of wood. We gave him a quart
of water. and then the boat rowed
away and we never saw her any more.
There was only the damaged cutter left,
and this we repaired by mailing FIVE
thicknesses of Anvas over the break Tin
her side, and painting each coating in
turn. All this time. and for four more
days we were on the ship, the waves
drenching US to the skin and threaten
ing to beat the ship to pieces.
"At the end Of that time, the weather
moderating, we put the cutter over
board and pulled to a wrecked Chinese
Junk lying higher up on the reef in four
feet of water at high tide. We strength
ened the junk by piIing up pieces Of
coral from the reef around her, so that
she would not be washed off, and put
UP a sail for an awning on her TO shell
ter ourselves. We also carried over a
lot of provisions from our own ship,
which was in constant danger of break
ing UP, and there was no lack of food.
We got water from the bark likewise.
After we had settled ourselves in what
we thought a safe position. we built
raft and began exploring the reef, as
the jagged rock would have torn the
cutter to pieces. The coral stretched
for miles, and we found some half a
dozen wrecks there. among them
four-masted ship and a steamer. At
the western end was an island, some
twenty feet above high water at its ex-
treme point of elevation.
''It had been used at some time for
a Chinese fishing station, for there was
a joss house upon 1t and some half
dozen Chinese graves. AT one end of
each grave was a pot os tea. and at
the other the dead mans hat. We also
found a cocoanut tree, and two tanks
containing 400 gallons of water. The
joss house contained many pictures OF
European ships. and an oil painting
the wrecks on the reef. The island did
not seem to have been inhabited for
at least a year prior to our being cast
away there.
After remaining three weeks on
Pratas, all the time getting oGr cutter
in shape for sea. we embarked in her,
intending to try to make Hongkong. 1t
was a hard trip, the boat making wa
ter all the time and the waves con-
stantly dashing over us, but after four
days we were picked up by the Norwe-
gian steamer Bygde. Captain Gunder-
sen, who carried us to Hongkong.
When we left the reef the Alexander
Mcneil was still standing, with a lot
do not know what became of Evans
and the four men with him in the boat"
The Alexander Mcneil was a three
masted wooden bark, of 1049 registered
tonnage, built in 1869 by A r. Reed, of
Waldsboro, Mass, and hailed from San
Francisco.
Pratos Shoal lies between $50 and 200
miles southeasterly from Hongkong,
and is one of the most serious menaces
to navigation in the China Sea.
well, yes" said the carpenter of
the Alexander Mcneil, sitting on his sea
chest in the forecastIe of the Coptic. |
''AH hands were drunk, right after thc
ship struck. You cannot blame Captain |
Jorgensen for that. The seas We're !
sweeping clean over her, we We're all
drenched and helpless. the mate had |
deserted with the four men in the boat |
with him. and we had to saw the masts |
off to get them over the side and :,re-
vent her capsizing and carrying us all |
down TO our death. The captain was
all but unable to stand on his |
feet. And he passed us out whisky to |
keep US alive. There is small doubt
that the mate and the four men with |
him were lost. They were in an open
boat. in a stormy sea, without food and
With only one quart of water"
The names of two of the men who
went with Mate Evans in the boat are
known. These were William Johnson
and Charles Otterson, able seamen
The other two We're known to their
mates as Alex and Albert. all four hav-
ng been shipped at Manila.
Besides Canta in Inre,anser, Tia nnrnas !