New-York tribune., 1910-07-31
SAILORS, TWICE SAVED
FROM DEATH, IN PORT
Barbados SIoop Loses Way and
Drifts AimIessIy Thir-
teen Days.
SUGAR THEIR ONLY FOOD
Fed by British Freighter, They
Resume Voyage, but Graft
Sinks, and Again Negroes
Are Rescued.

Five weary negro sailors. who had lost
their way in a small sloop on the At
| lantic. and were twice snatched from
death by a friendly steamship. were
brought to port last night on the British
| freighter Ikalis. It was the Ikalis which
saved them first from starvation, and
again, from drowning. when they drifted
out from Barbados into the northbound
lane of the steamships from South
American ports.
! The rescued men belonged to the sloop
Sunlight, which carries small cargo and
"deckers" between ports in the southern
group of the Leeward Islands.
They left shoaI near Bridgetown,
! Barbados, on July II, with cargo for
ST. Lucia, but when one day out, thick
| fog shut down upon them and lasted
| for two days. There was an instrument
on the Sunlight that at one time had
been called compass. but when the
| fog set in It was not inclined to perform
! it's duties, and the five men on the sloop
| had TO go where currents and chance
| took them. Their usual custom had been
to sail by land bearings, as the groups
of small islands among which they
traded are close enough to permit OF
this sort of navigation.
Craft Lost at Sea.
When the fog cleared and the sun
shone hot upon the Sunlight the five
men realized that they were literally and
| fguratively at sea. They knew that the
sun rose in the east and went down In
the west. but they did not know In
which direction the land lay. They
counted the sunrise twelve times, and
that was about all they could recall to
show how many days they had been
adrift The Ikalis picked them up on
July %, and after the men came out of
their seni-conscious condition. they es-
timated that they we're thirteen days
adrift.
| The negro traders are all British sub
iects and being proud of this, carried
the British ensign on the Sunlight S
foremast When hunger and fear un-
nerved them Jerrold Frank, the master
and owner of the sloop, flew the inverted
ensign and then sat aft with his men
to wait for some helping hand to come
| along. Inc kills, W IlIIi cioppSo a.
| Barbados on her way to New York
| from Buenos AyreS, saw the West In
dian shallop pitching a mile to the east
ward OF her course.
| Through his binoculars Captain Turner
observed the signal of distress and bore
| down upon the lost traders. When the
Ikalis came within hailing distance he
|
the black men huddled together in the
stern. Three lay under the shade of
| tarpaulin. and two. who were in a sit
ting posture, waved an arm feebly.
| something wrong on that packet"
said Captain Turner to his chief officer.
Better lower bot quick and get over
| there and see what those fellows want
Within three minutes the chief officer
and four men went alongside the Sun
light and found the men barely alive.
! With considerable difficulty the boat 9
| crew pulled the negroes into their boat
and took them over to the Ikalis. Slim
ulants were administered to the suffer-
ers, and after partaking of some food
they were able to talk.
Sugar and Vinegar as Food.
They mentioned having shipped much
water in a squall that followed the clear
! ing of the fog. Their provisions were
| ruined and the only thing eatable that
! remained intact was box of sugar and
| a small case of vinegar. lashed near the
cabin. The men had kept alive by soak
ing sugar In vinegar and taking it for
food
| The negroes remained aboard the
| Ikalis for over four hours, and pleaded
with Captain Turner to stay by the
sloop until they could go aboard her
again. Captain Turner explained that
he could not wait much longer, but after
! several hours of first aid treatment
| the men asked to go back to the Sun
| light They were sent back well sup
piled with provisions. The captain gave
them a small compass and sailing direc-
tions. but when they prepared to get
under way the Sunlight began to sink,
and the lifeboat from the Ikalis had to
20 again to the assistance of the five
weary sailormen.
When the men were safe on the deck
| of the freghter Captain Turner started
on his course for this city.
The men of the Sunlight were in fairly
good condition when the Ikalis landed
| them at Bush Docks, in South Brooklyn,
| last night They will remain on board
! until Monday. when they will appeal to
the British Consul to send them back to
| Barbados The rescued men are Jer-
rold Frank, master and owner; B. Ben
| iamin, a sailor; Frank Cameron, boy,
and George Frank and Robert Beezin,
| "deckers."
ATTACKS THE GOVERNOR