Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-05-30

,.
The scant, scenario-like report una.
dorned further, follows in the cap
tain's words:
The Anjou, while on a voyage from
Sydney to Falmouth, was wrecked on
one of the Auckland group in the Pa.
cific. We had
left Sydney on sa.sxs
January 20, and
during thick ssss
fog and rough .ssssxssSS @ @s&
weather on Feb Ss's&sssassS SSSs
ruary the ship ssssasssss ssss8A
struck on a reef. S<sessss' ssss3s
The masts fell xs3s::s@:%s'e xs$3s::::$@=:%
and smashed some of the small boats,
and there was panic on board
Fortunately all escaped in the
boats that remained whole, but many
We're only partly dressed and some not
at all. After a terrible experience in
heavy gale, lasting for almost whole
day, We reached the shore OF one of
.ernoon and, after a battle with the
heavy sea, managed to drag cur bodies
up on to the land.
Naked and wounded, for what
clothes We had had been ripped Off,
our bodies torn and bruised by being
battered around, we looked like band
OF phantoms marching on to the con-
quest of some internal island
almost starved, we lighted big
fire with flint and attracted some sea-
birds which we captured and ate Max
ing clothes for ourselves out of long
grass and leaves, we started out to eX-
plore the island. After search that
lasted three days, some of our party
discovered rude shelter, showing
that shipwrecked people had been
there at some time before.
'On the following days we killed,
with rocks, number of albatross and
caught a quantity of shellfish. on
which we subsisted. Also, we captur-
ed a small seacow, which proved to
be decent eating.
LAS a chance of making our condi
ton known, we caught three albatross
alive and set them free with bark
cards tied around their necks, stating
our plight in French and English. But
day after day passed and help failed
to come.
1--WE resolved to make the best OF
our condition, because we feared-ano
rightly so-that we might be left or
the island for months, even years, be
fore we could in some way or othel
attract the attention of passing YES
sci. The vessels, we knew, gave the
particular island we were on very
wide berth.
so we got up little government
all of our own and called ourselves the
.Ship-wrecked Kingdom We had
sort of king, or boss, cabinet of ad
visors and all that sort of thing. Ou
'army'-or exploration party-Was dis
patched into the interior of the lslant
and the army consisting OF eigh
men. discovered some wild sheep.
"On May Z, after we had been OF
the Island Kingdom for over three
months, the New Zealand governmen
steamer Hinomoa rescued us. Thi
vessel had on board the two daughter
of Mr. Mills, the New Zealand Minis
ter of Commerce, who superintende'
most of the work of helping us bac]
to our natural civilized state and, q
token of our gratitude, we gave then
the cat that had been saved from tn
wreck of the Aniou and that had gon
through all our troubles with US a
mascot, of our little Kingdom"
At the end of the captains report
there is the simple statement that te
large vessels before the Anjou ha
been wrecked at the same spot dur1n
fifteen years, among them the Gel
eral Grant with loss of seventy-fiv
lives.
And there are scores of true tale
like this that have never come to tn
eyes Of the great reading world. actus
romances and dramas OF the deep thu
rival the attempts of fiction.
The Voyage Of the kerosene-4ade
"Thorniiebank."
A ships fight against storm, mad
more exciting by the fact that som
aynamite happens to be included !
the cargo, is one Of the favor1te an
stock devices of the sea-fction writer
What would you think OF a stor
concerning leaking clipper ship, wit
.,phty-six thousand cases OF kerosen
and benzine aboard. that went throue
wrecking storms, that was on the poll
nf being smashed to pieces every OF
ar minute and that was finally brougl
to port eight thousand miles away
She vas saved only through the slee
toss efforts OF her starved crew, WI
TOR two and one-half months guarde
the shifting cargo against explosion
night and day.
The clipper Thornliebank, Of Gla
row Captain Smith, left Philadelph
hound for Wellington, New zealan
Iuly 1903. L carried cargo
.ightv.s;x thousand cases Of benzt1