The San Francisco call., 1913-12-05

small crew left the FL Dorado in a
ships boat. They took farewell Of
their vessel in a raging gale 2,Ioo
miles off the coast of Chile.
AS time passed on and the Ell Do
rado was unreported she passed be-
yond the ken of the seafaring folk
save her scant mention as another
mystery in the annals of the sea.
Today Captain Benson is in San
Francisco with remarkable story of
shipwreck, starvation and hardship
and the subsequent return Of himself
and his two subordinates to the
haunts OF men,
QUIT SCHOONER IN GALE
After leaving Astoria, the El Do
rado encountered fair weather until
the tropics were reached. June 13 a
gale became a hurricane. The ship
sprung its seams. Masts and spars
summoned his men and told them Of
their predicament
They took to the sea in an open
boat, the only one remaining, the
| other tender having been smashed
| against the lumber. Water and food
were at a premium Necessity had
/ forced them to leave their water
/ logged ship with such haste that they
! did not have time to batter down
| jammed doors to reach their supplies.
I Captain Benson bafely obtained sew
era1 cans of condensed milk, soup and
soda biscuits from a locker in his
| cabin.
For nine days, watch in and watch
out, the men in their tiny craft bat
tied in the vortex of South sea hur-
ricane.
When they had just about resigned
themselves to their fate they sighted
Easter island, Ga lonely atoll But
the sea ran so high that they We're
days final dash and they reached
the surf. Once on the beach, they
threw themselves on the sand. too
exhausted to do more than to crowl
beyond the reach of the sea.
| Then searching parties were or
ganized. They were headed by the
mates. At first their explorations
were futile until they discovered a
Samoan village. With characteristics
native hospitality the wanderers were
/ fed and sheltered.
| in pitiful condition by this time ow-
! ing to exposure and constant submer-
! sion in salt water. They suffered
particularly from swollen feet and
hands.
CREW WE'D NATIVE BELLIES
| Gradually they recovered their
! health only to confront the necessity
| of reaching a port of ships call. At
| first they expected that some migra-
! tory trading vessel might pick them
| up, but as time passed and no sail or
smoke appeared on the horizon this
| hope was abandoned.
! The men resigned themselves to
their fate They adapted themselves
to the life of the natives, taking part
| in their pleasures and assisting them
! in their labors. Several romances de-
! veloped. One of the crew married
Several more followed. Finally but
few of the men remained single.
On the one hundred and fifth day
| of their sojourn on the island Cap
| tain Benson announced that he was
going to attempt to reach Papeete in
the ships boat The crew endeavored
| plan and called for volunteers.
rs DAYS IN OPEN BoAT
| Then, October Z. Captain Benson
Simoneau and DrInkwater once more
/ took to the sea. For 26 days they
rowed and sailed, through storm and
calm, until the island port was
reached. There they boarded the
| Moana.
Talk about experiences" said Cap
tain Benson, as he lovingly patted the
El Dorado's lifeboat. storm, water.
/ logged ship, gales. starvation, in an
open boat with scarcely no provisions,
| "a gallons of water and all other eIe-
ments found in shIpwreck. The
men obeyed me implicitly at all times.
was frank with them and always
told them just what they were up
against. The trip from the Ell Dorado
/ to Easter island was about 1000
Emiles. The trip from Easter island
/ to Papeete was 1900 miles. The pros
| pect was almost nnnnhin1. but we
| made IL