Evening star., 1914-05-18
Eleven of Those Who Escaped
in Open Boat Died of Hunger
and Exposure.
FOOD GONE MANY DAYS
BEFORE RESCUE ARRIVES
Three Vessels Sighted, But None
Came Within Signal Distance of
Shipwrecked Men.

HALIFAX N s. May 1S-The United
States revenue cutter Seneca arrived here
today with the four survivors Of the
burned steamer Columbian, whom she
picked up from their small boat forty
miles south Of Sable Island at 10 o'clock
yesterday morning.
The condition of the men is serious, but
It is believed they will live.
A wireless message from Capt. Johnston
Of the Seneca yesterday told concisely OF
the rescue. Little could be learned today
from the exhausted sailors of their expe-
rience beyond the fact that they had been
tossed helplessly by the seas since May
T. when IRE on the Columbian drove them
into their small boat.
Eleven Died of Hunger.
There were fifteen men in the craft
when they left the Columbian. Eleven
companions died of hunger and exposure.
and the four emaciated men taken aboard
the revenue cutter were almost uncoD-
scious.
The Columbian belonged to the Ley
werp to New York with miscel-
ianeous cargo when the fire started at
midnight May = The crew had time
only to launch their three boats. One
u
the body of the chief steward, was
picked up by the Fra nconia of the
Cunard line May .. Late the same
day another boat. carrying thirteen
men. was sighted by the steamer Man
haitian and it's crew rescued.
Hope for the third boat had been
abandoned when the message from the
Seneca was received. The revenue cut
stores and fuel when a man on the
bridge made out a lifeboat apparently
empty.
Four Men Near Death.
Drawing near. Capt. Johnston found
it contained four men, more dead than
alive.
The men in the lifeboat had left their
ship SO hurriedly that there was no
opportunity to supplement the life
boats usual store of water and biscuit.
A single cask of water slowed in the
stern was soon exhausted. but fortu-
nately rain fell and the men suffered
less from thirst than from hunger; One
hundred pounds of hardtack furnished
their only food This was used up the
first week
Day after day the men made desperate
efforts to attract the attention of passing
shipping. On the first two days three
steamers were sighted and for nearly q
week the boat remained directly in the
path of transatlantic traffic. but none
saw them. At the end Of the first week
they had drifted about 12o miles to the
uorth-away from the winter track of
the lines. The immediate vicinity of
Sable Island is carefully avoided by rner-
chant ships, and apart from the ice pa
troll ships practically no craft Is found
in the vicinity where they were picked up.
Insane From Salt Water.
With hope of rescue fast vanishing the
nrna ~,
day they left the ship the last of the
bread crumbs were eaten On that day
one of the fifteen men died. Some of the
men drank salt water. and one of them
became insane and soon afterward died.
The first to succumb was George Hull,
an oiler. Chief Officer Teire ordered the
bodies thrown overheard.
One by one the men gave up until only
five remained Peter Trtel died as aid
was in sight. Chief Officer Teire. an
English man, twenty-five years old, said
today:
Il had just got on the olumbian's
bridge at midnight. May ). with no
signs whatever of fire on board, when
there came series of explosions One,
j think. was bunker explosion, which
almost tore the ship in two There was
no time to get navigating instruments.
provisions OF clothing. We had to tum-
bic into the boats in quick time. y
strong southerly wind was blowing
I'm the early morning saw a
steamers lights We judged it was the
Olympia. We saw a couple of other
steamers while adrift. but evidently We,
like specks on the sea were not SEEN
Day after day passed and the ex-
posure began to tell on the men. We had
preserved some cracker crumbs: the last
of these were served out yesterday morn
ing. For several days we had been
eating leather The dead were lowered
10 the sea"
Teire'S feet were so badly frozen that
II may be necessary to amputate them
The survivors we're taken to the Victoria
general hospital.