The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1918-03-09
Personal Narratives of Sailors
Are Particularly in Demand
at This Time.
old TALES ARE READ AGAIN
snterest in Merchant Marine Response
BILE for Demand for Stories Of
SaiIors-Eseape Of Mariners
From Arabian Sands Told.


:gresSonal library, which is in a wav
clearing house for all the libraries
of the country, state that at present
there IS lively demand from read
prs for all kinds of literature relating
to sea lore. and especially to the ad-
ventures OF sailors In the American
merchant marine
Personal narratives are in greatest
demand, and are the hardest for the
ordinary reader to find There are,
however, good many of them, both
here and in public Libraries and spe-
Cial collections in Eastern cities.
Many of these books, now being re-
read with public interest after many
years, have particular point at this
time for their value in Indicating the
grit with which American sailors face
peril and hardship, such as the pres
ent era Of German "frightfulness" at
sea is apt to impose at any time on
American crews.
A visitor to the capital the other
day had in his grip one of these old
cited as an example of the kind of
literature the American sailors of long
ago produced for the benefit of pos
terity.
1t was written and published In 1894
by one Daniel Saunders, an American
sailor, and described his sufferings,
and those Of his shipmates, in escap-
ing from the Arabian desert, after be-
ing cast upon It's burning shore by
shipwreck
Daniel Saunders was q seaman on
the ship Commerce of Boston, which
while cOasting in the Eastern seas for
a cargo, and on a voyage from Mad
ras to Bombay ION the coast of Mala-
Bar" stranded in the night on beach
on the Arabian coast, the captain hav-
ling lost his bearings.
On attempting to land on the beach
the crew of "a souls were menaced by
savage natives. They therefore
manned their boats and coasted along
shore. On the second day out they
were caught in a gale on lee shore.
beach through high surf.
In making the landing one boat was
upset and three of its occupants lost
their lives, among them being Ma
thaniel Seaver Jun, the merchants
son." In those days, merchants made
voyages, and the father of this lad
<'stood an unhappy spectator OF TINS
melancholy catastrophe" His grief,
says the author, may be more easily
imagined than described"
Attacked by Arabs.
Wet and weary, the sailors lay down
to sleep. They were reused by tne
approach Of a band of - Arabs,
mounted on camels, "and armed with
spears. cutlasses and knives" who at
tackled them, stole all the stores that
had been in the boats, and roDDed
them Of all their clothing, "even to the
shirts off our backs"
AS the camels could not carry all
the plunder the brigands finally lett
~'some old clothes to cover us, 10 pre-
vent the sun from burning our skins.
One got a pair of trousers, another a
coat. another a shirt, but one got only
b strip of canvas, which he wrapped
around him.
Thus arrayed, the shipwrecked ma
riners on being left by their plumber
ers. set out for Muscat, which they
were told was flve-days' journey dis
tant.
Their way lay through fields OF
burning sands and over mountains OF
rocks and precipices, a1ording neitner
food nor water"
In this scorching desert. famlsheo'
and with tongues cracked ana mouths
sore the sailors found themselves ex-
nosed to n sun of incredible fierceness
nv day. and to cold dews at night.
For two days they stumbled on
along the seashore, with neither 1000
nor water On the third day the parry
broke I'D into several smaller groups
Some sought shorter route py 1ol-
lowing paths that led inland. Saun-
ders and three companions urea 'ie
inland route, and came upon some
vines that bore kind OF melon re-
sembling watermelon.
Feverishly tasting some or the Irui''
they found 1t bitter ana ufiht lof
food.
Turning back to the beach the wan
derers met three Arab fishermen VINO
robbed them of some books and pa
pers. and took from the man with tne
canvas his sole protection from tne
sun. Later that day Saunders ana MS
marty met an Arab who directed them
to a well. Here they were joined py
Cantain Johnson of the Commerce ana
a few of their mates.
The next day they found food IN the
form of crabs and cookies taken at
rocky point on the beach.
Natives Were Kind.
The wanderers now began 70 mee'
more natives, both men ana women
The latter were kind to Them giving
them water from goatskin containers
but robbing them eventually OF tnel,
shoes. Captain johnson was reiie'eu
of his trousers.
Earring on the next day, the captain
fell. because his "sinews ana nerves
had been so contracted by the sun anu
n