Year: 1875

A Terrible Tale of the Sea-.-A Ships Crew Down with the Fever.

 Any one who undertook to write the history of the suferings of seamen dur ing the winter of 1874-75, says the New York Times, would find ready to his hand @ very large amount of material. Beginning with the crews of the Cape Cod fishing craft, who for weeks had to endure the tortures of an ice prison without fuel, and with scarcely food enough to keep body and soul together, he would be called upon to describe the Newfoundland wreckers' terrible strug gles for life on an ice-hoe, and to add @ chapter on the foreign vessels that were driven out to sea by inhospitable winds, just as they had almost sighted the ports to which they were bound. It would, it is true, be very difficult to do justice to the subject unless the writer happened to have witnessed the agony of crew like that of the Rebecca Goddard. After having made land, as our readers will remember, this vessel was driven out to sea under a crushing weight of ice. Having come from 0 warm climate, the sailors were but thinly clad. One man was frozen to death at the wheel. Twenty one days of torture were endured before the Goddard came within hail of 8 friendly tug and was brought into port. Then there were special cases of suffer ing in which the heroism displayed was of such character that it would take many chapters to do fit honor to it.

 The very latest case of this kind should have chapter to itself. And even that would not be sufficient ac- knowledgment of what humanity owes to the hero. On the 23d of December last, the bark Mendota left the Island of Java with a full cargo for New York. The captain and one seaman were down with Java fever when the vessel got un- der sail. There were two mates on board. but only one, the first, under stood navigation. On him devolved the command. Before many days had passed, the second mate and the cook and steward were seized with the dis ease, which had already eaten away every morsel of flesh from the captains bones. Soon, only five of the crew were well enough to work the ship. The sec ond mate wasted away and died, but the captain still fingered between life and death. So long as the mate, Frede Adams, was able to keep at his post, his companions worked checrily, believing that he, at least, was fever proof. They wen-nigh gave up in despair when he, too, succumbed. Fortunately for them selves, they did not fully understand the nature of the man on whom their lives were depending. Perhaps they thought that he would be rendered as powerless as the captain, and that they would be compelled to get to land as best they could. MT. Adams happened to have in him the material of which heroes are made. The feeling of responsibility was so strong that it, to some extent, baffed the fever. Instead of falling prostrate under it, as thousands of men in similar circumstances would have done, this lion hearted man used to crawl out of the cabin on his hands and knees to "get the sum-" crawl to the chronometer to get the time, and then work out the ships position. While he proceeded on his daily rounds he says "you could smell the fever in any part of the ship"

 Mir. Adams continued for several days to navigate the vessel ill this manner, without once thinking of turning her head from the direct course in order to seek medical assistance at some of the ports within Q few days sail. It was not until the body of the second mate had been buried in the ocean that he de- cided to alter his course, and steer di- rect for St. Helena. It took six days to reach there; but he never once faltered in his duty until the Mendota was safely anchored. An hospital surgeon, we'll skilled in the treatment of Java fever, was soon on board, and gave speedy re- lief to the sufferers. Mir. Adams, like all true heroes, is very modest in de- scribing the part he took in bringing the Mendota safely to port, merely con- cluding his narrative by characterizing the voyage as the "toughest he had ever made. To add to it's severity, it should be stated that during sixteen days the vessel was within five hundred miles of New York, battling with west erly winds and seas that constantly threatened to make an end of her. Now, as we have already said, the case of MT. Adams is one that commends itself very stronly to the notice of humane so- cieties. But for his heroic conduct the Mendota might have been lost, with every soul on board. This fact should be speedily taken into consideration. so that when MT. Adams, who, it is to be hoped, may soon have the chief com mand of ship, leaves on his next voy- age he may carry with him mark of public appreciation more substantial than newspaper articles.