Year: 1871

but Raw Vegetables-Dashed About,


Half Drowned, Half Naked and Sorely


Suffering.


From the New York Herald


Louis Wolf, mess boy, who was ON
board of the steamer Lodona, 730 tons bur
den, from New York to New Orleans, which
struck on Coral reef, on the Florida coast,
Thursday, August IL, and was totally lost,
twenty persons losing their lives and thir-
teen being saved, makes the following
statement:


| was on the Lodona one trip before this
one in which the LodOna was lost was
mess boy for the sailors and tiremen's mess.
| received fifteen dollars per month and
found. We left New York ON the Saturday
before the Thursday on which the ship
struck the reef. We had fair weather until
Wednesday previous to the disaster, when
we encountered heavy swell. We had a
general cargo. We had crew and off er5
of thirty-three men. Captain Hovey COM
manded the vessel, and MIR. Stevens was
the first officer and Mr.. ScOfeld the en-
gineer. The engines were in good order as
far as l know. The Lodona was an English
ship, and carried supplies during the war
for the blockade runners. About three
O'Clock Thursday morning a heavy gale pre-
vailed and all the tiremen were ordered be-
low to keep the fires up. The sea was run
ming into the skylight.


About half-past seven we struck q reef
and she shifted over on her beam ends The
captain was in the pilot house at the time
she shifted, and he fell out and stumbled
while trying to catch hold Of the main rig
ging The sea broke over the ship and
washed him Oft and carried away the pilot
house. The captain was not seen any more.
Some of the crew got into a boat, and when
about thirty yards off the ship, the LOdOna
turned over and capsized. l was amidship
on deck, holding on to the tore rigging 1t
was very hard to hold on with the heavy
seas breaking over me. There were four
teen of the crew in the main rigging; the
mainmast gave away and the sea broke it
right off. All of the fourteen, excepting the
captains son Freddy, fifteen years Of age,
and the chief cook. Frank, were washed
overheard, but they swan ashore as well as
they could in the sea, which was mountain
high.


The Florida coast was nearly ten miles
off, and don't know how they reached the
shore. Mr. Stevens, the first mate, got into
the only other boat, which was lifeboat,
and heavy sea broke again and washed
the boat and himself away. He reached the
shore first of all. The crew, the chief en-
gineer, first assistant engineer, five sailors
myself and fireman, worked our way out
forward to the gallant forecastle. The
wreck was washed ashore gradually, and





mainmast came down, when we found our
selves on the breakers, three or four hun
dred yards from the bank. The chief en-
gineer and the fireman swan ashore first
and the second mate followed, and the re-
naming members of the crew, with the eX-
ceptiOn of myself, the first assistant en-
gineer, and sailor, remained on the wreck
for two days-untn Saturday. The sailor
made raft.


Of hnJ nal IN
the wreck. The first assistant engineer
took the raft to go ashore, and he was
washed Oft several times by the breakers.
The sailor and myself made It. l broke
the bulWarks out of her to make it, and
went ashore with the sailor. By this time the
chief engineer, captains son, the second
mate and the cook had gone down to the
Lighthouse. six miles distant, and the keeper
told the party to walk twenty-eigLt miles
up the beach to the first customhouse sta
ton. While living two days on the vessel
we had nothing to eat but onions, raw
potatoes and raw Goldfish The onions
made Us very thirsty, as we could not get
any water. We stopped on the beach that
night, and next morning we started and
walked twenty-eight miles, and were two
days and half making the distance with
nothing to eat, only we had little water
to drink. While walking along this beach
we passed fourteen of the bodies that had
been washed ashore from the wreck.


The first one we saw was about four
miles from the wreck, the furthest was
nearly twenty miles from the ll-fated Lo-
dona. They all looked terrible, were black
in the face and bloody and disfgured, and
it was extremely difficult to recognize them,
as most of the bodies had been stripped
naked by the violence of the waves. The
captains body was missing. The chief en-
gineer, second mate, head cook, the cap
tain's son and one of the sailors gave out
as their strength was spent and they
walked back to the camp. We had scarcely
any clothing upon lis, and our feet, blistered
and sore, were torn from the friction of the
spars, which had rubbed against our bodies
and had caused abrasiOns. The mate, four
sailors, the first assistant engineer and my
self walked ahead, thinking that there was
a house where we might get something to
eat. We walked about the thirty mine miles,
and walked three or four miles further that
day.


When night came on we sat down and
rested ourselves about two hours, when We
again got up and walked down further. We
then laid down and slept on the sand, where
we slept heartily.


We walked then to daylight. We then
saw in the early morning man advancing
to Us, whom we recognized as the man who
had left Us to travel on his own account, re
turning in a very weak manner. Away back
again we walked about three miles, when
we met man with an axe on his shoulder.
We stopped and asked him where we was"
He told us we were about fourteen miles
from Smyrna. We asked him if he would
give us something to eat.


He said he would give US something
what he had-if we would go to his boat.
We went to his boat and got something TO
eat-some biscuits, coffee, and fresh meat
and fresh water. agreed to work for him
for my board. l got one meal there; that
was all. l went on horseback to the beach
again, and left the mate at his house.
There were several persons there then
picking UP the goods. One told us that the
engineer had started before for Sand Point.
A small packet came by, aud. hailed her,
and she put off light boat to take me off,
l went to st. Augustine, and from there
came to New York.