HELPLESS AT SEA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 707, 5 January 1910, Page 6

HELPLESS AT SEA.

THIRTY-SIS: HOnES WITHOUT FOOD : ;;-'-'i'■,..'",.■ :.rOR"-DEINK..:'.:..: ,: :. ■• On .October.. 25/.the liner ,Hestia, with forty souls on!board/went ; 'ashore"ori'the Old 'Proprietor Ledge, Grand;. Manan Island, New Brunswick, arid out 'of ■ that .number, only'skT-Third Officer S. -Q.' Stewart, -.Glasgow;'•', Second . A. Morgan, Seanion;.Joseph Smytli .and. B.'i.Breen,' Govan; _G£ AL'Vicar, .Dunoon; and: 7J: M'Kenzie, Glasgow, were , saved.':'. The sur- : vivors were; brought to , Glasgow, by., the Allan liner Hesperian. ;; /.-.'. : ! Third Officer, Stewart, gave a graphic' account-of the disaster to..the .Ulasgow: , 'Record." •■•'.- He seemed . much shalcen by. the terrible . experiences he had undergone, and openly, confessed-.,that. it wasanything':but pleasant for him to divell upon tho. details of the disaster;. ."•., ', "I was , off watch at the time we'struck,": he, stated, "and. wa6/down below, talking, to.,the. fourth 'engineer,.when/ we. .were made conafcious.thatan accident:had oc-curred'-bya'.sudderi,'alarming shock, accompanied by- the unmistakable tearing sound.:,-. ■:-:/:', ' :.'■': '•'■ ■'. ■--;■ '•■■•;.'■ •■■

"Of course, I realised something serious had happened, and rushed on deck. There was little or, no/excitement, and everything -was done in the most calm and. or--derly mariner. .1, never saw anything conducted , with more coolness or moro quietly. !,Orders were almost immediately given for the boats to be swung out, ana when that was done, and when it, became 1 apparent, that the ship was doomed, they were ordered-to be lowered. ... '":■'.,.-■

"You-' thrive heard, liow two were launched successfully, and how, the-third, on reaching the water,/was swatnped. It was all very horrible. Nearly all. .the ship's; lanterns had been . smashed, and., we were practically; in -darkness; . Wo heard shouts for help.: I could hear the ..voice of: one little boy, ono> of ■ the '. twin brothers Galloway, who came from Kirk,intilloch, calling on His'mother...-'We, did what -'.we. could, but the darkness '..made' things very difficult. Lines were thrown overboard, and we shouted out to them to catch hold. . ■: ■ .

"A few minutes after, the swamping of the boat we rescued the second engineer and a seaman. This; seaman, MfVicar by name, was nearly spent, and as he lay on the upper deck one of the immense waves which were washing over : our heads swept him along the deck, but luckily, not into the water again. Our first watch '~ wo, kept on -the bridge, and'the tide-came ■ up and only left.us a little corner, threefourths having been entirely washed away by the'waves: Had we been a little lower' down; therefore, I should not bo talking to you now. .; V. ;..-. . . ' '.'For thirty-six hours we hung on with--out. food or drink, and then a fishing'. Bmack : from Seal Cove.hove in sight. Wo hoisted a blanket as a flag of distress,' and I" need not say with wnat, thankfulness we found ourselves aboard the little craft.;.- It is the .first experience of shipwreck I. have had, and' I- can only say. I shall not easily forget what I have gone through." ; •'• -. "'■■'• : .■-." '.'■■- '"•: '■ '-.