MAROONED FOR 89 DAYS

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1995, 28 February 1914, Page 6

MAROONED FOR 89 DAYS

I ON AN OCEAN ISLAND. ' SHIPWRECKED SAILORS IN WELLINGTON. / • Thore arrived from Papeete yesterday morning by the Union Company's liner Tahiti, the crew of the French barque La Tour d'Avcrgne, which was totally wrecked on Palmerston Island, in the Cook Gruiip, in October last. The crew, which number 23 all told, aro en routo to Franco by way of Sydney, and in very broken English explained how thankful, that they wero on being once more on their way to their beloved France. With a good deal of crossquestioning, undertaken in the centre of a circle composed of the shipwrecked men, a reporter managed to get a fairly clear account of the wreck.

Tho Tour d'Auvergno, bound from Tahiti to Noumea, with 1000 tons of coal, struck a reef off Palmerston Isjand— really . a . group of five small islands—situated in a peculiarly isolated position between Samoa and Raratonga, to the north-west of Aitutaki. The night was pitch black, a heavy 6ea was running, and it was raining-hard. Tho ill-fated Ijarque, a large vessel of 3000 tons register, lodged herself firmly on tho reef, and the whole of tho crew wero able to scramble off tho doomed vessel on to the reef, and so reach the shore. According to ono moriber oftho crew tho vessel only lasted a couplo of 'days before sho broke in half. During that time, however, tliey got on board the vessel again, and made a wire hawser- fast between tho barque and tho shore, and with tho aid of a running lino conveyed' a good deal of tho ship's_ stores to tho shore, including a quantity of salt pork. But twenty-threo lusty men require some feeding, and long before tho Frenchmen wero picked up tho ship's stores had disappeared, and they wero all living on coconuts and fish.

"Plenty poisson," said, ono of the creiv to the reporter. "Plenty poisson —we spear him from dor reef. Oh, my feet—they all broko up on der reef.. No shoe—no nothing—all had, vor bad. But plenty much poisson.!' v The wreck took place on October 22, and tho crew "lived with eternal summer ill-content" (after the manner of Enoch Arden) for 89 days.

When tho men had been marooned for over a month on the island a sailing vessel hove in and tho master was informed of their plight. This vessel was bound' for Papeete, and reported the wreck and! the condition of tho men as soon as she arrived at Papeoto. At that time the Fronehi gunboat Zelee was refitting in Sydney. News was sent to her commander about the plight of his countrymen, and as soon as possible he cleared for sea, and in due course reached Palmerston, picked up tho crew of the wreckod vossel, and conveyed them to Papeete (Tahijti), where they stayed until picked up by tho steamer which arrived here yesterday. The crew, reported that no lives had been lost, andsthat Captain Du Cros had proceeded back to France, . via America. Tho Tour d'Auvergno was registered at Dunkirk. "We go to Sydney—no wuk—no monee. De monee stop to pay on October 22 —den, no more. Aha, poor sailorman!" And with that tho speaker smiled in the most amiablo manner possible, indicating that lie had a fund of philosophy at his command to counteract his troubles.