TRAGEDY OF THE SEA.

Gisborne Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1646, 12 January 1906, Page 3

TRAGEDY OF THE SEA.

Tho discovery in November of a British steamer high and dry on a deserted shore in the Far East, and without her crew, made known a dramatic mystery of tho sea. In 1904 the steamer Claverdale, a fine Britishbuilt boat of 3307 tons, was cruising in Eastern waters in the glory of fresh paint and highly polished brass. She called at Hong Hong for orders in October, and found waiting for her a charter to carry coal to Vladivostock. The crew were naturally not anxious to run the gauntlet of the Japanese fleet, but the owners agreed to give every one on board double wages for the six months the. voyage was expected to last. So the Claverdale set out for Vladivostock. Six months ,passed, and no news being heard of her, she was regarded as lost, and the underwriters paid on a total loss, while the owners communicated with the relatives of each man, and paid the wages due, a bonus equal to a month’s wages, and compensation for the loss of personal property. An application by the owners to Lord Lansdowne to induce the Japanese Government to organise an expedition to search for the vessel, was unsuccessful, but eventually the news came that she had been discovered ashore at a point on the Manchurian coast, in the gulf of Tartary. But a mystery still remained, The ship had been plundered of everything, and there was no evidence to show whether the crew had been murderod by tho pillagers, or whether they left the_ ship and tried to force their way inland. In this part of Manchuria hired bands of armed natives usod to patrol during the war, in the hope of plunder, and the crew may have fallen victims to some of these marauders. There were no signs that the ship had been attacked, but it was generally believed that it must have been boarded, the crew numbered some thirty hands. There appeared to be a prospect of getting the vessel off, so that she may outlive her dark tragedy, and return to a life of peace.