FEARFUL SHIPWRECK.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1168, 10 November 1871, Page 3

FEARFUL SHIPWRECK.

THE CAPTAIN SAVED AFTER BEING ONE HUNDRED AND NINE DAYS ON THE WRECK. TASSENGERS AND CREW STARVED. By the arrival of the Nebraska we (Auckland Evening Star) have received, through the courtesy of Mr Craig, the following particulars of the wreck of a brig, and the fearful sufferings of the crew and passengers: — "The Nebraska arrived at Honolulu at 3 a.m. on the 21st of October, 1871, and had fine weather and smooth sea all the way from New Zealand; at Honolulu she passed the Wonga Wonga in our berth ready to sail for Fiji; ex changed newspapers with the Wonga, .and moored alongside the dock at 7 a.m., the Wonga got of at the same time, .with a fair wind; on the 21st discharged 150 tons of cargo, and by noon on the 22nd the Moses Taylor arrived, ha\ ing left San Francisco on the 11th of October. She reports as follows &—At. 8.30 on the 19th of October Sighted a sail bearing down, which turned out to be the remains of sa water-logged brig; sent a boat alongside in charge of the second officer, who reported all the bulwarks, except from foremast forward, gone, and the sea washing over the decks; Mr Redstone, now second officer of the Nebraska, went aloft and found the cross-trees surrounded with canvas and a quantity of fish in a sack; when on the point of leaving to descend, he noticed an object crawl out from under some canvas spread over the forecastle, and upon dedescending, -the first words he heard were, * My God, am I saved !' After calling his crew and searching for any other survivor, they left the wreck for jbheir own ship, with, as it proved, the captain of the brig. After receiving e\ery attention, and being sufficiently recovered, he related one of the most heart-rending cases of hardship and sulfering we ever heard of:—'My name is Luder Hoplnn, master of the brig Shelehoff, of San Francisco. J left San Francisco, June 23, 1871, with a cargo of lumber for Callao, and several passengers for the Navigator Islands, was water logged in a hurricane J"uly 3, lat. 168° N., and long. 117° W.' The following was taken from a memo, found in a sealed phial;— * Luder Hopkin, master, San Fran* cisco; J. Johnson, mate, Schleswig Holstein; J. M'Carty, second mate, Port Patrick; Philip Dunn, stewaid, vSan Francisco ; Levadore Police, seaman ; Ilober to Sicilia, seaman, Italy; Metchei Yelago, seaman, Calabria, Italy; Andrew Larssen, seaman, Sweden; Lona Lerris Hessen, seaman, Hensburg, Germany. Passengers — Cabin : Ashby Crane, San Francisco j Charles Davis, dilto; Charles Kurt.s, Tnbinger, Germany. [New York papers please copy.] Bartholomew Clarrele, native of Charlesville, Depaitwent de Sardensie (France.) Written on board brig Shelehoff % Monday, September 10, 1871. We have suiFered hard from hunger and thirst. Crew, passengers, and officers beg to send this

to San Francisco, California, and publish this in the papers.' In the Nautical Almanac were found the following entries : ' July—Cyclone, vessel water-logged. September 6—Andrew Larssen died. 18th—Lona Lends Hessen died. 22nd Bartholomew Clarrele died. 21st -On the wreck 80 days, 92 days from San Francisco; no rain; nothing to eat. September 29th—We are on the wreck 89 days. Four (4) dead. Please put this in the papers. Monday, October days on the wreck. All hands dead except captain, and one passenger Crane' Captain Hopkin reports a barque passed them sufficiently close for the survivois—then alive eight —to make out a lady on board with a red and white shawl. He made all the signs he could with pieces of canvas saved by all hands from the foretop, but she took no notice and squared away. After moving to the foretop they steered the ship with ropes while their strength lasted, and only came down on deck to catch fish that would be washed on deck. Crane, the passenger, lived un til 24 hours before the Moses Taylor sighted the brig. Capt. Hopkins kept life in himself by drinking his own urine, and had come down to the forecastle the day before he was taken off, for the purpose of fishing for some bluestone which be knew was there, to mix with the ink he had left, to make poison with which to take away his own life if possible; he found himself so weak, however, that he could not get back to the point where the remainder of the ivih was. The only water the crew could save was by spreading out pieces of sheepskin to collect the dew at night, and suck the wool every morning. When on board the Moses Taylor he would ask if he was really saved; he had dreamt so often of being taken off that he thought he was still dreaming. The bluestone and ink he had ready to +ake when he awoke from the sleep in which the men of the Moses Taylor found him.