GALLANT CONDUCT OF THE COAST GUARD AND FISHERMEN.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 4, Issue 66, 3 July 1851, Page 3

GALLANT CONDUCT OF THE COAST GUARD AND FISHERMEN.

Early on Saturday morning, the llth January, the brig New Commercial, of Whitby, 250 tons burden. Sanderson master, bound from Liverpool to the Spanish maia, in a thick (oi anil strong ea'e from the S.S.W., struck upon a ledge of picks 1)" twecn the Grcit mid Litilc I'iissoii, two high nicks rising between 00 ami 70 bet nlmv.- nigh water inaik, about < ne mile off llie bluff headland «f Cnpe Cornwall, ni.d four miles niirthwnrd fiom the Lard's Knd nf Kiiglaud. Tlie sea running very h : gh, llie vessel immediately went to pices, and the crew—nine men—with one woman, llie wi'b of tlie mister uot on the ledge. They wire discovered liom the shoic ns soon ns d«v broke, but no as-istaiuo could (lien be possibly rendered. in ibis perilous condition the poor creatines remained iinlil about 9 o'c|o< k.when they w. re Ml wiisheil oft* together, by one tremendous wave and hurled into the boiling deep. S vc-n out of ilie ten sink at once into a watery grave. Of the remaining three, one, a niuhtito, connived 10 net on n portion of the floating wreck, and aber having been beaten about for s.ime hours m imminent peril of being every instant swallowed up by the breakers, be managed, whh a rennrkable coolness- ami presence ol mind, by means of a plunk which lie u«ed as a piddle, and a piece of canvas which served him as n sail, with the assistance of Ihc.troiig tides lo keep clear olMie broken waters. UhiU iliU | fellow was stru.iutr.ig lor life with all iliu r-sources which iuitciiuitv could bii.jg-st to hun, amid l| ie anxious ex-pi-ctaiion.4 of the people who ujluessid his attempt from the sbor.", whose lofty clifls we e now crowded by upwards of two thousand spectators, five fishermen In-longing to Sl-h----ncii.a small fishing cove close to the Lanu's Knd, niter much debut.* among cleu-rmiiifd, with that bold and r.-solue anirit for which tbese ii-ca arc distinguished, to launch ibeir boat (the Grace - ) through the breakiis, in which ibey happily .succeeded, ii.til eventually, alter encountering gieit diflieufry and risk", they rescued the poor mulatto bis perilous situnlion. \ )i<; other two, the master and Ins wile, when they were carried oil' the ledge, were washed upon the Little Jiiisson Kock, wliiuli rises in a peaked head, and is the resort of numerous sen lowl. The master fir.-t gained a footiuis ■'l'"" t»« rock, and ui on looking amiind h"n saw his wife struggling in the wives, hut sufficiently rear to enable him to stretch out his bind and pull her in. While the SiMinen fishermen were occupied in resc„in.r the mulatto, li-<r Majesty's revenue cutter H-lvii, comiiiHiiiled by Mr. Forward, was seen gdl mtly woikiug roui.d the Land's l-l,<l having bee.i ordered to the spot by

C;.. ( .t. Davies, I! N., the l:.t- (iiiiU'iil insi'ccliii.'t-iMiniti.iuitcr of the co s'-j.uinl of this dis.iiet. C.plain I)ivies hmis.-'ll' mid several nf his officers look up their stations npnn the lefty promontory of Cape Cornwall, oi'i Honking the Hiissons. On reaching tint point Mr. Forward launched Hs bo.it aid a"tempted, niih a crew t.f I'm'- men, to g-t mar i in- r c!.-; 1.-it ihi !:f.' iv.p' wis f ii'llcS', aul it ■■iisinlv nii|i ;;■ -»- ,ii';'ii ul'y tl.it lie reg..iin'.l tlie i ii.ti i, to tin.- Hi.iU niiul ol Cijit. I).ivies mid llii! numerous spectators upon the dill's, who n juiced to pi-ic ive ilia' sticctss <iid Lot attend lu's d.iia:; exploit, still lu> him-eil ami his gallant crtw at le.isi were sili'. It was nnvf growing late, ami nothing more could he micmpteil in the way ol rescue for the (lav, so Mr. Forward hoisted his colours ami hove to his craft, to encourage the pcor siill'ereis, wlio were now to be li-fi to spend the w retched night without food or shelter, cxposid lu the winds and rain, upon this desolate reck amid the wide waste of ua'crs, and to assnie t'iciii that they had sti 1 a friend who. with God's blessing, would stand by a.ul not forsake tliem. (In Sunday morning the wind happily drew j a little to the souih-east, which caused the sea j to aha c; all hands were immediately on the i nleri, nii'l if great excitement pre'ailed among the people ahmg the coas*, on Saturday i' w.is imt at all lessened on this day. llnndicds h' gaii to assemble as snun us it was light, and the number greatly increased as the day woie on. Toward; the middle of the dly the sun slioni! out, and, by lighting up the magnificent scueiy of the coast all round, added gre.iily to the fovnish interest of the sctM.e. At one o'clock fmir boats were sren nppi'iaehinjx from the Kennen due, tliree manned by fisliermea and one liv the coastguard ; at the s.mie lime Captain Dnvh-s arrived, having cmbnikc I in a preventive boat at it small cove named Pendi en, about three miles i\.i''. ol the spot, with lour preven'ivc men ami one miner, taking lotkets with him. The euttei's boat also was ni.tiiiie.i by Mr. Forward, so that six bo.its weie sp edily on the spot. Isy lliis time the scene ha.l become one of the most exciting description, ami the ciowds of pc»ple upon ihoc lill's could not have uumhercd less than 5,003 or G. 00 0; and, n» each boat nrri»ed nt the spot, the cheers of this vast miiltitiid", awakening all tin; echoes id" this- cavernous coail, added nut a little to the excitement. I he sea •■till ran so high that no bom could venture wiOiin 100 yards of 'he M'ck. The j rockets which Captain Davies had uki-ii with I him in the pn Willi' " •.. -ever been, tried lit re before, even from tin-- sV. .e, and we i believe never cl-atwhi re from a hu.it. liy llie. piiulid ins:ructions the pcraon firing shon'd i be at least fifty feet in the rear to be free fioiii j daog r. I One of tlie men, a gunner, volunteered to > fire them, although lie had never sen one used before; but captain Davies, with ia j.-cn-croii.s and disinterested cuisidtriiion, would not sillier anv "f liia crew to incur a lisk which he himself did not share ; and liav- j iiijf placid his crew in one of tlie Pennen | boats, he remained alone, and with his own j hand discharged the rocket. lie wis enve-i loped lor an inMant in a sheet of finite In.m J llie back lire. Happily, however, he sustained no injury, but unfortunately the line which reached the rock fell upon a .-harp hdg •, which cut the rone so that the end of il slip- ;

|:e«l off imo the sea. Il i> impossible to ill s- ribi; the itisnppoint-nici-.t experienced by II'C people upon tile chils ni.il in ilie boats at this iii;favaur.ib!a riMilt (if such ;i dm in:; experiment. A fit r a shoit delay, however, anullier rocket WiiS pivpiiri <l| which Cuptiiu IX.vies rgain | himself discharged, arid this time the cord fell on the rick close by the man to the gr'at joy and delight of the assembled multitude, ivfuse miiid.i had I ceil so long oscillati ijr between hope and fear. As the cord fell on the link the woman was observed to inisi: her clasped haad-s in apparmt thankfulness. At this cri icul moment tin; sua, which hid again hidden himself behind the damp daik eion Is, shone forth once more with im reused Lwillianoy, ami whilst il seemed to sp.s.k hope to the bo-oms of the nnx'otis s|ic':ta-ois, tho man on the rock was seen to taste:i the line mound the waist of his wife, and to her to take the f'er.iful leap, whilst sh« lingered and ht'sittted to jump into the foaming waters. After some little time, however, his persuasions prevailed. They took an iifß'ctiiijt have of each other, and, amid the breathless exp> ctalion of ad, she made the nwfui pinnae loi lift; or deatli Irom a height ol a'jout twelve feel. Ar this moment throe immense waves broke in raj id Micceisioiij'p'crilliiig the safety of nil, For n lime, indeed, ilie boats were en ir?ly hidden from the view of the spectator'', and the loud ciy broke forth froai thousand's ol voice?, "Tiny are cone!" The fcni-les in paiti ular among the croud were sohnnorNtrirkrn that they actually turned away tin-it bends Irom the fearful six-etude belore th n;, and shiieked n'outl. Hut scon ajjain the boats were sicn above

U„.'s«elliiiL' naves, and tde lofty cliff* once more mi>s " with nppioving clucrs. Ihe cord was drawn wiih great judgment, «•»» :l,t, ' r about three minutes llio poor woman was taken into one of .he boats; hut the blows from .he wave* "ere more lh.ui her Ml. .listed frame could hear. No altent.on that could he show,, her was spared. The men took off their own clothe* t» cover her, and used every Hlort to restore. I.er. She breathed j but hy the lime the boat r. ached the cove life had (led Alter the master had persuaded In* will- to have him he listened the cord around j.is own waist, and was drawn, i-really exhausted into one of Hie other boats. We arc olten doomed to witness IVa.ful .shipwrecks on this expos, d coast; hut no disislcr cf the kiml lias excited such intense interest or sympathy in the neighbourhood ns the one we have now been relating (or a lon- time. The peculiarly Irvine situation of the surviving sunders themselves, ntidlho hold attempts male for llit-ir rescue, have thrown an interest armini tlte Urinous which will not soon die away. Captain Davics had heel, promoted to the rnnkorpo»l...ipt..in only a Uw days helore this shipwreck lock p'acc. H« "as s,e " ■' "real deal of scrtice, and iiianiles'ed t.o ordinary zeal on seveial occasions during tintime he has held the appoinin.ent of inspecting commander hc.c lie has also received six medals from the Kovnl Humane Society and Shipwrecked Maimer's S.i.hty lor services ol 0 siinilur kind performed elsewhere. As to Mr.l'orward, whose conduct is spoken ofbv his commander as beyond a" praise, soncihin'* might and ought to he done for Inn. bv the Service, as well .5 the intrepid crew who shard the danger; mid there exists a strong feeling here that the parties, more especially the nMi.rmen who .iskvd the., proncrty as well as .heir lives on this intensely interesting occasion, should not be allowed to go unrewarded. . , It is impossible m speak too highly of he conduct of tho.c who weie employed on this occasion. All who uilnessed it naree in tiecla.ing ll.n a more gallant, humane, and praiseworthv act Ikh -seldom been recorded. And every'pe.son win. has the slightest acquaintance with thebn'd character of this coast nnd the terrific seas which prevail here ut this stormy reason, must be well aware that such an attempt required no common courage, ami f..rni.licu no ordinaly proof that true courage and genuine, humanity are always found in tnc same bosom.—H'ftW// Times. ■