THE WAIFS of the LA PLATA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 69, 20 March 1875, Page 2

THE WAIFS of the LA PLATA.

[concluded trom ova iastJ Luncheon finished we drew up to the fire, and over the pipes the yarn was taken up again by Lamont — f< Well, abont this schooner which we saw on the Sunday afternoon. She was too far from ua, and there was too much sea on for her to see us. We did try to signal her. We put this coat that I've on upon one of the sculls, and waved it over our heads, but she did not heed us. When this chance was over we shifted our position, and sat in the centre of one of tbe air tubes — the cigars, you may call them — close to one another. This brought it down, and we were up to our waists in water, and uncommon cold waterlt was. It was a very dark night. The moon got up at eleven, and the sea was fearfully high, and washed over us always. But we didn't feel it that night.'-' " No, not like on the other nights, mate," remarked Hooper. " Never winked au eyelid this first night. We were looking out hard for vessels, with my head over Hooper's shoulders, and my arms round his shoulderß, and my ccat over us all. No; we didn't talk much. Chiefly hoped about vessels being in sight next day." "No, but we thought a deal — at least I did," said Hooper. " The seas made a clean breaoh over us. They would break on the raft, and then up they'd go, and come Blapping clean over us. We were drifting about two miles an hour. Yes, we knew which way we were going by the way the wind was blowing — to the easterly direction at first. No rain, but an overcast night. This was the Sunday night. On Monday we saw some steam ships and sailing vessels, but all too far off, and it was not worth while to try to signal them. Some were hull down, and of the steamers only the smoke was visible. Did we feel hunger or thirst? No, but we felt our limbs slowly becoming numbed." "Yes mate; I felt as if I were dying by inches, from the waist down," interpolated Hooper. The salt water had clotted the blood over the wound on Hooper's head. "In fact," said he, " I didn't know it was there till next day. We sat silent ior hours, straining our eyes and prayiog aloud." Lamont — "No, mate; it was Tuesday we took to the praying in earnest." Hooper — " Ah, so it was; we took a BtifT spell at it then, nnd no mistake."

"No incident worth talking of on the Monday, only that wo lost our two paddles. That was on Monday night. We had put them under our legs, and fallen ofl dozing, and the sea washed

(For continuation see fourth page.)

them right away. The wind bad been going down all day on the Monday, and continued to fall on the night between Monday and, Tuesday, but the sea was still very heavy. We did very little real sleeping. We would doze off and have them dreams I told you about; but we had no regular sound sleep. We'd nod for a few minutes, but we always knew we were on the raft, after a fashion." "Aye, and I was getting more and more inches of me dead," interpolated Hooper. " Just at daybreak on the Tuesday morning, I took a long steady sweep of the horizon with my eyes as my chum was dozing. There was nothing to h? seen; and yes, well, I did begin to despair then. Just as my heart was going down — tbe wind was dying away fast like my heart— Hooper woke up, and looking out to windward gave a great shout, * My Godl there's a vessel coming down upon us!" I gave a gasp when I saw that what he said was true. Sure enough there was a threemasted schooner, American built, standing directly down on us with a three-knot breeze. As she came within half a mile of us the wind perished altogether, and it fell dead calm. There she stopped for over an hour," "More," said Hooper; " well on to two hours, so near as I could guess without the aid of a chronometer." This with a dry grin, for Hooper has a droll humor of his own. "We could see everything that was going on on board. We could see the cook going icto the galley, and the movements of the men at the wheel, putting the wheel up and down, and the hands setting the square foresail; our hearts were in our mouths. We couldn't stand up, but we hoisted the coat on a piece of broken board, shouted with all our mights till we were hoarse — aye, till they were well nigh out of sight. They took no notice of us. Well, I would not like to cay for certain that they saw us. Surely to God, no men, if they had seen us, would have left fellow-mortals in such a plight! But it is a puzzle to me where their eyes were that they did not ccc us. As the breeze sprang up she bore away and gradually went out of sight. This left us in despair. Hooper said to me, " We're drifting away towards the Bay of Biscay, and getting out of the track of ships.' The wind wag coming from the northward to the eastward, and the schooner stood away from the northward to the westward; and we were drifting to the southward and eastward. Hooper wouldn't give up like me, He kept a stiff upper lip mostly, but there were times that he broke down altogether. He was more sanguine than I was. He said he thought there were vessels all over. I knew that we were getlicg out of the track of vessels. "Then we took to praying very heavy — yes, we prayed aloud, time about ; I reckon it was a little wild at times — this praying ; but we always knew what we were about. It was then we made the [compact thai; the survivor should visit the friends of the one that Bhould go. Hcoper was talking much about his little girl in Exeter. We saw nothing more on that day (Tuesday). The sea and wind were gradually increasing, and we drifting, about a knot and a half an hour, into the Bay. The night fell ; we were prelty nearly half dead by this time." Hooper — "Yes, you may cay we were gradually getting iDto a state of coma. I had no life in me below the waist." Lamont— "We cuddled each other for the sake of heat as on the Monday night. About four in the morning Hooper, turning his head round, saw a schooner bearing right down for us from the northward within a few hundred yards. He said to me, " Good God, boatswain, here's a vessel alongside of us 1" ' Yes it was past shouting, nigh hand, by this time ; we were too weak to make much of a noiee. I turned round, "and saw he was right, and 'we both of us set up a cry of distress." Hooper {sotto voce, as be sat on the sofa rubbing his bare feet and legsj—"lt was a cry too — a cry of despair." Lamont continued — "The schooner heard us. No, there came no cry back; but we heard them jabbering away to each other in a foreign lingo, and she rounded to, waiting to see whether we should come to them. Of course we couldn't — we bad now power of direction. She waited so about ten minutes*, and all this time we were drifting to leeward. When they found that we didn't reach them they kept her up to tho wind again, acd off she went. Then our hearts turned to lumps of lead; we thought all hope was over, for it seemed as if she, too, were going to leave us. But all of a sudden she hoisted an extra light, tacked, and came back. She was too far windward, and we were too far to leeward, for her to hear our cries, but we kept the lights in sight till daylight." Hooper — "Yes boatswain, you kept the lookout for them ; I didn't care to ; I didn't want to build up my hopes too high, for to have them broke down again. The boatswain kept on calling, 'Here she is!' and then again, 'No, I've lost her,' till I begged him for the love of God to hold his tongue." Lamont — "When daylight came we lost sight of her altogether, and then we gave np for good. We shock hands in onr despair, and, get! ing thirsty with anxiety, began to chew tho medal, as I have told you. All of a sudden the quartermaster turned round, and cried, * Oh ! boatswain, here cornea the schooner again.' I turned round aud saw her too j I took

my coat and waved it, and a piece of the damaged framework of fho air-raff. There were hands in the tchoouer's rigging looking out for us. She boro right down on us— for evidently they had sighted us -— and came within between one and two hundred yards of us, and then rounded to tbe wind a little. The sea was running very high, and the breeze was very stroug. When Bhe got abreast of us they beckoned to us, and sho passed us ; and I said to Hooper, ' I expect they want us to swim to her.' Hooper replied, 'I never can swim to her.' I said, • When &he comes back I will try it, and, if I'm lost, they will try some other means to save you ; and you know what to do when you get home.' Meantime tho schooner had tacked, and was coming back towards us. When she was within about 200 yards of us I shook hands with Hooper, and we each said, 'Good-bye; God bless you ;' and I took the life-buoy which*" we had kept all along, put it round me, and jumped from the raft. I swam to the schooner. It was hard buffeting, for I was cramped up, and had no feeling in my legs ; yet they said I seemed to swim very well. God alone knows how I swam at all. It seemed an hour's work till I got alongside. They threw me one line which I missed ; then two more, oue of which I got hold of. Finding I had no strength to bold on by my handß, I took a turn of the rope round ray wrists, and held on the best way I could ; and so I was dragged up alongside, the captain leaving the tiller, catching hold of me by the back of the neck, and hauling me on board out of the water. Tou see sho was only a little way out of the water. Ho could lean over easily. The captain went back to the helm, and I tried to follow him, but I fell down ou the deck almost insensible and quite helpless. I remember thanking God and tho captain, and praying the Dutchman not leave ray poor mate on the raft. I was then carried down by two of the crew into the fo'k'sle, where there was a good fire, and told me they would let me know when my mate was got on board. The schooner was the Wei helm Benklezoon, Captain Dorp, bound from Rotterdam to Valencia for fruit. Now, Hooper, you tell your deliverance." Hooper — " My story is soon finished. When Lamont had left I was alone on the raft, and did not think I had strength to swim to tbe schooner, which tacked closer — within about 30 yards — to give me tbo bettor chance. But I thought I might as well dio swimming for life as sitting in the water on tbe raff. So I made au effort, and succeeded in getting under the schooner's bow. I caught the first rope that was thrown to me, but when it tautened my hands were too much numbed to hang on to it; so I catched a turn of it round my neck, and held on to it with my teeth. As she was a small vessel, when she rolled, some one leaned over and caught me and I was pulled on board. Directly I put my foot on deck I went for to kneel down to give thanks to God, but I tumbled all of a heap, and lay {here all but senseless. I can just remember them carrying me down into the lo'k'sle, and seeing Lamont there." Lamont continued — "When both of us were io the fo'k'sle and had shaken hands over our wonderful deliverance, the captain brought dry clothing, gin — a little drop— and a small piece of bread, of which he gave us a little allowance. After we had taken this we changed our clothes; and two of the Dutchmen gave us up their bunks, telling us that we were to consider them ours na loug as we wore on board. The greatest kindness and attention were shown to us all along. We turned in and had n sleep — the last sleep, I may say, without pain, for when we awoke our limbs were swollen tremendous and ached awfully, as did tho upper part of our bodies. When we awoke the Dutch skipper gave ua a cup of coffee and another email piece of bread, and then the pains commenced." Hooper (with a groan) — "Oh, Lord! didn't they just ! " Lamont — " Next day wo took kindly to sleep, and the day after we began to get our appetite again. But we were unable to walk about while we were on board, the Dutchman, and we had to be carried into hospital nt Gibraltar; our legs swelled the size of pillar letter boxes. The Dutch captain had service on board every morning and evening, and prayed for us earnestly. We would like to return our thanks to the friends who were kind to us in Gibraltar — Mr de Souty, President of the Eastern Telegraph Company; Mr Ware, chief of the hospital; Dr. Trennier, and other good friends; and also to the captain, officers, and crew of the Cathay, where we were right well treated. I should tell you before I finished how we were dressed in this cruise of ours on the raff. I wore tho clothes you see me in now, for I had gone below an hour before the ship went down, and put off my working suit, which had got, drenched. I believe this coat saved both our lives, as I held it over our heads. I must tell you that I was barefoot. Hooper had stripped to swim; he had kicked off hia sea-boots when he left the wheelhouse, and was in his stocking- feet. All he had on was a ehirt, drawers, trowsere, and ciuglet — no coat." When train time came, we moved them carefully into the station, and found tbat Mr Dyson, of (he South Western Railway, had made tho most considerate arrangements towards the comfort of their journey to London. But long before they got there, the

sitting posture and inability to move about had brought back their agony with terrible force, aud the spectacle was extremely painful. Poor Hooper's legs are discolored with the congealed blood which gathered during his immersion. It will bo months before either of tho two is able to do anything for his living.