ON A FLOATING WRECK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 59, 9 March 1877, Page 4

ON A FLOATING WRECK.

It is not often that a narrative of more varied suffering and incident has beea told thau the following, which was carefully token down as it fell from the lips of tha captain of the brig Loaisa, with now and then one of his Grew chiming in to supply some slight omission in the story. The brig Louise, of St. Kilda, sailed from La Have on the 20th of last month, hound to B?.rbadoes with a cargo of lumber. She had on board, the owner of the vessel, Gilbert SandersoD, and a passenger, John Wilson, besides the cop turn and a crew of eight men. Immediately after leaving port they met with a aeries of fierce westerly gales, which compelled them to take in all canvas spread, except what was absolutely necessary to keep steerage way. A high sen was running, which shook the heavily freighted vessel in every plank, send- . iDg her pitching aod rolling from one wave to another. On the second day out (he brig sprang a leak, and the water began to gain fast in the hold. Tbe pumps were manned, although the breakiDg seas sent tons of water cascading over the decks, sometimes Dearly wrenching the men from their hold. In one larch to seaward, an unusually heavy gust sent the ship over ,on her beam ends. Then the seas made a clean sweep over the decks, tearing away everything which was nofc securely fastened, and fairly burying the men who had set to work to cut the lanyards of the shronds which supported the foremast. By watching their time, however, holding on for their lives and hacking off the ropes with hatchets as the brig rose with the waves, they finally succeeded in severing tbe weather shrouds. Instantly the foremast went by the board snapping off short about fourteen feet from the deck and carrying with it the maiotopmast. When (bis heavy top hamper was gone the vessel rij/hted. The crew did not desist at the pumps, however, till. there were ten feet of water in the hold and j the cabin was filled to the level of the ! deck. The cabin, which was built partly above and partly below dc-ck, soon filled with a dead weight of water, which would be hurled with the force of a catapult against its sides whenever the brig surged lrom one wa.e to the other. No human handiwork could long stand such terrible blows, and the etern was soon beaten out till the waters within and the waves without met and mingled. Then the deck all began to be forced up by the waves, which would spurt through the chinks ia a long hissing line, loosening the plucks one after the other, and finally tearing them away with a soujrh Meanwhile the captain and the others on board had tuken refuge od the top of tbe forecastle or iorward store-room, and there had lashed themselves with lines attached to the stump of ihe foremuet. Then, with what patience and enduracee they could master, they looked down at the ruin beneath them, the breaking deck and the raging waters. The sea would now aud then break over them clao, drenching them to the bone and chilling them to the marrow, as the icy water dripped from (hair clothes while they stood in erampad positions, uncomfortably huddled together. That uight, just as the sun waa going down, n British barque was sighted « long way to leeward of them, but evidently beating up toward the brig. Before tbe darkness had finally closed about them, this unknown vessel had come within a quarter of a mile of the foundering chip, and every effort waa made to communicate with the stranger. A flag of disiress had been railed to (he must before the brig had reached its theu terrible condition, and it was thought by aJJ on board thpt the barque must have seen jt flying. Not coutent with this, however, an extraordinary signal light. wa9 manufactured by wrapping a woollen rag t~rn from Ibe jacktt of one of the sailors, >ibout a iong-liandleJ iron spoon, saturating it with kerosine oil, and then setting it ou fire. This torch, held aloft by a sturdy arm, and waved lo and /to in swaying circles, would bprn two or three minutes beiore it went out, It wus repeated by being reeoaked aud relighted, and for two long hours the pitiful taper, tbe love-star, however, of BO many anxious eyes, was waved iv vain ; ior the baique gave no answering' eigual of help or recognition, and held on her course apparently heedless of the loute b:U touching entreaty of the huplees group on the sinking brig, When day broke, however, not a truce of the unknown ship could be discerned, and although they kept up a miserable pretence of kope till ihe middle of tho day, it whs before loug changed to bitter daspair. Tho cuudiliou of these deserted men cjq bo hardly imagined. Bound to a sinking hulk, iv the miJst ot a boiling sea, wiih the wtuil shrieking in their ears like v pitiless futp, they stood prepared for the dealh which threatened raeh moment to engulf them. As the deck brvku uj», ho y» ever, a portion of the i trig niiieii remained oompuifuively uul j of ihe vsmier, was lightened apparently, , and the crew wore able to descend oue i or two at a time, into the flooded storeroom. They iound plenty of salted meat and bard bread, but, to jheir dianiuy, ouly about a peck of vegetables, catioiS and turnips principally, a:u! a can iiontaioiug ten quart Hot vvpteronly. They e&w, insiantly, that it would be accessary to bo very suviug of ihia ecanty allowance of treah water, and so doled it out tery apaiiogly to tho ekveu soula on board. They uid not dare to touch the Bui ted meat lor fear of escit4ng their thirst, unbearably, and so epp'-

tented themselves with a few bits of hard bread, and little pieces cut from the turnips. These last they would chew till the juice was pressed out, and then spit the dry fibres overboard. With all their precautions, however, the wafer was exhausted by the end of the third day from the time that they bad lashed themselveß to the mast. Fortunately they were able to get up a little fire in the galley and boil some salt water, which they utilised in the following manner: After the water had hoiled some time, the cover of the kettle was lifted off, and the condensed ateara allowed to form in drops upon its bottom. These drops were carefully collected, and the pitiful supply was furnished to each man at the rate of four table-spoonfuls a day — two in the morning and two at night. The gale had scarcely abated, and the waves still broke over them all through the four days that they remained apparently on the verge of death, and it wns with inexpressible relief that they caw a steamer heave in sight about six o'clock on the evening of the 27th, which proved to be the OJympia, of the Anchor line, running between Gibraltar and New York. This vessel had been driven about twenty miles out of her course by the gale, and waa just on the point of retracing, her course; which would have taken her away from the brig, when a faint light was sighted by the look-out, f»r to leeward. Captain Young, of the Olympia, instantly determined to put about his ship and run for the light, in the thought that it might have been set by some vessel in need of assistance. To this largehearted benevolenoe the party on board the brig consider, under Providence, that they owe their lives.. The eteamer.'s boat made three trips to the wreck to carry off tho men, and the captain, John J. BaiD, stayed by his vessel to the last. As the last boat-load left thebrig, she seemed to settle more deeply iv tbe water, and her single stick of a mast swayed sullenly with each vicious pluuge. Finally even this was lost sight of, and the hulk wbs shrouded in the gloom that for her was never lifted, for the captain is positive that ehe must have broken to pieces in the night which followed their escape. They had been rescued during a temporary lull, and the gale Eoon came on again with renewed fury.