THE VOYAGE OF THE JOHN WESLEY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 36, 11 February 1880, Page 5

THE VOYAGE OF THE JOHN WESLEY.

[Auckland Star.]] Tbe following extract from a graphic description of tbe voyage of tbe John Wesley, written by the Rev <Gk Bi»bwn, who was on board, has been kindly placed at our disposal by Mr T. K. Wbite : — December Bth. Soon after 8 p.m. tbe barometer began to fall and the .gale increased into violence. At 9 .p.m. all sail was taken in, and a piece of canvas Was put up in the weather main rigging to keep her head to the wind, whioh was then blowing hard~from N. to N.N.E. The captain then' tri _d to get the royal yards' sent ddwn on deck, but no one could venture aloft to attempt to do so then. The tnain and after hatches were then battened down, and nothing more could jta done .then but to Wait and watch. How cai. I -now describe to you the ■soenea which followed? Ia the lulls 'beftVeeri the fierce gusts of the gale I could hear the teachers and their wires praying to God to have mercy upon us all. I know no words which oan adequately describe the noise of the wiod. It really shireked and howled as if mad with rage against us, and ever and again it seemed to throw itself against the good old ship 'with another savagely exultant burst oflfury, as of a demon exulting in the fulfillment of a long deferred but ever longed for vengeance. We have old aailorj. on board who were out in tbe Dan den on g gale, and' who' h.ve felt the jfrirde -M some of the severest oy clones In- India and. Chin^ and oiher parts of .be: worldj-wboaU declare that they never felt the wind to blow so hard, though they have known a much higher aea. We were expecting a (shift of wind, and Captain Matisellj was calling out continually, "Now then, now my lads, look out; stand by the starboard main braces; look out for al shift." The Captain, from the companion, was calling out "Starboard main braces, watch her now, watoh her," whilst tbe gale seemed to roar and mock at him and us all. T had just started to try and get janoth _f reading of the barometer, when; the 1 gale struck her again with fresh fury. We felt the vessel give, as* it were, a Budden leap from Under us, and every thing that was not lashed and secured broke adrift. I narrowly escaped being crushed by tbe harmonium as it gave a mad leap right out of the cleetß which had held it co long, and was pitched against tbe side of my cabin, which it stove in. Tbe bags, and the ballast ail shifted to leeward, and the poor Wesley was forced down underwater, and lay stricken and trembling there whilst the watars rushed aboard as with a shout of victory to take possession of the prise. We all felt her gradually settling down, and I climbed up the companion stairs, prefering to struggle and die in the open air ratber tbau in the cabin. The wbole of the poop deck on the port side up to the skylight ani companion was under water, brightly phosphorescent in the thick darkness, and foaming and hissing under the fury of the gale, whilst all the forepart aod main deck of the ship on the same side was buried under the sea. No one could stand or face the storm, and we all thought and felt the end was come. And now you could he.r Captain Mansell, almost hoarse from excitement and shouting, calling out— cut away ! cut away! cut for your lives ! Then again — Steward I. Mr Brown! anybody ! : ;get the new to'mohawks oufc pt the Jstb.., tomahawk. ! tomahawks Jjgetjthe tomahawks ! ■ Just" at i the Ta§t" moment the lanyards Were cut 'through, 'and thiB 1 mainmast, unsupported by the _ .ays and ■shrouds, went crdsbiihg over the side, and soon after the foremast also succumbed and followed. This relieved theship somewhat, but' th'e'ra -Was ndw: a new. danger, that of the wreckage 1 alongside, as some of the masts orspars might knock a hole intbeship's bottom, and there was, a fresh outcry for tomahawks. Fortunately, everything w;hich : kept the spars and yards alongside was cut away, and then they were all ■ seht adrift. This was about 11 p.m. As soon as this weight was away the ship righted a good deal, but so much of the cargo and ballast had shifted that she still lay very much on her side. After the wreckage was sent adrift, •____ the 'tween decks cargo was shifted to wind-

ward, there was nothing else to do! but to wait for daylight, leaving the jpoor old storm stricken brig to be buffeted about by wind and wave, as she' was quite unmanageable. Tuesday, December 9th. Barometer 29 _M). At daylight I weut on -iieck, and, oh ! what a sad sight ifc was to see our beautiful vessel in such a Btate ! Stripped of masts, spars, and rigging. The new whaleboafcj had] been sjwept away, and the davits also had been torn from the side. The longboat was washed away from her position on the main hatch, but, fortunately, was but little injured. The deck was strewn with broken hoards, pieces of the bulwarks, hen coops, &c. Away forward the jibboom was carried away, but was still floating alongside, attached to the ship by the guys and stays. A j torn and (tattered sail was dipping in the water from the end of the bowsprit, whilst ropes and chains were hanging ' downjjover the bows dipping in ?very sea, the whole a very picture of Wreck and ruin. The most serious matter here, however, was the windlass, Which was totally wrecked, one of the large bits. having been torn away, I suppose by the mainstay when the mainmast went. The remainder of the diary describes how the vessel"righted, and temporary, masts were rigged, under which the John Wesley reached Sydney.