BURNING OF THE ST. RAPHAEL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4787, 26 July 1876, Page 3

BURNING OF THE ST. RAPHAEL.

The Sydney Morning Herald of the 20th inst. publishes the following extract from a letter from a lady passenger by the ship Yorkshire, from Melbourne, bound to London, respecting the saving of the crew of the ship St. Raphael, burnt at sea:—“And now I am going to tell you the sad story of the shipwrecked crew that we were fortunate enough to pick up and save on the Ist January, when we rounded the Horn. Their ship, the San Raphael, was burnt at sea, and when we found them it was twenty-seven days since they had left her. Early in the morning the captain of the Yorkshire was signalling the John Duthie, when he noticed something on the horizon. On taking the glass he saw at once that it was a boat ; so we began to heave-to. The John Duthie began to do the same, but when they saw we were doing it they sailed on. Whether they saw the boat of course we do not know, but at all events they might have waited to soe what was the matter or if they could lend any assistance. I then heard there was a boat coming to the ship, and, standing nt the cuddy door, saw the men being helped over the main deck. They looked fearful, such poor wretched creatures, their arms all covered with frost-boils, their teeth chattering, and shaking all over as if they had the ague. There were six sailors and the first mate, Mr. Kilgour. Just as they came on board we heard a second boat was coming to us, with five men in her. They were got on board safely. The men were so weak that they fell back into the boat as they were trying to get on the ship. Their feet were all frost-bitten. One poor fellow’s sufferings were dreadfui The doctor had to amputate both his great toes. He was ill for a long time, but you now see him shuffling along the deck. They suffered very much when circulation was returning. It was one of the saddest sights I ever saw. The poor fellows wept like children directly they came on board, and ‘ God bless you all’ was their first exclamation. They all lived, and are now in a fair way to recovery, but the doctor says they all will be rheumatic. They say their feet feel quite dead, and it is now two months since they were picked up. It was 27 days since they had abandoned their ship. She was a larger one than ours, bound for Valparaiso with a cargo of coal. They had most tempestuous weather, and, of course, they had to round the Horn, where the winds are nearly always contrary. So they had been out a good deal over 100 days. The vessel took fire when they were near the Horn ; spontaneous combustion. The hatches blew up. They discovered the fire three days before they left the ship, and made all necessary arrangements. The captain and his wife were in the longboat with his officers, and they had all the provisions, charts, and compasses put in her, intending all to keep together. But the captain, who used to drink, became so disagreeable that the first and second mates, who each had charge of the other boats, agreed to part from him. He then gave them as much provisions as he deemed sufficient, but keeping the lion’s share for himself. They had only enough to allow each man 2ozs. of preserved meat a day. They landed on some of those rooks off the Horn, and agreed that when on land they would touch none of the provisions, but keep themselves alive on what they could get ashore. The only thing, they could get was mussels, but they had plenty of fresh water and plenty of boxes of matches ; but with the fearful cold their feet were iu such a state that they could hardly crawl on the rooks, so those who were not so bad gathered for the rest. But you may .fancy the amount of mussels it would take to make sufficient food for a meal. They used to cruise about, and had hoisted a red shirt for a sail. They saw several ships, but were not seen. They had been back to the island twice, and when we took them up had been cruising about two days. Mr. Kilgour told us it was as much as he could do to get the men into the boats again. They did not seem to care for life. They had almost given up hope when we saw them. Of course, we do not know whether the longboat has been picked up. They had determined not to put back upon the island again, - and that if they saw one boat in danger to turn their backs, as neither of the boats were big enough to take them all. They showed Spartan courage about refraining from the food when they were almost starving. They had sufficient left when we took them on board to have lasted them three days longer. Just think what it must have been to be twenty-seven days out off Cape Horn in those fearful waves (it blow a hurricane for seven days, when they were obliged to remain on the land) ; the careful rowing it required—for if they had once let a wave get over the boat they would have gone over in a second. When they came alongside, both the boats were half full of water; they had both been hurt in lowering over the aides of the San Raphael. The day after they were rescued there was a dreadful storm and sea, in which neither of the boats could have lived, so they had a most marvellous escape from a watery grave.”,