SEA LION HUNTING AT THE MACQUARRIES.
fFrom the Otago Daily Times).
Captain Donald Sinclair, a gentleman well known to_most of our readers as commander of the steam-tugs Geelong and Koputai, and who has been for some time absent from Port Chalmers at the Macquarries Group in charge of a party of elephant hunters, has furnished our shipping reporter with the following details of his sojourn on the islands. And here we may remark that wo are deeply indebted to Captain Sinclair for furnishing the report, notwithstanding the fact that he has recently suffered a very heavy bereavement iu his family. He says;—“We left Port Chalmers in the schooner Friendship on October 11, 1877, and were landed at the Macquarries on the first of December following. Messrs. Cormack, Elder, and Company’s schooner Jessie Niccol reached us on January 26, 1878, bringing with her ten men, who completed my complement to 19 men, five of whom, however, left again by the Jessie Niccol, and including myself 14 persons were on the island. Prior to the schooner leaving a quantity of stores, together with some goats-and five donkeys, were landed ; the donkeys, however, proved a failure, as, owipg to the boggy nature of the soil they were unable to cross the dividing ranges; four of the poor beasts soon died, and tho fifth, named by the sailors Mr, Strode (in consequence of that gentleman having owned him), still survives, and I have left him with a pig and a goat on the islands. All went well for a considerable time, the men being employed in erecting huts and constructing a road from S.E. Harbor to W. Beach.. Hunting was vigorously carried on, and a quantity of oil was obtained. On April the 18th we had fully 15 tuns of oil, in addition to three or four tuns of blubber not yet tried out. This quantity was obtained from the stations at N.E. •and S.E. Harbors ; and on April 28th, while my crew were in the act of launching the whaleboat, I placed my rifle iu the stern sheets, when It suddenly exploded. The ball passed through my left hand, thence through one of the knee thwarts of tho boat (an inch in thickness), going through an outside plank half an inch thick, passing through the ' upper part of George Alson's overall trousers, striking William Merry on the left thigh," and finally struck on the right thigh, and although his trousers ou that leg were cut the skin was uninjured. Captain Sinclair, unprovided with any. appliances to staunch the wound in his left hand, was conveyed by his men to one of their but«, and for the next twelve days lay there iii intense agony, the only relief he obtained was by keeping a constant stream of cold water trickling on the hand. After lying there for twelve days, he was conveyed to N.E. Harbor, and reached his own hut on the 10th of May. Two-days later a heavy S.E. gale set in, attended by a very high sea. The men at once set to work and rolled back their oil as near as possible to tho high laud which abuts tho sea, where it was secured. As 8 p.m., however, the sea continued to increase and a terrific wave swept up to the base of the hill at the S.E. Harbor, washing away the huts and compelling the men to seek safety among the rocks. In its recoil the wave swept away all the oilj the result of many months’ arduous labor, and all the food with tho exception of the two casks of bread and a little oatmeal. The surf slill swept violently in and forced- the men to seek refuge in the face of the hills, while a violent snowstorm then raging added to their other discomforts. Towards midnight the gale had moderated, although there was still a heavy sea, and Captain Sinclair, who occupied a hut at North-East Harbor, then felt its effects. A heavy wave beat in the front of the hut, washed him out of his bunk, and carried all the stores away, leaving him only a small barrel of bread and another of oatmeal. He then proceeded to the men’s hut a little higher up the beach, and found it full of debris, while the man who had been sleeping there was washed out of his bunk. The moon was at its full aud shone bright and clear, which enabled Captain Sinclair to see that the cookhouse wasalaofullofwater. Hethenwentbackto his hut, and finding it was possible to save the raenV hut from total destruction, caused it to be boarded up ; at this time there was fully two feet of water in the hut. The men placed Captain Sinclair in an upper bunk and did the best in their power to alleviate his sufferings, which were naturally increased by the salt water and cold getting to the' wound. On August the 18th the gale moderated, and two men crossed the snowy ranges from S.E. harbor in order to report the disasters which had occurred. He at once ordered all but Jour to rejoin him, while the others remained at N.E. Harbor, at which spot they, had still some three or four tuna of oil left. As he did not expect the Jessie Niccol before the month of June, Captain Sinclair placed the men on a dietary scale (having already killed tho goats sent him by Mrs. Sinclair). The food for a long time consisted of oatmeal, sea-elephant flesh, and biscuits, together with a little weak coffee, the men being in capital health and spirits. As time rolled by, and the Jessie Niccol did not appear, the dietary scale was gradually reduced until it came down to three biscuits daily. This scanty food, however, was eked out by a plentiful supply of birds caught by a retriever dog, owned by Mr. C. de Longuevillo Graham \our shipping reporter), who had' sent the animal down to the islands., Of the comforts of lifo —such as tea, sugar, &c.—the men were of course deprived; but on the whole they fared as well as could bo expected, and when the Jessie Niccol made her second appearance they were all ready and willing to embark and return to Port Chalmers.
Captain Sinclair, during his sojourn on the islands, has carefully noted tho barometrical indications, winch he has kindly promised to supply us with at a future date.
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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5449, 13 September 1878, Page 5
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1,074SEA LION HUNTING AT THE MACQUARRIES. New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5449, 13 September 1878, Page 5
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