A SHIPWRECKED CREW.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9150, 20 May 1908, Page 2

A SHIPWRECKED CREW.

BESOTTED BY H.M.S. PEGASUS. Ghr's h noli Miy 18 A~Tn: ; ; '• poru > -d an iuti-rview ' With J i- i.‘ of H.M.S. Pegasus, ■ • -uppim.! an account vl the «-r ■ »• • •: t •■nrship aud the rescue oi the shipwrecked crew. < The Pegasus sailed from Wellington on Wednesday, 6th inst., on a : cruise to the outlying islands. Pro- . ceeding under easy steam the cruiser ~ arrived at Port Hutt, Chatham •iTlslands, at noon on Saturday last, ' 9th inst., shortly before the steamer 'Ripple .left Waitangi for Lyttelton. There being no inhabitants at Port Hutt, the cruiser proceeded to Waitangi, where a mail was landed. At noon on Sunday last the Pegasus weighed anchor again, and shaped a course for the Bounty Islands. Strong south-west winds and heavy seas were encountered, but the warship went through without mishap, and reached the Bounty Islands at noon on Tuesday last. A cutter was sent ashore, but no signs of life were seen, and after a brief stay of three hours the cruiser started for the Antipodes. A short run of about 17 hours brought her iu sight of the islands, land being visible at 8.30 a.m. About 11.30 a.m., as the cruiser was rapidly approaching the island, those on board observed a thin column of white smoke rising from the high land. A few minutes later a number of men could be seen frantically waving hats and coats. The weather at the time was very ' bad, being bitterly cold, with heavy squalls of hail and rain from the southward. At 12.40 p.m. the • cruiser was under the lee of the island, and cast anchor iu seventeen fathoms of water. A cutter was Ir*,lowered, and Lieutenants Baker and r * * Bateman aud Dr. Lobb, with a num>r? her of bluejackets, pulled ashore. A landing was effected with some difficulty, and the party" were met by twenty-two weather-beaten castaways, the survivors of the ill-fated French four-masted barque President Felix Faure, Their story was soon told by one or two of the Frenchmen who were able to speak English. , Their vessel had been wrecked on fife 'south side of the island on March 13th; they had landed in a lifeboat, and had been living there for sixty days. They were very quiet and subdued, and made no demonstration of any sort when the cruiser’s party met them. Without loss of rime they were conveyed on board the cruiser, in two boat loads, and once on board were made comfortable by the ship’s company. Hot tea and plenty of good food was served out to them, and their somewhat scanty supply of clothing was added to by warm garments from the clothes chests of the Pegasus. At 4 o’clock the Pegasus hove up anchor and shaped a course for Lyttelton, dirty weather being met with on the run up. Very strong south-south-west winds aud high seas were experienced until the vessel neared Baubs’ Peninsula, about midday yesterday. Lieut. °Baber informed a reporter that the castaways, being too numerous for all to find accommodation in the provision depot, had built two other shelters. They utilised the boat’s oars and pieces of wreckage for frameworks, and had constructed the walls of peat, the ground in the neighbourhood being very' swampy. They supplemented the stock of provisions at the depot by catching |and killing penguins and albatrosses, but they had been living on very short rations during their sixty days’ sojourn on the island. On Good Friday they discovered aud killed a cow, which yielded a good supply of fresh meat. Lieutenant Baker stated that some years ago a bull and cow were placed on the Antipodes Islands and a calf was born. The parent animals died or were destroyed, aud the calf, which had fully grown, was the animal found by the castaways. Fortunately, they had matches with them when they left the wreck, and more were found at the depot. A fire was kept going, but in order to obtain wood for fuel, the men had to make long walks to other parts of the island. They showed considerable ingenuity in making a fish hook from a piece of wire and a number of knives from pieces of hoop-iron. A number of excellent spoons were also made by the men from cup-shaped shells, which were secured to wooden handles. Lieutenant Baker showed one of these spoons to a reporter, and it was certainly a very neatly made aud a very useful contrivance. According to Lieut. Baker no sheep were found on the island, but there was an abundance of pasturage for cattle and sheep, although the grass, which grows luxuriantly, was very long, and rather rank and coarse. The Antipodes Islands are bounded by very high steep cliffs on all sides, the depot anchorage on the north side of the. larger island, being the only practicable lauding. Sailing ships homeward bound round Gape Horn from Australia all pass the Antipodes or the other islands in the far southern seas, and it would be quite possible for ships to be driven in at the bases of the high cliffs of these islands, and disappear, Without leaving any traces of wreckage. Lieut. Baker mentioned that about 10.30 p.m. ou Wednesday night, only a few hours after leaving the Antipodes, the Pegasus passed a deeply laden four-masted Oarque heading to the eastward. The big sailing ship was evidently homeward bound, round Cape Horn. She was running under short canvas, before a heavy gale and a high sea, and was soon lost to sight.