Grandfather’s Yarns

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 10, 9 June 1894, Page 5

Grandfather’s Yarns

“OLD JOCK’S” ADVENTURES. LEFT OX THE AUCKLANDS. WITH CAPT ANGLEM. TERRIBLE PRIVATIONS. _A BROKEN-HEARTED WIFE. (Contributed). No. ■&. J “ Old Jock used to tell ns that in 1.825 he sailed with Capt. Lovett, in <4he Sally, to seal at the Auckland Islands. One day when they were out they lost a boat’s crew. It seems that rounding a certain point there, there is a dangerous channel, and unless you get through with the tide it is all up with - you ; and when wind and tide meet there it is a terror.

“ This time they were all out —the •Sally had two boats’ crews. Capt. Jhovett went first with his boat, and -was carried through all right, but the next boat missed the tide, and not a feace of men or boat was ever seen

-again. 44 That season another sealer named .Jack Guard persuaded old Jock and a man named Bill Shaw to leave the Sally and join him ; which they did 'The Sally had to go back to TLbarl* 4b.en because she was too short-handed

to seal. Towards the end of the season Guard found a tremendous lot of seal. He ■couldn’t get them then, but detex’miued to come back there again next year. When ‘he made this find he -would not take old Jock and Shaw to Sydney with him, for fear they would sell the information to someone •else, and also he was a little afraid of getting into trouble with the owners of the Sally*. So Guard and another man got the two men ashore on some pretext or other and left them. .And tlxere they stayed several mortal months. Thei’e was nothing to eat Ibut seal—when they could get that—for Guard left them no provisions. Of course there were plenty of mutton ibirds but they did not know how to catch them. The place they were in was somewhere near Sarah’s Bosom. They had a fire, and they found a piece of iron on which they used to fry their seal, and one day they found -stn old quark pot. They only had one knife between them—it was a long knife used for skinning seal. You ■can imagine how* wearily the time would pass for the poor fellows, somefames starving, and nothing to do except get wood to keep up their fire. 44 Towards the end of their stay fhere Bill Shaw took very ill, and ■ Jock was most anxious about him. Ee used to go down to the beach and gather little fish about two inches lona-, and boil these, and give Shaw O “ " o the water to drink. Poor chap, it was the best he could do ! 44 One day when he was down on the rocks getting these fish what should he see but the jib-boom of a vessel coming round a point! He rushed up to the sick man and cried ——' 4 Oh ! my God! Bill Shaw, here’s a ship !’ With that, he said, Bill jumped up as if nothing were the matter with him, and ran down to the beach. 44 They watched and saw the ship drop anchor, and then they recognised it as the very ship which had left them there. Presently a boat was lowered and Guard and the other man who had put them ashore pulled towards them. 44 Then, Jock used to say, as soon as ire saw who they were, he sharpened Ms knife and said to Shaw — 4 If ever man was killed, I swear I’ll kill those two men the minute they land.’ But Bill Shaw dropped on bis knees, clasped bis hands, and begged am’l prayed of Jock not to do it. 4 If . do, Jock,’ be said, 4 tbe3 r ’ll bang sue for it as well as you.’ ‘ Jock always said though that if •jffiver man meant murder in his hearty ixe did that time, and he never gave

himself any credit for not committing it, always declaring it was only for Shaw’s sake. “ Jock sealed with Guard for sometime after that, and then went with him to Sydney. A few seasons afterwards he went sealing to Chatham Islands in a big .boat, with Captain Anglem. One afternoon towards dusk they saw a number of seals on a reef, and someone suggested that they should haul the boat up and stay there till morning... They did so ; but in the night a gale set in from the N.W., and their boat was smashed to pieces, only the bows remaining on the reef. The gale lasted for three days, and at high water they had to tie themselves to the reef to avoid being washed away. At low* water Captain Anglem used to read prayers, and Jock said he never felt like despairing till one day ‘ Black Bosun ’ (a Sydney black) said to him ‘ Oh, Jock, you pray for me, I can’t pray.’ He said then that he broke down and cried like a child.

It had been dreadful weather, but that day 4 Bosun’ declared it was breaking. Hone of the others could see that it was, though they tried very hard to think that they did—but at 12 o’clock sure enough it did clear ap, and at low water they stretched some of their skins which had been washed into the crevices of the i-ocks when the boat broke up, on what was left of their boat, and in safety they all reached a small island not fa,r off.

44 The first thing they saw oa land-, ing was a large seal. Bosun killed it and Jock was sent to skin it. One man had a- little dry powder, but it vvas very hard to get a light. Just as Jock was thinking of having a raw steak off the seal he heard the welcome news, 4 Bosun’s got a light.’

44 There wasn’t a stick of wood on the island.’ They had to keep up the fire with blubber, and after a while of course the stones got so hot that it was easy enough to cook. Captain Anglem went all over the island, which was very small, and counted the albatross, and they were put on an allowance of half an albatross a day. When they killed an occasional seal of course that was extra food. 41 There were nine of them altogether, I think, and three Maories among the number. They cut out a big hole in a bank of soft rock, and into this they plucked the feathers of the birds. I should think the hole resembled a baker’s oven more than anything else, but into this they all crept at night, like pigs into straw. Of course they had to keep warm, and that was the only way. They had very little clothing between them all. Captain Anglem often told me that in the mornings when he came out of this hole he literally had to scrape the vermin off himself. All the clothing he had was the lining of an old monkey jacket, and that was green baize. He often said that he must have been a picture. 44 Captain Anglem was very anxious to get back to the main island, as he had left his wife there, and so niter they had saved enough seal skins they again rigged the boat up, arid Captain Anglem said one night that if the next day were fine they would make an effort to reach the island, which was about 16 miles off. 44 But when the morning came, to their dismay they found that the boat was gone. The Maories, who had heard what the captain said, and fearful of being left behind, had gone off in the night with the boat, and they got safely to the main island. 44 Somehow it seemed to the poor fellows that their last hope was gone with their boat. But after some time, when some more skins had accumulated, Captain Anglem made them into a kind of canoe by stretching them on albatross bones. “Ob deal’ me ! ’Twas a thing beyond Description ! —Such a wretched wherry Perhaps ne’er ventured on a pond, Or crossed a ferry.” “ It was such an uncertain affair that none of the others would venture with him, so the captain went by himself, and he reached the island in safety. But, sad to say, when he got there he found that his wife was dead. The Chatham Islanders told

him that when s,he saw the pieces of the broken boat come floating in she gave up all hope ef ever seeing him again ; she neither ate nor drank afterwards, and in a day or two died of a broken heart. There was very little food there, so Captain Anglem went back to the others in his miserable skiff, much to- their joy and delight. ‘•They had'beeu on the.island about five months when one day ‘ Black Bosun ’ declared he saw a sail. .All the others looked, and for some time they could see nothing, but at last they saw a ship apparently making straight for them. Presently they saw two boats quite close to hand, coming straight to the island they were on ‘ Now,’ said Captain Anglem, ‘ we’ll have to plant, for if they see us they won’t land, for of course they will guess at our condition and think we’ll want to go in their ship.’ So they all hid themselves until the sailors landed, then they showed themselves and they presented such a spectacle that the sailors nearly fainted. Some of the men made different kinds of noises and nearly frightened the new-comers into fits, but Captain Anglem called out ‘ don’t be frightened, sailors, we’re Englishmen like you ai’e.’ In the scufiie and fright of the ‘strangers Jock rushed down to the water’s edge and jumped into the first mate’s boat.

“ I can’t take you, iny men,’ said the mate, ‘ we have two shipwrecked crews aboard now.’ Jock said ‘ Nothing but death will take me out of this boat. You can kill me if you like.’ The mate saw that they were in earnest, so he offered to take one man aboard the vessel to see what the captain would say. So Jock said, ‘ You go, Captain Anglem. If the man’s got a heart to soften,von can do it.’

“ The captain was very angry with the mate for not bringing them all, and sent back at once for them. When he saw them and what a pitiable condition they were in, he actually shed tears, and kept saying ‘ My poor men, my poor men !’ He ordered gruel to be made for them, but they did’nt wait for gruel,—they were too hungry for that, —but devoured biscuit and fat pork till they couldn't eat any more. They were given clothes and hot water, and everything that could be done for their comfort was done.

“ When Jock had washed and shaved, and put on a decent suit of clothes, he came upon deck. ‘ Bless my soul,’ said the captain, ‘ I thought you were a regular old man, and you're a quite young one !’ “ The captain and all his crew were Yankees. He took the castaways in his vessel, the Rob Roy, to Pegasus, where he landed them and gave them provisions. Jock used to declare he never saw a nicer and kinder old mru than that old captain. “ And now really, boys, I think you ought to be satisfied for to-night. I’m really too tired to tell you any more,” said grandfather. We all thanked him very much, Fred declaring that it was a grand yarn, and that Captain Amglem was a “ stunner.”