FOUNDERING OF AN AUSTRALIAN YACHT. Ghastly Cannibalism of the Survivors.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 73, 25 October 1884, Page 6

FOUNDERING OF AN AUSTRALIAN YACHT. Ghastly Cannibalism of the Survivors.

An Appalling Tale. The great Australian and Kew Zealand liners have, as a rule, voyaged backwards and forwards safely and swiftly during the present year. Up to Saturday last we had had few wrecks to report, and no real catas trophes. Then, alas ! came the news of the loss of the Lastingham, with a lengthy list of missing passengers. Many an old colonist sighed as he imagined the terrible scenes that must have been enacted the previous day in Cook's Strait. Monday morning, however, brought with it a tale of the sea infinitely more appalling, and in this case, too, the lost vessel was bound for the Australias. The Mignonette was not ft great steamer or sailing ship, but a little cutter of only 33 tons register, built many years ago at Brightlingsea, but of the old substantial cruising type. She had been purchased to go to Sydney as a yacht for Mr Henry J. Want, and only put to sea, from Southhamptononthe 19th May manned by Thomas Dudley as Captain, Stephens as mate, Brooks as seaman, and a Southampton boy, 17 years of age, named Parker. Such a craft would, of course, be very small to make so longfa voyage, and was certainly not overmanned, for it ieft with four hands all told. Yachts much smaller than the Mignonette, however, have before now successfully made a good passage to Australia, and the accounts lately published of the cruise of the Falcon, a cutter inferior to her in size, and handled by amateurs, proves how safely these little vessels may be navigated. The crow of the Mignonette certainly felt but little apprehension, and down to Madeira her outward voyage was prosperous enough. Favourable breezes wafted the Mignonette to that island, where she filled up with water, fuel, nnd provisions, and proceeded on her voyage. The Line was safely crossed on June 17, but from this date trouble commenced.

The Yaoht Founders, Dirty weather began on the 18tb, when they took down the topmast, the wind blowing hard from S. S. E. By the 20th the

woather had become very heavy. A strong beam sea was running, with the wind blowing hard. They were obliged then to take in a double reef in the mainsail and foresail, and to shift jibs. The wind changed round to tiie N.W. from the 25th until Monday, the 30th, when it went Buddenly back again, and blew a gale, which departed as suddenly as it came, for on 2nd July they were becalmed. By the 3rd they were once again before a storm. In the afternoon they had to reef the mainsail and squaredail, and the captain made up his mind toheavo-to and wait for better weather About 4 o'clock he called the watch, and had tho squaresail in. Stephens (the mate) was then steering. Captain Dudley heard Stephens cry, " Look out !" and on looking under tho boom he saw a great sea coming on him. lie clung to the boom until the sea had swept past. On turning round he saw all the lee bulwarks aft were gone. Stephens cried out, "My God ! her side is knocked in !" And puch was really the case, for on looking over he saw her butt ends open.

The Crow Take to the Boat. Captain Dudley realised in an instant that the yacht must founder speedily, and it wae, therefore, their first object to get the boat out. The punt or dingy, which is 13 feet long and made of mahogany* was with great difficulty got out. Dudley told Parker to pass up a breaker of fresh water, which the boy did, witching it over in the hope of picking it up again. The captain tore the binnacle compass from the deck and got it into the boat. Stephens, Brooks, and Parker having taken their places in the boat, Captain Dudley dropped them astern. Recollecting there was no food in the boat^ the captain rushed to the cabin, which was full of water. Seizing the chronometer and sextant, he threw them on deck. Those in the boat were then shouting to him that the yacht was sinking. He grasped some tins of what he supposod was preserved meat, and rushing on deck tumbled over into the boat, all but two of the tins slipping from his grasp. They just managed to row the little punt a length astern when the yacht went down, only about five minutes having: elapsed from the time she was struck until she finally disappeared. They searched for the breaker ol water, but it was not to be found, though its stand was floating about ; with this and the binnacle and bottom boards they constructed a sea anchor. Their fragile boat was taking in water faster than they conld bale it out. They found tho leak, filled it up, and managed to bale her out with one baler and the halves of the chronometer box. The two tins proved to contain only preserved turnip, lib. in each. They had not a drop of water ; night was coming on fast, and the sea was raging round them. To add to the terror of the situation, a shark came alongside about midnight and knocked against the boat, but fortunately did no damage, and went away soon. In this miserable plight they existed for four days on one of the tins of turnips.

Drinking Turtle's Blood. On the fourth day they succeeded in catching a turtle, which was floating on the warer. Then they finished the second tin of turnips and killed the turtle. Their thirst was fearful, and they drank some of the turtle's blood, saving the remainder in the case of tho chronometer, but it was spoilt by the salt water. Once or twice it rained a little, and they tried to catch some of the rain-water in their oilskins. "With their oilskin coats spread o\ er their arms, the poor creatures waited with burning throats and stomachs, praying the Almighty for water in their extremity. But, alas ! these endeavours were defeated by the sea-water getting mixed with the fresh. On the eighth day they drank their own water, which they continued to do until rescued, Fifteen terrible days passed away without an incident to relieve the monotony. On that day they set to work to make a sail out of their phiits, with an oar for a mast. On the eighteenth day, having had no food of any kind for seven days, and no water for five days, and their condition having become awful, they began to discuss the advisability of casting lots as to Avho should be killed for food for the others. This plan was suggested by tho Captain, but Brooks would not agree to it, saying it would be better for them to die together. On the morning of the 19th day, no sail appearing, and their starvation driving them frantic, the captain and mate .suggested killing the boy Parker. Their reason for selecting him as the victim was because he was suffering the most, having dmnk salt water, the others obtaining moisture by safer but more horrible means mentioned above They also reasoned that he was only a lad with no responsibilities, while they were married men with wives and families depending on them. Brooks declined to be a party in the matter. Then was enacted one of the most fearful and heartronding tragedies ever committed.

They Kill the Boy. Each of the men made signf- to the other to do the sickening deed, but none at first had the heart to do it. The wretched lad was lying in a state of utter exhaustion in the bottom of the boat, with his face on his arm. The captain and mate ultimately decided jointly to kill him — it being arranged that Dudley should strike the blow, while Stephens should hold the lad in case he moved. Capiain Dudley, having offered up a prayer for forgiveness for the act, went to the boy and said, " Now, Dick, your time is come !" Parker faintly cried, " What ? me, sir !" Dudley replied, " Yes, my boy, "and thereupon ran a small penknife into Parker's jugular vein. The lad offered no resistance, dying almost instantly. Their maddest craving was for something to drink, and they therefore caught the gushing blood in tins, and divided it between them — Brooks, who, during the stabbing of the boy, had gone to the bow of the boat, and covered his face with his hands that he m.ght not witness the deed, taking his share with the others. The three of them then took off the poor boy s clothes, and cut out his liver and heart, which they devoured while they were yet warm. On the nineteenth day they succeeded in catching a few drops of l-ain-water, which! they eagerly drank. For the next four dreadful days they lived on Parker's body. Saved at Last.

An the twenty-fourth day the joyous sight of a sail greeted Brooks's eyes while they were eating their honible food. They all fervently prayed that the passing ship might £68 them, and they tried with what feeble strength remained to row towards it. Their joy was unbounded when they discovered that they were seen, and in about an hour and a-half after they first sighted the sail they were by the side of the German barque Montezuma. They were in such utter prostration that when they got alongside the ship they required to be assisted on board. Captain Simmonsen, of the Mnntezuma, states that on the morning of the day they discovered the^ boat, on looking across the horizon he thought he saw a small speck ; he looked at it through the glasses.and saw that it was something floating on the water, although at the distance he oould not distinguish it as a boat. As they neared it, however, they were astonished to find it was a small punt with human beings in it. They presented a most frightful spectacle, looking like Kving skeletons, On getting them on board,

they explained to him the history of the I mangled corpse, which was oven thon lying in the boat. Captain Dudley remained firm j in his resolve to retain the corpse of the boy : as long as possible, in caBe they should fall in with a vessel, and to make a clean breast of the circumstances. When Capt. Dudley had explained matters to Capt. Simmonsen, the putrid and mangled remains were consigned to the deep, and the punt taken on board the Montezuma. Captain Simmonsen treated the forlorn ones with every kindness, giving them food and clean clothes. They were on board the Montezuma 38; days. As they were wrecked in 27° S. and 10° W., and picked up by the Montezuma in 24° 28" S. lat., 27° 22" W. long., they must have sailed and drifted their little craft 1,050 miles. Captain Dudley attributes the foundering of the Mignonette to her being rather old for such a voyage. She proved a good sea boat, and had she been new, he considered she would have weathered the storm. On being landed at Falmouth, the survivors were taken to the Sailors' Home, and afterwards to the Customs, where they made their depositions. The following afternoon they were apprehended on a warrant and taken to the borough prison. Then- apprehension took them by surprise as they had made arrangements to leave Falmouth for their homes that night. They will bo brought before the Falmouth magistrates on a charge of "wilfully, feloniously, and of malice aforethought," killing Richard Parker on the high seas. The small penknife with which the act was committed is in the possession of the Falmouth police.

The Mate's Statement Edward Stephens, the mate of the Mignonette, has given in his own woids the following narrative of the terrible experience of himself and his companions :—: — The vessel was put under reduced sail until Saturday, July 5, when at 4 p.m. (the wind being about S.S.W., blowing a fresh gale, with hij^h sea, and the yacht being under storm trysail, reefed squaresail, and No. 3 jib), a heavy sea struck her, and she •speedily foundered, about 1,600 miles from the Cape of Good Hope We get a dingy out ; the master ran below, andbrought up a few tins of provisions. He had justtime to jump into tho boat and let go, first throwing the compass into the boat, which was then half full of water, and in five minutes from the sea striking her, down by the stern went the Mignonette. We only now had time to realise our position. Here were four of us in an open boat fourteen feet long, miles out of the track of shipping, and everything we had eatable or drinkable was two pound tins of preserved turnips, the other tins of preserves which the master brought from below having been lost in the confusion. Our boat, too, leaked badly, having stove a plank in launching, and as a fresh gale from the south was blowing we kept her all night before it with the oars and a sea anchor, made out of the bottom boai'ds, binnaclo, and a water-breaker which Aye picked up. We also recovered the sextant and chronometer floating after the vessel foundered. At times our boat was half full of water, and we had either to bale or steer. Of course we could do nothing but drift before the wind and sea, tho danger of swamping being so great. On the third or fourth day I got a rough altitude of the sun at noon, and, guessing the declination, got an approximate latitude- viz., 24° 50" S. Wo then, until the time of being picked up, made a course from N.W. to S.W., going nearly beforo wind and sea tho whole time, keeping almost on tho lino of the Tropic of Capricorn. On the third day, as we suffered very much from thirst, we opened one of our tins of turnips. There wei-e five pieces, or halves, in the tin ; we divided one piece between two. Thus the first tin lasted two days. That one mouthful seemed so cool to "our parched throats. On the fifth day we caught a small turtle, but our boat shipped so much water that we lost most of the blood, which we greatly needed for our thirst ; but we were so overjoyed that we ate our other tin of turnips that day ; and now the thirst began to get worse. The Aveather was squally throughout, but somehow the rain accompanying the squalls seemed to pass on both sides of mb. When a squall would approach us, we would button the oilskin coats, which we fortunately had on, the behind part before, and, spreading our arms out with the coat resting on them, we waited, with burning throats and stomachs, praying to the Almighty for water until the squall had passed. If we caught a little how thankful we were ! If not, we would hope and pray for the next shower. I think it was on the eighth day we commenced drinking our Avater, and continued drinking it at times until picked up. On the twelfth day our turtle was finished ; in fact, for the last two days we had been chewing the skin for moisture. We Avero iioav in our worst straits. We used to sit and look at each other gradually wasting away— hunger and thirst in each face. If Aye did get any sleep our dreams would be of eating and drinking. We Avere so weak and cramped that wo could hardly move. On Sunday, the fifteenth day, Aye made a sail, as we thought Aye might venture to run the boat (although Avhen Aye did before it Avas dangerous, her square stern shipping so much water). The sail was made out of the shirts belonging to the master, Brooks, and myself — two on top and one beloAv. A piece of plank split did for a yard, and an oar for a mast, securing the same by a strand from the boat's painter. With this, and the stern seats lashed up, we found the boat would run as long as there was not too much sea. This seemed to cheer us a bit, our object being to get to the AvestAvard, in tho track of ships, as fast as possible. The lad Parker was now getting very weak and ill. He had, unknown to us, at night been drinking salt water. He told us this Avhen ho Avas ill. Our nights Avere the worst time ; they seemed never to end ; we dreaded them very much. We had now the longest interval without food or Avater, viz., eight days without food and five days without water, with the exception mentioned. The lad dying before our eyes, the longing for his blood came upon us, and on Friday morning, the twentieth day of our being cast aAvay, the master hastened his death by bleeding him. In a minute all Avas over. I will leave you to imagine lioav Aye subsisted on the body until Tuesday, July 29, the tAventy-fourth day of our being in the boat, Avhen Aye were picked up by the German barque Montezuma, of Hamburg, Captain Tremonsen, bound to Falmouth, from whom we received every kindness. We su ffered a great deal for some days afterwards. The extremities seemed to have entirely lost life. We had thus been in the boat from July 5, at 5 p.m., until July 29, at ten a.m., nearly twenty-four days, having drifted and sailed a distance of about 900 miles, viz., from lat. 27.10 8., long. 9.50 W., to lat. 24.20 S., long. 28.25 W., our position when picked up."