THE LOSS OF THE HENRY JAMES. STATEMENT BY ONE OF THE CREW.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 273, 16 June 1888, Page 3

THE LOSS OF THE HENRY JAMES. STATEMENT BY ONE OF THE CREW.

A mom. the passenger by the Oerman mail s.s, Lubcck from {Samoa was a seaman naniu'd Anderson, belonging to the ill-fated biiKjue Henry James, which, it will be remembered, w as lost on Thorndykcßeef, near I'almyia Island, whilst on a passage from "Newcastle to San Fiancisco with a cargo of coal. Anderson rated as an ordinary ,sealiiiLii on boaid the baique, and he was one of the four men who made the perilous |omnej ot 1,500 miles, in an open boat to Samoa fin as-intancc. The poor fellow is still irom the eileets of the e.vpoxiue and piivations endiued on the trip, his ejesight being greatly aflected, and he has sought medical treatment. He says : --■'Tl\e Heni} .lames went ashoie on the night ot Apiil 19th, striking 1 the reef with great \iolencc, and becoming a total uieck, the scab bieaking clean over her. \\ ith -ome difficulty tw o boats were got out and the \essi:l was ahandonerl, all on boaicl batch havin/ time to escape with their lixes There were on the \essel oO all told, including two voinen and tour child; en. The boats stood b) the \e^bcl until daylight and then made ioi I'alm^ia Island, which w,h leached in ,-aftt\ niter dialing the boat- foi tome tno mile- over the coial. The inland ■w a- found robe uninhabited, and a- iheie was no food e\cent cocoanuts I'u'io it \i,b decided to .send one of the i.c),iN m chaigo of the cmef oilicer, J)onald Meifonald, to bamoa tor a c ->^tance. The \ entitle was one attended with gieat danger, but four ot the ciew, including mx^'jlf, ieadd\ \olunteeied to go. The boat select u( tor the trip was the second Luge 4 !sa\ed fium the ill-fated \cfpcl, and no lime \\a- lu-t. in putting her out. We took with u^r\ei SCO toooanuts, they being plentiful on the island, together with about a handiul of damaged biead, n tin of meat .•lid 'ome cheese, with a couple of gallons ot watci. 0.. (he moTSmg of 3!ay 23 we tiom the Wand, leawng behind the capt un and 16 &ailoi>, with m\ f)as < ?engeib, two women mA tour children. They were in a de-titutu eoncition atjd prating that a^i-{anecmi;Jit.-pecdd) icach them. The .\ind ta\ouniu, wa> made on the boat, but piogie^ was slow and a couple of dajs we wctein sjnhr ot the island. Our tack was southwaid, the idea being to make good u-e ot the south-cast tiade winds m bcanti<i u|)to tlie island. Unfortunately ioi us tliL tiad\. 1 uiiuK tailed and the boat \ias becalmed lor ,se\cn day.s. This leiigl honed oiu jias^agc consiiieiably, and au bewail lo leu iliar we would not i each the island. To acid to om the sii|tpl\ ot bioad. meat and cheese became i'\li.ni-Ld, and we wllc left with nothing mit (■v( i uimit> to subsist on. The calm was tolli wed b^ a noilh east wind, and the boat made good headway, eo\ui;;g on one day JuOmiV's. We encii took oui tumattho liiv'.dci. bnl t'n 1 eiiiel olheerwas, of course, in (.ii ngo, <uul he had a chait, chionometer, oompas.s and .sexlant. Kain tclloeeaMonally at night, and as oui of waier had u\\ mdled awa\ \u hailed the .slioweib w ith deli>, l»i, although t.ticy dienehed us through (oihe s| v m ami onl,\ added to our .suflering.s W e got along ]uct ty well lor 14 da)s, and I lan the jouiney began to tell on Us. We suiieied gieatly from exposnic, oiu limb*, became *?tiit and at last wo had to ciaw 1 along on oiu luukK and knee^ to trim the saiK. N>mo ot the men foil sick, but they bou up with gieac fortitude, and we pinjed tliat tho> might icach land saielv On tlie 19th ilaj oui, to our intense deligiit. land was- made out ahead, and on the s-.mie da> we }>ieUed up by a small sutuvnoi and t.ikcu to Apia. All ot us w ei e lauded in a weak condition, as may be supposed, and could not possibly have held out much longci in the boat, a^ the coeoaniits. our only tood, had become sour." li. M.s. Calliope -was at Apia when the shipwiecked people anhed, and ib was expected thatbhe would proceed to the rescue ot the iem. lining 25, but through having to ictutnto Fi|i w ith Sit .lohn Thurston and the Judicial Conimi>sionev -she could ncf^ do t»o. The schooner Mndcx was then chaitered by the Biiti.sh Consul, and she .set out for the rescue on Jilay 13th, taking ith her tho chief olliccr and three or the .sailoi sof the ill-fated e^^^el. AndcrMm bcliexcb that it \\ ill take the schooner a couple ot weeks to reach the island, the pie\ailinu winds, being against her. The shipwrecked people weie in two huts on the island. Andei.son know* nothing as to how the vessel got ashore, it being his watch below when she struck. Jle, however, thinks that she must have been dri\eu considerably out of her oouvsc by achei.se winds and currents. [A cablegram has already rOpoited the icocue ot the castaways.]

A ne^ro went into MrE 'rf oflicc for the purpose of instituting a divorce suit auah^t his uife. Mr E proceeded to question him as to his grounds for com plaint Noticing that the man's voice failed him, Mr E looked up from Ids papers, and saw that bi<>; tears were running down over the checks* of the applicant foy divoicc. '* Why,"' said the lawyer, " you .-oem to care a great deal for your wife. Did you love her ?" " Loro her, sir ? 1 jest anahj^d her ! This was more than piolesMonat dignity could understand, and Mr E hushed until fcho nc^ro, oftended, eaixicd hi? ca*e elsewhere.