A TERRIBLE TALE OF THE SEA. SHIPWRECK, STARVATION AND CANNIBALISM. CASKS OF SALTED MAN.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 333, 12 January 1889, Page 6

A TERRIBLE TALE OF THE SEA. SHIPWRECK, STARVATION AND CANNIBALISM. CASKS OF SALTED MAN.

London, November 31. ?SOT even the vivid imagination of Mr Clark Russell has evor .invented a more oxtra" ordinary scries, of adventures than wore related lust week by tho suwivovs of tho iron barque (llenmorc, which loft. Marypoit for Buenos Ayios jusb a year ago to-morrow, with a cargo ol iron. Captain Lawrence was in command, with Thomas YVobt as thstmabo, and James Morgan as second. To tho latter wo are indebted for tho following harrativo :— We arrived at Won to Video, where wo discharged cargo, took in ballast, and hailed for Taloaheiano, Chili, on tho 24th of March Lu-b. On the 7th of April \\g s-i'jfhted land, being ten to tweho miles from Cape Diego. Wo h.ul ho\ cto to wait tor daylight, in order to enter tho ytuvits between Stalen Inland and Tierin-del-Fue^o, which are known a& tho Straits of Le Maire. Shortly before midnight we set all sail, and tried to put the ship round the other tack. Owing to a &uddon bhift of wind she became unmanageable. At 1.15 a.m. she struck on a sunkon ieet and commoneed to break up. It was blowing a gale and snowing at the i time. Wo £jot out the lifeboat, and tho whole crew, 16 all told, embarked in her, i Wo left in buch ha&te thit we were not able to obtain any provisions ov any clothing except what we btood in. At daybreak we I pulled seawards, for the frowning prcei- | pices on every side, towcrinrr thousands of feet above the sea, seemed to render a landing hopeless. Sovcral of the ciew -iverc prostrated, and lay helpless in the bottom of the boat. The weather was excessively severe, there being sharp irosc with high winds.

AX UNL'LKABA^T PROSPECT. At ono point, whoio the clifts lowered somowhat, a party ot ten ov twelve Vuegeans, naked, and all men o\er ti^ feet high, appeared on the cliHk Thoy gesticulated and shoutod, bub all the teamen could distinguish were the words l< knipo ''(knife) and "biscuit." Not liking thoii appeaiancc, and knowing that thoy had aieputation for cannibalism, the crew a gam put out to sea, and the following morning, the 9th, sighted Sbaten Island, the extreme south-eastern portion of South Ameiica, We succeeded in landing there about live o'clock, at Flinders t>ay. ITuie we obtained the first drink of water wo had had since leaving the ship, about forty hours. During the night we siiflered intensely from the extreme cold. The noxb morning we found a case of cm ry on tho beach and this, with some benies, which we found on stunted bushes, made us a sorry breakfast. Wo then launched the boat, and proceeded down the land intending to make St John's, where there is a lighthouse maintained by the Argentine Republic. By four p.m. we were all utterly done up, au'd we landed at Port Cook, where wo ' lcas>ted ' on mussels and limpets, which was all wo got that night. The next clay we proceeded, and landed at St. John's utterly exhausted. This is a lighthouse and li e-boat station, the community numbering about 30 people, including four women, and during our stay theie the first infant born on tho island made its appearance. We were most hospitably received.

SEVERE SUFFERING S. Most of u.s wevo suffering severely from fiosfi bite, and all of v.« from utter piosfciation ; but wo weie carefully tended, and in about a fortnight had well recovered. On our arrival we were informed that we had come afc a good time, as the relief steamer from Buenos Ayres, which is Mipposed to vi&iti the lighthouse eveiy tiu'eo months, was due in a few day&. She, houc\oi\ failed to aui\e, and. it was afterwards ascertained that she had been wicckod on the voyage out from Buenos A vie. Provisions soon began to fail, though we had taiv .shelter and fiic. for which abundant fuel was iound on tho beach. Among other thingrf stranded wo noticed two pianos, three or four parts of coaches or cauiage-. fnrnkuic of vaiious kiuds>, cases ofspii its, and a great variety otothoi article^, including ships' timbeis. We at fhv»t had biscuit and tinned beef, but jjiadually came down to seaweed, boiled or law at t hoicc, a few Hsh, caught with hook and line m the bay, now and acain a seal, an unlimited supply of mussels, penguins, and "steam birds,' 1 in the captive of which, two do£t> on the island were vevy expert. They had, however, to be soaked in u'negar, of which thcie was fortunately a supply, foi 24 hours before they could be ca t en, so skiong was Ihoir lisliy flavour.

LOSS OF A BOAT'S CREW. When wo had been oti the inland for two month's, and things were about at their worst — for there is a nine-months winter and three months bad weather — a passing .ship was £>ightcd, and ten of our parly pub ofi to intercept her. She signalled their anival, and we supposed that they would put back with provisions and to fetch us olf, but we never saw any more of them, and could only conclude that the "boat on her turn was swamped and her crew drowned. Shortly after this> our troubles were increased by the arrival of the crow of the British bar.que Cordova, which was lost close to the ' same point as our own ship. Ultimately, on the 13th of September, the relict steamer arrived, and on the 15th we bade fare-well to our involtary quarters. Morgan added : — During our stay on the island a story was told to us by the lighthouse people, which I simply repeal. About 18 months boforo our arrival there the crews of two vessels landed at Staten Island, about 25 miles from the lighthouse, and were apparantly ignorant of its existence— indeed, ithas only been established about live years. After an interval of some weeks, 16 of the 32 arrived at the lighthouse with a report that tho others had died. They were taken off by the relief steamer. The sequel is that shortly before- our arrival the lighthouse people, exploring the region of the leported lauding of these men, found a little abovo high water level three or four beef barrels, which, on examination, were found to contain human remain's, salted dowjn. 1 he&itate to &ay what the inference must be.

"No," said Mv Isaacstoin, "dem penis don't fit you. Dey vos bretfcy dighb in dor seams. But I dell you vot, my front, at three dollar'V a half dern jjents vns vort down to." 'It appears that since 1878 the Boards of Education have paid to architects in lees alone £38,080. This sum would be sufficient to provide school building* requirements of the whole colony for a year and a half.