THE MISSING WARATAH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 174, 16 August 1909, Page 2

THE MISSING WARATAH.

Uppil. tlic report that came thiouirli n liatui day regarding the passing of odiesjiy a Inter mid. the washing up of odics ,on the slu.K- 'm the neighborhood v f , co " lse " f tll(> missing steamer Vaiatah turns out to he unfound"d ofl , m^ S "," e3 (,x ' ,lain "'at the sup! osed todies were no other than pieces f « dead whale or spates. The under■Titers seem to have lost all hope, for he reinsurances have reached the ox ra.mlinnry high figure of no guineas. . ' '.''""J' b « U' a t tin' Waratah has H't w 1 1Ii tlit' same c-vporienco as' lias ('fallen many other lhiovs, such ns' lie Jioverie, which, losing her propeller rhiNt on a voyage to Durban from Au=nilia seven years ago, drifted helpi'<slv alinut the Indian Ocean for five a eeks, lliose on hoard were hoffinniT* o despair of ever reaching shore a"aln" l'lie nearest land to the spot where the vessel drifted wa« the coast of West Australia, upwards of 1200 miles distant. One of the ship's boats was fro-

yisioned and the small craft set sa'l for the Australian' coast, which was reached a month afterwards. Meanwhile th« Boveric was picked up by another vessel and towed to Fremantie. A remarkable feature about the breakdown was the comparatively small area of ocean she covered during her lo.ig drift. Instead of moving steadily 171 one direction, she 'described a circle, and was found in almost the same latitude where the mishap occurred. Of course the Warntah was not 150 far from land. The run from Durban to Capetown is hut 800 miles, and at the most she would not have stood oil' the land for more than one or two hundred miles. If she were disabled currents might have Liken her outwards. Agnins't this, we have the fact that warships and other vessels have zig-zagged the ocean for hundreds of miles in the vicinity of the supposed drifting, without seeing a sign of the vessel, and the fact that at the time she was off the Cape violent gales' were raging. Though the lifc-sav'ng equipment of the Waratah is said to be more than ample for the number of souls on board, estimated roughly at 300, there would be Ijttle chance for the passengers and crew if the vessel did founder. Small craft could not live tor long in such weather. Should she have broken down, as we all must hope is the case, it cannot be long now before tidings are received. * Meanwhile we trust Hiat "no views is good news."