WRECK OF THE EMELIE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3486, 16 April 1890, Page 2

WRECK OF THE EMELIE.

A Survivor's Story. I Intense Sufferings. 1 iNvEROAROiiiir, April 14, - , Georgo Green, an A.B, of the wrecked barque Eraelie, who gives an intelligent account of the .disaster, describing the position of the survivors after the vessel righted, buyb :—" Ii stayed in the mizzen rigging till dark, when [ formed a bag of the spanker, which I lashed to the stump of the mast, and all got into it, the seas making a clean "breach"over the hulk, and all would have perished but for this device, W« had uotbing to eat or drink, and our clothes were saturated, We lost the reokouitig of the days, and cannot say whether 1 it was the 30th or 31st of March about sunset that the wreck drovo ashore in Doughboy Bay. Meek, who was delirious ind suffering greatly from thirst, jumped overboard and tpapged to swim ashore, where he came across a creek, and after drinking eagerly lay down and slept in a flax,bush all night, The mate, I, and Onmining remained on the vessel until', noxt morning, We ' yrero in a most miserable and desperate condition, and I Gumming jumped overboard to swim ashore, He was too weak and tank, When he roso I threw him-Atope, and I pulled him aboard agamf 'Ve then turned into the spanker and remained till daylight, when the ship broke .up, The sea was soon strewn

which we floated ashore, and found Meek tying belphss on the rockg; none wore boots ( bpcause the second 'J»y after the vessel went over our toot lipgan to swell, and so we threw th« Loots away, -The mate had gum boots, and did not try to remove them till three days after the -gale. He fried to take off the boots, but could not,, the pain being too great. He . then cut tliV-lioota away, anii'M lie removed .thorn his toe naila dropped !•' off, and his feet'appeared quite dciid. I'teel'Snre that- thrown oil his boots at the first lie would hava beea all right; for they undoubtedly cansed mortification. .After being six days without or drink,, we got fresh water and a few linnets, which, together with seawoed, wo subsisted on for a whole week. We- were roaming about on the rugged coast, Bleeping sometimes among the rocks. It rained nearly the whole time. Our feet were cut and bruised with travelling, our clothes not only soaked, but. torn to rags clambering about, and on the fourth day ashore the mate's letja got so bad and ho became so weak that be lost heart, We were travelling about all the time expecting' to find a hut where we" could ;et food. The mate said he could come no .further, and that he would lie down to die. I left him, aud worked my way round the bay, and on the fifth day ashore caught tno wood hens, tho first , wholesome food we had had. / Thia4| revived us a little,' The next day we . found a dead seal, and only for,that none of tis would havo been alive now, We out a hole ia him and drank the blood, and then atetha raw flesh, for we had no matches. The seventh day ashore wbb the first dry day, and wo sat on the rock and dried ouraolves in the sun and sang hymns. Wo werejnst about to try to travel again when we sighted a cutter which we thought had been sent in for ns. We made 1 signals, but they eonld not seo us, and wo wandered on till sundown, and slopt in the grass that night. I dreamt that tho cutteroamfl the next Morning to take us off j and sure enough she did come. Wo saw her next day in the bay, and after- Y ward noticed a small boat. The' cutter had been attracted by the wreckage, nnd had como into the bay I suppose to. see if there were any survivors, but finding another boat, left again.- The occupants of the boat thai r&Diiined wero G. and T. Newton, Hori Hurt, G, and H... 5, Cross, and 0. Pratt, mnlton birders. Thev found the mate upon a steep cliff hanging on to a branch of a tree, liuable to get up or down. After getting him aboard in a very emaciated state they came round and took us in. That was on Tuesday last, 12 days after the wreck. ..Tha treatment we received from Newton's patty at .Mutton Bird Island was so kind that I and the others are unable to express our gratitude. Onr feet were inadreadfulstate, and they toro up every piece of linen and rag they could find, and bound them np and dressed thom with mutton bird oil, They sat up with the mate, who' was more dead than alive, day, and night, and wero continually putting warm sand to his feet to bring them to life. They also tied bags of hot salt, which they changed almost every hour night and day. Their whole time was devoted attending to us," When_ questioned regarding the seaworthiness of the barque, all three men Bay that she was quite unfit to prooeed to sea, Green said," She is) one of 'the worst old traps that ever filled with Bait water, and was not fit to he afloat, Any seaworthy boat would, have stood the weather all ' tight, I have been in much worse. All tho canvas was token off her before she went on her beam ends. The sails, ropes, and rigging were rotten —in-fact them was nothing but rod paint holding her together," The mate, Brownrigg, who died in tho hospital about fifteen minutes after his admission, was a native of the Isle of Man, end was brought.up in tho North of Ireland. He was of big proportions ard strong build, Tho terrible experience he had gone tlirongh during tha last two week*, had completely wrecked his constitution. Brownrigg was a widower, aud h»B several daughters in England, It is stated that the captain wanted to leave tho loat at the Bluff, but at the request of the mate decided to remain in oharga until he got to Port Pirie where Brownrigg was to taks tho captaincy. Gumming, Green, and,.' Meek, the only methtera of tho crewd now alive, are doing as'well as can be"' expected, All throe shipped from; Port Chalmers a fow days before the vessel Bailed.