THE ESCAPE OF COMMUNISTS FROM NEW CALEDONIA.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 421, 28 January 1875, Page 2

THE ESCAPE OF COMMUNISTS FROM NEW CALEDONIA.

Ose of the two men who lately escaped from the French conriH settlement at New Caledonia has furnished the •"Brisbane Couriei " with the following acoouat of the affair ; — Pi orn the time of ray arrival at New Caledonia I constancy brooded over the idea of escaping. Tne lltooght was never absent from my mind, and, although ti ne passed away without any op ortunify occurring, I continually k«pt making preparation to avail myself of fciit> first chanoe that offered. From mj aoanty rations I result r\y put apart, and cono al»l a p>rtion, arj 1 I mm iged f > auuu nulate a quantity of flour bagging, out of which I managed, during the n<ghti ai'tt any leisure time when I could be secure from observation, to muke & tolerable Mil. I oin ba*dly lay it) what manner I hoped to find the means of crossing the orean, but at length the arrival of one of the trading yes wU which supply the island with bullocks appeared to afford as good a prospect of success a» wfta likely to occur. My preparation 4 had escaped all attention, and all that remained to be done w*9 to era le the rfwardt), procure a boat, and make a dasb for it. From ths place where I w>s quartered, the *hip at anchor, a e'\ort distance off *he abore could be plainly lean, and I observed will) delight that a boat was floating astern of her. Unable to endure the daily insults and menaces of the warder* , I naid to myself, therefore, This ni^ht I shall escape, or I uhill drown my self— on« Or the other Xam determined on. I have but the two thmpa to choo#e betwe«n. Feeling that, in an under taking of this sort, one man would be heipledd single* handed I addreewd myself to one of m\ fellow- prisoner!* whom I knew to be discreet, and to him I conti led my resolution He hesitated a little, but concluded by consenting to share the ribk. From this moment I th u^ht no tnor* ] or putting an end to my existence, but fix.-d all m\ thought* on mating nrjr way 10 Austialm, whore I liaJLj always h»»rii. fi»opie vr.oul\be' r* sAy to give »jh em. A <y ! •n*ni. Oi >fi» Bfi sf"D"ivmhf>r t'^aiA \n my cita>'i 1« t m ' . *'? woul I «w\kt' &jilnrt tuv'Siime^enma; ll' couso vt-U' ; Ab-jut an bour after .diS -i^ht^vf^qmtteJ^oar qaatiurA, a.-ti, j

eluding the sentries who gust' (foil Hie omp, wa»uo'e*M in gaining the shorc\ Tikuu noisci<">str to tin water, we wn) on fc to warJ»*+iiU'«*»Hg' , and, ■m.'fewfuUy ranching it, oui^t »^&t >nWH»irt^ty»ii«?Ti Vhc^M Hie bmt ri lin ff astern and noiipffcsslv i«J2£lipd 'it away ftjom tlio -j'lip. A-riwd at & sa'e di«Mncv, )ie*H(>raTnblWL/!'i board, ami q-ui'klv reached ♦.he ah->r> K»"» w* <".ib»rk/>d our lif tie storn of provender, amounting to 29 bi«ru»a and about 12 of In Utr i (a^out 11 oi- I3qmi'i») oi water, ily fail »'« oI?j put on board. We thdn let on our course, without being so far peneived, rither t'roitt t'jjß » ,ow oi 4 Jby t it' guard »l<>op tvhio'i watc'ied tue eoasfc and lav right iq/oui' way. Seem,/, however, that wo shou(,i not. bft«rji[»2£..£r oloar the laii'l that night, w<» ran ti;to u rocky and~*woodod p»i*t of the •♦horw, *h»-Jft* we C »nfl^»l<'d our boat among the rocka, hy breaking b'tujjus and h'etipin^ them 07cr her. In this aituiUon we ay hid during t[wj!iCiule-of_Ui«~f<4Uwin^-'l*^Hn a-ttttmHrtw enure i wuc.i Wttfl no jubt maid vrlien tljp boat was mifeeJ. The followi<itf ni,'ht we lalt our hUW»g |ifci«o, and arrifeii wit.hout b iii^ pe.'o-'ireJ at, the r^ii winch intervene between ihe shore mul tiie opeH-aviv. Tne darkneftf, "which favored us m one respect, uHarly, pamed.our rii in in anther way, for, h'fivi'Jiit no knb*Uur!je >f the jmss-^ thTou&h tkerntfi,Hnd not beintj able to,set« wj.ie.re dimgers lay, we cime p^ni^in the tuiflst of thf>"-p<ira{ -Luckily the &oa wai e»ini.^i>r Vf must have been dashed to pieci-s As it was we foun/i it impossible to ({♦•trrhn»r tl>at night, nnd were obl'gedto get out of tlie boat and hold on to her, somet inns*'. anding on tl fr coral libtf r, iOHB li- vrt-Miit ihe waves •taring her auamst, pmjeitioris. Here mj Companion not his foot Jbadly bruittid brtwt'<n t h«* ktel ol the bo«i und the coral*, nnd, had we not both been able 1o bviihi, wo should certainly have perched. The folluwinu morning at duy break, we 7 tnariß^ed to muke our way tiirou^h, und, thou»h the. guard pi top, g-iw us, thiir fiiw»t dmu^hl, und ♦he long extVnt of tlie rocf m«de juibuit' ihipoßhibl*-. "We set eail as huppy aa kinj-j, but an hour Julcr ou» boat w«a nearly full ol water- bbc had been bo' blini^d on the coral, in tpite of all our <flb»t«, that ehe iftt^i d bfruujhij near the stem. We were (t-mpelhd to ktep bulin^ with our fhoed night Bud day. Out (i cubit s vere not dinnnithtd by 4he din-ovirry- ilihl the water leg eltiai'k, bi d that we hud lost neailj ull our water. Ii laaied ub utarJ} five d«yp, drinking at the rate of a Lulf lit i e eicli ciaily (ulout tlu.e q n alters of a pint), and we ate daily « biscuit bid a ltd o<ti«e< nuB 1 hud judged that we ohould iiot lain xm<u tuan Bixor seVen d«\« in the po^ ape. Wlien fe»en d*}i had el,.pbeii, v\ t- oi.ly uliowt-d ourtel\»p ball a biciuit a-tt.y Matters wen* on in tlis iushioji cunn^tle rtntiiictro tire transit. We Kuflfied greiutlj ii<m thirst, but i.ot n much from hunger. 1 lmo tl c addilioual viony ol k«ej inj up tlie Bj.ints oi my i-omrafle, v»Lo on ore otvanun tlin w himeelt into tlie *eu, t< lling me tlmt 1 bought to caiice him to peiisli witli thiret. We vim- vi ry n»m)y ctiniiijj te blows while Jar at eea (en pltine mci). UowtTei, 1 g»»t I'm to listen to ieafon, tellini* hurt ttvst we could not jjoasibJj exceed ten days in our Tojage. At; lengt.h, on tb^e jnornmg of the 22»/d of December we sighted land, and aL uoon we leached theshore, and, to oui unspeakable delight, om-o more titled freeh water. We had been four days without riatei\ nnd, riming the first ihiee of them,- bad drunk sea-water, but found it added to our toimente instead ot relieving them. We were received hy four brave EusjluhttVH, who dashed mto tlie Mater to inert vi the breakers b-inu very heavy. But for tliern. I beli- ye we should have been drowned. Tuanksi to them, we sustained no harm I shall ever have for E!i#h*hiGen tlie greitest esteem which man can have for hia kind, w.-re it vi \y from the thought, of that day on which these. men threw fchem*el»eB into the vmv<B in orcr to save us, and for al! the attention they hubsequently be stowed upon us. For thoir name and their memory ] would gladly lay down my life.