USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > Old-time Fairhaven; erstwhile Eastern New Bedford, Volume I > Part 6
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30
The shore was strown with the fragments of trunks, boxes, casks, broken spars, planks, etc., nearly everything being stove ex- cept a few casks of bread and flour, and four or five casks of fresh water, the last being very acceptable as the island did not afford any. After having secured everything that we deemed would be of any service to us, we held a consultation upon what was best to be done. We finally concluded to fit the boat as well as we could, and try to find the island of Otaheite. Accordingly, on the 6th, every- thing being prepared, we put to sea with 30 days' provisions, and a crew consisting of the captain, myself and four others, without a chart, book or any kind of nautical instrument except a boat com-
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pass; all of our instruments having gone to pieces with the ship, leaving the rest of the crew on the island.
The reader may judge what were our feelings as we em- barked, not knowing whether we should ever reach any place where we could gain assistance. For the first two days, we had a head wind which we supposed might prolong our voyage more than we first expected ; consequently we had to reduce our allowance of pro- visions to a smaller ratio. After the first two days we had the wind S. steering N. N. W., with squalls of wind and rain which kept us constantly wet for two days and nights.
On the 10th, 11th and 12th we had fine weather with light breezes from S. to N. E., steering N. by W. On the 13th we had strong breezes, with a heavy cross sea, which again kept us wet and uncomfortable; at night it was so rugged that we dare not run; we therefore made a floating anchor of two oars and keg of water, and veered them out ahead so as to keep her head to the sea as much as possible. It was so rugged, however, that the sea now rolled in on both sides, threatening to swamp us every minute. Long and te- dious were the hours that I watched on that night, and heart sicken- ing the thoughts of our condition. On the morning of the 14th, the weather was more favorable; we made sail and steered to the N. W. whilst some of us were employed in making a jib. I discovered land ahead ; we ran near enough to see the natives on the shore but dare not land as we did not know what island it was. We proceeded on steering N. W. On the 15th, judging ourselves far enough to the N., we steered W. On the 16th we again saw land to the north ; we veered around and ran for it. At about 10 o'clock we were near enough to see some cocoanut trees ; as we could not land on that side of the island on account of the breakers, we prevailed upon a Sand- wich Islander whom we had with us, to swim on shore and procure some of the fruit, which he did. On returning he reported that he saw a schooner on the other side of the island. We then went to the lee side of the island, and landed the captain and two men to go in quest of the schooner. They soon returned after ascertaining it was nothing more than a native canoe. As we were shoving off from the shore, one of the natives who followed them down to the boat, said there was a French brig lying at anchor on the opposite side of the island. After much persuasion we got him to come on board and act as pilot in our attempt to find the vessel, but without much hope of succeeding. It was with joyous hearts, therefore, that we hailed the ifirst glimpse of her spars as they peered above
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the tops of the cocoanut trees. At 8 p. m. we got alongside and gained the deck with as light hearts as ever beat in the breast of man. On looking at the vessel's charts we found to our great sur- prise that we were three degrees north of Otaheite and two degrees to the west of where we supposed ourselves to be. The island proved to be Touroa the most northern of the group called the Archipelagos; had we passed this island probably we should never have reached any other as there is none for a long distance on the track which we were steering. The brig belonged to Valderia. We tried to get the captain to carry us to Otaheite, but without success. We purchased of him a sextant and drew off a part of one of his charts, for which we gave the mean Spaniard an order for our boat payable at Tahiti. On the 17th, we again put to sea with a much better prospect of reaching the place of our destination. On the 18th, we had fine weather and light trades; at 3 p. m. we passed another island of the same group; on the 19th we had fine weather, steering to the S. W. At night it came up squally with strong breezes, which again kept us wet all night. At about 12 midnight we saw the long-wished-for land. At 9 a. m. on the 20th we reached the shore of Otaheite after a voyage of 14 days, and sailing one thousand miles in an open boat. Here we met with a kind reception from all. On the 25th the schooner Emerald left Tahiti lin quest of the remainder of the crew."
The "Cadmus" of Fairhaven, lost in August 1842, was the vessel in which the patriot Lafayette came to America on his famous visit.
Wreck of the "Mamlouk", 1847 .- We find that The Daily Mercury, via the New York Commercial Advertiser, brings us the following :- "The ship Mameluke (alias Mamlouk), 900 tons burthen, built for Warren Delano, Jr. of New York, was launched on Saturday, July 10, 1847, from the shipyard of Perine & Co. of that city."
"LOSS OF SHIP MAMLOUK. Wreck of new ship. 42 lives lost. We regret to announce the wreck of the new ship Mam- louk, Capt. Christianson, which sailed from New York for Liver- pool on the 9th of August 1847, and the loss of 35 steerage pas- sengers and seven of the crew, all of whom were washed overboard before assistance reached them. The first injury to the ship occurr- ed on the night of Sunday, August 15. The Mamlouk was lying to in the violent hurricane, under the main spencer and fore-top-mast staysail. At about 10 minutes before 12 o'clock, she was struck
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by a heavy squall, and careened so much that the cargo shifted, and she immediately fell upon her beam ends, the weather rail on the quarter deck being within a few feet of the water. The main and mizzen masts were immediately cut away and the ship righted, but the cargo burst open the hatches and floated about, creating much confusion and increasing the impending danger. Within a very short time the vessel filled and she became water-logged, the star- board rail being underwater. In this condition the crew and pas- sengers remained until daylight on the morning of Monday the 16th when the dreadful truth became apparent, that out of 64 souls only 22 remained alive, the others having been washed overboard. Throughout the whole of Monday and Monday night, the storm continued to rage, the sea making a complete breach over the wreck. On Tuesday the sufferers descried a vessel, but the weather con- tinued so stormy that they could not indulge any hope of being aided by her, and night again overtook them in their wretched and dangerous plight. By daylight, on Wednesday morning, however, the same vessel, which proved to be the brig Belize, Capt. James H. Dawes, from Boston, bound to Port au Prince, was seen bearing down to the wreck, the weather having at this time somewhat moderated. Though the attempt to rescue the survivors was still attended with some danger, Capt. Dawes and his officers and crew bent themselves nobly to the task, and the 22 sufferers were safely conveyed on board the Belize. Here their wants were generously provided, and the utmost attention was paid to their weak and al- most worn-out condition. Not content with this, Capt. Dawes with an alacrity which redounds to his high praise, immediately altered his course, and brought them all safely to the port of New York. Only one steerage passenger, David Howels, was saved. The steerage passengers occupied the house on deck and were in bed at the time of the disaster. The heavy sea swept this house overboard. The cabin passengers were in bed at the time,and as the ship lay on her beam-ends, they were rescued through one of the windows on the weather side. Thomas Davis, one of the steerage passengers, had with him $24,000 in specie. The ship cost from 60,000 to $70,000, and was insured for $55,000. The disaster took place about 500 miles east qf Sandy Hook. The Mamlouk was on her first voyage, and was owned by Warren Delano, Esq."
Wreck of the "Maine," 1848 .- "REMEMBER THE MAINE-" That was the cry that echoed and re-echoed throughout the land. It referred to the sinking of our battleship on the night of February
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15, 1898, with the loss of 260 men, a disaster that is remembered by many Fairhaven citizens. (The writer has, in scrap-book form, hundreds of cartoons concerning the Spanish-American War.)
Another "Maine" was known to Fairhaven folk about a hundred years ago. In "The Friend," a monthly news sheet, published at Hon- olulu, Oahu, H. I., under the date of February 1, 1849, we find :- "To James Douglas, Esq., Sir-I have to inform you that my vessel lies a total wreck on the south sands of the Columbia bar, and beg you will have the kindness to represent to the authorities of Oregon the same; and hearing that you were an eye-witness of my signal flag for a pilot, I beg that you will do me the favor of having the circumstances published in the Oregon 'Spectator'. I beg to thank you for the kindness we received from Fort George, which, I under- stand, was done by your orders, in case the vessel you saw should be wrecked, or require any assistance. My cargo consisted of 1,400 barrels of whale oil, 150 of sperm'oil, and 14,000 1bs. of bone-24 months out. (Signed) G. E. Netcher, Late Master of ship 'Maine,' of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. August 25, 1848."
Mr. James Douglas handsomely complied with the captain's re- quest. After Mr. Douglas' statement, "The Friend" printed the following 'Card.' "Mr. Editor, Permit me, through your valuable columns, to return thanks for myself, officers and crew, to the in- habitants of this territory, for the extreme kindness. We landed entirely destitute, from the wreck, and if we had not received hospitality from the settlers, must have suffered much; as it is, we have wanted for nothing that it was in their power to provide, for which we again offer our heartfelt thanks. (Signed) Capt. George E. Netcher, Oregon City, August 31, 1848." (Oregon Spectator.)
From the editorial in "The Friend" we cull the following :- "Wreck of the Maine. We regard the wreck of the whaleship 'Maine' on the night of the 23 ult. (August 1848) upon the 'Sharp spit' at the mouth of the Columbia river as one of the most serious misfortunes which has ever befallen Oregon." We understand that the 'Maine' was one among a number of ships clearing from Fairhaven, Mass., which were directed to enter the mouth of the Columbia for supplies, if practicable." "The first and third mates of the Maine, both intelligent men and able seamen, have consented to remain in Oregon, qualify, and act in the capacity of pilots."
Another Fairhaven item found in "The Friend, is as follows :- "DIED. Taken out of the boat by the line and drowned, August
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5, 1849, in the Okhotsk sea, Cyrus J. Robinson, of Fairhaven, a seaman on board the Julian."
Wreck of the "John Rutledge," 1856 .- The Oxford residents remember Mr. Thomas W. Nye, the only survivor of the packet ship John Rutledge, of New York, which was abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean on February 19, 1856. Not only do the Oxford in- habitants remember Mr. Nye, but the same generation of Fairhaven Village remembers him also. His harrowing experience was as follows :- The John Rutledge, Capt. J. R. Kelley, was on the way from Liverpool to New York. The mate was writing up the log book when he was hurled half-stunned to the floor. The ship had collided with an iceberg. The last sentence in the log-book was never finished. The Rutledge sprank aleak. Attempts were fran- tically made to free the ship of inrushing water by manning the pumps. Part of the cargo, made up of salt, iron and crockery, was thrown overboard in an effort to lighten and save the ship. The attempt was futile, and the ship was abandoned about 6 P. M.
There were five large life-boats on board and there were 134 persons to be rescued. Four boats filled with humanity shoved off. The fifth and last containing 13 persons, including Nye, then shoved off, Nye taking the log-book with him. The captain's boat was the only one with a workable compass. Provisions were dis- tributed among the boats. Atkinson, the mate, put his wife in the last boat and before boarding for a final good-bye to the ship, he with the carpenter went back to inspect the pumps. In the mean- time the lifeboat was struck by the sea and breaking away, drifted from the ship, leaving the mate and the carpenter with thirty passengers on board the Rutledge. Of the thirteen in the last boat there were four women, one girl, five male passengers, one Scotch sailor, one boatswain and Mr. Nye. The five boats became sep- arated and this last boat found itself off the Banks of Newfound- land, with one gallon of water and a half-dozen pounds of bread, surrounded by drifting ice and no compass.
Tom Nye, about 20 years of age, afterwards known in middle life by hundreds of lads who used to listen to the story as related by our elders, was the only survivor. Let's go back to the first night out.
Night came on. Nye succeeded in getting two or three swallows of water, the rest was drunk by the boatswain and Mrs. Atkinson. The latter, it was reported, reluctantly shared even a drink of water with her companions in the boat. The passengers were
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scantily clad and consequently suffered from the cold. They drifted day after day. On the third day one man succumbed, and his body was thrown overboard. Then a woman died in the arms of her husband and little daughter. Her corpse was dropped into the sea. The fourth day dawned without a ray of hope. It was cold. There was no drinking water and very little food. All were about to give up when lo, and behold! A brig hove in sight. What joy! They, with renewed courage, pulled for her and the distance seemed to be diminishing. She seemed not far away. Signals were made that the brig might be sure to see them. Soon, however, she was out of sight. All hope vanished.
In the craze to quench their thirst, they drank salt water against the advice of Mr. Nye. They became delirious, and one by one they grew mad and madder, death slowly overtaking them. Such was the sight witnessed by young Nye. As they died, he cast their bodies into the deep. Nye himself would not drink the salt water, although he did rinse his mouth, but that was all. The boatswain grew delirious and violent, striking Nye when he re- monstrated with him, and tried to throw the oars overboard, and within twelve hours after drinking the salt water, died.
On the sixth day there remained alive, besides Nye, a small woman wrapped up in two blankets and a little girl. Before sunset the child died and the woman succumbed the following day. Nye had just strength enough to consign the body of the child to the waves, but the corpse of the woman together with the bodies of three others he was unable to lift.
Drowsiness crept over him. He fastened a red shirt and a white shirt to an oar and hoisted it to attract, perchance, the attention of any passing vessel. Then he curled up in the stern of the boat and dozed for hours, occasionally arousing to bail out the boat, and then to doze again. He did not sleep. The sight of the ghastly bodies of the dead companions overwhelmed him. He thought of the probability of dying in the same delirious manner. If any man ever was game, Thomas W. Nye was the man.
On the 28th of February a ship hove in sight of the lonely boy. He felt that the vessel had espied his signals and was headed for him. That ship was the packet-ship Germania, Capt. Daniel H. Wood, from Havre bound for New York. When Capt. Wood descried the solitary boat, he ordered one of his own quarter boats to be lowered, and sent an officer to see what it contained. As they approached, Nye groaned, "Take me out of this boat." They did,
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and rowed back to the waiting ship. Nye was placed in the cabin of the Germania. The decomposed bodies of his companions were thrown into the sea. The boat was half full of water, and the bodies had washed from side to side so that the seats and sides were covered with blood. The boat was about 25 feet in length. Nye's feet were sodden with salt water, and so badly frost-bitten up to his knees that mortification was feared.
There were cows aboard the Germania and Mrs. Wood made poultices of bread and milk and applied them to his legs. Nye was given food and drink in minute quantities at first. His mind seemed bewildered when he recalled the scenes he had witnessed.
Mr. Nye after this careful nursing became a passenger on the propeller Potomska which arrived in New Bedford from New York on Thursday, March 27, 1856. He was then suffering from ex- haustion but was bearing up well.
On the 27th of March 1856 Mr. Thomas W. Nye arrived home. Within two days Thomas Nye, Jr., his uncle, in behalf of the family, wrote to Capt. Daniel H. Wood of the Ship Germania as follows :- "My dear Sir; I have been listening to the touching story of suffer- ing, as it fell from the quivering lips of my nephew. I have followed him from the sinking ship, through the perils of cold, and hunger, through dark and stormy nights. I have seen his companions fall, one after another, until he alone is left, without food, without shelter, no living object presenting itself to him.
The lifeless forms of his fellow voyagers beneath his feet, his strength exhausted, his mind fast yielding to loneliness, despondency and gloom, half dreaming, half waking, lulled by the moaning of the wind and starting at the spray of the sea. No sun, no moon, no stars, all was dark and dreary to him. Almost the last gleam of hope had passed away, when the noble ship came bearing down upon him, bringing to him a HOME. That home of which he speaks, when he tells me of the kindness of yourself and Mrs. Wood.
Placed as he was in your private cabin, clothed from your own wardrobe, and nurtured from the hands of your estimable lady, watched over by yourself as a father would have watched over a suffering child ; day after day, and night after night, this kindness and care, came unsolicited to him. All this, and much more, he tells me, of your unbounded kindness and many little incidents of moth- erly affection from Mrs. Wood, to the suffering, helpless child.
But, sir, the dark cloud has passed away, and sunshine rests once more upon his heart, and he lives to thank you and yours a
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thousand times over, and he bids me tell you in his own words, 'That you have saved his life, and that he loves you as he does his father and mother. And that he will bless you so long as he lives.'
His father and mother request me to offer you their heart- felt gratitude for he has told them of your kindly care, and they, too, will in their hearts bless you, and wish you every possible hap- piness, for they will ever feel that you by your unremitted kindness, have brought back to them their lost child. And his sister, too, who now watches over him, listens to his tale of suffering, and treasures up in her heart every act of disinterested kindness and care, And she, too, says, 'Tell them that I love them, for they have saved MY BROTHER!'
In all this, you will as a sailor, feel that you were only in the line of duty, but as related to me, it is a noble act of humanity. You have done much for this boy that the world can never know. But you will have ample reward in the consciousness of humane and disinterested motives, and that you have placed upon record a precedent of kind and generous feelings, which will not be lost upon the world, and will ever be remembered by the friends of the suffering 'Sailor Boy.' I am very truly, your friend, (Signed) Thos. Nye, Jr."
Mr. Thomas W. Nye lived to be 71 years of age, dying in June, 1905. He was buried in the family lot at the extreme western part of Riverside Cemetery.
Wreck of the "John Milton," 1858 .- The clipper ship "John Milton", built in Fairhaven, by Reuben Fish, for E. M. Robinson and others, of New Bedford, was launched at 8:30 on the morning of Saturday, October 7, 1854. This ship was pronounced one of the most beautiful vessels afloat. The painting was done by Charles Allen of this town. The ornamental painting was executed by Purrington and Taber. The launching was witnessed by a large gathering. The "John Milton" was 2031/2 feet long, the breadth of beam being 39 feet. It had a 24-foot hold, and a tonnage of 1444 tons.
The "John Milton," with Captain Ephraim Harding in charge, left New Bedford on the 8th of December 1856, for San Francisco, arriving there in June 1857. Then he sailed to the Chincha Islands, off Peru, for a cargo of guano. After loading the vessel, he started for his home port. On the 13th of February 1858, he anchored at Hampton Roads. In communicating with the owners, he received instructions to proceed to New York. He then headed the ship for
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the sea voyage home. That was the last news from the "John Milton," until the discovery of the wreck off Montauk Point, and the bodies of 12 of her crew. The ship had struck a reef of rocks about five miles west of the Montauk Lighthouse, and all on board perished. The wreckage, including part of the hull, was strewn along the shore. The masts were gone, and the whole deck was swept off by the sea. The only part that held together was the forward part of the ship. It was complete destruction - just one huge and confused pile of masts, spars, yards, sails, rigging - all together in one chaotic mass. There, along the shore, were broken chairs, sofa, tables and, bits of other furniture. Three of the ship's boats were found and eleven bodies at first. The captain's desk, a large chest with the logbook, containing the last entry of February 18th, were found. As near as could be ascertained there were 24 persons aboard, including three passengers, and it was thought all perished, fifteen bodies being recovered, leaving nine missing.
Among the missing was a Mr. Edwin Kirtly, a passenger, who made himself known after he learned that the vessel had been wrecked with the loss of all on board. Mr. Kirtly had left the ship at Norfolk, and apparently arrived home safely. In order to obtain more data a letter was written to Mr. Kirtly who replied in a letter dated St. Louis, April 9, 1858 stating there were aboard 26 persons, viz., 14 seamen, 4 boys, 1 carpenter, 1 cook, 1 steward, 3 mates, captain and a son of the captain. Twenty-five bodies were re- covered. Mr. Kirtly also stated that two other, passengers left the vessel at Hampton Roads, as did he.
In April 1858, a subscription paper was opened at the office of the Mutual Marine Insurance Company of New Bedford, for the purpose of raising a fund for the erection of a monument at East Hampton, L. I., in commemoration of the officers and seamen of the ill-fated ship "John Milton" of whose entire wreck there re- mained not a single survivor to tell the sad tale.
In a crowded church, a funeral sermon was preached at the burial of the crew of the "John Milton," by Rev. Stephen L. Mer- shon on February 28th at East Hampton, Long Island, N. Y. The funeral of Capt. Harding was held at the Baptist church at Holmes Hole at 2:30 o'clock on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 23d. The original cost of the "John Milton" on her first voyage was $100,000.
Massacre of the Crew of the "Superior," 1860 .- The stories of the various, early shipwrecks, accidents, drownings, etc., together with the miraculous rescue and survival of Thomas Nye of this
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town, makes us shudder. Let us now go a step further in our quest of the awful risks that seamen of old assumed.
In the STANDARD of Tuesday, April 2, 1861, we find the following : "Particulars of the Massacre of the Crew of Bark Superior. The Superior made Treasury Island on the 12th of September 1860, and came to anchor there on the same day. On the 13th, 14th and 15th of that month, the crew were employed in wooding and watering, and from the men's statements, were visited by a great number of natives, armed. On Sunday, the 16th, nine of the crew went ashore. The carpenter and two men went to the settlement and were murdered in one of the native huts. The natives then proceeded in canoes and overland, to the ship, and those who came by land fell in with the remaining six close to the beach and murdered them. About 150 natives got on board the vessel, made a rush on the crew who were all on deck, except four who were in bed. Those on deck were immediately tomahawked, only two escaping by jump- ing down the main hatchway and joining the four below in the fore- castle. One of the crew whom I recovered, saw the captain and second mate murdered by a native called "Billy," who has been to Sydney and speaks English well. The Chief Copan was the prin- cipal in this dreadful massacre. The six men below being armed with lances, kept the natives from coming down the forecastle, until at last "Billy" told my informant that if they came up, they should not be hurt. At length, therefore, they did so, and were at once surrounded, and by the Chief Copan ordered to be put to death. The Chief America offered to buy three of the men and he persuaded Copan to keep the other three to till the ground. These three, as I have already intimated, I could not recover. The three men on board my vessel say they were well treated by the Chief America, and they tell me that the native "Billy" was at the taking of the schooner Pearl, where I am now at anchor, about 18 months before this happened. It is said that he went over to Treasury Island in the Superior, and had an opportunity of seeing that there were no arms kept; there being only seven old, flint guns, and none of them loaded when the ship was taken. Twenty-six men were butchered in cold blood, amongst them was a poor lad ten years of age, the crew consisting of 32 souls when she anchored. The natives took five boats, with a quantity of cordage and sails which were all cut up, and everything else was destroyed by setting the ship on fire."
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