Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1890 — HE ALONE WAS SAVED. [ARTICLE]

HE ALONE WAS SAVED.

A Thrilling Story of Shipwreck In the Fiji Islands. , ? . . X'- i ’ Tort Townsend, Wash., Special. The schooner Halcyon arrived here yesterday from the Fiji Islands, having on board H. H. Warren the sola survivor of the British bark Martha Band which was wrecked on the coast of the island. of Suva on the night of Aug. 27, last. Warren was the bark’s cook and tells a thrilling story of his experience- He shipped at Glasgow in January, 1888, the vessel being bound for Savati Island with a general cargo. She reached her destination safely and started c-n her return voyage in August, but had hardly lost sight of land when a furious hurricane came up. With one close-reefed topsail the bark scudded before the gale until land was again lighted on the night of Aug. 27. They had lost their reckoning during the storm and in trying to make what seemed to be a harbor ran on a coral reef, punching huge holes in the iron hull that allowed the water to pour into the ship in torrents. Orders were given to man the boats. Three of them were dashed to pieces on tbo reefs in quick succession and their occupants lost. The last boat contained the captain, a sailor and Warren. r “We tried to put out to sea,” say 8 Warren, “but a great wave struck us, throwing us into the water. My companions were drowned and I remember little until I was washed upon a rock, to which I clung for dear life. Every breaker lifted me high in the air and dashed me down on the sharp rocks, breaking two of my ribs and cutting and bruising me terribly from head to foot. At low tide I managed to climb from rock to rock until the shore was reached. I was almost exhausted physically and a fit subject for the doctor’s care. My sufferings were terrible I remained about the scene of the wreck until Sunday, and lived solely on crabs caught at low tide. I dug in the sand some.distance from the water line ‘ and found fresh water. I managed to keep alive on this diet. My wounded foot caused me much pain, especially when it began to fester. I walked along shore, sleeping in the open air at night. Thpre were plenty of yams and breads fruit, but I could not eat any raw and had no way of making a fire. Every step I took put me in agony. I was too much of a coward to commit suicide but prayed for death to come. “For sixteen days I wandered on, ' not knowing where I was going. On ; the seventeenth day I came to a native : settlement, and by means of signs ; managed to inform the people who gathered around me that I was tired and hungry. I was shown to a hut and given something to eat. There j was one white man in the settlement, : and he came to see me that evening. ; He had been there twenty years, and i had almost forgotten how to speak English. His name is Jewett, and he | said he had run away from an English I whaler which put into Suva for water, i He had a native wife and said he was I well satisfied to live among the sav- ' ages. I lived there until May, heari ing nothing of the outside world until ■ the Halcyon arrived in April with a ; cargo of lumber, which was sold to the natives. I shipped as cook on her SO as to get back to civilization and here I am. “The natives of Suva are cannibals, and, although their principal diet con*, sists of yams, dried fruit and fish, a nice fat missionary is considered a delicacy. Just before I reached Suva, Jewett told me, an Episcopal missionary was killed and barbecued amid great festivities. Four days before the Halcyon sailed two missionaries landed oh the island, but were unmolested tip, ToThe time we left! "Morality is an unknown quality in Suva, and cleanliness is a sin among the fiji Islanders.” Warren is an Englishman by birth, and his appearance bespeaks the hard times, he has had. His face-is sun browned and his beard is long and white. The Martha Band was of about 400 tons burden and was commanded by Capt. McDonald. She carried eighteen men. This is the first reliable account of the shipwreck.