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    instantaneously extinguished , but another was kept burning , as we had procured a supply of candles from one of the cabins , while a passenger held another lamp in his hand , to relight the swing lamp if it should be put out , as was the case two or three times in the course of the evening .. We could get , for a long time , little or no information aa to what was passing outside , and we had therefore resolved to make no attempt to leave the ship , but to remain by the wreck as long as she avouM hold together , and when she broke up to endeavour to reach the shore , as we best might , on floatin / j pieces of the wreck . Our situation , however , appeared so desperate that I belieye very few cherished the hope of escape , and for my own part 1 exhorted all about me to think no more of this life , but to implore God's

    mercy and forgiveness while there was yet time vouchsafed for repentance . " Hitherto the mizen , which passed through the centre of the cuddy table , had remained firm , but soon after eleven o ' clock it began to surge up and down , breaking up the rafters which formed the roof of the cuddy , and admitting still more freely than before the seas which washed through the skylights . We had already ascertained that there was some outlet which carried off the Avater almost as fast as it poured in , because otherwise we must all have been droAvned two or three times over as we stood ; but the immediate danger which Avas apprehended was , that the mizen would go by the board , and , carrying the tables with it in its fall , hurl us all to destruction .

    "In the meantime an important event had occurred , of which we were not apprised till some time afterwards . The mainmast fell about half-past one o ' clock in the morning , and the vessel parted in two , close to the after hatchway on the main deck . The znainmast descended gradually , with all the ri gging standing , athwart the breakers to the boulders above , thus forming a kind of bridge between the ship and the shore , of which such of the sailors as had not already landed , were hot slow to avail them-Belves . Some of the younger men among the passengers followed their example ; but no efforts were made by the seamen generally , who alone could be of any service under such circumstances , to save the women and children . Mr .

    Worthington , however , the third mate , declared that he would not leave the vessel till every woman and child had quitted it , and he and Snow repeatedly passed over from the shore to the ship , and back again , though knocked down several -times by heavy seas , in order to conduct those who would venture over it . Mr . Tulloch , also , though he did not cross to the ship after he had got on shore , was yet very active in assisting the passengers to land . I left the cuddy myself as the dawn was just breaking , and though overwhelmed ior an instant by a heavy sea m my transit . I reached the shore without much difficulty . It was then about 4 a . tn ., and the sight that presented itself to my eyes was indeed appalling . Before me lay huge boulders , iled

    p up irregularly , till they reached an altitude of 40 feet or 60 feet , where they were hemmed in by a perpendicular Avail of black ferruginous rock , about 100 feet high , rendering a further advance from the sea in that direction impossible . A small portion of the forecastle of the Meridian was still visible above water , but the rest of the forepart of ths vessel was completely broken up , and pieces of the wreck were dashed by every sea on the rocka . The sailors—though , with the exceptions already mentioned , they had done little or nothing to assist in the escape of tho passengers—had not been idle since they go on shore . They had lighted a fire , and had opened several bales of clothing-, Avhich Avas distributed freely among all , aa soon as they set their foot on the rocks , Hundreds o

    yards of excellent now flannel , perfectly dry , and some hundreds of red and blue sorgo shirts were shared out among men , women , and children , as they arrived ; and it is not going too fur to say that , but , for this providential supply , half of the women and children must have soon perished from wot and cold . Before sunrise , by God's mercy , every soul on board had escaped from tho Avreck , Xr ( '' oxco P tion - of < ho unfortunate captain of tho Meridian , the old cook , Thomas George , and a Swiss steerage passenger , named Pfau , all of whom wero washed oil tho deck Hoon after tho vessel elruck .

    Jiut their rescue left thorn in Amsterdam , that rude rook m an unfrequented sea . Sorno of tho sailors got artink and few provisions Avero saved . By tho evening ivo had got two bags of biscuit , one of them a good deal damaged by milt water , Hovoral tins of nail , herrings , two or three pieces of salt beef , and a lew bottles of port w 1110 - A biscuit for every adult , and half a biscuit for each <» i the children , were , nerved out as rations for the day , and herrings | o those who chose , to take them , but an no frenli water had yet been found , there were hut few applicants o ' Miein . . II . nU' a glass of port wine wan also nerved out among |;} 10 women ftIul c ] , i |( | n > Ilj j m < , lumo render nuoh a stimulus superfluous . That tfluall of us , except a fow of tlio women and children , ; . w »<» n a Horl , of | , ( ,,, | , i , ll ([ ) , < ,,, „ prepared , vviMi the lielp '" , " * boards and a Hail , lay down on tho rode—a hard ¦ < "ii tor people w jU ) j 1 | l ( j pro ']) H ] , | ynever puHM (!( l anight in (• V "" ' i » i Mioir liven , except on 11 ki top of a sdago-; ' « ' "> w < 'll wrapped m > in shawls or ovor-eouds . The f '

    olooll /' r ^ ( 1 'Vuliiy ) much more activity wan shown in Ni ' niVr 1 > l" ° . viHi <) nH ' an l Mr - Heoltook , a London whito-Dliir ' '* i ° ll ( ' ° ' " 10 H <>( 1 ° " ( 1 cabin passengers , discovered a i »<¦<> aOoud n , third of a mile to the eastward of the wreck , < Ihn ' . . " ' ( o ( h <) < o l > <>< " <•'"' did ' wan prucdioublo . At tint , /() 11 '' lr > i ' lwtl ' " ( ll <> ' ¦ " !» perpendicular down f ** """ # OVi'v < lin ]> nM » , but ( lie H / iilors pnsHed Up | i Wo K » ide ropes for the men , mid a third for hauling « ' nm » i- W < . "" '" «»» 1 children . The majority of the nllH" « bnf Mv ' ''"'"'"' I'd mul myHelf , " immud the night ; ^ 'Wdot (> . u ( ihui > <>(' ; but on tbe ' jK'xl , day , Haturday , it wiunoa thitt a f * onoral removal U ) tlio now

    encampment on the cliff should take place without delay , lest the women and children , cramped and chilled as they were by cold , exposure , and want of exercise , should lose the use of their limbs , for the sharp and jagged edges of the rocks made walking both difficult and dangerous . * * * Wehad now only enough biscuit to , last a week , a canister half full oi preserved potatoes , a few cases of preserved meat , a large canister of very good tea , five or six pieces of salt beef , two hams , about twenty-five cases of herrings , the brandy and wine already mentioned and a few bottles of port , claret , and champagne , with a box of raisins , two dozen or so of candles , five boxes of lucifer matches , two double-barrelled guns , a six shot revolver , two ship ' s pistols , five flasks of gunpowder , and a small quantity of

    shot and some bullets . These were all the means and appliances we possessed for the sustenance of 105 persons , a large portion of whom were Avomcn and young children , incapable of doing anything for themselves . The people on the cliff , however , picked up about six or seven dozen of whale birds , which had been half roasted in their nests in an insane attempt to fire the jungle on the top of the cliff on the Friday night . The passengers were generally employed in erecting tents or huts , and making themselves as comfortable on the top of the cliff as circumstances would permit , while some amused themselves by going out shooting , and others attempted to acquaint themselves with the bearings of their new position by ascending the mountain , an effort which the thick jungle , formed by a sort of cane , standing from 5 to 8 feet high , rendered futile .

    ± ne ounday night 1 passed again with Mr . . Lainburd on the rocks by the stores , in no very buoyant frame of mind , but still not without an humble hope that the allpowerful Being who had so mercifully preserved us from death by drowning and cold , might still point out some means for our deliverance . I need not attempt to describe , therefore , Avhafc my feelings were when I received , on the following morning , the unlooked-for intelligence that a ship was rounding the point , and that she had twice answered our signal flags on the cliff , consisting of two red shirts and some yards of white flannel , by lowering her ensign . Very soon afterwards I saw the vessel myself . She was a whaler , apparently of about 300 tons , and still kept her ensign flying . After a time she tacked , and tried to stand in , but the wind blew so hard from the land thafc she was compelled again to stand out to sea . " Here is an account of a night on that bleak shore : —

    " The sole addition to our stores on Sunday Avas two baskets of dried apples ; and Monday night closed in , without any greater augmentation of our supplies than four tins of smoked herrings . I had been asleep about half an hour Avhen Mr . Lamburd , who took the first Avatch , roused me with the news that the wind was blowing strong towards the land , and that the sea was rising fast ; and he intimated that ifc would be advisable to look out for some place of greater security , where we might pass the night . His views on the expediency of a removal seemed justified by a heavy fall of spray , which soon afterwards dashed up the rocks , and nearly extinguished our watch-fire . However , we resolved not to desert the post unless it should become absolutely necessary , and after making up the fire again , we lighted a lantern , and searched for the highest

    bit of rock we could find . About 20 feet above the place where the stores Avere kept there was a small projecting Icd ^ e of rock , upon which there Avas room for two persons to sit , with their legs hanging over , and having removed thither the biscuit and some other perishable stores , we again descended to the fire , which Avas now blazing away merrily , and we began to hope that , after all , our apprehensions might prove unfounded . But a second shower of spray , followed soon afterwnrds by a third , and then by a heavy sea-top , which completely extinguished tho Avholo mnss of burning timber at once , drove us away to our place of refuge , and with an anxious heart I watched the onward progress of tho waves , which threatened to deprive us in one night of our only means of subsistence . Tho rollers

    swept on towards tho shoro m one immense continuous wall , far as the eye could reach on either side , till they touched the reef , which Avas about half a mile distant , and then broke in incessant thunder , the boiling mirf rushing furiously onward towards the wreck , scattering right and left the huge pile of wood which had been driven between tho hull of the vessel and tho shore , and with it all our hopes of further supplies from that source . The gale increased , and the sen . repeatedly washed up to the holes in tho rock in which tlio herring-tins and other heavy stores had been deposited , and for about an hour there was every reason to apprehend thai ; avo should ourselves bo washed off from our narrow resting-place . Five times did a sea break over a huge lruiRH of rook Avhieh lay a little below us

    and which , from its immense hizo and position , avo thought would have proved nil impassable barrier . Once a sea washed Mr . Lambm-d'n feet , but , by Clod ' s mercy , the gale abated a little towards morning , and Avhon day broke , avc lmd tho happinoHH to find that none of tho stores were injured , though tho spray had broken over all of them . Hut nothing remained of the accumulated mass of drift wood which had been forced up by the waves between t , ho ves . sol and the shore ; nor of tho stores which for five days had no doubt boon preserved under it . Tho mizen had given Avay , and all Unit , remained of the once proud 7 l /<; - ridiau vva . s the mere outer plunking , orskin , as it is called , of the poop , which had boon driven nearly end on towards '

    the rock , and lifted at , least ton feet higher than it was on the Monday evening . If the sea had been as high on the night of the wreck , not ten persons could have escaped with their lives . On the top of the elilf the tents Avere nearly all blown down , avid great anxiety avmm felt about our fate ; but we did not , wait for inquiries , for I had resolved now , as our last chance of escape from immediate Htarvation , to assume an auditorily which certainly did not liolong to mo , and Mr . Laniburd hud consented to proceed at once do the clifl" , and summon all hands to rescue the provisions , Avith a monsngo from me ( had not , a Mingle ration should be issued for the day , until tho stores were depopo » ited in uafoty at tho encampment . Accordingly Mr .

    Lamburd departed , taking with him the double-barrelled gun , which he was afterwards ill-advised enough to level at two or three boys and young men , threatening to shoot them if they did not go down to assist in the removal . The object in view , however , was accomplished ; nearly all the men came down in double-quick time , every one Avas provided Avith a burden , and in two hours the whole of the stores were safe on the top of the cliff , with the exception of the brandy , and a box of silver coin and other treasure which had been rescued from the wreck , and AA-hich I left in Mr . Lamburd ' s charge , in order to resumo at once my own duty of distributing rations . *¦ * * While engaged ( the next day ) in apportioning the work that was to be done by those Avho wished to have rations to eat , I was startled by a shout of'A boat , a boat ! ' and running to the point

    where the flagstaff Avas erected , we distinctly saw a AA ^ hale boat rowing near the shore , at a safe distance from the surf . The steersman AA-aved a flag in hi 3 hand , and pointed it two or three times towards the quarter from Avhich the boat had come ; a loud shout from the top of the cliff , and a pointing of hands in the same direction , showed them below that the signal was understood , and then the boat , turning its head round , pursued its way back again . All was now bustle , hope , and joy ^ Many audibly expressed their humble thanks to Almighty God for their deliverance , which they expected to be immediate , and preparations were made for instant departure . Alas ! neither we Avho were on the cliff , nor those who Avere in the boat below , were at all aware of the dangers and difficulties of the road which we had to traverse nor of the sufferings Avhich we

    were destined to undergo before our final rescue . The captain of the vessel , Avho was himself steering the boat , fully calculated upon our arrival that evening at the point where his ship was in waiting to receive us , for the distance by the coast was only about tAvelve miles , and Ave ourselves , though , we did not know what the distance was , entertained the same impression . But a heavy gale of wind sprang up soon after the boat left us , and it was with great difficulty that the captain and his boat ' s crew were enabled to regain their ship . The vessel was obliged to stand out to sea immediately , and when the gale ceased , Avhich was not till 48 hours afterwards , the brave felloAvs were 80 miles from the island of Amsterdam . ¦ Happily for us , we were spared the knowledge of this misfortune , for I doubt that many would otherwise have laid down on the rocks to die , before they had half gone through that terrible journey of twelve

    miles . They had a terrible journey through the thick strong reeds , and along- the edge of the cliff to the place of embarkation . " The greater portion of the whole route ran tlirough a thick jungle of tall , green cane , generally much higher than a man ' s head , and occasionally interspersed with patches of sharp-pointed rushes . In making this path tho seamen , who had been our pioneers , had kept so close to the edge of the cliff that the utmost vigilance was necessary to avoid a false step , which would have been followed by certain destruction . In some instances , indeed , the path was actually over the edge of the cliff , and the foot had nothing to rest upon but the canes which had been crushed aside by the first comers . Wherever this was the case , the path always took a sudden bend to the left , as if the seaman who for the time beine was tho loader of tho

    advance party , had been suddenly awakened to a sense of the danger which ho had incurred . To make another path was impossible under the circumstances . It required the whole weight of tho body to force a singlo stop through the dense jungle , which Avaa so high and strong , and closed up againso rapidly , that nothing but a number ot'mon trampling close upon one auothcr ' u heels could over have made a track . Besides , it Avas necessary to keep the eye constantly oa tho ground , in order to avoid the chasms and tsharppointed pieces of rock which ever and anon lay in wait for the unwary , and which wero the occasion , even to tho most cautious , of many a fall . * * *

    "It may here be mentioned that on the second evening of the journey , just an tho large party Avith which I was travelling had taken up their ground for the night , a tall , powerful man , in a sailor's garb , appeared on the brow of a hill which avo had just descended , and told us that lie was the mate of the boat which we had Been the , day before , and that be had been landed by Captain Ludlow for tlio express purpose of looking after uh . jlo had already made bin way across the mountain to the encampment on tho clilF , and having slept there on tlio Wednesday night , he was now on bis return to ihe cabbage-garden , where wo Avon ; lobe embarked . lie ( . old uh ( . had the uoluigegarden was only a mile further , and tbad if we could only contrive to walk that distance , we should liud plenty of bread

    and plenty of meat . Tho whole parl . y sprung up ad this announcement , as if they Jmd simultaneously received an electric shock ; hunger and exhaustion were alike forgotten for ( he moment , and every one struggled on as far as ho could , till darkness fell upon the now widely-scpdrated pardy , and made a further advance for dhe nighd impossible . And here id in but an not of justice to mention the obligations which tho passengers in general incurred to the Hcnmiin in question , Sniitli by mime , and an ICriglishmim by birth . On their arrival nl . the encampment ground on the following evening , he did everything in bis jiower to ftHHiwd and encournj ^ e Ihe jaded travellers ; he pointed out the locality of the oablmge-gimlcn , assisted in

    ( . lie Koarch for water , which wan very scarce , and amured dhein that (' upturn Ludlow would make every exertion in hin power to take every man , woman , and child from tho inland . We had never doubled , from the firsd moment , that ( lie whaler nnswered our signals , ( had who would assist , us in soino way or odder , and the circumstance of Captain jjiidlow ' s having lauded one of bin own men inspired nil with additional confidence ; but our hopes of escape from famine were greatly dashed by Smith ' s declaration that neither biscuit , nor beef could bo found in the cabbage - irarden , whore Captain Ludlow had promim'd do deposit , it . I'lio supplies which avo had brought , with uh wero exhausted , and all hands , especially the women and younger children , wore now reduced to uuch a utato of weakness

    Untitled Article

    December 3 , 1853 . ] THE LEADEH . 1155

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 3, 1853, page 1155, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2015/page/3/