The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

A particular Account of the distressing Circumstances of a Number of Men belonging to a Philadelphia Vessel, lately lost.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 24.

CAPTAIN POWEL brought in with him four sailors, who give the following account,

That on the 8th of August last, in lat. 25, being then on board the brig Sally, capt. Tabry, bound from this port for Hispaniola, with a load of lumber, and having a strong gale of wind, the brig was laid to under her main stay sail till 7 o'clock the next morning, when she was hove on her beam ends, and in less than 5 minutes turned keel upwards, so that they had only time to cut away the lanyards of her mainmast. There were on board Anthony Tabry, master, Humphry Mars, mate, Joseph Sherver, Samuel Bess, John Burna, mariners, who were drowned: six other mariners, viz. Peter Toy, Daniel Curtain, John Davis, Alexander Landerry, Peter Mayes and William Hammon, having got hold of the topmasts which floated along side, tied it to the stern and supported themselves by it, till about five o'clock in the evening, when the cabin boy swam to the hull and threw them a rope, by which they got on the bottom of the vessel, where they were still in a dismal plight; the first want that invaded them was drink, this drove away all thought of meat. The mainmast with all the rigging, the lanyards having been cut away, came up along side, from which they got the wreath, (a Square hoop which binds the head of the mast) with which, and a bolt of a foot long, they went to work on her bottom, in the mean time keeping their mouth moist, as well as they could, by chewing the Ruff off of her bottom, she not having any barnacles being lately cleaned, and some lead which was on her bow, and drinking their own water: In four days time, Peter Toy died raving for drink, whose body they threw off the vessel, the next day; in this manner did they work for six days, without meat, drink or sleep, not daring to lay down, for fear of falling off the vessel; the sixth day they got a hole in the Brig, where they found a barrel of bottled beer, this they drank very greedily, they soon got another parcel, when one of them put the others on an allowance; the eleventh day of their being on the wreck they got a barrel of pork, which they were obliged to eat raw. As to sleep, as soon as they got a hole through the vessel's bottom they pulled out a great number of Slaves & shingles, & made a platform in the same place, but so small it was, that when they wanted to turn they were obliged to wait till the sea hoisted the vessel, & when she fell again with the sea, they were almost crushed to death. Thus did these poor miserable fellows live for thirteen or fourteen days after they got the pork, they made a kind of a net, with a hoop, some shingles and ropes which they got from the mast, this they let into the sea, with some pork and caught a few small fish, which, with two or three mice they caught on board the brig, afforded them several most delicious repast, raw as they were, this lasted but a few days, as they could not catch any more, when they were obliged to return to their pork, which was become quite putrid by the salt water getting to it. To their great joy on the 1st of September, in lat. 26, 15. long. 70, 10, at four o'clock in the afternoon, they could just perceive a vessel to windward of them, which seemed to stand for some time for them, but soon put about and stood from them; it was then they despaired, as that morning they had drank the last bottle of their beer, and that one was all they had for that day, they worked hard to get at the casks of water in the hold, but they were so far from them that they could not have got at them in a long time; about sun half an hour high the vessel stood for them, and came so nigh that they perceived a piece of canvas that they on the wreck supported on a board, bore down for it, and about 7 or 8 o'clock took them on board, he was the brig Norwich, Captain Robert Noyles. Thus were they relieved when death stared them in the face, by a capt. who used them very kind, gave them food and cloaths, as their own were rotted off their backs, washed their sores and gave them plasters, as they were almost raw from head to foot, with the heat of the sun and salt water, which in many places had eat holes in their flesh. On the 8th they fell in with capt. Powel, for this port, who took four of them, (the other, William Hammon, was so ill that he could not be removed from on board Captain Noyles brig) used them kind, of which these poor fellows are quite sensible, and brought them in here as above.