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I'V
IIF
AWFUL SHIPWR
AN AFFECTING NARRATIVE
OF THE
UJVPARALiliELiED SUFFERIXGTS
OF THE
Tw;
Crew of the ship Francis Spaight, which foundered
on her passage from St. John's, N. B. to Lim-
erick, in November last. The survivors,
after remaining on board the wreck
19 days, during which they were
driven to the most ar'^i'l ex-
tremities, were re-
lieved by the
Brig Angeronia, Capt. Gillard, on her passagb
FROM Newfoundland to Teignmouth.
Communicated for the Press, by John Palmer,
one of the survivors.
BOSTON:
Published by G-. C. Perry.
1837.
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Clerk's Office of
the District Court of Massachusetts.
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PALMER'S NARRATIVE.
.^
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It is alwayis at the extreme hazard of their lives,
that navigatois, as well as others, adventure upon
the boisterous ocean ; and the past year (1836,)
will be long remembered as a remarkable one, for
the many melancholy shipwrecks and fatal disas-_
ters at sea, that have attended it — yet, seldom is it]
that it falls to our lot to record an instance attend- ^
ed with so great a portion of human misery, as the
one narrated in the succeeding pages — the melan-
choly narrative cannot fail of exciting the sympathy
of those who can feelfor suffering humanity, wher-
ever it may be read, and wherever the fate of the
unfortunate sufferers may be disclosed to the heart
and eye of sensibility.
The narrator, John Palmer, who was a hand on
board, (and to whom we are indebted for the mel-
ancholy particulars,) is a young man of unquestion-
able veracity, of respectable parentage, and of
more than an ordinary education ; and who, it ap-
pears by his own confession, entered by a fictitious
name, and without the knowledge of his friends,
on board the British ship Francis Spaight, at St.
Johns, N. B., bound from thence to Limerick ; and
which he was induced to do for no other reason (it
being his first voyage,) than to gratify a strong pro-
pensity to " see the world," and which, he observes,
he saw no great cause to regret until the 3d day of
the month proceeding that on which he entered,
" when (to use his own words,) it was our misfor-
tune to experience a gale, which for severity, (in
6 palmer's narrative.
the opinion of the oldest sailors on board,) was sel-
dom surpassed, if ever equalled ; and during which,
while lying to under a close reefed mizzen topsail,
the ship capsized, when three of her crew found a
watery grave ! Orders were immediately there-
upon given by the officers to the survivors, to do
all in their power for the preservation of the ship,
as well as their lives, and who, after much hard la-
bor, succeeded in cutting away her masts, when
she righted ; but, to the inexpressible surprise and
horror of all on board, it was discovered that not a
particle of either water or provisions could be ob-
tained to sustain the lives of those who had not
shared the fate of their unfortunate companions !
but this (as it afterwards proved) was only the be-
ginning of our calamities. As there was nothing
now that presented to our view but the horrible
prospects of starving, without any appearance of
relief, we were reduced to the most deplorable
state imaginable ! peculiarly so as regarded my-
self, who had ever been a stranger to hardship,
much less to hunger and want.
The wind continued to blow with unabated fury
the two succeeding days and nights, and it was
only by lashing ourselves to the wreck, that we
were prevented from being washed overboard by
the tremendous sea occasioned thereby ; and when
partially relieved in this respect, our minds were
agitated by the dreadful apprehensions that we had
only escaped from a watery grave to experience
tortures still more to be dreaded ! Five days were
passed in this state of painful anxiety, when our
sufferings, produced by craving hunger and burn-
ing thirst, were too great to be longer endured ;
and to alleviate which, we were finally driven to
the dreadful alternative of casting lots, thereby to
determine who of our number should be put to
death, that his body might serve as sustenance for
the remainder '—the lot fell on the youngest on
board, a poor friendless youth, who had been
I
1
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^
1
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^-
palmer's narrative. 7
apprenticed to the Captain, and who by the great
hardships that he had endured, as well as long fast-
ing, was reduced almost to a skeleton. Wheth-
er there was a previous understanding among
some of the ship's crew, that he should be the one
selected as a victim, without allowing him an equal
chance with the others for his life, is well known
to Him, from whom no human act can be conceal-
ed ; but, whether such was the fact or not, such
was the distracted state of my feelings at that mo-
ment, that it was impossible for me to determine —
it is enough for me to remember, nay, at the pre-
sent moment, my blood chills at the bare recollec-
tion of the heart-rending scene that ensued, when
the fate of this poor unfortunate lad was made
known to him ! he first burst into tears, and en-
treated that his life might be spared for a few days,
which not being allowed him, he reduced the time
to a single day ; and when he found that there was
even an objection to this, he became frantic, de-
claring it his determination to defend himself to
the last, although he retained hardly sufficient
strength to support himself erect ; but, being in
this respect but little inferior to that of his other
shipmates, although attacked by three or four of
the most able-bodied, he succeeded, with his jack-
knife, in keeping them off for some minutes, when
nature becoming exhausted, he foil prostrate on
the deck, and in which condition he was instantly
despatched, and his limbs detached from his ema-
ciated body, and distributed among his still more
wretched shipmates ! Frequently had I heard and
read that famine had led men to the commission
of such horrible excesses, that insensible on such
occasions to the appeals of nature and reason, they
assumed the character of beasts of prey, and deaf
to every representation, coolly meditated the death
of a fellow-creature ! but, foreign was it from my
mind, that I should myself be brouglit not only to
be an eye witness to a scene like this, but to be-
i
8
palmer's narrative.
come, in reality, one of its melancholy subjects !
Two days had, however, elapsed after the tragical
death of the unfortunate youth, before I could be
brought to follow the awful example of my starving
companions ! To what woful extremities can poor
human nature be driven by extreme hunger ! sure-
ly, none can be truly sensible of it, except those
who have experienced it. It is not necessary for
me to add, that to this state, I (who had been used
to luxurious living, and who had unnecessarily left
a home affording " enough and to spare,") was
brought !
However loathsome this food may be viewed by
my readers, (some of whom may perhaps think, as
I once thought, that even a lingering death by
starvation, would be preferable to that of attempt-
ing to appease it by the use of human flesh,) it was
found insufficient to support life but a few days,
when a similar plan was adopted in the selection
of another victim ! and in a few days after, anoth-
er ! The first of the two appeared perfectly re-
conciled to his fate, and requested only a few mo-
ments to prepare himself for death, which he em-
ployed in fervent prayer for himself, and for our
speedy deliverance, and then delivered up his life
without a struggle ! But, the piteous moans and
lamentations of the latter, in consequence (as he
represented,) of leaving behind him a beloved wife
and several small children, dependant on him for
support, were truly appalling, and could not have
been withstood by any but such wretched beings
as we were, whose sufferings and privations had
driven to a state of desperation ! This was, in re-
ality, the situation of some of the unhappy surviv-
ors, who, deprived of their reason, and driven to a
state of raving madness, had their strength admit-
ted of it, it is not improbable that they would, like
ravenous beasts, have fallen upon and destroyed
one another, without any regard to the plan pur-
sued in the selection of victims.
PALMER 8 NARRATIVE.
9
- ■ '
' A few day previous to that on which wc were re-
lieved, four of our wretched companions expired,
(by the names of O'Brien, Gorham, Beham, and
Burns,) and all, apparently, in a perfect state of in-
sensibility, as regarded their real situations. It
was astonishing to witness how different were the
effects produced by their sufferings. The ravings
of O'Brien and Beham, in their last moments, were
like those of madmen, and whose greatest efforts
(with fists clenched, and with gnashing teeth,) ap-
peared to be to commit violence on those' of their
shipmates by whom they were approached ; and
some of whom would, no doubt, have received seri-
ous injury, had they not retained sufficient strength
to enable them to creep away beyond their reach.
Burns, although he talked incessantly and incohe-
rently, manifested a more harmless disposition —
at one moment he would be engaged in singing
some favorite sea song, and at the next, would ap-
pear to imagine himself the commander of the
wreck, calling on his shipmates (by wrong names)
to attend to their duty, assuring them that there
was every prospect of a short, plensant, and pros-
perous voyage ! The behaviour of Gorham was dif-
ferent from that of either of the three mentioned ;
at intervals he appeared more rational, and not in-
sensible of his situation, and while speaking of his
unfortunate family as bereaved of one on whom
they depended for support, would weep like a child ;
but soon would appear to lose himself, and call on
and talk to his children as rf present, calling them
by name, and entreating them to take pity on and
indulge their father with even a few drops of wa-
ter.
As regarded myself, although in body exhibiting
the appearance of a living skeleton, yet I bore my
sufferings and privations with a great degree of for-
titude, until three days previous to that of our de-
liverance, when it was my fate (as T was informed
by my shipmates,) to become delirous. When re-
2
10
PALMER 3 NARRATirE.
Stored to my reason, I recollect that while I re-
mained unconscious of my situation, all appeared
like a dream. I imagined myself at home, in the
presence of my affectionate parents, brothers, sis-
ters, &C., but confined to a sick bed, a prey to a
burning fever, and tormented with most intolera-
ble thirst. I plainly, as I imagined, recognized my
friends, standing by my bedside, but who not only
appeared to disregard my entreaties for water, but
to view me with much apparent indifference ; and
it was, when endeavoring by gestures, (as I either
was, or imagined myself deprived of the power of
speech,) to acquaint them of the true state of my
feelings and the tortures with which they were af-
flicting me, by refusing to indulge me with a little
water with which to cool my parched throat, that
my reason returned, and I became more sensible of
my wretched condition.
By the return of my reason my mind was once
more distracted by the most awful forebodings ; be-
ing sensible that by the selecting of one victim af-
ter another,. we were fast reducing our number, I
could not but expect that my turn would by and by
come ; or, what was, if possible, still more to be
dreaded, that it might hr my ^ot to survive a!! my
wretched coinpanions. uu- !m .Jk labi to perish Oii
th'" -.Vioi-k, nud thfjrcbv my ;itl1' icd r-'r nf- pvo'
leit Hi suspense as regarded my wretched late i —
There was yet another circumstance that was cal-*
culated to increase, rather than to diminish our
misery — the skeletons, &c. of the bodies of such
of our unfortunate companions, as had been doom-
ed to die by our hands, had (after having been
stripped of all their flesh,) been committed to the
deep, and which had, no doubt, the effect to attract
numerous sharks, some of them of astonishing
length, which in calm weather were always to be
seen swimming around the wreck ; and which too
plainly told us what our fate would be, if through
1
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Si
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in
palmer's narrative.
11
" , -^
weakness, any of our number should be so unfor-
tunate as to fall overboard.
Sixteen dayji had now elapsed since that on
which our unfortunate ship was capsized ; during
the most of which time human flesh had been ou?
only food, and this alone would have been found
insufficient to have preserved our lives so lonir, had
we not in this time been blessed with three or four
showers, supplying us with a moderate quantity of
water, and w Mch we caught by spreading and
wringing our clothes. Loathsome as our food had
been, the day previous to that on which we were
relieved, we had partaken of the last of it, with the
exception of a part of two quarters of the last vic-
tim, and It was consequently considered necessary
(while our strength would admit of it,) to select
from among our diminished number, another, and
the fourth victim ! To determine whom it should
which Vr' ?.'" °f deciding by lot was adopted,
which fell on the mate. The poor fellow appeared
but very httle affected thereat, having been fre-
Sl hn'tl '" ^^.^^^^t^hat so great were his suf-
f!fi^ u I i'u ^^""'f^ *^°«« of his shipmates their
tate, who had been doomed in this manner to yield
T 1 ?"*u H^^ ' ^""^ '^^"^'^ ""t but hope that if it
ttr . \Tu "^9^«?ary to sacrifice another,
that It might fall to his lot, as he had neither wife
nor children to eaye behind. His only desire was
that he might die by strangulation, the deaths of
^e others having been caused by opening a vein,
With the captain the fate of his mate had quite a
trZ '!f''^i ^"!. attachment for him had been
great, and he therefore used much persuasive ar-
gument to prevail on his unfortunate crew to post-
pone the sacrifice for a single day. He had, by
soaking in salt water, preserved the liver and brains
ot the unfortunate youth, (the first victim,) and was
the next mormng about to share this, with the re-
maming food, among his companions, when to the
inexpressible joy of all, a vessel was descried bear-
n
w'-,
PALMER 3 NARRATIVE.
ing down for the wreck, which proved to be the
brig Angeronia, Captain Gillard, bound from New-
foundland to Teignmouth.
When the Captain and crew succeeded in reach- «■
ing our ship's deck, and beheld the awful spectacle
which we presented, and the melancholy remains
of the last victim on which we had subsisted for
the three days previous, they appeared for a mo-
ment as if doubting the reality of what they saw ;
but convinced, they united in one general exclama-
tion of horror and surprize ! Our appearance at
that moment, must indeed have been shocking in
the extreme ; but two of our number possessing
sufficient strength to stand erect, the remainder
were only able to creep about upon their hands and
knees — our faces, arms, hands, and other parts of
our bodies, that had been exposed to the powerful
rays of the sun, burnt nearly black ; and our clothes
having been continually wet, our emaciated bodies
were chafed and nearly covered with painful soars.
We were by our kind deliverers conveyed on
board the brig, where every thing was done that
could be done to alleviate our miseries. Broths
were made for us, but of which, as of water, we
v/ere permitted only to partake sparingly, and to
which we may imp'-u. the snlv/itiua of our liu; :
fur had we been p^rmiticd tj eat ufj itiucl- a-' on-
appetites craved, it must have proved fatal to us.
By the kind assistance of my benefactors (for which
may Heaven reward them,) by the time the brig
reached her destined port, I had, by kind treat-
ment, gained sufficient strength to enable me, like
another prodigal son, to reach that long wished for
home, which had been the scene of many happy
momenta, but of which I had been unconscious, un-
til I had unwisely deserted it, to experience trials
and hardships of which none but those who have
experienced similar, can have a true conception. —
By my great sufferings, my health still remains
impaired,and my constitution (which was previous-
^ '.'^SW^"
-t
palmer's narrative.
13
'>»
i
\y good,) so much broken, as to render it very pro-
bable, that until the day of my death I shall remain
a living monument of my past folly.
True it is, as I have frequently heard it remark-
ed, that dear-bought experience often proves a most
valuable instructor, and that we are sometimes in-
debted to adversity for our wisdom. I had heard
much of foreign countries and had long felt a strong
inclination to visit them ; and although I had not
unfrequently read of, and listened with no incon-
siderable interest, to the narratives of the surpris-
ing adventures of sailors, as they recounted their
many hair breadth escapes, and the great perils
and privations to which they were daily exposed
while navigating the deep ; yet it had but little ef-
fect to deter me from an attempt to accomplish my
views — to gratify a too common propensity to ad-
venture abroad, even at the risk of my life, "to see
the world !"— others, I argued, had been and re-
turned in safety, and why not I ? With this en-
couragement alone, I adventured — but, alas, too
soon did I experience the difference between that
peaceful and comfortable home, the habitation of
endeared friends, the scene of every enjoyment that
T , 1 lif^bly dpsire. to that of beins" tossed
to uiut u> upon a I. i ' u.? ocean, and occa^^ioii-
n
\\\ iusu\\r,cc]
(lam-
dreary forecastle.
MIU-
sisting on the coarsest luud, and with none bat per-
fect strangers, of almost every country, for my
companions. But, what was all this to what I was
afterwards doomed to suffer ? The sad tale has
been told — the melancholy particulars have been
truly and faithfully recorded in the preceding
pages.
Although while I remained on the wreck, my suf-
ferings were so great as in one instance to deprive
me of reason, yet, in my most rational moments, I
could but contrast my own miserable situation with
that of someof my young acquaintance on shore--
that while they were, in all probability, reposing in
14
palmer's narrative.
security by the firesides of their friends, and bleat
with and enjoying every necessary of life that their
hearts could wish, I was enduring all the tortures
which extreme hunger and parching thirst could
be productive of; and to relieve which, was finally
driven to the awful extremity of eating the flesh
and drmking the blood of those who had been my
ship companions ! My dear young friends, it is my
sincere prayer that you may not follow my exam-
ples, and unwisely attempt to gratify a similar pro-
pensity " to see the world," but rather learn wis-
dom by my folly ; take the advice of one who
knows--who by his imprudence and too hasty con-
clusions, has been doomed to drink deep, very deeo
of the cup of adversity ! Never be so unwise as £
exchange a certainty for an uncertainty ; if you have
conifortable homes, and possess the means of pro-
curing even a humble living, be satisfied therewith,
tor should you be otherwise inclined, you may have
cause ever after.to regret it. As regards myself I
can truly say with the poet, that '
" 'Mid pleasures and palaces, though we may roam
Be It ever so humble, there 's no place like home : '
A charm from the skies, seems to hallow us there
VYhich seek through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere.
Home, home, swoct, aweet home
There 's no place like home. '
An exile from hdme, splendor dazzles in vain
Oh ! give me my lonely thatched cottage again :
Ihe birds smgmg gaily, that come at my call.
<jrive me them with peace of mind, dearer thaA all.
Home, sweet home, &c.
If I return homp overburdened with care
The heart's dearest solace I 'm sure to meet there •
1 he bJiss I experience whenever I come
Makes no other place seem like that of sweet home.
Home, sweet home," &.c,
hvl^'^^ T'^ ^^^" ^"^^ ^^^'^ '^ remarked, and
by those who were probably more wise than my-
self, that " he who would know how to prize heaUh
i
•n
-r »
i
TS
palmer's narrative.
15
•» •
should for a period be deprived of it." A very cor-
rect remark, in my estimation, and one that will with
equal propriety apply to some few in the humbler
walks of life, who, although blessed with health,
and with the means of earning by their daily avo-
cations a comfortable subsistence, yet manifest
much uneasiness and discontent, because there are
others who appear to have been the greater favor-
ites of kind fortune, and to enjoy more profusely
her gifts—wrongfully imagining that the splendor
of wealth QXid. possession of riches, are alone essen-
tial to their happiness ; but, such an opinion I know
by sad experience, to be an erroneous one, for al-
though it has been with me from early age, (as
with thousands,) the great object of my pursuit,
yet I can truly say, that I never did experience
true happiness until that joyful moment, when, af-
ter having been driven to the most awful extremi-
ties by hunger and thirst, I was presented by my
deliverers with a cup of pure water and a howl of
broth ; and which I at that moment, would have
been found unwilling to have exchanged for all the
wealth of Peru. And such, I am confident, would
be the conclusions of those, who, although stran-
gers to rfial want, vet too frequently murmur ar
gJ idence, for d*it)arring them from tiii OR.,
joyment of the luxuries umJ •supuifluitie.^ ^vhic .
has piuced within the rea*n . ■* others, woulu Licy
for a moment condescend to look down upon the
thousands who are so far more miserable than them-
selves, as to find it difficult to procure from day to •
day, food sufficient to satisfy the cravings of na-
ture, they would not, while enjoying the necessa-
ries of life, conceive themselves so extremely un-
happy, although deprived of the enjoyment of some
of its luxuries. But such is the aspiring disposi-
tion of man, generally speaking, and such his nat-
ural thirst for wealth, that he is seldom found will-
ing to look down and to contrast his situation with
those who move in the lower ranks of life, (altho'
16
paImer's narrative.
it is iioi improbable that some were born to great-
er fortunes,) but is continually looking up, and en-
vying the rich for their great wealth, although the
possession thereof, it is possible, would render him
ten times more unhappy than he would otherwise
be. Pity it is, that such could not be made sensi-
ble that the real source of all human happiness is
not riches, but contentment.
It is a lamentable truth that a thirst for, or a
pursuit after imaginary happiness, too much en-
grosses the attention of mankind generally, and
too much do they expect to find it in the possession
of great wealth. This is a great mistake, for no
one can be pronounced happy, who depends upon
fortune for his happiness. That man alone is most
happy who is contented with the situation in which
Providence has placed him. We live in a world
naturally subject to lamentable events ; and every
day's instruction teems with lessons teaching us
the vicissitudes, as well as the vanity and empti-
ness of all transitory things. Although we may
at times see cause to rejoice, yet very soon we may
see equal cause to mourn, by being unexpectedly
>iumbled by adversity ; and as these are vicissitudes
to which the wealth and honors of this world can
form no barrier, we ousfht not to indulge ourselves
in repining, in uneasiness, or despondency, be-
cause we do not possess them to profusion.
How little disposed should we be to find fault
with and to murmur at our condition in life, how-
ever humble it might be, were we to reflect for a
moment how much more miserable thej might be !
I have seen the time when I would have been un-
willing to have exchanged conditions with any one
within the circle of my acquaintance ; and I have
seen the time, and that very recently, when I would
have gladly exchanged conditions with the poorest
beggar in existence ; nay, would have given thou-
sands, had I possessed them, for the privilege of
sharing with him the humble fare bestowed on him
•V*
1 1-
1
PALMER S NARRATIVE.
17
in charity. Mysterious, indeed, are the ways of
Providence ; the same wheel which raises us to-
day, on the smooth, unruffled ocean of prosperity,
may, before the morrow, roll us in the stormy sea
of adversity. The scenes of life are continually
shifting, and mankind are ever subject to ills, per-
plexities, and disappointments ; and we are too
apt to find fault, and conclude that we are possess-
ed of a greater share of worldly afflictions than our
fellow-men, or more than our proportion in the
scale of justice ; but on reflection, I am persuaded
mankind are not so unequally provided for in this
world as many imagine. " God is no respecter of
persons," he favors one man no more than another,
and his blessings are equally showered upon all his
offspring.
In all the changing scenes of life, we behold
man ever in pursuit of happiness — it is his aim and
object ; nay, the very desire of his heart to be hap-
py ; and in hopes of being so, ere his days, even
of this transitory life shall end, he toils and labors
with an unceasing and unwearied hand — no obsta-
cles that meet him in his path are too great to be
overcome ; but, alas ! before it is attained, how
often does life itself, with all its anxieties and cares,
vanish forever. It is a great mistake to account
those things necessary and essential to our happi-
ness, that are superfluous. Let the man of a firm
health not account himself happy only in the enjoy-
ment of this good, but may the thought of suffering
nothing among so many calamitous events to which
he is subject, make him yet more content — let him
enjoy himself, not only from the good circum-
stances that are his lot, but from the evils too,
which do not befall him. The restlessnesb and in-
quietude peculiar to a great portion of mankind,
through all the several stages of their existence
are the sole immolate jf time. They are con-
tinually looking forward lo a time, when they gjjaji
be rich in the possessions of the world ; anj even
o
palmer's najrrative.
'I
■i
m, who has the abundance of riches, " a full
et and full store," the same anxieties, the samo
easy spirit and restless mind, embitter the sweetH
of his life, and waste his time and years.
Let us remember that we are but sojourners here
on earth — that we are fast hastening to our long
homes, and let the benign anticipation of happiness
hereafter, make us triumph over adversity, and in-
struct us in the proper improvement of affliction?),
that they may efficaciously work out for us a " far
more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." —
Thus suitably impressed with the hopes of consum-
mated happiness and fruition in the realms of peace,
and with minds dilated above the annoying influ-
ence of worldly troubles and adverse events, we
can tranquilly withstand all the buffetting billows
of time, and welcome the auspicious hour which
transports us from these tenements of clay, to an
" inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fad-
eth not away."
Success and disappointment, mirth and despon-
dency, alternately accompany us through the jour-
ney of time. One day we set forth on our road
with vigor and animation, favored by an auspicious
atmosphere and a serene sky, full of anticipation
and elated with hope ; but ere night arrives, to lay
our weary limbs to rest, some incident has blasted
all our expectations — the morn which beamed forth
its radiance and dispensed to us pleasure, is sup-
planted by a sable night, which brings to us a sad
reverse, of many pains, anxieties and sorrows. —
Hence, it is not an abundance of riches that can
secure to us that degree of happiness and tranquil-
Uty of mind that all are anxious to experience — a
good share of prudence is far more preferable ; as
for the want of it, the young and inexperienced
frequently and rashly launch their frail barks be-
fore they are able to stem the adverse current of
life, and are wrecked among the shoals and quick-
sands of adversity.
N
hVl.
palmer's narrative.
19
CLOSING REMARKS.
>
*r
The foregoing concludess the interesting Narra-
tive and Address of Palmeh, to which a friend begs
liberty to subjoin some few remarks. As has been
remarked at the commencement of the Narrative,
the year 1836 will be long remembered as a pecul-
iar one for the many unfortunate occurrences at
sea that have attended it. Scarcely a week has
passed, that some awful shipwreck, great loss of
lives in consequence of vessels taking fire, &c. has
not been announced to us. Since the commence-
ment of the year, it is probable that not a less num-
ber than one thousand persons, (men, women and
children,) have become the victims of one or the
other of these devouring elements, on, or in the vi-
cinity of the American coast, attended with all the
horrors, and in some instances, by the most aggra-
vating circumstances that the human mind can con-
ceive of.
To maintain a commercial intercourse with for-
eign nations, it is necessary, notwithstanding the
perils to which they subject themselves, that there
should be found some willing to adventure their
lives ; and it is not surprising that there should be
many of that useful class, who, accustomed from
their youth to a seafaring life, are found willing to
brave all dangers, and to subject themselves to al-
most incredible hardships, for that support which
they would find it diflicult to obtain for themselves
and families on shore — but, that there should be
so many of quite a different class, a class compos-
20
palmer's narrative.
ed of some of our most active and promising young
men, of educations that Would fit them ibr the most
respectable stations, and produce them ample sup-
port, found willing, merely to gratify a silly pro-
pensity to see the world, to subject themselves to
the dangers and perils of the sea, is indeed, aston-
ishing. The fate of the unfortunate Palmer should
afford such a lesson, which ought never to be for-
gotten. He (Palmer) was, it appears, of respect-
able parentage, a stranger to hardships, blessed
with a competency, and with an education sufficient
to qualify him for the performance of the duties of
the profession in which he was about to engage ;
but, alas, what a reverse of fortune was produced
by a single act of imprudence. He has, indeed,
painted his deplorable situation, while confined to
the wreck, in deep colors, but we do not believe
the picture too highly colored ; for what situation
on earth is there in which man can be placed, so
awful as that of being driven by hunger and thirst
to drink the blood and eat the dead body of a fel-
low being ! Such appears to have been the fate of
this unfortunate young man — and which, we would
again say, should serve as a beacon to deter others
from an attempt to gratify similar propensities,
which may, for aught they know, prove equally fa-
tal.
Whoever has perused the melancholy account of
the late awful conflagration which occurred on
board the steamboat Royal Tar, when forty-nine
of her unfortunate passengers perished ; and the
still more recent account of the loss of the ship
Bristol, bound from Liverpool to New-York, (when
no less number than sixty-seven of her crew and
passengers found a watery grave,) must be satisfied
of the imminent danger to which mariners, and oth-
ers who adventure upon the deep waters, are ex-
posed. " Shipwreck (as a late writer observes,) is
always, even in its mildest form, a calamity which
fills the mind with horror. But what is instant
r- "i
PALMER*9 NARRATIVE.
01
0t0 a
A#-
f "i
death, compared to the situation of those wha are
doomed to contend with hunger and thirst ? Be-
hold the ship safely gliding along upon the smooth
sea, every heart bounding with joy, at the prospect
of their soon reaching the destined port, and once
more embracing those friends from whom they have
long been separated, when, all at once, a cloud
arises — the sun withdraws its light — the tempest
rolls on, accompanied with all the horrors of mid-
night darkness — she drives headlong upon the
rocks. Ah ! fatal moment. Where now shall they
seek for refuge ? No kind friend is present to lend
the aid sufficient to protect these unhappy suffer-
ers ; but a small solitary boat, or fragment of the
wreck, must float them, they know not where ; des-
tined often, to satisfy the cravings of hunger and
to prolong a lingering life, by casting lots for a vic-
tim to be sacrificed to serve for food for the rest."
That the picture of horror and despair here pre-
sented to view, is not one of the imagination alone,
the affecting narrative of the unfortunate Palmer
affords a melancholy proof. Similar instances too
frequently occur ; nor does the two, of which we
have made mention, and of very recent occurrence,
in some respects, fall but little short of it. The
awful scene of distress that attended the loss of
the steamboat Royal Tar, as related by the few
who were miraculously preserved from the dread-
ful conflagration, must still be fresh in the minds
of my readers — the unfortunate passengers, com-
prising men, women, and children, to escape from
the devouring element, hanging to ropes and vari-
ous parts of the burning vessel, until compelled by
the approaching flames to loose their holds and to
drop into the ocean, to rise no more ; and to en-
hance still more the scene of horror, several unfor-
tunate mothers, to put an immediate period to the
sufferings of their tender infants, threw them over-
board, and leaped after them to perish with them !
Nor were the scenes which attended the more re-
i
22
palmer's narrative.
cent loss of the ship Bristol, (almost within view of
the harbor of New- York,) less distressing. The
description given of the lamentable catastrophe by
the few that escaped from the wreck, were in terms
almost too shocking to describe ! Mothers callinff
to their children, and husbands for their wives, and
on the next wave they were buried in the deep !^
So sudden and unexpected was the disaster, that
several of the passengers, (principally women and
berSs^"'ten 'A^'^T '^^y "°"'^ ^^^^« their
Jn«tin;i ?h liT^ '^^P' °" striking the shore,
instantly bilged, filled, and all below were drown-
ed-not a groan was heard to denote the catastro-
phe, so awfully sudden was it. The ship, in a few
hours went to pieces, and the ensuing morning
presented a scene truly melancholy to behold-f
sixty of the lifeless bodies of those who perished
were driven on shore. Such are some of the dan!
gers and such frequently the awful consequences
of adventuring upon and exposing our lives to the
boisterous ocean. On this melancholy subject, we
think that we cannot present our readers with any
thing more appropriate than a description of a
wreck at sea. by an eniinent writer. He remarks :
We one day descried some shapeless object
drifting at a distance-it proved to be the mast of
a ship that must have been completely wrecked •
for there were the remains of handkerchiefs, b^
which some of the crew had fastened themselves
to this spar to prevent their being washed off by
the waves. 1 here was no trace by which the name
of the ship could be ascertained. The wreck had
trfuflf'ffi^^''fT''y "^«"th«' ^'»«ters of
shell-fish had fastened about it, and long sea-weeds
flaunted at its sides— but, where, thought I, is the
crew? Their struggle has long been^ve^-they
have gone down amidst the roar of the tempest-
their bones he whitening in the caverns of the
deep-silence oblivion, like the waves, have closed
over them, and no one can tell the story of their
I
f
"nr
t
PALMER 3 NARRATIVE.
23
'1
*
end ! What sighs have been wafted after that ship !
What prayers offered up at the deserted fireside of
home ! How often has the beloved wife and affec-
tionate mother pored over the daily news, to catch
some casual intelligence of this rover of the deep !
How has expectation darkened into anxiety— anx-
iety into dread— and dread into despair ! Alas !
not one memento shall ever return for love to cher-
ish. All that shall ever be known, is, that she sail-
ed from her port, " and was never heard of more."
" The sight of the wreck as usual, gave rise to
many dismal anecdotes. This was particularly the
case in the evening, when the weather, which had
hitherto been fair, began to look wild and threat-
ening, and gave indications of one of those sudden
storms that will sometimes break in upon the se-
renity of a summer voyage. As we sat around the
dull light of a lamp, in the cabin, that made the
gloom more ghastly, everyone had his tale of ship-
wreck and disaster. I was particularly struck with
a short one related by the captain.
" As I was sailing," said he, " in a fine stout ship,
across the banks of Newfoundland, one of the
heavy fogs that prevail in those parts, rendered it
impossible for me to see far ahead even in the day
time ; but at night the weather was so thick that
we could not distinguish any object at twice the
length of our ship. I kept lights at the mast head
and a constant watch forward to look out for fish-
ing-smacks, which are accustomed to lie at anchor
on the banks. The wind was blowing a smacking
breeze, and we were going at a great rate through
the water. Suddenly the watch gave the alarm of
" a sail ahead !" but it was scarcely uttered till we
were upon her. She was a small schooner at an-
chor with her broad side towards us. The crew
were all asleep, and had neglected to hoist a light.
We struck her just amid-ships. The force, the
size, and weight of our vessel, bore her down be-
24
palmer's narhative.
I
low the waves ; we passed over her, and were hur-
ried on our course.
"As the crashing wreck was sinking beneath
us, 1 Mad a ghmpse of two or three half naked
wretches, rushing from the cabin ; they had just
started from their cabins to be swallowed shriek-
ing by the waves. I heard their drowning crv
mingled with the wind. The blast that bore it to
our ears swept us out of all farther hearing. I
«hall never forget that cry ! It was some timi be-
fore we could put the ship about, she was under
such headway. We returned as nearly as we could
guess to the place where the ship was anchored.—
We cruised about for several hours in the dense
log. We fired several guns, and listened if we
might hear the hallo of any survivors ; but all was
siJent--we never heard nor saw any thing of them
liur-
eath
iked
just
iek-
cry
it to
. I
be-
ider
)uld
1—
nse
we
vas
lem
*<*(
/«
♦
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