Captain John Crane, 1800-1815

by Thomas Wallace Knox

As we came nearer it was plain to perceive that there was something wrong on board the stranger, as she was steering very wildly, and not more than half her sails were pulling at all. She had a flag flying, and when we were near enough to her to make it out, we saw that it was the British cross of St. George, with the union down. Then we knew why our captain had steered so straight for her; he had seen through his glass the signal of distress and was going to her relief.

When we got near the ship two or three heads appeared above the rail. Ordinarily there would have been a dozen or more on a craft of that size, and we all wondered why so few were visible. The captain hailed the vessel, and a faint answer came from her, too faint to be made out. Then we lowered a boat, which was manned by Haines, Herne, and two others of the crew, and carried our first mate, to visit the ship.

On reaching the strange vessel there was no rope hanging over the side by which the mate could ascend to the deck; so he went up by the forechains, which he managed to grasp by standing up in the boat. He ordered his men to stay where they were, and climbed into the ship with the quickness of a circus performer.

The sight that met his eyes was a terrible one. One man stood at the wheel, but he was so weak from lack of food and water that he was really unable to keep the ship on her course. Another man lay half dead near him, and a third in the same condition was stretched at the foot of the mainmast. As he went on board, the mate observed the name "Warwick" on the bows of the ship, and the name, together with the flag that was still flying, indicated her nationality to be English. He spoke to the man at the wheel and asked where the captain was.

"Captain's dead, sir; dead a week ago," the man answered, in a very feeble voice, scarcely more than a whisper. "First mate's in command, sir; in the captain's cabin; just able to creep on deck once in a while; he was up here when you hailed, but hadn't strength enough to answer. We're out of water and provisions, and have been holding on and holding on in hopes of help!"

The mate stopped to hear no more; he sprang to the side of the Warwick which was the nearest to the Washington, and yelled with all the force of his powerful lungs,—

"Water and provisions wanted, quick! Officers and crew dying of starvation!"

Instantly our captain gave the order for water and biscuit to be placed in the second mate's boat, and the boat lowered away at once. Other things were added in the shape of boiled beef, some bread made the day before, and a big pot of coffee which the cook had placed on the galley when he heard that the strange ship was flying a signal of distress. In a few minutes the boat was dancing on the waves, and at the same time the first mate's boat was returning to the Washington. It was not desirable to have both mates and eight of the crew away at once, and the movement was made in this way so as to gain time in taking relief to the unfortunate people on board the Warwick.

Before coming away from the Warwick our mate lowered ropes and the ship's ladder over her sides, so as to facilitate the movements of the second mate and the handling of the provisions. In addition to what I have mentioned there was a bottle of brandy among the supplies sent forward, and also two bottles of rum. Mr. Johnson, our second mate, acted with great celerity in relieving the wants of the sufferers. He gave each of them a small pannikin of coffee, with about a tablespoonful of rum in it, along with a piece of bread, which he told each man to eat very slowly, and take occasional sips of the mixture of coffee and rum.