“‘Sir:—I regret to inform you, that there is too much reason to believe that the whaling barque Pacific, of New Bedford, U. S., foundered on the western coast of this Island, on the night of the 21st of May last. As the readiest means of communicating the news to those who are interested in the fate of the vessel and crew, I send you a copy of the deposition of one of the known survivors, which is fully corroborated by the statements of the rest. I have ascertained that the Pacific belonged to the firm of Swift & Perry, of New Bedford; that she had on board three hundred and fifty barrels of oil when she was supposed to have foundered. The names of her officers were: John W. Sherman, master; John Hood, chief mate; John Dexter, second mate; Clarke Allen, third mate. The names of the men who landed on the western coast were: Theodore Jerome, David Jones, William Charles Baylis, Joseph Riley, William Anderson, William Owen, Harvey William Miller, David Ling.
“‘Yours, etc.
“‘H. G. GOULAND, Resident Magistrate.
“‘Collingwood, September 10th, 1857.
“‘(Deposition above referred to.)
“‘Theodore Jerome, being sworn, said: I am a seaman, and belonged to barque Pacific, of New Bedford; Sherman, master. The barque Pacific belonged to Swift & Perry, of New Bedford. She was a whaler, of three hundred and fifty tons burden. She left New Bedford last June was a twelvemonth. The last port we left was Bunbury, in New Holland. We put in there for supplies, and left in January last. The vessel leaked considerably when we left New Bedford, but in Bunbury she was caulked.
“‘We made the coast of New Zealand early in February last. We were whaling off the coast. Shortly after making the coast of New Zealand we experienced several gales of wind, which, according to the captain’s opinion, increased the leakage considerably.
“‘On the night of the 21st of May the leakage increased considerably, and the pumps were kept constantly going till near midnight. The carpenter reported the condition of the vessel to be dangerous, and the captain thought it advisable to abandon her. He called all hands aft, and stated the condition of the vessel to them, and advised them to be orderly, and to get in their respective boats without confusion. He turned to Mr. Hood, the chief officer, and told him to put the vessel before the wind, to make it easier for the boats to get away from the ship’s side. The captain ordered Mr. Allen to clear away the bow-boat, and lower her; at the same time a heavy sea pooped the ship, and swept her fore and aft. The vessel was by this time settling by the stern. There was then an immediate rush for the boats—each man getting in the first that he could. I and others got into the bow-boat. I saw Mr. Allen, the third mate, standing on the rail, giving directions for the lowering of the boat. I never saw him afterwards. The boat that I was in escaped from the ship’s side, and we put her before the wind. It was about 11¹⁄₂ o’clock when we were called aft by the captain. It might have been half an hour between that and the time we got clear of the ship’s side. At the time we got into the boat there was another boat in the act of lowering—there may have been more, but that is all that I can say positively. We stood in towards the shore; and made the shore, as nearly as I could judge, about 3¹⁄₂ o’clock in the morning. The boat was stoven in landing. We landed between Milford Haven and Open Bay, on the Milford Haven side of Cascade Point. We had been cruising off and on the shore, and had seen land the previous day. We had been into Milford Haven about a fortnight before this, to get water. From cruising off and on, and repeatedly seeing the land, I was sufficiently acquainted with the coast to know where we landed. At break of day we ascended a hill to look for the ship, but saw nothing of her or of the boats. The weather was very hazy, and it rained heavily then and for several days afterwards; and we saw no wreck, either of vessel or boats. My opinion is, that the currents run outward from the shore, and would carry any wreck out to sea. It was blowing a double-reefed topsail breeze when we left the vessel. The vessel appeared to be water-logged, and was settling by the stern. I think that in all probability the vessel foundered. We remained where we were for one day, and then endeavored to go to the southward; but the bush was so thick, and obstacles so great, that we could not get on in that direction. We then shaped our course in the other direction, towards Open Bay; that is, to the northward of where we landed. We found natives at Open Bay, and remained with them about a fortnight. A native sealing-boat came into Open Bay while we were there, and from one of the crew, that could speak a little English, we got directions that enabled us to make our way along the coast. We left Open Bay, and made the best of our way along the coast to this place, where we arrived yesterday evening. The names of the persons who landed with me were, William Harvey Miller, David Ling, Joseph Riley, W. C. Baylis, William or John Owen, William Anderson, and David Jones. Miller and Ling have not yet arrived. We left Ling, who is a boy about eighteen years old, with the native sealers at Open Bay. The natives told us that the roads were so bad, that he would not be able to travel. Miller’s feet were too sore to walk, and he remained behind. We found the road very difficult. We crossed several rivers; among others, the Mewera and Kawatiri—the names we got from the natives. Whenever we met with any natives, they proved very kind to us: they fed us, and gave us food to take on with us—this, with fern, shellfish, and whatever we could get, enabled us to live on the journey. I cannot remember the names of all the persons aboard: but I can of a good many of them; and of the officers, the captain’s name was Sherman—I don’t know his Christian name; the chief mate’s name was Hood; the second mate’s, Dexter; and the third mate’s, Allen. There was also an acting fourth mate and boatsteerer, whose name I do not remember. The number of officers and crew was thirty-two. I am inclined to think, that if any of the other boats escaped, and had any of the officers aboard, they would shape their course to the nearest port—that is, Jacob’s River.
“‘(Signed)
“‘THEODORE JEROME.
“‘Sworn before me, at Collingwood, the tenth day of September, eighteen hundred and fifty-seven.