by Edouard A. Stackpole

16 The Loss of the Ship "Manchester," of Nantucket, off Cape Horn

by Edouard A. Stackpole

LATE IN MARCH, 1854, the ship Manchester of Nantucket, commanded by Captain Alexander H. Coffin, sailed from this port to New York, where she was to complete loading a cargo for Valparaiso, Chile. Accompanying Captain Coffin were his wife, Eliza Ann Coffin, and 16-year-old son, Thomas E. Coffin. The 1st Mate was Charles H. Pitman, of Nantucket, and the 2nd Mate was David R. Evans, of Wales. The steward was Joseph Francis, and the cook, John Alexander, both of Nantucket. The crew numbered ten seamen, and were from various seaports as well as from New England.

The ship reached New York without incident, and loaded a full cargo of coal and lumber, consigned by the firm of Cartwright and Harrison. Sailing from New York on April 7, she made a good passage across the equator, and arrived at Montevideo, Uruguay, on July 24, 1854. Four extra hands at this time were shipped, one to replace a sailor who had died on the voyage. Sailing on July 28, the Manchester had an uneventful passage until she entered the Straits of LeMaire, when she encountered a series of westerly gales. It was typical Cape Horn weather, and for two weeks Captain Coffin tried desperately to make headway to the westward, only to find himself continuously baffled by the gales.

In an effort to gain an offing by hugging the rugged shores of the islands off the coast, Captain Coffin risked the dangers inherent in this region. While still some distance from the nearest land, the Manchester struck on a sunken reef. It was the morning of August 28,1854, and they were just a month from Montevideo, in a position just south of Cape Horn.

The pumps were sounded and they found the nish of water through the stricken hull betrayed the fact that the vessel was doomed. To add to the danger, one of the boats, promptly lowered, was stove and useless. Captain Coffin ordered the mainmast cut away, and the ship now helpless drifted toward the ugly rocks off Cape Horn itself. At 5 o'clock on the morning of August 29 the ship struck and began immediately to break up.

The ship broke up with such rapidity that all hands had little opportunity to launch a boat or an improvised raft. The turbulant sea racked the hull perched on the reef and tore the ship apart. Captain Coffin, with his wife and son and the steward were in the main cabin. Shortly after the ship struck, the stern began to break apart, and the occupants of the cabin found themselves straggling in the sea as it surged into the after quarters. With his terrified wife clinging to him, the master of the

LOSS OF THE SHIP "MANCHESTER'

17 ship was submerged and when he came to the surface he found his wife had been torn from his grasp by some of the floating debris. In the half-light of the morning, Captain Coffin could find no trace of his wife. He did discern a figure swimming close by and called out to him. It was his son Thomas, and the two managed to reach a piece of timber to which they clung. Moments later they saw a section of the ship's stern and climbed out of the sea to reach a momentary place of safety. In this precarious position they drifted during the morning. At mid-day an ocean current caught the wreckage and carried it up on the rocks of a small island, just south of Cape Horn itself. There was no sign of any other survivors.

Captain Coffin and his son remained on the little island for two days, during which time they scanned the sea for any sign of their shipmates. A cask of ship's bread and other supplies washed ashore, on which they subsisted. Toward the end of the second day they were overjoyed to see two men paddling toward them on a make-shift raft, approaching from a nearby island. It was the 2nd Mate, David Evans, and Robert Wells, one of the foremast hands. They brought the melancholy news that there were no other survivors. When the ship struck, Mate Pitman had the crew all forward, where they were holding desperately to the fore-house top. A short time later, the foremast came crashing down, taking most of these men to their deaths. Evans and Wells had grasped pieces of lumber and were later washed onto the rocks of the island next to where the Coffins, father and son, had finally drifted.

The four men soon realized the desperate need of supplies to exist. The resourceful Captain Coffin built a small boat from the lumber that had drifted ashore, and they made their way to the island on which 2nd Mate Evans and his companion had lived. Here they found more provisions from the wreck, as well as considerable lumber from the ship's cargo. Captain Coffin immediately began constructing a larger boat, as he had determined to get to sea as quickly as possible, and to make the attempt to reach St. Carlos, on the island of Chiloe, the nearest civilized place, then some 600 miles away.

But the fates were against the redoubtable shipmaster. They had been isolated for nearly two months since the wreck. The boat was close to completion when 2nd Mate Evans died from a condition aggravated by the exposure. It was the second day of November, 1854, and it was to be a portent of further tragedy.

One day Captain Coffin was surprised to see some natives approaching, Fuegians, who had come from the mainland. While at first they appeared friendly it soon became apparent they were sizing up the white men, and intended to take what they could. Gifts of clothing did not appease them; they became more aggressive in demands. Captain Coffin warned his son and the seaman, Robert Wells, to be on guard. But the attack came sooner than they realized.

Three natives grabbed Captain Coffin and threw him down. Thomas Coffin and Robert Wells made a desperate effort to escape by racing to the boat, recently completed by the shipmaster and afloat,

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HISTORIC NANTUCKET moored to the shore. As they reached the boat, the natives threw spears, one of which passed entirely through Thomas Coffin's clothing without wounding him. Wells fell in the water while trying to get into the boat. In a last fierce effort, he got aboard. Captain Coffin fought furiously for his life. Overpowered, lying on the ground, he was struck by a stone club by one of his assailants, and the blow was almost instantly fatal.

The natives ran along the rocks in pursuit of the boat, throwing a few more spears and then a fusillade of rocks, one of which struck young Coffin on the head, causing a serious cut, but he did not lose consciousness. In a few minutes the boat was out of range. Making their way to the island where Wells had lived, the survivors found the fore part of the Manchester had drifted ashore. They salvaged some canvas and made a sail for the boat, then returned, in a guarded manner, early one morning, to the island from which they had escaped. Here they found the body of Captain Coffin, stripped of his clothing, and they buried him in the rocks, away from the scene of his death.

After obtaining some ship's bread and water, the two survivors got into their boat, hoisted sail and set out on a course along the coast. The fair weather of January, 1855, found them making good progress, but the lack of provisions forced them on shore. They had managed to reach 100 miles, still four times the distance from their objective, St. Carlos. Ashore, they managed to survive by eating shellfish, mussels, roots and berries. Alter six weeks of this precarious existence, they approached desperation. On Feb. 15, 1855, they decided to intercept natives who were passing through this section. Fearful, in view of their previous experience, they were given new hope when these natives turned out to be friendly. For ten days they stayed with their new friends, who gave them their first good meal — meat from a dead whale which had drifted ashore.

On the 25th of May, 1855, they were amazed to see a vessel sailing along the shore. With the help of the natives they hailed the craft, which proved to be the Chilean brig-of-war Meteoro, under Captain Bueneventura Martinez. In reporting the incident, Commander Martinez stated that he was passing through the Straits of Magellan, and had anchored in Port Gallant, when during the night some native canoes came alongside. "We were surprised to find that two of these people were American sailors," he wrote, "who were literally as naked as the natives themselves. We took them on board, and later brought them to Valparaiso."

Thus, after nine months of survival, Thomas Coffin and Robert Wells were at last brought to a civilized place, and Captain Martinez had fulfilled a duty which all sailors recognize as being imposed on them by Christianity and humanity.

LOSS OF THE SHIP "MANCHESTER" 19

At Valparaiso, the two survivors of the Manchester were placed in the care of the American Consul, Mr. George B. Merwin. In a letter written to Seth B. Coffin, of Nantucket, under date of June 29,1855, Consul Merwin wrote: "I enclose to you the letter written by Thomas E. Coffin, giving the melancholy account of the death of his father and mother, and the loss of the ship Manchester, of Nantucket, and of his sufferings and perils. I have only time to say that he is in good health. I shall send him, and Robert Wells, seaman, who was also saved (and has been with him all this time), on the ship Eliza, Captain Phillips, to Baltimore. Captain Phillips is a kind, good man, and will take good care of

Thomas, and will see that he gets from Baltimore to his home. The bark will sail in a few days. In haste, very respectfully, Geo. B. Merwin, Consul of the United States."

In his letter recounting the sad story, young Thomas Coffin stated: "It was a truly awful tale. . . Tell Louisa (his sister) to be a good girl and mind Aunt Lydia, for now she has no dear Mother and Father. I would write to Thaddeus and Aunt Lydia, but the story is too awful. I feel thankful to my God for his kindness in saving my life.

I will now bring this to a close by bidding you goodbye. Please excuse all blunders and bad writing. Thomas Edward Coffin."

Captain Alexander H. Coffin was born on August 8,1808, the son of Owen and Jedidah (Hall) Coffin. On Nov. 5,1833, he married Eliza Ann Worth, daughter of Thaddeus and Love (Macy) Worth. They were the parents of three children, namely, Thaddeus, born 1834; Thomas E., born 1838; and Louisa W., born 1843. Thomas E. Coffin, one of the two survivors of the loss of the Manchester, after his return to Nantucket, sailed for California. In 1864, he married Laura A. Aldrich, of Adrian, Washington Territory. It is probable that some of his descendants are residents of Washington State. In 1862, Louisa married James M. Beebe, of Nantucket.

Those on board the Manchester when she sailed from New York were as follows: Alexander H. Coffin, master, Charles H. Pitman, 1st mate, David R. Evans, 2nd mate, Joseph Francis, steward, John Alexander, cook, all of Nantucket; Seamen - Jarius H. Butler, of Bern; Edward Bennett and Wm. Johnson, of Rhode Island; Robert, Joshua and Loring Wilson, of Massachusetts; William H. Fisher, Delaware; Thomas Nunes, New Orleans; Wm. Richards, New Jersey; Joseph Gram, N. Providence; Robert Wells, New York; Thomas E. Coffin, of Nantucket, (son of Captain Coffin).

Passenger: Mrs. Eliza Ann Coffin, of Nantucket.