In One Ear: Oracle's undoing
From The Daily Astorian, May 30, 1883: “The American ship Oracle ... recently lost off Cape Horn ... was well known in this port from the fact of her making the passage from Liverpool (England) to Cape Henlopen (Delaware), in 12 days, perhaps the quickest passage over made by any sailing vessel in the world.”
According to Wrecksite, a newspaper recounted Capt. H. Morrison’s story of what happened to the Oracle.
On March 6, 1883, off Cape Horn, the Oracle encountered “tremendous seas,” which filled up the decks, destroying the wheelhouse and, after breaking the skylight, flooding the cabin. With the ship in a “most critical condition,” the terrified crew took to the rigging, but one lost his grip and, despite being thrown a lifebuoy, “perished before the eyes of his helpless comrades.”
They sighted land the next day, and ran aground in the breakers. With their four boats, they made several trips to take provisions ashore, but on the last trip back for more, the ship vanished.
Capt. Morrison figured they were on Herschel Island, which was “perfectly desolate and uninhabited.” Tents were made from sails, and the food rationing began. Because the island was known to be visited by sealing vessels, a lookout was set.
The captain, mate and five crewmen visited nearby Wollaston Island in one of the boats, hoping to find a friendly ship. All they found were two families “in a perfect state of barbarism,” who used slings as their only weapons. The natives, wearing only sealskins, didn’t seem to mind the “keen wind,” sleet and snow, and fed their visitors well.
Upon leaving Wollaston, the seven men “suffered terribly” for two days and nights, but spotted the German barque Bessel on the third day, en route to Valparaiso, Chile. At first, the captain thought they were pirates, and would not allow them to board. He relented, but refused to rescue the rest of the Oracle’s crew.
In the meantime, the English vessel Silurian had passed by Herschel Island, and took the stranded men to Valparaiso, where the captain and crew were reunited, for an unexpected happy ending.
