Jury-Rig.

The mast head plunged through the main hatch, great quantities of water finding its way down the hold through the hatchway before it could be stopped by surrounding the aperture with sails. At noon all hands wore employed pumping ship and rigging sheers to set sail on, so as to run the ship before the sea. Three studding sails were bent, one at a time, and hoisted, but these were split almost as soon as set. The wind moderated between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and the sea was going down.

As all the effects, charts, books, weather glasses, and one chronometer

2000 Miles Under Jury Rig.

had been completely washed away, nothing was left to navigate the ship with. It was found, however, that one of the passengers had an epitome and almanac. On July 20 a jury mast was rigged at the fore, and all gear set up, and the carpenter was employed getting up the topmast studding sail boom for a foreyard.

A strong gale from the westward set in on July 21. The top-gallant sail on the jury foremast was bent and set at 8 a.m. It split at noon, and the crew then bent the upper and lower mizzen topsails together, and set them on the foremast.

On July 22 the crew cut about 15ft of spare yard, and added it to the main jury mast. On July 23, 24, and 25, the ship was rolling too heavily to enable the crew to get the main jury mast on end.

On July 26, the ship Cape Clear, of and from Liverpool, bound to Sydney, came up, and the captain inquired if assistance was wanted. He was asked for a chart or two, and a few other small things, which were quickly supplied. The captain also offered to take some of the passengers on his ship. This was welcomed by those on the Dallam Tower, as there were several women on board without the necessary clothing, and whom the ship could not decently accommodate; besides, the only water supply left for the ship's use was contained in two rusty tanks. Twelve saloon and four steerage passengers accepted the offer, and they were transferred, and landed safely in Melbourne.

The crew of the Dallam Tower got the main jury mast up on July 26; on July 27 the topmast studding sail boom with a main top-gallant sail on it for a mainsail; and on July 28 the spanker boom on end for a jury mizzen mast, and bent a mizzen top-gallant sail on its proper yard and set it aft. A course was then shaped for Melbourne, as it was deemed to be more prudent than going on to New Zealand.

Not a drop of water leaked into the ship. What was met with in the hold got down through the hatches, and the mast holes. The ship answered her helm splendidly, and strong westerly wind blew her safely into port, when the storm was over. She would hardly ever have shown up in Australia if shepage 80 had not bad particularly strong winds behind her. On one occasion, with three sails on her jury masts, she ran a distance of 170 miles in 24 hours.

She reached Melbourne with what seemed to the landsmen very rickety yards. They consisted each of them, not of a single piece of timber, but of a number of stun-sail booms of different lengths, bound together with ropes, and roughly fixed to the masts. Two of the masts limits were yards, and the third was a spanker boom. They stood in the stumps of the hollow iron masts, and were jammed tight with wedges. If any of them had given away it could not have been replaced, for apparently they represented the last pieces of timber in the ship.

With the exception of the second mate, who met with a mishap to one of his hands, not a soul—not even one of the eight or nine children—had an injury to show.

Officers and saloon passengers lost everything but the clothes they stood in. Looking at the dismantled state of the ship, people in Melbourne were astonished when they learned that the ship had sailed a distance of 2000 miles under jury masts and three small sails.

When the ship was refitted in Melbourne it only extended to her rig. Captain Davis added sky-sails to her, and lost them and the royals on the passage across to Dunedin, which was reached on March 4, 1874.

Several of the passengers who came out in the Dallam Tower on this eventful voyage are still living. One, Mr. J. W. Brindley, formerly manager of the Victoria Insurance Company, and later with the Government Insurance Department, is residing in Auckland. Another is Mr. Henry Scott, residing at Timaru. The latter gentleman, referring to a paragraph which appeared giving Captain Davies the credit for bringing the ship safe to Melbourne, states: "Captain Davies had little to do with the saving of the ship. The man who saved both our ship and our lives was the first mate, George Donald McDonald, and had it not been for his splendid seamanship and endurance (on one occasion he stood at the wheel for thirty consecutive hours, and eventually had to be carried below) we should have all gone to the bottom. Captain Davies has been given credit in some of the reports published for trying to heave the ship to under great difficulties. If Captain Davies had yielded to the advice, almost entreaties, of his officers he would have hove the ship to three days before he made the attempt, and the Dallam Tower would probably have rode out the storm with as little damage as was suffered by the clipper ship Superb, which only lost her foreroyal. This ship was in the same cyclone as we were, and was so close to us that her officers saw the live bull which had been swept from our decks swimming in the sea. These facts were supplied by officers of the Superb when we arrived at Melbourne."

the Dallam Tower was a handsome ship, built of iron throughout, and was described as a splendid sea boat and a fast traveller. Notwithstanding that she sailed close on 2000 miles under jury rig, and took 36 days to do the distance, the ship made the passage to Melbourne in 90 days. How she could travel was demonstrated in a most remarkable manner, when on one occasion before her mishap she ran according to observation, 1026 miles in three days, and for several days besides logged her 300 miles per day whilst running her easting down. Up to the time of her arrival at Port Chalmers she had spent 100 days at sea from the date of her departure from London. Not bad work, considering the adversity which befell her.

That the Dallam Tower was a flyer is substantiated by Mr. James Gilmour, of Parnell, Auckland. He came out in the ship on her maiden trip to Melbourne in 1866, and in referring to her fast sailing qualities states that the ship always overhauled any vessel sighted. Eight days before reaching Melbourne "we sighted a large vessel ahead, which turned out to be the clipper ship Light of Age. We were making only eight knots in a light wind. As we approached the stranger she appeared to be lying-to. Our captain, thinking she wanted something, drew near to inquire, but just then the Light of Age allowed her sails to fill and drift across our bows. She bumped on our starboard bow and then amidships as we slid past. The damage, fortunately, was not very serious. A studding boom was broken, and fell on the forecastle among several passengers, who luckily escaped injury."

After the disastrous voyage to Port Chalmers, the Dallam Tower sailed from Port Chalmers on June 6 for London with a full cargo of wool, wheat, gold, leather, skins, preserved meats, personal effects, and other goods of a total value of £64,232. When the ship returned to London the whole of the masts and rigging were condemned and replaced. Captain Davies was dismissed, and Captain Campbell placed in command.

the Dallam Tower visited Dunedin again in 1878, and demonstrated her fine sailing qualities. She left London on October 20, passing the Lizard on the 24th. She had a good run to the Equator of 24 days, and sighted the Snares on January 11, 1879. She arrived at Port Chalmers on the 14th, making a splendid passage of 76 days land to land and 84 from port to port.

the Dallam Tower also made one voyage to Wellington in command of Captain Campbell, arriving On the 17th March, 1875, after a good run of 81 days from Plymouth. She carried 257 passengers and made the best run of the season to Wellington. The ship left Plymouth on the 25th December, 1874, with 257 immigrants, and experienced light head winds during the first week out. She ran to the Snares in 74 days.