Page 18. MAINE COASTAL NEWS June 2010 N a u t i c a l B o o k R e v i e ws A FURNACE AFLOAT
The Wreck of the HORNET and the Harrowing 4,300-mile Voyage of Its Survivors
269 Pages; 2003; $25.00 Simon & Schuster New York
By Jon B. Johansen The number of great sea stories seems to
be endless, and a lot of people, including flatlanders, are intrigued by them. Of course there needs to be human suffering and if some survive so much the better. Mostly because the survivors could give an accurate account of what actually took place.
Several years ago the book, A Furnace Afloat, which was written by Joe Jackson, was published. This is a book about the burning of the clipper ship HORNET in the Pacific Ocean. She had left the Port of New York on 15 January 1866 for a voyage around Cape Horn with a cargo of kerosene, candles, railroad iron and three small steam engines valued at about $400,000. Her master was Captain Josiah Mitchell of South Freeport, Maine. On the 111th
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Samuel F. Hardy of Chatham, Massachusetts had been order by the captain to go down into the hold and bring up a barrel of varnish. Hardy, along with two other crew members, headed down through the booby hatch with an open lantern to find the barrel. Hardy knew they only need a small amount so in order to
day out, her first mate,
save time and effort. Unfortunately, as the flame from the lantern lit the varnish, which then spread to the sail locker. Hardy was trying to subdue the flames by beating them with a blanket, before they reached the kero- sene and candles, but without success. Hardy then made his way to the deck and yelled for water. However , the captain said to secure the hatches and smother the flames. However, by this time there was no saving this magnificent vessel. Soon the cargo was ablaze and the flames were shooting out of the deck hatches. The crew only had minutes to launch the three lifeboats and put provi- sions on board. Then all 31 persons on board made their way to the lifeboats, which pulled away from the burning vessel. They watched in awe as the ship burned and sank leaving them all to the mercy of the sea.
They struck out for an island known as the American Group, which really did not exist. When they passed the location where this island was supposed to be they made the decision that their only hope was to sail to
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Hawaii, which was thousands of miles away. The lack of supplies was not the only prob- lem. There were also problems between the lifeboats and between persons in the same boats. A storm separated the three boats, two of which would never be heard from again. The differences between those in the remain- ing lifeboat continued to fester to a point that found those of influence against those of the working class. As the lack of food and water became a major issue the battles between those in this lifeboat grew worse. Fortu- nately, they were able to sustain enough food and water to continue, but death by starva- tion was never far off. At one of their lowest points of starvation they discussed the kill- ing of a crew member and resorting to canni- balism. Fortunately, on the day they were to decide who was to be their victim they landed at Hawaii. The story of their plight was docu- mented by a little known writer at the time, Samuel Clements, better known today as Mark Twain.
There are three great sea stories almost everyone knows regarding long voyages in small open boats. Captain William Bligh of the HMS BOUNTY, the crew of the whale ship ESSEX and Shackleton’s small boat voyage off of Antarctica. However, when one considers the 4,300-mile voyage of Cap- tain Mitchell’s lifeboat this has to be ranked with any of the above voyages.
This book is well researched and tells a great story. It was published several years ago and may be difficult to find in your local book store. Howeve , it is certainly worth the effort to find a copy to read.
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