24th Nov, 2022 10:00
Photographs, Autographs & Historical Documents, British Royalty & World Leaders
The Wreck of the Glencairn. An original manuscript account, c. 1907
Sold for £420
The Wreck of the Glencairn. An original manuscript account describing the events of the wreck of the Glencairn, by apprentice seaman Colin C. Watson, c. 1907, written up after the event in a fair hand, describing the events from leaving Rochester bound for Portland, Oregon, striking a rock off Tierra del Fuego, losing two crew members and the ensuing events on shore, a little spotting and creasing, old pin to top corner, 13 pages (over 3,000 words) on 13 leaves, 4to, together with a testimonial for Colin C. Watson serving as an apprentice in the "Glencairn" and "Fifeshire" for a period of 12 months, signed by the Master, John Nichol, one page, 4to, plus a contemporary cabinet card photograph of the young Colin C. Watson in naval attire, slightly trimmed at foot of mount
(Quantity: 3)
A harrowing eye-witness account of the wreck of the Glencairn by an apprentice on board. The Glencairn left Rochester on 9 May 1907, bound for Seattle, with twenty-five crew plus the Master's wife and child, the boat carrying 2,375 tons of cement. It struck rock off Tierra del Fuego and the party was forced to abandon ship, two crew members being lost when leaving. The letter carries on to describe Watson's version of the story until their fortuitous rescue by Lucas Bridges. Bridges gives his own account of events when he encountered the shipwrecked party in his autobiography 'Uttermost Part of the Earth' (1948). Chapter 46, pp. 463-72.
Watson was to continue his naval career, serving as a P & O Captain for some thirty years. See following lot.
A full transcription of this manuscript is available on request.
Selected extracts:
' We were to go through the Maine Strait between Hadon Island and the mainland (Tiera del Fuoga). I happened to be at the wheel at the time we were making the entrance of the strait. Suddenly a furious snow squall sprung up and the land was obliterated from view. I noticed a slight shock followed by a heavier one and say out to the Captain “We are on the ground Sir”. The next instant we had crashed upon a sunken ?, and the men came running aft in response to the shrill whistle of the First Mate summoning them. The squall was but the precursor of a typical Cape Horn Blow. Wind and sea increased rapidly and soon the decks were being swept by heavy seas which thundered over the poor old stricken ‘Glencairn’ smashing up rails, doors etc. and smashing everything moveable over the side. With terrible difficulty we succeeded in launching our two lifeboats. One was taken forward and then commenced the task of loading the boat. The Captains wife and child and the Stewardess were about to be lowered into the boat in which three men were busy fending her off the ships side when a huge sea capsized her carrying away the panels? by which she was secured to the ship. Powerless to help we saw one of our unfortunate shipmates drown before of our eyes, one man had disappeared entirely whilst the other had succeeded in clambering up on the overturned boats stern and sticking his feet in the lifelines clung desperately to the heel. He soon drifted out of sight into the whirly snowstorm.
The Captain then called for volunteers to go off in the sole remaining lifeboat to attempt a rescue. The foreign element in the crew objected to this. I pleaded that it was madness to risk the lives of all in an attempt to recover one man. I pointed out that should the boat be lost we should all inevitably drown. They asked him if he wished to imperil the lives of his wife and child. He quietly replied that while there was a chance to save the man he would see that some effort was made and ordered away the boat in search. Then followed a scene which is terrible to relate. Half mad with fear and convinced of their doom they broke into a whisky case they had pilfered from the lazaretto? whilst provisioning the boats. Sea ? continues to sweep the decks and one by one they fell dead drunk their bodies washing about the decks.'
'The second mate explained the impossibility of landing, heavy seas and precipitous cliffs, and then for the first time did the Captains wife break down. Throughout all the previous horrors she had maintained a calm courage – an unwavering faith that God would save her and the dear ones - and now at last the appalling hours in the open boat, and the apparently hopeless possibility of being saved crushed her hitherto plucky spirit. Yet another ghastly night we spent, the vessel noticeably sinking beneath us. Early the next morning before daylight the first mate and I crawled down the fore hold? to see how the water was forward. It was a ghastly sight. Muddy dark water swishing about the hold and thousands of rats squealing with fear perched all round the slingers?. The feeble light from our lantern accentuated the horror of it - the rats did the rest. We both lost nerve and made a rush to get on deck again. When daylight broke we were labouring and wallowing in a still heavy sea and the water nearly up to our scuppers. We then launched the dinghy - a mere cockleshell - and one by one filled the lifeboat and the remainder by the dinghy. It was a dangerous business - poising oneself on the rail and then taking a flying leap into the boat.'
'To my astonishment I saw the Captain who was ahead of me endeavouring to make himself understood to a couple of natives. Huge fellows they were, both of them well over six feet; clad only in a guanaco skin - carrying bows and arrows, and accompanied by two exceedingly gaunt and hungry looking dogs. They were quite friendly - much to our relief – for we had understood that the natives had cannibalistic proclivities. They belonged to a wandering Tribe of Ona and their Chief being able to speak a little Argentine helped matters a lot, one of our crew being also able to speak the language. They conducted us to a gap in the cliffs and soon found ourselves at their encampment, consisting of a few wigwams and populated by about twenty natives - men women and children.'
'I was in the search party, going down to the shore was just in time to see our old ship break up. The foremast fell forward followed by the main. The riggers fell aft and an hour later the jigger disappeared. Then she broke up completely and by afternoon the shoreline a couple of miles was strewn with wreckage. I made an excellent “find” - a drowned hen, and a piece of salt pork which I carried in triumph to the camp. Unfortunately very little of an edible nature washed ashore. My only rival as a caterer being an A.B. who had got a dead pig.
For a week we existed in this manner eking out our scanty stores with mussels and shell fish gathered on the rocks. We also killed a sea lion portions of which we ate. The natives were good to us and gave us portions of a guanaco they had shot. Our cooking was somewhat primitive. We cut sharp twigs? And sticking a piece of meat on the end held it in the fire and then holding it in our fingers gnawed the “charred” outside “raw inside” flesh. The shell fish soon became nauseous and the sodden biscuits were getting “horribly less” as the 2nd mate put it and so the Captain and his AB interpreter held a conversation with the natives. We then learnt that many miles up country lived a man named Bridges engaged in sheep farming. The 2nd mate and one AB, therefore set out with an Indian guide to endeavour to find this white man. Succour from the reward? was impossible and on the hope that these two would bring us help rested our hopes.'
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Auction: Photographs, Autographs & Historical Documents, British Royalty & World Leaders, 24th Nov, 2022
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14. If, on collation, any named items in the catalogue prove defective, in text or illustration, the buyer may reject the lot provided he/she returns it within fourteen days stating the defect in writing. This however will not apply in the case of unnamed items, periodicals, autograph letters, manuscripts, music, maps, atlases, prints or drawings, nor in respect of damage to bindings, stains, foxing, marginal wormholes or other defects not affecting the completeness of the text, nor in respect of lack of list of plates, inserted advertisements, cancels or subsequently published volumes, supplements, appendices or plates or error in the enumerating of the plates, nor in respect of defects mentioned in the catalogue or announced at the time of sale.
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The amount is calculated as follows:
Royalty For the portion of the Hammer Price (in Euro)
4.00% up to 50,000
3.00% between 50,000.01 and 200,000
1.00% between 200,000.01 and 350,000
0.50% between 350,000.01 and 500,000
0.25% in excess of 500,000
Invoices will be issued in Pounds Sterling. For the purposes of calculating the resale royalty the Pounds Sterling/Euro rate of exchange will be the European Central Bank reference rate on the day of the sale. Please refer to the DACS website www.dacs.org.uk for further details.
18. These conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law.
Buyer's Premium :
The buyer's premium is 20%, except those lots asterisked (*) in the title for which Value Added Tax (VAT) will be added to the premium, resulting in a buyer's premium of 24% inclusive of VAT. Eligible items include manuscripts, prints, photographs, drawings, framed maps, paintings, pens and other objects which are subject to VAT at a rate of 20% on the buyer's premium as part of the Auctioneers Margin Scheme. VAT zero-rated items such as books, unframed maps and albums are not subject to VAT on the buyer's premium.
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An additional commission of 3% plus VAT (3.6% inclusive of VAT) on the hammer price is payable if you use the live auction bidding facility on the Dominic Winter Auctioneers website (dominicwinter.co.uk). This charge will be added to your invoice automatically.
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Payment is preferred by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you with your invoice.
Payment can be made in cash at the Cashier's Office, either during or after the sale. Alternatively, you can pay by cheque (Pounds Sterling only), please allow 5 working days for the cheque to clear before collection of goods.
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Payment must be made by direct Bank Transfer to our bank account. Our bank details will be supplied to you on your invoice. No card payments will be accepted unless by special prior arrangements with the auctioneers. All transfers must state the relevant invoice number. The amount we receive must be the total due after currency conversion and the deduction of any bank charges (normally £7).
UK Shipping
We are not specialist shippers. Some items, such as framed & glazed or fragile goods, will require specialist handling and buyers will be asked to use Mailboxes or RF Shipping Ltd. (details below).
For non-fragile items and items of reasonably small size, we offer an in-house packing and shipping facility for UK buyers. When possible, purchases will be sent by either Royal Mail Special Delivery or DPD overnight service. The charge for this service is variable (£15 minimum per parcel) and will be added to your invoice. Please note shipments to the Highlands and Islands may require shipment by courier and may be more expensive. Please contact us for a quote before bidding.
For larger packages and fragile goods, we recommend Mailboxes, Pack & Send or RF Shipping Ltd who will collect fully paid-for purchases from us twice a week and liaise with the buyer direct. For more information please contact Sarah Ball by telephone on +44 (0)1285 860006 or email sarah@dominicwinter.co.uk. These companies will require payment direct for their services.
