the ship struck, three boats were launched, and her captain and crew stood off seaward from the wreck until daylight. Some sources reported that two sailors we re mistakenly left o n board the first night, o nl y to be recovered the following day, intoxicated fro m liquo r in the ship's stores .6 The fo llowing m orning, spare hands were landed o n O cean Island, and, upon returning to the wreck from the lagoon-side, two sa ilors swam through the surf to their ship and cut away the forem as t, making a bridge across the reef to the lagoon . Others could then board safely and salvage some of the provisions: sixteen to eighteen casks of Bour, o ne cask of salt pork, and a few casks of "oily" water. The next day, the ship began to break apart fro m the heavy surf on the exposed eastern reef. Once established as ho re, the castaways constructed a 38-foo t vessel from salvaged m aterials. Whale spades were fashioned into axes and adzes, and lances provided augers and chisels. The compass provided parts for the bellows, constructed on the island by the ship's blacksmiths. The boat, named D eliverance, was caulked with a mixture of lime (calcium carbo nate fro m coral), seal oil and seal blood . This bloody m ixture, referred to at that time as similar to the chinam or chunam used in Eas t Asia, was used to paint Kure
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Atoll, 1870
the rescue boat as well as caulk the seams. 7 Three mo nths were spent laboring on this craft, while the entire crew led a miserable existence on goo ney bird (albatross) and monk seal meat and brackish water. The Deliverance put to sea for the main H awaiian Islands on 12 October, with Captain Browne, the chief mate, and eight m en (including two H awaiian sailo rs). They we re resupplied at sea by the American ship Tim oleon, under the command of Captain Bunker, which they "spoke" o n 29 O ctober. The D eliverance appears to have sailed east into the prevailing trades before turning south at the longitude of the main H awaiian Islands. Twenty- three castaways rem ained o n the island fo r fo ur more months until a rescue vessel arrived , fin ally returning to H onolulu aboard th e British schoo ner True Blue, commanded by a Captain Bland [or Blunt], on 6 February 1838. 8 The Deliverance, as becam e the regular practice with the other beach-built rescue craft from the many No rthwes tern H awaiian Islands shipwrecks, was soon sold at auction to raise funds fo r the survivo rs. It is the mission of OA!\s Office of Natio nal M arine Sanctuari es to co nserve and protect our natural and cul tural marine reso urces. In 2002, the O ffice of National
M arine Sanctuaries created the M aritime H eritage Program , a national-level effo rt to discover, invento ry, and appreciate significant historic artifac ts and sites that refl ect our maritime pas t. As part of this effo rt, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine Natio nal Mo nument in H awaii has supported a number of research expeditions in the regio n, whi ch have included archaeological surveys, and the whaler Gledstanes has been a recognized target fo r a number of years. It is rare, however, that the calm weather and Aat seas needed to survey on the exposed eastern reef crest of Kure Atoll ever coincide with the NOAA ship Hi'ialakai's cruise schedule and short visits by the team of maritime archaeologists. During the 2008 field season , however, dive rs finally were able to m ove close in to the high energy reef crest enviro nment and located a scatter of iro n ballast lying within a deep coral substrate crevice. Closer to the surge zo ne and breakers of the crest, anchors, ca nnon , and other artifacts soon came into view, including a telltale trypot-a whaling ship had been found. The Gledstanes is the only whaler known lost on the atoll's eastern side, and her position on the reef was reported soon afterwards by other nineteenth-century voyagers in the No rthwes tern H awaiian Islands. The physical rem ains of the Gledstanes are scattered in the vici ni ty of the reef crest in depths ranging from te n to thi rty feet. The fo rty to fi fty bars of heavy iron ballas t and (left) A survivor of the USS Saginaw shipwreck produced this sketch of Kure Atoll. H e not only marked the approximate location of his ship, but also the location of what was left of the British whaleship Gledstanes, which had wrecked more than thirty years earlier. (below) Kure A toll: with Green (Ocean) Island visible to the south, as seen from space.
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SEA HISTORY 127, SUMME R 2009