Six Days Adrift

Fijians Without Food or Water

Suva, May 5.

DEMONSTRATING the hardiness and stamina of the Fijian people, an in teresting story has reached Suva of a 19years-old boy, Verama Lema, and his sister, Melaia Lewandua, aged 15, who spent six days adrift in a seven-foot dinghy without food or water, following the loss of a cutter, the Tui Navusaqa, in the Lau Group.

The cutter was proceeding from La-

kemba to Vanua Vatu, and when within a mile of the Vanua Vatu Reef, capsized, throwing the nine people on board into the water. There was only one small dinghy on the cutter, and the girl was placed in this, as she did not think that she could swim the distance to the reef, which the others had decided to under take. Her father, who was with the party, ordered his son to remain with the girl, and the boy set out with the one oar at his disposal to scull ashore.

Darkness was falling as they ap proached the passage in the reef, and misfortune again overtook them, a heavy sea capsizing the dinghy. Unable to see where they were, the boy spent the night holding on to the upturned boat with one hand and supporting his sister with the other.

In the morning, they found to their consternation that they w r ere out of sight of land, the boat having drifted miles during the night. They managed to right the dinghy and scoop the water out of it, then, the oar having been lost, there was

nothing for them to do in the tiny craft and let it drift at the mercy of the sea. Tortured by hunger and thirst, the hardy pair waited day after day under a blazing sun, until on the sixth day they sighted land and drifted slowly toward the encircling reef.

Verama attempted to get into the water and propel the boat toward the passage, but was too weak. Nothing daunted, he managed to pry loose a thwart in the boat, and with this feebly paddled his craft in the direction of the passage.

However, the sea was not yet done with the castaways,, and as they neared the passage, the dinghy was again capsized.

They abandoned the boat and struck out for the reef, a short distance away. Then they walked round to the nearest point to the shore, and somehow swam to the beach.

On the beach they were found by a native of the island, who took them to his village, where they were received with traditional Fijian hospitality and cared for.

The island on which they landed w r as Ngau, about 75 miles in a direct line west of Vanua Vatu, and from Ngau they were brought into Suva on a Government vessel, which was out looking for sur vivors from the cutter.

The drinking of salt water in cases of shipwreck is generally held to lead to insanity, but Verama said that he had drunk small quantities, which en abled him to on. His sister drank nothing and lay in the bottom of the boat all the time. Neither of them had any thing to eat. The boy also said that his sister was less affected by their terrible experience than he was.

The other seven people on the cutter reached the shore safely, after a hazard ous swim. Verama and his sister were mourned in their village as lost, and when they unexpectedly returned were welcomed with celebrations which lasted all night.

Verama and his sister.