A diary of the wreck of His Majesty's ship Challenger, on the western coast of…
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"A diary of the wreck of His Majesty's ship Challenger, on the western coast of…." is a maritime diary and historical account written in the early 19th century. It chronicles the 1835 wreck of HMS Challenger off the coast of Chile, the perilous landing through heavy surf, the seven-week beach encampment, and the crew’s dealings with Araucanian caciques and Chilian authorities while organizing salvage, defense, and eventual relief. The opening of A
diary of the wreck of His Majesty’s ship Challenger traces the voyage from Rio de Janeiro toward Concepción, storms near Cape Horn, and a sudden nighttime grounding in heavy breakers off Molquilla. The crew cut away spars, held fast their anchors, manned pumps, and salvaged biscuit and ammunition as the bilged ship settled in sand; moonlight revealed a sandy coast but a lethal surf. At dawn attempts to run a line ashore succeeded only after a jolly-boat reached the beach far down-current; a second boat capsized in the rollers, drowning a midshipman and a seaman, before rafts and the cutter began ferrying men and stores with timely help from mounted Indians using lazos. A camp of sails was raised on a low sand-hill beside a fresh-water stream; arms were cleaned, guns emplaced to cover the beach and camp, and a barricade built as the crew managed provisions, kept watches, and navigated tense but mostly helpful contacts with local caciques (notably Cheuquante and Pinoleo) and a Spanish-speaking interpreter, Rafael Lobo. A small militia from Arauco under Don Bernardino Hermosillo arrived as scouts, urging a move north to the Río Leubu, while gales, heavy surf, and even earthquake shocks battered the wreck and tents. Meanwhile two officers rode inland with the guide Camilo Hermosillo to Concepción through forests and rivers, finding the city ruined by a recent quake; the British consul, H. W. Rouse, organized aid and, with the governor of Arauco, returned to the beach to coordinate transport and the crew’s relocation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Anonymous |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 05021398 |
| Title | A diary of the wreck of His Majesty's ship Challenger, on the western coast of South America, in May, 1835 : with an account of the subsequent encampment of the officers and crew, during a period of seven weeks, on the south coast of Chili |
| Original Publication | London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, 1836. |
| Credits | Chris Miceli and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | F3051: Latin America local history: Chile |
| Subject | Challenger (Ship : 1872-1876) |
| Subject | Arauco (Chile : Province) -- Description and travel |
| Subject | Indians of South America -- Chile |
| Subject | Shipwrecks -- Chile |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77171 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-77171-7 |
| Release Date | Nov 2, 2025 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 288 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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