The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #68627   Message #1157179
Posted By: Marion
07-Apr-04 - 11:59 PM
Thread Name: Songs about 1914 Newf. sealing disaster?
Subject: Songs about 1914 Newf. sealing disaster?
Hello all. I'd like to know if anyone is aware of any songs that deal with the 1914 disaster involving the sealing ship Newfoundland.

Recap: the Newfoundland was jammed in the ice so the captain sent his crew of 132 on foot to work where another ship's crew was hunting, under the assumption they'd let them spend the night on board the other ship. However, the other captain told them to go back to their own ship. They ended up being stranded out on the ice for three days in a blizzard, with nobody knowing that they were missing. 78 sealers died of exposure.

Incidentally, another sealing ship, The Southern Cross, sank with no survivors during the same blizzard, but that was essentially a coincidence. It's the first story that I'm concerned with.

Thank you, Marion