Times of the Islands Summer 2024
Presents the "soul of the Turks & Caicos Islands" with in-depth features about local people, culture, history, environment, real estate, businesses, resorts, restaurants and activities. Presents the "soul of the Turks & Caicos Islands" with in-depth features about local people, culture, history, environment, real estate, businesses, resorts, restaurants and activities.
GIDEON JACQUES DENNY This oil painting depicts the packet ship St. Louis on fire on August 30, 1842, with the soon-to-be-doomed brig Impulse in the background. In the meantime, Captain Reuben Eldridge, master of the St. Louis, raised a lantern at half mast to signal distress. As the fire intensified, the decks became so hot that crew and passengers were forced to abandon the St. Louis on her long boat and stern boat. A brig they had sighted earlier in the day bore down on the St. Louis and took her crew and passengers aboard. The ill-fated rescue The brig Impulse—Captain William Wallace master—left Baltimore on August 13, 1842 heading for Kingston, Jamaica. She picked up the crew and passengers from the St. Louis early on the morning of the 30th. Both vessels were located in the Atlantic between Bermuda and the South Carolina coast. At about 5 AM, the masts of the burning ship were seen falling—Impulse lost sight of the St. Louis a few hours later. By then she had burned to the water line. At about 9 PM on September 3, four days after rescuing passengers and crew from the St. Louis, the Impulse wrecked on the Caycas (sic) Reef near the island of Providence Caicos (Providenciales). It was reported that a hurricane played a part in the incident—perhaps it was the storm known as Antje’s Hurricane. It’s not clear if Impulse was navigating the Caicos Passage off northwest Providenciales or was on a different course when it wrecked on a reef. A brig wrecked on a reef It wasn’t long before a wrecker appeared on the scene to salvage the cargo and anything else of value from the foundering vessel. This is described in a letter Captain Eldridge wrote from Cienfuegos, Cuba to Messrs. Harrod & Darling—the New Orleans agents for the St. Louis. Cienfuegos, Sept. 20 [1842] Messrs. Harrod & Darling: I am sorry to say that the good ship St. Louis is no more. We left Boston on the 17th Aug., and on the 30th after sundown we found the ship was on fire below. We made an effort to put it out, but of no avail; it made such progress that we did not save all our things, and some of the passengers only saved what they had on at the time. Fortunately for us there was a brig in sight who came to our rescue.— She was the brig Impulse, Capt. Wallace [master], from Baltimore bound for Jamaica. On Sept. 4th about 9 P.M. she run ashore trying to get through the Caycas (sic) passage in the night, and was lost. We then got on board of a wrecker belonging to Turks’ Island, and on the 7th started for that place. On the 9th fell 58 www.timespub.tc
in with the brig Sarah Williams, who took me, my mate, cook and two passengers to this place [Cienfuegos, Cuba].— The passengers expect to start to Havana tomorrow, on their way to your city [New Orleans]. I did not save the ship’s papers nor the letter bag. Note: Times and dates reported in newspapers and written reports on these events did not always agree. One reason was because the chronometer aboard a ship was usually set for Greenwich Mean Time, or because the author just got his facts wrong. Some go to Cuba On Sept. 7 a wrecker left Providenciales for Grand Turk with the crews and passengers from the Impulse and St. Louis. Two days later, the brig Sarah Williams of Boston, on her way to Cienfuegos, Cuba, “spoke” (sic) [met] with the wrecker and took Captain Eldridge; Felix Whitney, his 1st officer; Joseph Wells, the cook and two passengers aboard. They arrived at Cienfuegos on Sept. 20. As Captain Eldridge’s letter states, the two passengers that traveled with him to Cuba planned to leave Cienfuegos for Havana on Sept. 21. Once in Havana, they secured passage on the Schooner Belle for New Orleans— they arrived on October 1. Captain Eldridge, his 1st officer, and cook left Cuba on September 26 aboard the Sarah Williams on her return trip to Boston. They arrived in Boston on October 16—21 days after leaving Cuba. In the meantime, the crew and passengers that remained aboard the wrecker reached Grand Turk on September 11. The following day, John Arthur, the U.S. Consul on Grand Turk, wrote the following in his log. United States Consulate Turks Islands William Wallace, Master of the Brig Impulse, noted protest inconsequence of the shipwreck and loss of said Brig on a Reef off Providence Caicos on the night of the 3rd instant [September] in her passage from Baltimore to Jamaica. Before me this 12 day of September 1842— John Arthur U.S. Consul Wm Wallace [master, brig Impulse] That same day John Arthur wrote the following letter to the U.S. Secretary of State regarding the brig Impulse and the ship St. Louis. United States Consulate Turks Islands 12th Sept. 1842 Honorable Daniel Webster Sect. Of State of the United States Sir, I beg leave to inform your Excellency that on the 30th ultimo [August], the Brig Impulse of and from Baltimore, Wallace Master, laden with flour, corn etc, in her passage to Jamaica spoke [to] the ship St. Louis, Eldridge late Master, of and from Boston, laden with an assorted cargo and bound to New Orleans, on fire; and the flames increased so rapidly, that the passengers, crew and Master could save nothing except what happened to be about their persons and I regret to say, that on the night of the third instant [September], the aforesaid Brig Impulse was totally lost on a Reef off the Providence Caicos [Providenciales], the Master and crew of the Brig together with the crew of the Ship and part of the materials saved from the Brig, were brought here on the eleventh and present instant; the crew of the ship St. Louis being perfectly destitute: Capt. Eldridge and Mate took passage on the Brig Sarah Williams to St. Jago [Santiago] de Cuba. I have also to advise your Excellency of the loss of the hurricane Brig Mary Silsbee, Soullard (sic) late Master in her passage from Norfolk to Jamaica laden with staves, and corn: On the night of the second instant Capt. Soullard (sic) was compelled to run her on shore on the N.E. Caicos, in consequence of her leaking badly. The Captain, Crew, and a small portion of the materials, have also arrived here. I have the honor to remain with all due respect Your Excellency’s Mo-.obdt-.Servt. [Most obedient servant] John Arthur On September 15, 1842, five St. Louis crew members and three passengers left Grand Turk aboard the brig Mary Emily. Sixteen days later they arrived at the port of New York. It was standard practice for the U.S. Consulate on Grand Turk to assist those persons wrecked or stranded on the Turks & Caicos Islands to secure transportation back to the U.S. It’s not known when or how the captain of the Impulse and the remaining crew and passengers returned to America. Wrecking It is said that 650 to 1,000 vessels have wrecked on the reefs around the Turks & Caicos Islands. In 1842, for example, at least 16 vessels are known to have wrecked there. Hence, salvaging shipwrecked vessels became an important enterprise—especially on the Caicos Islands. This activity was known as wrecking or wracking and those who participated in it were wreckers. High elevations such as Blue Hills on the north side of Providenciales and Birch’s Lookout were used by wreckers as lookout stations where they would watch for ships foundering on nearby reefs. Blue Hills became known as the wrecking capital of the Caicos Islands. Times of the Islands Summer 2024 59
- Page 7: Arc By Piero Lissoni Elevated Beach
- Page 10 and 11: The sky is the limit. The world’s
- Page 12: Exclusively available within The Tu
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- Page 21 and 22: looking back From September 12-18,
- Page 23 and 24: of the tidal wave was somewhere in
- Page 25 and 26: Bengt Soderqvist and his son Lars p
- Page 27 and 28: creature feature Opposite page: The
- Page 29 and 30: This close-up shows how a flounder
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- Page 40 and 41: The beginnings—Bamboo Gallery On
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- Page 44 and 45: SHUTTERSTOCK
- Page 46 and 47: ELLINGTON OSBORNE The response This
- Page 48 and 49: of Salt Cay sailors and had carried
- Page 50 and 51: ANTHONY FORBES—TRIPLE A EVENT PHO
- Page 52 and 53: The return 3:45 PM Kell called his
- Page 54 and 55: DR. DONALD H. KEITH 54 www.timespub
- Page 56 and 57: The mysterious inscription The insc
- Page 60 and 61: Who inscribed the epitaph? On Septe
- Page 63 and 64: esort report Opposite page: The 20
- Page 65 and 66: front desk; Aiesha Sealy and Romane
- Page 67 and 68: Grown on North Caicos Ocean Breeze
- Page 69 and 70: Donkeys possess several traits that
- Page 71 and 72: astrolabe newsletter of the Turks &
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- Page 77 and 78: about the Islands Map provided cour
- Page 79 and 80: and either single phase or three ph
- Page 81 and 82: (Grits) with Dry Conch is revered a
- Page 84: Nothing compares to that perfect pl
GIDEON JACQUES DENNY<br />
This oil painting depicts <strong>the</strong> packet ship St. Louis on fire on August 30, 1842, with <strong>the</strong> soon-to-be-doomed brig Impulse in <strong>the</strong> background.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> meantime, Captain Reuben Eldridge, master <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> St. Louis, raised a lantern at half mast to signal distress.<br />
As <strong>the</strong> fire intensified, <strong>the</strong> decks became so hot<br />
that crew and passengers were forced to abandon <strong>the</strong> St.<br />
Louis on her long boat and stern boat. A brig <strong>the</strong>y had<br />
sighted earlier in <strong>the</strong> day bore down on <strong>the</strong> St. Louis and<br />
took her crew and passengers aboard.<br />
The ill-fated rescue<br />
The brig Impulse—Captain William Wallace master—left<br />
Baltimore on August 13, 1842 heading for Kingston,<br />
Jamaica. She picked up <strong>the</strong> crew and passengers from<br />
<strong>the</strong> St. Louis early on <strong>the</strong> morning <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> 30th. Both vessels<br />
were located in <strong>the</strong> Atlantic between Bermuda and<br />
<strong>the</strong> South Carolina coast. At about 5 AM, <strong>the</strong> masts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
burning ship were seen falling—Impulse lost sight <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
St. Louis a few hours later. By <strong>the</strong>n she had burned to <strong>the</strong><br />
water line.<br />
At about 9 PM on September 3, four days after rescuing<br />
passengers and crew from <strong>the</strong> St. Louis, <strong>the</strong> Impulse<br />
wrecked on <strong>the</strong> Caycas (sic) Reef near <strong>the</strong> island <strong>of</strong><br />
Providence Caicos (Providenciales). It was reported that<br />
a hurricane played a part in <strong>the</strong> incident—perhaps it was<br />
<strong>the</strong> storm known as Antje’s Hurricane. It’s not clear if<br />
Impulse was navigating <strong>the</strong> Caicos Passage <strong>of</strong>f northwest<br />
Providenciales or was on a different course when it<br />
wrecked on a reef.<br />
A brig wrecked on a reef<br />
It wasn’t long before a wrecker appeared on <strong>the</strong> scene<br />
to salvage <strong>the</strong> cargo and anything else <strong>of</strong> value from <strong>the</strong><br />
foundering vessel. This is described in a letter Captain<br />
Eldridge wrote from Cienfuegos, Cuba to Messrs. Harrod<br />
& Darling—<strong>the</strong> New Orleans agents for <strong>the</strong> St. Louis.<br />
Cienfuegos, Sept. 20 [1842]<br />
Messrs. Harrod & Darling:<br />
I am sorry to say that <strong>the</strong> good ship St. Louis is no more. We left Boston on<br />
<strong>the</strong> 17th Aug., and on <strong>the</strong> 30th after sundown we found <strong>the</strong> ship was on fire below.<br />
We made an effort to put it out, but <strong>of</strong> no avail; it made such progress that we did<br />
not save all our things, and some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> passengers only saved what <strong>the</strong>y had on at<br />
<strong>the</strong> time. Fortunately for us <strong>the</strong>re was a brig in sight who came to our rescue.—<br />
She was <strong>the</strong> brig Impulse, Capt. Wallace [master], from Baltimore bound for<br />
Jamaica. On Sept. 4th about 9 P.M. she run ashore trying to get through <strong>the</strong><br />
Caycas (sic) passage in <strong>the</strong> night, and was lost. We <strong>the</strong>n got on board <strong>of</strong> a wrecker<br />
belonging to Turks’ Island, and on <strong>the</strong> 7th started for that place. On <strong>the</strong> 9th fell<br />
58 www.timespub.tc
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