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Show oo : ! mm Seat i PAPEETE, Tahiti. SepL 27. (By Mail.) "Saved by the hand of God," is the way the nine natives comprising the crew of the 80 -ton schooner Oro-mana Oro-mana characterize their escape from death after having drifted helplessly fifty days on one of the loneliest bits of ocean In the seven seas. When the wreck of the Oromana was towed into Papeete harbor this week, ono ot the most remarkable voyages voy-ages known in theso waters was completed. com-pleted. The vessel, a two mast schooner, schoon-er, owned by natives of Rlmatara, an island about 300 miles southwest of Tahiti, left her home port without cargo bound for the island of Rurutu in the same group whore she was to undergo repairs and take a cargo ot copra for Tahiti. Two days out sho was struck by a storm which carried away both her masts and later her rudder leaving her a hopeless derellcL With never a glimpse of land or sail to givo a ray of hope, the Oromana drifted for fifty days. After fifteen days thesupply"of food was gone. The natives managed to catch a shark with hook and line. This lasted them five days. The rest of the time they had no food. An occasional shower prevented death from thirst. Then the "miracle" happened. The mountains of Tahiti rose slowly over the horizon. The shifting sea current brought them nearer and nearer until they wero finally sighted from shore and a power boat sent to tow thorn in. They were too woak to rise to their feet but after a few days ashore all appear to bo rapidly recovering from their experience. , The natives say the hand of God guided their craft for tho prevailing winds in these latitudes are from the northwest, a direction which would never have brought them to Tahiti. |