Six Stowaways Cast Adrift

Princes Pier, Greenock in 1870. The waterside waifs and urchins
pictured here were typical of those who stowed away on the
'Arran' two years previously.

On 7th of April, 1868, the sailing ship 'Arran' left her mooring in Greenock East Harbour with a cargo of coal and oakum, bound for Quebec. A tug towed her past the Clyde sandbanks while the usual check for stowaways was made. Two were discovered and quickly transferred to the tug and returned ashore. Storm clouds gathered and the weather worsened as the ship ploughed into the grey Atlantic swell and the carpenter started to batten down the hatches. Then, cold, hungry and desperate, more stowaways began to emerge from different hiding places. The first to appear were Hugh McEwan and John Paul, both aged 11. They were pals; but McEwan's widowed mother had recently moved to Glasgow and had only sent him down to Greenock on an errand. McEwan was reasonably well dressed but his companion was poorly clad and barefoot. Captain Watt, from Saltcoats, the Arran skipper, was aged 28 and had a reputation for treating his crews well: but he shook little Paul angrily before sending him off to the cook for a hot meal. The two boys were then allowed to sleep in a sail locker. Then more stowaways emerged out of the woodwork. The eldest was Barney Reilly, aged 22, who wanted to immigrate to Canada. He had been lodging in Greenock, awaiting his chance. David Brand and James Bryson were both aged 16 while Peter Currie and Hughie McInnes were aged 12; all from Greenock. McInnes' mother was a widow, just like Paul's, and, also like him, he had no shoes.
From "Scottish Memories" - November 1999

It was to be an adventure on the high seas to a far-away land ­ with disastrous results. Throughout the voyage the boys, were ill-treated by the captain and the mate. When the Arran was caught in the ice in Bay St. George, the skipper ordered six of the boys over the side and directed them to make for land as best they could over the exceedingly dangerous ice. Why did they stow away? Well, it was every Scots boy 'God given right'.

Accounts of the trip tend to show Captain Watt was somewhat more humane towards the youths than the mate James Kerr, who had a mean, cruel streak begging description. The boys were flogged at the mere hint of a wrongdoing. Some of them were stripped and made to stay on deck in the freezing cold of the North Atlantic. While the crewmembers witnessed this mistreatment, they were, apparently helpless to intercede on the boy's behalf. But some of the crew made excellent witnesses to the defense when the skipper and the mate were eventually brought the court.

The nightmare for the stowaways continued during the voyage. On the 9 May 1868 the Arran slipped into the grip of the ice in St. George's Bay. It was here the Captain decided to ditch his unwanted human cargo. He ordered the boys over the rail, giving them the scantiest of rations, and ordering them to walk towards land. They went overboard, the young ones weeping bitterly. A couple of the boys were bare-footed, all were poorly clad, ill-nourished and all showed signs of ill-treatment.

Struggling towards the shoreline, the castaways ­ for that was what they were now ­ had many difficulties. There were holes and channels to cross. Sometimes they had to make a raft of a sheet of ice and paddle their way across a stretch of water. Members of the Arran's crew were later to estimate the distance from the ship to the shore between five and twenty miles. Characteristically, the mate put it as low as five miles.

The first of the wretched little band to die was Hugh McEwan. He started to weaken and lag behind the rest. He fell through the ice several times; on the last fall, the ice closed over him. Hugh McInnes was next. His bare feet were swollen and he whimpered in his fatigue. The others tried to get him to walk, but the child was done. They were forced to leave him. He was crying.

Late in the day, on the shores of St. George's Bay, the boys saw the houses on the hillside. But there was also water between them and safety. David Brand (aged 16) set out to paddle on a block of ice, while James Bryson (aged 16) and John Paul (aged 11) shouted with all the strength left in them. Brand was half way to shore when a woman appeared from one of the houses. It's not known whether she heard their cries or merely chanced to see these unexpected figures against the whiteness of the frozen sea. A boat was launched and one by one, the survivors were rescued as darkness approached.

They were housed that night under the roof a farmer-fisherman, and it is strange enough that they had fallen in with one of their own race (Scottish). They were sadly worn; young Paul in a state of complete collapse, and frost bitten. Next morning they were blind from the glare of the ice fields, a condition that did not clear up until a week had passed. But they were safe, even if more than four months were to pass before they saw home again.

When Captain Watt reached Quebec he learned from another vessel that two of the boys had died on the ice while trying to reach land. The ship's crew talked freely about the conduct of their captain and first mate. One of the crew lost no time in sending a letter to Scotland describing the ordeal and fate of the stowaways. News soon spread through Greenock. When the Arran retuned, there was a mob to meet them, who would have gladly lynched the captain and his mate. They were later charged in Edinburgh criminal court and convicted. The captain sentenced to prison for 18 months; Kerr got four months.

And what happened to the survivors of the Arran?

According to author-researcher George Blake in his book "Down to the sea", Bernard Reilly, his health restored, left Newfoundland,went to Halifax and got a job on the railway. The other three stayed for a while in Bay St. George helping with farming and fishing chores. They were eventually fetched to St. John's via schooner by the government and then obtained passage for Scotland... and sent home in style.

It is known that one of the younger boys died of consumption two years after his ordeal on the Arran and on the ice. James Bryson with his family appears to have immigrated to the United States. John Paul, the "wee Pauly" to his companions, learned a trade in a Greenock shipyard and died in the fullness of time.

And my great-great-grandfather David Brand... he immigrated to Australia in 1883. In time he founded a substantial engineering firm in Queensland and obtained some prominence. His premature death in 1897 prompted obituary notices in Scottish newspapers.

Dwelling:  122 Lefevre Road     Census Place: Bow, London, Middlesex, England
NAME                M/S  AGE  SEX   BORN                                   OCCUPATION
Jane BRAND           M   27    F    Scotland                               Rel:  Wife (Head)
David BRAND               7    M    Scotland                               Rel:  Son
Fredk. CRAWFORD           2m   M    London, London, Middlesex, England     Rel:  Son