The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-11-28 00:00:00

PORTL &N D.

TUN GALIL—WRECE Or A FRENCH BRIO. —The
weather of Tuesday night, and throughout the whole of
Wednesday, was of a most boisterous nature, the wind
Mowing shumet a complete hurricane from the
eueou,ognie,d by a tremendous sea. Although ei;,;
shipping in the immediate vicinity of this part of the
coast did not suffer so much damage as those near
Plymouth, still one vessel, • French brig, haa become a
wreet on the Chesil Beach, and one poor seaman has
101 l his life. Early en Wednesday morning, a •
was seen by persona on the look-oat, in the West By
in a most perilous condition, beating about in an lit.
manageable state, the crew having apparently given up
all hope of ever being able to mach port again. In oout
sequence of .thi- a signal was made by those on shore,
indicating the crew on board the ill-fated craft to rya
her on the b.ach, as this was the only worse left open
for the nisei to save their lives. The signal was under.
stood, and the vowel steered for the beach, where, for.
tunately, she went agrewnd in one of the calmest Owe
along the ooast, at the extreme back of the village
ChesiL By the time the vessel beashed, hundred, of
persons had congregated on the beach, and watched the
fate of her crew with much anxiety. The surf was
terrific, and . immediately the vessel !Arndt the wu
acetate' round exposing her side to the fury of the wave%
She wee lifted • considerable distant* on the beach, and
one poor fellow, in his anxiety to save his life, leaped
from the vessel and tried to reach the shore. This be
had partly succeeded in doing, when the back current
of an immense wave caught hien, and carried him nut se
sea, where he was drowned. The people OS the beach
were perfectly powerless to save the peer fe11...
although they behaved most nobly in saving the lives el
the remainder of the crew. Too much cannot be rif
in praise of them; theirs truly was • labour of low.
The remainder of the crew of the ill-fated craft trick
warning by the death of their oompanion not to attempt
to save themselves in the manner he had done, but to
trust to the exertions of the Portlanders. By mem el
ropes, thrown by the men on shore on board the vessel,
the crew were safely landed. We suppose that, as the
lines were not (bed on board, there was no apply
ratus for doing each, but certainly one ought to bo tiros
eided. In this case there was conel&rabie dangle
attached to the throwing of the lifetimes on board the
vessel, as the Portland men had to be secured before
they could effect .heir purpose, as the sea came with
mash force as to render it most difficult for them *
maintain their equilibrium. Fortunately, however, ne
accident occurred, and all were safely brought to had,
The captain of the vessel behaved in a most hero*
manner; he would not leave his craft until he had wen
his erew rescued from their dangerous position. When
this was accomplished, be left amidst the cheers of the
large number of people assembled to witness the Irma,
The ill-fated craft proved to be the brig Emmanuel,
Captain Oerrel, laden with oak timber, bound from
Rouen to Ferrol. The crew, seven in number, were
most kindly treated and well provided for. As it was
considered impossible to get the eased off again, and is
her back was broken, it was deemed advisable to get all
the stores from her as quickly as possible. For this
purpose • hundred or more willing hands were found
who throughout the remainder of the day did all they
could to save what was possible, as it was considmed
certain that when high water came she would break sp.
Fortunately the tide was low during the afternoon, sod
the men were enabled to pursne their labour without
much risk, although at times the immense waves which
struck the vessel earned her to shake as if she could sot
hold together. Fverything belonging to the crew wie
rescued, as well as • large quantity of tackle belonging ie
the vessel; in fact, everything of a moveable nature,
including large anchors, was brought to shore—insell
and spars were pulled down until only the hulk Ina
left. A large number of the coaatguards were on the
beach to protect the property saved, but their authority
was not disputed. Hundreds of people availed them.
selves of the facility of the railway for going to Portlaed
and witnessing the gale, the Bea being very grand.
Contrary to all expectation, the hull held together
throughout the night, and on Thursday men were busily
engaged in bringing her cargo to • place of safety. The
wind was so violent that it blew away • wooden house,
situate on the beach, where fishermen were in the habit
of obtaining creature comforts. —There was a lull in the
weather on Thursday whieh enabled the men employed
to relieve the brig of a considerable portion of her urg%
but towards the evening the gale se in with redoubled
fury, the wind blowing stronger than ever from the
W.S.W. The sea was very turbulent, and dashed over
Ch. °basil Reach, doing much damage. On Friday
morning, the ill-fated vessel was obliged to succumb to
the fury of the waves, a sea striking her and smashing
her to pieoes almost instantaneously. Ste h a sea in the
West Say hu not been known minas the great November
gale, 41 years age, when it dashed over that formidable
barrier, formed by the hand of Nature—the Cheat
Beach —carrying death and destruction with it. Although
happily no fatal results occurred from the gale in
Friday, still • great deal of property has been injured.
The sea dashed over the beach, rendering the road in
some places impassable, tearing it up in large holes,
rendering it unsafe for traffic. The greatest mishap
occurred to the newly-opened line of the Weymouth and
Portland Railway, • oonsiderable portion of the
foundation of which has been washed away,
and the line rendered impassable. The sea
rushed over it like • river, at places leaving
only the bare sleepers and mile. The 1L25
train from Weymouth attempted to go to Portland, but
was compelled to put back, and traffic was snapendid
during the remainder of the day. This caused the
Freatest inconvenient*. A large number of persons who,
ignorant of the disaster, wended their way to the
station in order to go to Portland to see the magnificent
spectacle afforded by the turbulent sea in the West Bay.
In spite of the interruption of traffic, a large number of
persons wended their way to the beach, where they
were amply rewarded for their trouble by the =pit.
cent and sublime sight which was presented to their
astotishing gase. Later in the day the wind was lees
violent, and, should it continue so, the damage done to
the railway will soon be put right. This interruption
of traffic proved • greet inconvenience, as no steamers
now ply between Weymouth and Portland. The
damage having been repaired the regular trains were
run on the following day.