The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-01-16 00:00:00

LOSS OF A STEAMER AND TWENTY

FIVE LIVES.

The schooner Leader, from Palermo, arrived at
Cardiff on Monday, bringing with her four of the sur-
vivors of the Cortes, of London, which foundered in
the Bay of B:scay on the 16th of December. The
four men are George Bye and Frederick Cross, able
seamen, of 'Brightlingsea, Essex; Edward James
`iewell, fireman, of Bermondsey, London; and Angus
Teals, of Plaistow. The Cortes was a screw steamer
,000 tons re.tialter, and carried a crew of 29 hands.
,iäfiehy Captain Edward King, Lon-
don. She was loaded with 1,500 tons of steam coal
by Messrs. Cory, Brothers, of • Cardiff, and bound
for Aden. According to the statement of Frederick
Cross, the steamer left Cardiff on Monday, the 14th
of December. Everything was fair and well
until Tuesday evening, when they were run-
ning into the Bay of Biscu. The wind began to rise
as the sun went down, anMby midnight a terrific gale
was blowing. The sea rose to an immense height and
swept over the decks, clearing away all loose tackling.
An effort was made to keep her on her course, but the
chains of the wheel broke, and she was then blown
about by the wind. The water soon swept down the
engine-rocm. The fires were extinguished owing;
to the pumps being rendered useless, and the fire-
men same on deck. The captain ordered the four
survivors into one of the boats, which was let
down and allowed to follow the steamer by a tow-
rope. The four men were ordered on no account
to leave the vessel, but to remain at hand ready
for any emergency. The steamer was quite un-
managable, rolling and tossing about by the fury of the
gale for hours. The men kept in the boat and followed
the vessel, the captain hoping that some vessel would
come near to render him some assistance. About ten
o'clock on Wednesday morning the tow-rope broke,
and the boat went in one direction and the steamer was
blown in another. They watched the steamer at
times when they were on the tops of the waves, and in
about half an hour after they left her she turned over
and went doWn. No one left the vessel after they did,
as the sea swept away boats and everything else, and
the captain and 24 men went down with her. For
some hours they were thrown about the Bay of Biscay
expecting every moment to be capsized, but they were
seen by the Osceo, a large bark belonging to Prince
Edward's Island, which with great courage bore down
to the boat and took them an board. The Osceo
was bound for the East Indies, but in the Medi-
terranean she hailed a French steamer for Marseilles
and transferred the survivors to that vessel. The
French ship hailed the Leader when near Gibraltar,
which was bound for Cardiff, and transferred the sur-
vivors again to her. On landing at Cardiff on Monday
morning they were at once taken to Mr. Bovey, Lloyd's
agent, and sent by him to the owners of the Cortes,
Messrs. Robert M'Andrew, of London. The survivors
are quite certain they saw the Cortes go down. She
was a splendid vessel, fitted up with everything to in-
sure the lives of those on board. The men attribute
her loss to the water getting into the engine room, and
rendering her engines useless, and not entirely to the
breaking of the chains of the wheel.