The Express.
London, England, 1857-04-24 00:00:00

A REVENUE CUTTER RUN DOWN IV THE

THAMES-LOSS OF SEVEN LIVES.

About three o'clock yesterday morning a shocking
catastrophe occurred at the mouth of the river Thames,
between the Mouse and Nore Lights. Her Majesty's revenue
cutter Curlew was run down by the Antwerpen Steam
Navigation Company's steamer Baron Osy, Captain Peirce,
from Antwerp, with the lees of ell her hands except one.
The Curlew was a fine smart cutter, of Jul tons, and was
stationed cm the Sheerness district. She wee in charge of
Mr. William Shepherd, an experienced officer in the service,
and in the coarse of Wednesday had been out cruising. late
in the evening of that day she brought up in company with
the Fly, another cutter, near the Mouse Light, and rather
out of the coarse of vessels paling through the feirway of
the Channel. The usual watch wee left on deck, and the
cutter lay at her anchor in apparent safety until between two
and three o'clock, when, according to the statement of the
only survivor of her crew, a man named Hawkins, without
the least warming the steamer bore down en the Curlew and
shuck her with considerable force on the quarter. The cutter
was thrown on her beam ends, and the steamer paned right
over bar, and she went down in several fathoms. Hawkins
was saved by clinging to the mast head. He was taken of
by a boat from the Fly cutter, end it was than ascertained
that with the exception of himself all on board the Curlew,
Including Mr. Shepherd, the master in charge, seven in
number, had gone down n ith the unfortunate vessel and had
perished. In the course of the morning the Fly proceeded
to Sheerness, landed Hoskin', and reported the lamentable
occurrence to the Admiralty authorities. The steamer turned
vat tote the Baron Oey, • powerful iron-built ship. from
Antwerp. She arrived at the St. Katherine's Steam Wharf
yesterday forenoee. For ICON reason, those in charge ci
the veseel, as also bee broker end agent, studiously avoided
giving any ham:nation respecting the collision. From
another source we learn that the Baron Osy was in charge of
Mr. Farmer, a Trinity-hones pilot. It was stated that
he was on one peddle-box and Captain Peirce, the meter, on
the other, the chief nine and some men being forward on
the bow on the look out. The minting, though
dark, was fine and clear, and the steamer, on
passing rho Girdler, is alleged to have reduced her
rate to half axed, eight miles an hour. Nothing was
observed until she was close upon the cutter, the mast. of
the cutter just coming te view above the bows of the Baron
Osy before she struck. The order was given to stop the
engines, and put the helm hard aport, but the words could
scarcely be uttered before the Baron Osy struck the Curlew
on the quarter. The latter instantly swung round, went
under the paddlewheel, and sunk. It in averred on the
part of thestesmor that the cutter showed no light, and that
I there was no one on deck at the time of the collision, the only
person who was seen after the occurrence being a man who
had apperently just turned out of his berth clinging to the
masthead. A boat with the chief mate and three men pat off
to the aid date man, but a boat from the Fly had previously
taken him off. The Baron thry, with the exception of a little
paint rubbed off her stern, has not sustained any &image.
The admiral in command at Sheerness has despatched a
steam tender to the sunken wreck in order to ascertain, if
possible, her exact state, and whether it would be practicable
to raise her. None of the bodies have been recovered. Notice
of the loss bee been sent to the Board of Trade.

Our Sheerness correspondent, dating yesterday, writes
"The Smut, coast-guard cutter, arrived at Sheeniest at
10 a.m., having on board Michael Hawkins, ordinary
mariner, being the only surrivOr of the crew of the Curlew,
coast-guard cutter. It appears that the Curlew and Scout
anchored on the previous night on the Sat of the Mouse
Bead; the Home Light vessel distant from the Curlew
about half a mile, the light vessel bearing meth-west. The
&out was at anchor about • quarter of a mile from
the Curlew. Michael Hawkins relieved the look-
out man on deck of the Curlew at twelve o'clock.
At about one o'clock a.m. Hawkins perceived at
a sheet distance.* large steam Teasel coming right on for
the Curlew. Ho immediately ran to the companion and
celled out for all hands to coin. on deck as quick as possible,
as there was • large steamer steering direct upon the
Curlew. He then ran aft, stepped upon the taffrsil of the
Curlew, and called out as laud as he could ; but in • few
seconds the steam vessel Mine stem on to the Curlew,
striking her taffrail right in midships, and breaking the main
boom. Hawkina jumped up and caught hold of the hoists,
of the steam vessel. He then heard some person on board
the steam vessel say, " Why did you not show • light i"
and the same person said immediately atop her. Hawkins
beard no more; no found himself under water, and shortly
after, on recovering himself, he found ho had hold of the
rigging at the mast head atria Curlew. He was entangled
in the standing and running rigging of the Curlew's topmast,
the topmast being amid away. He then saw the steam
vessel lower a boat. It was manned, but ha positively states
that all the boat's crow lay on their ears after leaving the
steam vessel, and that they drifted from him with the
wind and tide, and never ones pulled towards
him. In about half an hone afterwards he was
taken off the rigging by the boat's crew of the
Scout in a very exMturted state from having been under
water some time and bruised by the steam vessel running over
him. The crew of the Scout identified the means vessel as
being the Baron Osy, of and from Antwerp, bound to Lon-
don. The ftemit's boat remained about the mast of the Curlew
for some hours to recover the broken omen and rigging, also
hoping that some of the bodies might tiro to the sterol. At
the time the Curlew mis run down, it was rather dark, but
not d dark. The list of persons drowned is Mr.
William , seeend mate, ea command; Alexander
T trinity, mariner; Henry White, gunner ; William Redding,
mariner; Edward White, mariner; William Weeller, ordinary
mariner; and Joseph Mathew., Ist clam boy.
On information of the tad affair being carried to the yet
authorities by the inspecting commander, William C. For-
syth, it N., immediate arrangements were made for the steam
vessels Lizard, Lieutenant Thomas B. Christopher, and the
African, Rhueben Harvey, to take en board an efliciemt num-
ber of riggers and others, with weighing gear, and proceed
down to the Curlew. Both steam eyefuls left between 1 and
2 o'clock. Captain Forsyth also proceeded to the 'pot, to
render such mairtance with his men as the nature of the case
required.