Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-07-08 00:00:00

we were de

and knew at o&

arpentees voice alone was heard shouting,

"The pump'

right, the ship makes no water," so encouraging the 055:
gers, I got them to back the crossjack, and haul out
spanker, which had been brailed up, and it was soon appsll
the ship was getting sterriway past the ice. The second!:

then came amongst us, and said the captain, chief mate,'
nearly all the crew had lowered the lifeboat and gone 84
We soon discerned the boat in the gloom, and men in
off our starboard beam. We shouted to them t
side that the ship was tight, and threw out ropes as f
we could towards them. The noise of the wind pre

our making out what they said, except to lower the
_ _ •

lifeboat, getout the longboat; the former was stove in
he
falling spars, and the other, a large boat on, the C.-
was immovable by us. They then began to cry for helP,
the boat, and it was heartrending to us not to be able
assist them, as it appeared they lost their oars, and the va.,
swell from the ice had nearly filled the boat, so that
threw themselves out, and endeavoured to reach the sbill;
the aid of the oars- Only one man got alongside, to 'yl'o
ive,threw a life-buoy and a rope. • He got the rope,
pulled himself up half the side, when he fell back exhauf,
and sank. The ship was twenty feet from the top Of
warks to the water, a height too great to climb in a Id
sea, but the terrible cold made it worse for these poor
Soon we lost sight of the boat and all in the darkneskj
our own condition absorbed all our faculties. The `i
swell kept us off the ice, and as she was drifting astql,,
saw we should get past the south point on our starlr'
hand.

ttr
"On mustering hands we found on board Mr. Ses
•I
second mate, Williams, boatswain, Thomas Howard,
of
penter. This man proved himself a noble specimen
fit
British sailor. His courage, activity, skill, and univesos
care have been the admiration of us all, and we consider If
safety is under Providence chiefly owing to his efforts. y
was tar the best sailor on board in every respect, and ieby
directed everything. He is a Liverpool man : four %,
bOdied seamen, three boys, and. the captain's son, cooks,
steward, doctor and purser, all latter green hands, all;
passengers. Arranged passengers into watches, ancyd
some food, the first time for 24 hours. The night wasui
and ; several icebergs with difficulty escaped. All 4
next day and night it rained and blew heavily from
and W. to S.W., ship rolling awfully ; got clear of vc_JJe
of yard aft and stays up to chain, main and
mast ; got staysails on main-mast stays and topci
stndding sail on mainmast ; got a sail bent to eross,oo,
former blown away. By third day ship began to 50
and make some head way ; passed icebergs frequently,
,41
on Monday morning, 4th April, had another naljd
escape. At daybreak there was an immense berg of a sq:tt
form of 10 or 12 miles on the lee bow, which we thour4
weather ;at 9 o'clock we we abreast of it three or t,
Miles: f had the morning watch ; t was at the helm. -re
ing wind falling light, and our leeway great, I advised
to
to leeward of it, and, the wind favouring, we.did so, tbo,oi
so slowly as to make us all very fearful of passing too e'
We had-passed it about three miles when we beheld an 3/i
sight. The beg was of great heig.ht, square, fully felifo
five miles long,'when as we gazed ;it parted' One-third
length, and this p.ortion slipped off from the rest, riP',4
like an avalanche into the sea, which it tore up in rt)
waves. In a few moments it floated off two miles fronlio
rest, leaving a long track of floating masses hetween,4
towered there an irregular-shaped and large berg. Fe'ol
must have been our fate if we had not passed. This Illor
us keep as far off as possible from others, and we
get clear of ice until the 10th of April, when we passeN
bergs in 541 deg. S. lat. We had strong S. and S•fti
winds, snow, and sleet up to 52 deg., anxiously looking,.
a ship, being in track of the Austrians homeward bonue.,

"On .consulting together, I recommended ;
our best port to steer for. Tahite was nearer, and migb'
reached; New Zealand nearest, but to windward of prel
ing winds. Our distance from Valparaiso 3,800 miles )',‘
We resolved on Valparaiso, and passing to north of 50 0:e;
gave up hopes of seeing any ship, as the Southern 0:14
above 50 deg. to 30 deg. S. lat., and from 18 0 deg. to 90
et
W. long. is seldom crossed, being out of the way of all trade;
We found all good sails were gone ; only a few heavy si
sails were left, and-only one coil of spare rope, and a-oi
saved little rope from the wreck, we soon found only' id
rotten ropes and old worn sails available. The shit o
Melbourne shamefully short of stores, and appears nevero
hate, been well found, worked on the cheap idea, Oda
could only get a topsail yard to the main-mast, as
lof
wizen topsail thereon, a topmast on end forward to stiff
of foremast and a yard, and topgallant sail set there.
„ill
had, therefore, only three small square sails, spanker,
topsail, and main staysail, no jib; we had not gear to 0,
one. So with a great high ship 1;045 tons, not even 001
cientiv ballasted, you may imagine we could do nothingo
a wind on a lee shore. I need not dwell on our voyage. .g
had generally fair winds, heavy gales at times, 'and terliq
seas, in which the ship rolled frightfully, but the Alruig,,p
preserved us, and the ship kept pretty tight, so we had 0"j
the sails and steering to mind. We were anxious to 10.0
our longitude, especially as we approached South Ainerl44
and observed a change of colour of water. Again we ,f'd
favoured by meeting an American whaler, the= Lafayette'lli,
New Bedford, Capt. Rae; he saw us before we saw his bare
and he stood to us and pulled on board, no little star od
at our condition. He offered us every assistance, so,
remained by us for a day, when showing us our positis
within two days sail of port he left us, very grateful forLt
kindness. We took nothing from him, as we ha(11;Of
weather and flit- wind. Our reckoning was 78 deer d,
lon. ; we proved to be in 75 deg., the ship having toi
more way than we thought or allowed. On the 9th of ,',/
we made land, and that evening Valparaiso Light b°oo
E.N.E. 20 miles, stood off until morning of the 10th.
~„1
openiug the bay, crowded with ships of all nations, we
! her Majesty's ship Gauges, 84 ; we fired a gun, saro
immediately the welcomed sight of five men-of-war 104
gladdened our eyes. How we cheered its well-loved u.
and hearty English faces. Soon they took us in too'
party of marines jumped on board and lowered yards,
and by twelve o'clock we were moored safely in the bay o
sad spectacle our ship is a great hole in her bows wherc
bowsprit ran out. The spar was driven right in age
smashed in pieces, starboard iron anchor broke, and all tY,
head-gear ground off like brittle glass, only main and n3io/3,
masts standing, head of former carried away ; vessel like II
great hulk 22 feet over water to bulwark top. It is eni,
by the Divine protection and favour we have brought so ca,
a hulk nearly 4,000 miles, a voyage almost unexamPle.A
underjury-masts, and could not have been in a remoter in,
of the ocean traversd -by merchant ships- than where
disaster of the Ist of April occurred.—Yours,
" SIMEON T. HAIWI.

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