The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-08 00:00:00

STATEMENT .OF MR. IsAR3ER, ASSISTANT

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ENGINEER,
AS TO THE ENGINE TURNING ASTERN, &c:
ENCLOSURE, No. 10.
Her Majesty's steam-vessel, Rhadamanthus.
Simon's Ray, March 1.
About two A.M. on the morning of the 26th February,
1852, I was awoke by the ship striking, and ran
into the engine-room, where I found Mr. Kitchingman,
who was on watch, standing by the starting, gear. He.
informed me he had just stopped the engines. We re -
mained there until Mr. Whyham ordered the safety
valves of the three boilers to be opened, which I did.
Shortly after the order was given to turn astern, which
was done. The fires were sitmvards extinguished by
the water rising rapidly in the engine-room. We then
went on deck. Soon after the ship parted. I went to
the dingy's fall, and lowered myself into the water, but
the weight of the soldiers who clung on me forced me
to let go and take to some of the main rigging, where I
remained until the ship went down, taking me with her.
I came up again, and held on to some of the wreck until
picked up by Captain Wright and soma more men on
a part of the fore sponson, on which we succeeded in
reaching the shore about one P.n.
(Signed) BENJAMIN BARBER,
Assistant-Engineer.

REPORT OF COMMANDER BUNCE,
SENT IN RHADAMANTHUS TO THE SCENE OF THE WRECK;

TO AFFORD RELIEF.
ENCLOSURE No. 1 1 .

H.M.S. Castor, Simon's Bay, Feb. 29, 1852. '
Sir,—l beg to acquaint you that I proceeded, in obe- I
thence to your order, in her Majesty's steam vessel Rha-
damanthus
to Danger Point, arriving off there on the
morning of the 28th, and after examining the wreck with
her maintopmast alone above water, I proceeded in the
boats to Stanford's Cove, where I found four of the men
who had reached the shore from the wreck, and from
whom I received information that many more were at a
farm called Klyne River, about fifteen miles distant. I
rode out to the farm and found 60 more, all of whom had
been clothed, fed, and housed most hospitably by Cap- ,
tain Smales, the proprietor, with whom I made arrange-
ments for sending them down to Stanford Cove in the
morning, to embark, them in the Rhadamanthus—the
sick to come in waggons.
The next morning I proceeded with Captain Wright,
91st Regiment (the senior surviving military officer),
and Mr. Mackay, the civil commissioner of the Csledon
district, to the neighbourhood of the wreck, and, trate.,l-
- the beach for some distance, found it strewed with
small spars, pieces of deck, Stc., and the paddle-box
boats, both of which were rendered unserviceable when
the vessel broke in two pieces; numbers of dead bodies
had been found and buried, and great numbers must have
perished by getting entangled in the large kelpweed
which fringes the Oast about Danger Point.
From the information I have been enabled to collect,
it would appear that the Birkenhead roundeda9ar.
Hanglip at about 9.30 p.m., on the 25th ultinl?, lu:'
, i. E.
course,
distance of four or five miles, that aS.
"n. the 26th she
by compass, was
. steered, and at 2 Aio'ir'Elanger Point,
struck on a pinnacle rock on the reethe
rock went right
a short two miles from the shore;
nd,
the engines being
through her into the engine-room,
and in twenty or
immediately reversed„rent herhbe
water
first struck she broke
thirty minutes from the time 6
gOoin.g
rd.OWn into deep
in nridehips, the bow part -,, The two cutters and
one w ay, and the stern theanil
manned and
ordered to
one gig had been lowered
d children were
lie off: All the women a put into one
Ntr. Richards, master's assist-
cutter, under the charge el
naval officer.
the senior surviving . Some thirt or
ant, to the main topmast and rigging,
forty of the men chins ,
and,
....,,:__ ,
~
soma swam to Lilo boat.,
the 6g newvily laden, the
I
boats pulled out cleare and
K of
went d wreck; many were below
when the vessel nro ,own in her, and the
f hay, spars, stools '
rest on bundles 9 p (loon, tables, and
ts, bottom
the paddle-box
bald the wreckil.p, were drifting about be-
tween the shore and
brou at down The sixty-eight officers
and men survivors out of th in
the Rhadamanthus are
the oidY
,rtisiler-13 .x boats,eae who were on these rafts
and PBl-- ' . &3. Many must have been
tofrom exnaustion, and man h been
to piec
•es on the ledges of rocks y have knocked
kin.% 13- the - • over which the sea was
brew i, , 1 exertions of CY 'ain Wright and Cho
civil cammissionae of the cal .
districtp, t 10
a whale boat *as Mon (Mr. Mackay),
procured the day after, the wreck to
search about, arid five men were landed by her from
bits of woe
d driftingabout, one soldier after being 38
I hours in the water.

- -
In communicating to you this disastrous occurrence, I
eit:mot but express my opinion that if the boats had kept
by the wreck until good daylight, landed the extra
hands in one of the small creeks about, and then given
their attention and assistance to the poor fellows float-
ing and struggling in the water, a great many more
might have been saved, for the weather was fine, the
sea quite smooth, and not a breath of wind.
Mr. Culhane, the assistant-surgeon of the Birkenhead,
was in the gig, and went in pursuit of a small schooner,
which was seen at daylight, but as he could neither
reach hor nor succeed in drawinc, her attention, he bore
up for Port d'Urban, about twelve or fifteen miles from
Danger Point, whence he communicated to you the loss
of the Birkenhead.
The two cutters succeeded in getting to the English
schooner Lioness, which vessel came up to the wreck,
and took off all those who were hanging to the mast and
yard; masking, in all on board her saved from the wreck,
117, which, with the 9 landed in the gig, and the 68
in the Rhadamanthus, makes a total of 194 of all de-
nominations saved out of the 630 she left Simon's Bay
with on board.
I enclose to you a list of the officers, soldiers, sailors,
women, and children who have been saved.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
(Signed) B. H. Boxer:, Commander.
To Commodore Christopher Wyvill, Commanding-
in-Chief, Ste.

STATEUENT OF CAPTAIN ViTRIGIIT,
91st REGIMENT, OF THE CIRCUMSTANCO CONNECTED
WITH THE VirRECS AND SAVING OF LIVEs ST RAIPTS, SiC.
ENCLOSURE NO. 12.
Simon's lisyr, March 1, 1852.
About 81X P ri. of the 25th February,
11. M. chip Bk.
konhead sailed fromSimon,o Est' on her passage to