The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-09 00:00:00

The Loss of the Mail Steamer Bohemian,

Very scanty details have come to band of the loss
of the mail steamship Bohemian near Portland, on
the 22d ult. A letter from Portland, of the 23d,
says:--

The steamship Bohemian, Captain Borland, from
Liverpool, struck on Alden's Rock, four miles out-
side Cape Elizabeth, about nine o'clock last even-
ing, beat over, turned head towards the shore, and
sunk in about an hour and a half, about two miles
from the shore, outside of Richmond's Island, having
stove a hole in her engine compartment. Part of
the steerage passengers are supposed lost. Her
bridge is covered at high water, and the seas are
breaking over her. The night was clear, and the
Cape light in full view. The Bohemian had 19
cabin passengers, all of whom are supposed to be
saved, and 199 steerage passengers. It cannot yet
be ascertained how many of the latter are lost. Boat
No. 2 was swamped alongside, owing to people
crowding into it, and came ashore on the Cape
with a man and child in it, both dead. The people
at the Ocean House and in the fishing house on
the Cape sent teams to the sufferers. The Bohemian
had a cargo of silks and other goods, mostly on the
Canadian and provincial accounts, valued at one
million of dollars. The ship was going at half
speed.

Another letter, of the same date says :
The Bohemian's papers were saved. All the
cabin passengers escaped. Captain Borland ar-
rived by a tug boat at ten o'clock, and reports the
ship to be in four fathoms of water, off Broad Cove,
slightly heeled off. The main dcck at low water
is two feet under on one side, and at high water is
seven feet under. He thinks she will hold to-
gether if the weather is fair. The only way to
get the cargo out is by divers, and taking her into
shallow water by lifting her. Three mail bags
were saved. It is thought but few passengers are
lost except those in the swamped boat. Some of
the firemen probably perished. From the state-
ment of a passenger who came up in boat No. 5, I
learn that he was standing on the deck at the
time of the accident. The steamer passed the buoy,
and the passeugers thought it was the pilot boat.
Immediately after the steamer struck, the boats
were got oat safely, with the exception of No. 2,
which swamped. No. 5 took aboard all she could
hold, including several who jumped into the
water to them. Being unable to find a land-
ing place, she was rowed up the harbour.
She contained mostly cabin passengers, and
some steerage passengers whose names I do
not learn, with the exception of a Mr. Brown. The
mails saved were from Glasgow to New York, from
Glasgow to California, and one bag of papers for
Boston. From Tames Scott, the second officer, I
learn that all the officers were on deck when the
steamer struck. It was five minutes past eight
o'clock, and the watch was being changed. The
ship struck on a rock and went over. Orders were
immediately given to clear away the boats, and soon
the ship was headed for shore, but shortly after-
wards she sunk in four fathoms of water. Boat
No. 1, under the boatswain's mate, made two trips
to the shore, saving in the first trip about 80, and
in the second trip about 70. Boat N 0.2 swamped.
Boat No. 3, under charge of Mr. Scott, the second
officer, landed about 94 in Broad Cove. Boat No. 4,
under charge of the first and third officers, landed 25
on the beach. Boat No. 6, in charge of the fourth
officer, brought 29 into Portland harbour. These
numbers include the officers and crew of the Bo•
hemian. The whole number of passengers on
board was 218, and the number of the crew sup-
posed to be 99. It is estimated that the number of
saved in all the boats is 298, leaving 19 to be ac-
counted for. The crew were nearly all saved, The
lamp-trimmer, Peter Hart, and the engineers' store-
keeper, name unknown, are supposed to be drowned.
All the remaining officers and crew are safe. Capt.
Borland supposed himself four miles further off

than his real position. The Laze probably misled
him as to the true position of the lights. He had
been looking for a pilot, and throwing up rockets
and blue lights for half an hour, and was going at
the rate of a mile and a half an hour when the
vessel struck. Half an hour before he got sound-
ings in 40 fathoms of water, with a soft bottom.
The following additional particulars are given
in a Portland letter, dated the evening of the 23d
From reports of passengers I gather the following
LIST OF THE LOST.
Ellen O'Connor, aged 23, of Portland; Patrick
Purcell, aged 26 ; his wife, aged 25 ; his child, Eliza
B. and an infant, of New York ; Patrick Cassidy,
aged 25, of Brooklyn, New York; James Cassidy,
aged 17, of Brooklyn, New York ; Barbara Canavan,
4 years, of Portland ; Gilbert Manley, 3 years, of
New York; John Manley, 10 years, of New York;
Richard Annis, 18 years, of New York; Ann Mul-
len, 18 years, of New York; John Malian, 7 years,
of New York; Benjamin Hallechurch, 23 years, of
New York ; John Kane, 32 years, of Boston ; John
Martin, 2 years, of Boston; Honors Walton, of Bos-
ton ; Mary Hoy, aged 29. of Philadelphia, is also
reported lost. This makes eighteen in all. Thirty-
one have not reported, and five are saved whose
names are not on the list, probably being mis-
spelled, and constituting a part of the above thirty-
one, thus leaving twenty-six to report: Some may
be at the Cape too ill to come to the city, arid some
may be distributed about the city, in charit-
able hands. A force of men has been en-
gaged this afternoon in stripping the wreck. They
have recovered 33 mailbags, as follows :—Ten for
Montreal, three for Hamilton, six for Toronto, one
for Quebec, one for Kingston, four for Portland,
three for Chicago, one for Detroit, two for Boston,
and two for New York. The mails were all on
deck, ready for delivery, and were washed about
and overboard. The steamer lies in the same
position as she did this morning. Our citizens
have already raised for the sufferers over 600 dole.,

and have supplied them with all necessary articles
of clothing. The steamship company have fed and
housed the passengers, and will forward them to
their destinations.