The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-25 00:00:00

,

-'~_

tilted with yettreiaz:e to the shipietit of the
vesuvian lucifers which had caused the disaster.
It is averred that the
,case had not been properly
described, and that if it had been know that it con-
tained such a combustible material asi lucifers it
would not have been allowed in that part of the
ship. It is known, however, that very large ship-
ments of this description of matches do take Place,
and several fires have resulted from the same cause
on board ship in the different docks. Had this case
ignited when the Southern Cross had got to sea it
is difficult to say what might have been the con-
sequences. It is feared that the loss of roans miss-
ing ships with all on board may he attributed to
the shipment of lucifer matches, eonpreres, &c. The
B,lthern Cross and her cargo are reported to be
insured.

ANOTHER DREADFUL SHIPWRECK.

411.

In the Times of India we read the following ac-
count of the wreck of the Columbus on August 15:
—" The ship was 760 tons burthen, and sailed from
Jedda for Singapore about the 26th of July ; she had
a crew of 40 men and 230 passengers, including two
Austrian gentlemen and their wives, the remainder
being principally Malay pilgrims returning from
Mecca. The vessel was laden with salt, dates, woo!,
and ghee. She had also 25 horses on board, and
neither ship nor cargo, we nnderstand, was insured.
Six days before the wreck the vessel sprung a leak,
which on the third day increased so much that the
pumps were useless, and the salt having melted, the
ship became waterlogged, and rolled so dangerously
that the master determined to make for the nearest
land. He put the ship before the wind,n h
and
crowded all sail on her for two days. On
evening of the 15th, the wind blowing hard at the
time, with lightning and rain, the lead told them
they were in eight fathoms, then seven, when they
shortened sail, and finally six, when they dropped
anchor, although they could see no land. The anchor
dragged, and soon after the cable parted, when the
vessel struck and went to pieces almost immediately,
She lay in a shallow bay, where the black rock.
cropped up through the sand. For more than a
quarter of a mile from the shore, along the
whole
bay, it was one waste of breakers. All on board
tried to save themselves by clinging to portions of,
the wreck, and many succeeded in reaching the
land, though wounded and bruised, by the surf
hurling them ashore. The Austrian gentleman
stated with much emotion that his wife, his brother,
and his brother's wife were among the lost; His
name is Otho Albin, and he was one of 130 of the
survivors who were found congregated at Wurroda.
About 30 Malays were found at Malgoond, which
is half-way between Pooley and Wurroda. On
coming within a mile of Wurroda some brown ob-
jects were seen lying on the sand within the wash
of the waves. On going nearer they were found to
be the bodies of a Malay, a Chinaman, and a Chinese
woman, all perfectly naked, and all with their skulls
fractured, and fearful bruises on body and limb,
For the next mile it was the same ; every few hun-
dred yards men, women, and children, all quite
naked, frightfully wounded and bruised, lay dead on
the sand and among the rocks in every conceivable
attitude. Nearer the place where the vessel broke
up were dead horses and other animals, and just
opposite to where she struck, well up on the beach,
was a large pile of broken beams, spars, ribs, and
planking, and tightly jammed between them, and
under them, the dead bodies of men and horses,
sheep, goats, and fowls, Persian cats, Manilla dogs,
and large rats, all beginning to decompose. Upon
the grass at the top of the beach, above this horrible
heap, were about twenty bodies that had come on
shore the previous day, among them the bodies of
Maria and Annette Albin, the Austrian women ;
and here we notice with pleasure an instance of
delicacy and respect to Europeans evinced by the
villagers, or by the native police of the place. All
the many dead Malay women, as well as men,
were lying quite naked over the beach, but these
two white women were reverently covered and laid
by themselves. Nor was this done to please Euro-
peans, for no European was expected so soon upon
the spot, and the surviving Austrian was three
miles off. One of the women, a young creature,
except for the cloth thrown over her and a pair of
stockings and boots which she wore, was quite
naked, and both the poor creatures' bodies were
fearfully bruised and cut. Decomposition had be-
gun, and there were no means of conveying their
remains to Rutnagherry; so a wide grave was dug,
and, their few ornaments being removed, they were
laid in it together, and a bit of broken white painted
spar placed at the head and another at the foot of the
grave. Before the earth was filled in, the missing
body of the husband of one of thorn was washed on
shore, and he was laid with them. Like all the rest
he was quite naked, the clothes having been frayed
off his body by the violence of the surf. His name
was Matthias Albin. Large pits were dug close to
the beach for the other bodies, which, if the sea
had given them all up, must I fear number nearly
100; there were then 64, of whom 12 were wo-
men, on the beach and in the surf. It was with
difficulty the vultures could be kept off them.
Some packages of wax and dates had washed up,
but they were much damaged, and there was little
of any value among the large quantity of fragments
of the ship and broken boxes. All were placed in
charge of a sufficient party of police. The survivors
were carried to Rutnagherry, as there was not food
enough for so many in the small villages where
they were. They all arrived at that station, except
one or two sick, and were placed in a bungalow that
happened to be vacant, and in two mosques. The
Austrian, Otho Albin, Mr. Reid has kindly
clothed
and taken into his own house. The police apothe-
cary is attending to the sick. It is by no means
easy to dispose of all these poor people. Almost all.
wish to go to the Malabar coast, where they will
find vessels for Singapore. If the steamers which
are coming down at the end of the month can take
them to Cochin, there will be some difficulty about
their fares. There is no doubt that the magistrate
will have to assist them ; for, however willing the
European and native community of Rutnapherry
may be to give assistance, the former are few, and the
latter far from rich. Some natives fed the unfor-
tunate people last night and this morning, and tho
magistrate will, it is believed, call a meeting to-
morrow to see what further can be done."