The Sun.
London, England, 1862-09-29 00:00:00

NDAY

711 E GOLDEN FLEECE S7E AMER, DIS-
11EASTED IN A HURRICANE.

SHOCKING DEATH OF CAPT. WESTERN, R.N.
Intelligence has been received by the Cape mail
of the miraculous escape of the splendid screw
steamer Golden Fleece, bound to London from Cal-
cutta and Madras with a large number of passen-
gers—and the melancholy fate of Capt. Western)
R.N., the highly-respected commander of the ship.
The East India and London Shipping Company
have received the following particulars of the dis-
aster :

It appears that on the 10th of July the screw was
found to be out of gear, and on the 18th, there
being light winds and the sea having gone down,
the crew were employed in rigging purchases to
raise the screw, which weighed about seven tons,
and had to be raised 11 feet to enable the engineer
to make the necessary repairs. In the afternoon the
attempt was made at first with every prospect of
success ; but at 5.30 p.m., when less than a foot
more was required to raise it to a proper height,
the chain parted, letting the screw slide down into
its old position amidst a perfect flame of fire caused
by the chain rushing through the iron block. Al-
though several of the crew and passengers were
standing round assisting and witnessing the opera-
tion, no one fell a victim to this mishap but the
commander, Capt. Western, who was struck in the
chest with the chain which broke, and expired at
half, past 11 from the effects of the severe injuries
he had received. A piece of the chain (nearly half
a link) was extracted from his back, having en-
tered his chest, breaking the breast. bone and seven
ribs. When the purchase parted the screw came
down with a terrific crash, and for a short time it
was feared that some serious injury had been done
to the stern post, but on sounding the well by
order of Captain Western, who to the last thought
of his vessel and passengers, it was found that
nothing was to be apprehended. On being raised
from the deck Capt. Western at once iaquired if any
one had been hurt, and being answered in the nega-
tive, exclaimed, " Thank God, its only me," and
then walked to his cabin, supported by two of the
bystanders.
A passenger writes :—" On the 19th it was our
melancholy duty to commit to the deep the remains
of this brave and lamented officer. The weather con-
tinued bad for several days, and on the afternoon of
the 30th we split the main and mizentop sails, and
a heavy sea lifting our first cutter off the davits, the
next roll dropped her on to the muzzle of a gen and
stove her in. At midnight it blew a violent gale
with terrific squalls. The reef points of the foretop-
sail, which was close reefed, drew through the eye-
let holes, giving the sail the appearance of an enor-
mous comb. The next day the weather was, if pos-
sible, worse. The foretopgallant backstay was car-
ried away, leaving the:foretopgallantmast in much
danger. Next two of the weather shrouds of the
fore rigging was parted, the other two looking very
doubtful, and great fears were entertained for the
safety of the lower masts; however, tackles were got
up and secured in the best manner we could. In the
afternoon a more terrific squall than usual split the
foretopsail to ribbons, necessitating the cutting
away of the sail,as it endangered the yard and mast.
Here Mr. Connop, the fourth officer, showed true
courage and presence of mind. Getting out, axe in
hand, to the very extremity of the lee yardarm, he
remained until the whole entangled fragments and
gear were cut away. Notwithstanding that the lee
braces were slack and the yard jerking violently,
one of the sailors, named Fox, was the first to follow
and assist Mr. Connop. At a quarter past 6 the
maintopgallantmast was carried away, taking with
it the topmast, and the wreck was secured as soon
as possible. At 8 o'clock it was blowing a tremen-
dous gale, which lasted all night ; on the following
morning (Aug. 11), at about 4 o'clock, the foremast
being considered in imminent danger, it was deemed
advisable to cut away the foretopmast to save the
lower mast, but before this could be effected, and
whilst bracing up the foreyard to allow the top-
mast to fall clear, the foremast went over the
side about twelve feet from the deck, carrying
away with it the main and mizen masts, the
former about four feet and the latter close on from
the deck, leaving us in a furious sea a perfect wreck,
with our screw out of order, drifting away where
the wind and sea willed, like a log. We imme-
diately began to clear the wreck, and in cutting
away the gear lost four boats and two guns, which
were so broken and entangled as to render it an im-
possibility to save them. At daylight we found
that the mainyard and the stump of the mainmast
were partly under the ship's bottom, and foul of the
screw, bumping heavily, and threatening ever mo-
ment to knock a hole in the ship's bottom, and sink
her, but in a short time, to our unspeakable relief,
they broke away, and we soon had the satisfaction
of seeing ourselves drifting clear of them. We were
now lying perfectly helpless in the trough of a
heavy sea, the vessel labouring fearfully, with all
hard at work in rigging shears, Sec., preparatory to
rigging jurymasts. The screw was put in order on
the 3d of August. Too much praise cannot be
awarded to Mr. Rand,e, chief officer, now in com-
mand, for the admirable precautions taken to ensure
success ; to Mr. Bray, chief engineer, and his sub-
ordinates, for the courageous and determined manner
in which they performed their dangerous duty, and
the way they worked at the screw in so heavy a
sea ; and to all the officers, for their untiring exer-
tions and the spirited manner in which they carried
out the orders. No sooner had this important work
been so successfully finished than a hard gale set in
with a more heavy sea than ever. Steam being up
the engines were set going "dead slow," and after
some time the ship was brought round and was soon
on her right course for Simon's Bay. At midnight
it was blowing a fresh gale, with a very high sea,
the snip taking in much water. At eight p.m. on
the sth it was blowing a hard gale, and we shipped
a heavy sea fore and aft, there being at on© time
as much as six inches of water on the main deck.
At three o'clock on the following morning (6th) we
shipped a tremendous sea on the port bow, which
washed away about 30 feet of the bulwarks, and
the rush of water carried away with it sheep, pens,
lamps, and side houses, filling the forecastle with
water. At the moment of the sea striking the ship
quivered so violently that the general impression
among all that she was filling and going down.
The water rushed from one end of the ship to the
other, swamping the saloon and many of the cabins.
On sounding the well it was found that no serious
damage was done, although few ships could have
sustained the tremendous shock with impunity.
The next day being fine we succeded in raising a
two
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running, caused the ship to pitch very heavy. At
last on the 10th the wind began to moderate. On
the 11th we sighted land, and early on the 12th
we were to our unspeakable joy lying at anchor in
Simon's Bay."
The Golden Fleece will be repaired at Simon's
Bay. She is a very large steamer, 2,000 tons re-
gister, and was employed as a transport during the
whole of the Crimean war. The ship and cargo are
heavily insured.

EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE AT MILLWALL.-
On Saturday Mr. H. Raffles Walthow, the deputy-coroner
for Middlesex, held an inquest at the Crown public-house,
Millwall, Poplar, tending, the death of Daniel Arthur
Burns, aged twelve years, who lost his life under the fol-
lowing circumstances :--It appeared by the evidence that
the deceased and several boys, a few days since, were
amusing themselves on the wharf of the Thames Plate-glass
Company, which runs on one side of the Bow Creek, near
the Orchard House, Millwall. There was a machine for
raising a box by the means of ropes. and the deceased, with
another boy, got into it, while others pulled them up and
let them down. Suddenly the boys let the machine go down
rapidly, and those in the box fell into the canal. Two men
thed following
in a boat rowed to the boys, who were struggling for life,
but before they could be reached the deceased sank, but his
companion was saved. The drags vec re brought into requisi-
I tion, but before deceased could be found life was extinct.
The wharf was accessible when the workmen were at dinner.
A. Burgeon having been examined as to the cause ft death,
several of the jury complained of the unprotected ste of
future the comPany
the machine, which was worked by a windlass; and, after
some remarks from the deputy-coroner, the jury returned
"'ling by falling from the premises of the Thames plate-
glass,
would write to
Wo I—.
Theshrludt•kYe-cepoitohneemr ascithitiinethlaotckbede
sptehceiacolvmerpdauicyt—.
premises
the deceased died from
that in f-t—.l Millwall. accidentally, but the jury requested
up when not in use. ,