The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-18 00:00:00

THE LATE LOSS OP THE STEAMER

INDEPENDENCE.

Captain Sampson, master of this ill-fated steamer,
has given the following statement of the circumstances
under which she perished :

I am under the painful necessity of reporting the loss
of the steamer Independence, lately under my command,
on her passage from San Juan del Sud to this port (San
Francisco) and about one hundred and twenty-five lives,
consisting of the passengers and fifteen of the crew. She
was lost on the, island of Margarita, off the coast of
Lower California. After leaving Acapulco, we experi-
enced strong breezes from N.W. to N. Passed Cape St.
Lucas on the morning of the 15th of February. At 12
o'clock M. of the 15th, we were in lat. 23 04 N., long.
110 42 W.W., steering N.W. by W. W. per compass,
intending to go to the westward of Margarita Island.
On the morning of the 16th, at one o'clock a.m., made
the main land to the eastward of the island, having been
set in shore by the current. Altered the course to S.W.
At two a.m. made the Island of Margarita, the south
point bearing W. by S. per compass ; then altered the
course to W.S.W.

I intended to give the point a berth of three miles, but
owing to a haze over the land I was deceived in the dis-
tance. At 15 minutes past five, just as day was begin-
ning to break, she struck on a sunken reef extending off
the south point of the island, about a mile from the
shore. The sea was very smooth at the time, not break-
ing on the reef at all. Backed the engine, and she came
off ; examined the hold, and found that she was rapidly
filling ; knew that I would have to beach her to keep her
from sinking ; got a sail over the bow (under her) to try
to stop the leak, and set a gang of men to work at each
hatchway baling, and ran along the west side of the
island, close in, to ffnd a good place to put her ashore.
Told the engineer to.let me know five minutes before the
water would be up high enough to put outthe fires. When
we had run about four miles the engineer came up and
reported the water nearly up to the fires, and that they
would be extinguished in a few minutes. Put the helm
bard a-port, and ran her ashore in a small cove on the
south-west side of the island, head on. Lowered a boat,
and sent the mate and two men in her to run a line
ashore to the beach, which was about 100 yards distant,
but the boat broached-to and was swamped in the surf.
Lowered another boat, and sent three men in her with
another line, which they succeeded in getting ashore. I
now ascertained that the ship was on fire. Told the en-
gineer to take his men and put out the fire if possible.
Ordered the other two boats to be lowered, and to come
forward, and the women and children to come to the
forward gangway. Loaded both boats with women and
and children and sent them ashore. The ship had now
swung round broadside on. The mate and two men
came off with the boat that took the line ashore, and
she was immediately loaded with women and children,
and went ashore with them. The fire originated with
the furnaces. It was necessary, after the steamer struck
on the reef, to use wood and boards for fuel, in order to
keep up steam until she struck on the beach, when the
water was so high as to stop the draft from the lower
flues, which forced open the furnace-doors, and the flames
rushed out and caught the wood-work in the fire-room,
and also round the smoke-stack, thence spreading very
rapidly. Every effort was made to get the fire under,
but of no avail. The flames were now coming up from
the hatchways, fire-room, engine-room, ventilators, and
around the smoke-stack. Everything was consternation
and dismay—the people seemed completely bewildered,
and were jumping overboard by dozens.
The scene was perfectly horrible and indescribable
—men, women, and children, screeching, crying, and
drowning. I ordered, the spars, hatches, and tables,
and all that would float, to be thrown overboard, which
was done, and they were immediately covered with
people. About an hour after the ship struck the beach
she was in a perfect sheet of flame, and there was no one
on board of her except one of the coal passers named
Beaumont, and myself. The smoke-stack had fallen,
and the promenade dock forward had tumbled in ; the
flames were coming out of the side lights, and it was impos-
sible to stay on board any longer. A boat came off from
the shore with two of the deck hands in her. Beaumont,
who was near the fore-rigging, jumped into her, and I
jumped overboard, swam to her, and commenced picking
up those who were afloat. After 'picking up three boat
loads, Thomas Heron, the steward, succeeded in launch-
ing another boat and saving some of the people.
When all that were alive had been picked up, and some
of the baggage, I landed, and had the spars which had
drifted ashore hauled up into a ravine, and with one old
sail that had washed ashore made a tent large enough to
shelter the women and children. The ship was still in
flames, so that it was impossible for any one to board
her. I gave the mate and engineer orders to have the
dead taken up above high-water mark and buried, and
to board the wreck as soon as possible, and save all the
boatprov iasinodnsfoaunrdinweant,ear
ndthaatt they could.
artedtopull
roluntdhetnhetonok north
end of the island to Magdalena Bay, in search of as-
sistance, expecting to find some ships there. We pulled
until ten o'clock
nktohtatknonigwhin g in t,wlile what direction
tbein
t being able
pull,tosee
any vessels, and
nlanded
hnatuhleednourp the ithlsorbeoaot, of thel
uenwtraaintecde tuouMtdaod-rdaya:
light, when I started again to pull across the bay. After
pulling an hour and a half, I discovered a vessel close in
to the main land ; pulled for and reached her at eleven
o'clock a.m.; found her to be the schooner A. Emery,
Capt. Gordon. The captain and most of the crew were
ashore, looking for water ; set a signal, and they came
on board.
Capt. Gordon said that he had been in the bay five
days, and that there was no other vessel in 'the bay.
After stating the circumstances of the wreck to him, he
gallonsconsentedf
watert o get
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at (althoughthetin
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f life orC aupuet St. Lucas,othera
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rbeenadtieng redonthtemA; at daylightndhegot
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nndtehe l
under weigh and commenced
and the schooner being a long distance from bmteinhegweraelcmk;
I took twenty gallons of water and a sack of bread in
and started
f
or water, for the expecting to find the
tpheeopbloeats,and started for the camp, expecting to find the
people suffe
aer ttere was none on the
island fit to drink. Arrived abreast of the wreck at two
p.m., having been gone from there 51 hours. The surf
was breaking very heavily, making it dangerous to land.
The mate came down on the beach, and said that the
passengers had gone across the island, and that I had

While at work getting provisions from the wreck, we
saw a steamer bound down the coast about six miles
distant. We made signals for her, but she did not notice
them. Launched a boat and took men in, and attempted
to get off to speak her, but the surf, which was breaking
very heavily at the time, swamped the boat and broke
one of the oars, and when I reached the shore again I
was so much exhausted that I could not make another
attempt.
After getting all the provisions that had been saved,
which occupied two days, I chartered the ship Meteor,
Captain Jeffries, to take us all to San Francisco. to sail
as soon as the vessel could be made ready. While the
ship was being fitted I took a boat and crew from the
ship Omega, which lay off and on the island on the look
out for a steamer, hoping to speak owe on her passage
up and get some assistance from her, but none came in
sight of us.

On the 3d of March, everything being ready and the
passengers all on board (except a few who chose to go
to the Sandwich Islands in the other ships), we sailed
for this port.
I was on the larboard paddle-box when the steamer
struck, and had been on deck the whole night. If the
steamer had not taken fire not a soul would have been
lost, for they could all have been landed safely if there
had been time.

The reef upon which the steamer struck is about two
miles long, making off in a south-easterly direction, and
is not laid down in any of the charts that I have ever

Too much cannot be said in favour of the humane
conduct and kind treatment received from Captain J.
Fisher and officers of the ship Omega, Captain Whd-
don, of the ship James Maury ; Captain Jeffries, of the
ship Meteor ; Captain Lane, of the barque Clements ;
and Captain Gordon, of the schooner A. Emery, who
promptly came to our relief as soon as they heard of our
situation, and rendered us all the assistance, and made
us as comfortable as possible during our stay in the bay.

THE WEATHER.—Suit OFFICE, MAY 18.
THERMOMETER, IN THE SHADE.
73—highest sines noon yesterday.
59—lowest this morning and during the night.
67 this day at noon.

BABOMETEB, 29°95.
Wrap, N.E.—Fine breeze, and sunshiny weather.