The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-04 00:00:00

WRECK OF THE
DUKE OF SUTHERLAND.

UPWARDS OF TWENTY LIVES LOST.
ABERDEEN, FRIDAY EVENING.

This afternoon the city of Aberdeen was thrown into
a state of great excitement by the wreck of the steamer
Duke of Sutherland, Captain Howland, just arrived from
London, at the very mouth of the harbour, and the loss
of lives before the eyes of thousands of their fellow-eiti,
Zeus, who, though almost within speaking distance, and
recognising in them their own personal acquaintances,
felt themselves powerless to save them.
. .

The harbour of Aberdeen has long been known as an
unsafe one ; and several vessels—among them one or two
steamers—have before this been lost in attempting to
enter it. Lying immediately behind, and to the north
of the promontory of Girdleness, the last link of the
great Grampian chain, the channel does not run straight
out to sea, but takes a slight northerly direction. Hence
it is easy of access for ships coming from the north ; but
when vessels arrive from the south they cannot run in
directly after rounding the promontory, but must still
hold a north-westerly course till they have cleared the
rocks to the south of the harbour ; after which they must
come sharp round, or they will go ashore on the pier-
head. The danger of this catastrophe is much increased
when the wind is blowing fresh from the southward, and
still more, when, in addition to this, the river is in flood,
as the current then sets strong against the pier on the
north side of the harbour.
All these incidents combined in the destruction of
the unfortunate Duke of Sutherland this afternoon.
The Dee has been flooded for several days past in
consequence of the melting of the snows among
the hills, in its upper course, and the wind, which
had been fresh and blustering all day from the south,
had raised a considerable sea, which broke in great
sheets of surf upon the sandy beach to the north and
south of the harbour. In the main channel of the
stream, however, there was nothing to alarm, nothing
to prevent any ship from taking the harbour. The sea
was rolling high, indeed, but it rolled in what sailors
call whole water, and hence when the Duke of Suther-
land was seen rounding the Girdleness-point, about half-
past five o'clock in the afternoon—that is about the usual
time that she was expected to make her voyage—no fears
were expressed by any one of her safe entrance. It was
a grand sight to see the magnificent vessel battling with
and mastering the swelling waves as she rounded the
headland. That feeling lasted but a minute, however ;
she had scarcely cleared the rocks to the south when the
experienced eyes of some old fishermen saw that she was
too far to the northward, and comprehending the impos-
sibility of her beating off against the united force of wind
and tide, the, exclamation was raised that she was " a
gone ship." The prediction was but too fatally verified.
In less time almost than it takes to tell it, she struck
with tremendous force against the rocks lying seaward
at the head of the pier, and then, turning broadside on
to the waves, lay a helpless log on the waters. The
alarm was soon spread, and in a few minutes the pier
was crowded with thousands of spectators, the more ad-
venturous of whom rushed to the extreme point of the

pier, within a very few yards of where the ill-fated ves-
sel was stranded, though the sea occasionally broke
right over them, as it was already doing over the ship's
decks. The full peril of those on board was instantly com-
prehended. She was an iron vessel, and it was feared would
not hold long together, especially as it was seen that she
had grounded amidships. The event too, speedily rea-
lised their worst fears. Within less than ten minutes
from the time she struck, the bow of the vessel was
torn sheer from the waist arid was drifted up the har-
bour, while the main part remained hard and fast
upon the rocks. So rapidly had the sea broken her
up and found an enterance into her, that within a very
few minutes from the first shock the waves could be
seen from the pier dashing up from the interior of her
hold black and discoloured with the coals of the steamer-
No lives, we believe, were lost when the forepart of the
vessel was torn away, for the sailors had, when the
vessel first struck, ran aft to lower the life-boat that lay
on the the starboard paddle box, being that nearest to
hand. Some parties said they could hear the captain,
who was on the paddle-box at the time of the accident,
give orders for their doing so ; at any rate it could
hardly be his orders that the ship's crew should save
themselves in her. Such, however, was the case. The
life-boat on the starboard or shore side was got out, and
was immediately filled with persons from the wreck; but
with the single exception of a little boy about ten years
of age, there was not a single- passenger among them.
They were the seamen and firemen of the ship, headed
by the chief mate. It may be that after landing the
greater part of their number, the rest intended to return
and bring off the passengers ; but however that might be
their intentions were not put to the test • for after
pulling a short way through the surf at the back or north
side of the pier, a tremendous sea struck the boat and
upset her, throwing some ten or fifteen persons into the
boiling ocean. In all probability most of them would
have perished but for the gallantry of the spectators on
shore ; some of the stoutest of whom dashed into the
sea, and being held by the linked hands of others nearer
the shore, succeeded in bringing every one, the boy
among the rest, safely eshore. It is to be regretted
that in the eagerness to save these unfortunate persons,
all thought of securing the capsized life-boat was for-
gotten, so that she drifted away to the northward, and
all chance of rendering her useful in saving other per-
sons' by manning her with a fresh crew from the land,
was frustrated.
While these things were taking place on board, other
and highly praiseworthy exertions for their safety were
made ashore. A life-boat, which was left lying in the
harbour, ready to be launched either to the north or the
south side, was very early resorted to by the spectators;
and as soon as hands enough could be got together she
was launched into the surf behind the pier, and manned