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

THE LATE LOSS OF 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. Y 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 twe 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 iii, 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
hard 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 iun 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 display—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
provisions and water that they could. I then took a
boat and four men, and started to pull round the 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 that night, when, not being able to see
any vessels, and not knowing in hat direction to pull,
I landed on the north shore of the entrance to Magda-
lena Bay, hauled up the boat, and waited until day-
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
and
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After stating the circumstances of the wreck to him, he
gallons
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,
survivors to San Jose or Cape St. Lucas, where
get the necessaries of life until other assi tadnce couldbe
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I took twenty gallons of water and a sack of bread in
expecting to find the
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there 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