The Sun.
London, England, 1847-09-21 00:00:00

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

SIR CHARLES NAPIER'S SQUADRON.
PORTSMOUTH, SEPT. 20.—8 y the arrival of the
Howe, 120, Captain Sir James Stirling, and the
Vixen steam-sloop, Commander A. P. Ryder, we are
put in possession of letters which enable us to follow
up our details of the movement of Sir Charles Na-
maacLp;
nni
aaeeoddi
nnerr
ko'nsesspelistonu:ogssopt, squadron, consisting of the St. Vincent, 120
(flag), Captain Milne; the Howe, 120, Captain Sir
n
tmoshiB;rob4l
iicgede:oo;lwpgnoht:ttahiahicoeonhionividepQsi
tuno.Buir:ee
.Ae,sot
bnrovcy,
eass,
neplacagtlrnesfOudri
r,
os t
emLhDCeouarfi
Asspathtgeieaisxoanibnenmgor,
tncfoSi
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evolution, as did also a Spanish corvette and a French
brig of war, leaving in the Tagus the Caledonia, 120,
Captain Dixon, America, 50, Captain Sir T. Mait-
land, and the Jackal iron steamer, Lieutenant Com-
mander Western ; also the Spanish commodore's ship,
one corvette, a brig, and a steam sloop ; the -French
gunnery ship Iphegenia, and a steamer, and the Por-
tuguese flag-ship, a two decker, a frigate, and two or
three corvettes and smaller vessels of war.
By 7 A.M. the squadron was under weigh and
standing down the Tagus in gallant style, the St.
Vincent leading ; the Howe, Vengeance, Canopus,
and Queen following in the order in which they are
named, accompanied by the steamers, the Stromboli
bringing up the rear. The St. Vincent and Howe
stood into Caxia's bay ; the Vengeance, Canopus, and
Queen kept their wind. At 7.30 the signal was
made to shorten sail, and prepare to be taken
in tow by the steamers denoted. Wind then about
S.S.W., moderate breeze. At 8 the Canopus, taken
in tow by the Dragon, passed the Vengeance, and
went ahead at a good rate. The Vengeance was
taken in tow by the Vixen ; the St. Vincent fol-
lowed in tow of the Sidon ; the Howe of the Odin ;
and the Queen of the Avenger. The Howe had
her sails furled ; the other ships had their topsails
on the cap. At 9.20 A.M. the rate of towing, by
signal, was—Canopus, 6 knots ; Vengeance, 41;
St. Vincent, 51 ; Howe, 5f ; and Queen, 5 ; moderate
breeze and smooth water. At 10 cast off from the
steamers, and set topsails, jib, and spanker. At
sunset the squadron were excercised in reefing top-
sails and courses.
" Saturday the 11th--light winds and calms.—
At 3 P.M. the Howe parted company for England.
The Avenger was ordered to get her steam up and
England.
proceed in
"Sunday sthhoerel2:o h.loTokheouAt v fore ng e ther
repjoaienkeedt froann:
signalled Have not seen packet.' In the afternoon a
steamer's train of smoke was descried merging above
the horizon. The Avenger was immediately sent in
chase; she returned about six P.M., with letters for
the squadron from England. The signal was quickly
flying, Send for letters,' at all times a joyful one.
"Monday the 13th.—The line-of-battle ships were
exercised at general quarters, each ship laid out her
target and commenced firing shot, but a dense fog
put a stop to it for half an hour or more. When the
weather cleared the signal was made to form line-of-
battle in single column and pass between the targets.
The St. Vincent led, followed by the Vengeance,
Canopus, and Queen, under topsails and topgallant
sails ; each ship, as her guns were made to bear on
the targets, commenced firing from both sides six
rounds from each gun in rapid succession, with spirit
and good aim. The firing was admirably good, not
a shot having been fired but would have struck a ship
had one been in the targets' place ; as it WAS they
were riddled. In the meantime the Vixen had been
ordered to Lisbon, and the signal was made, that
there would be an opportunity for sending letters to
England by her when she returned. The. steam
ts
squadron were then ordered to unship thtedir fl
,taaer
atenhd
A.M.,
tahnedi T
returned Tat e 0 f sailing.
ofour
*)
order :—Sidon, Dragon, Avenger, ()dins nefdo loawb nu
a royal breeze, with
Strom-
boli, the wind right southerly,
smooth water. At 4.30 ?Jar. the inclination of each
Avenges, 2f degrees ; Dragon,
and Stromboli 2 degrees. This evening
3 degrees; P.Tarh.lin th
n
breeze
the
s captains e
the
d steam
thussquadron
S i
degreesddoinn
e,
d 4
withdegrees
Odin,
dsi
hi
r;
Charles Napier.
nightfo' Tuesday m
thset s
loou. thesouth-east
ra
so s
itl.4 standingt hw. —e Th ha
along
leonVixenag
moderate
the
lrae rejoined i no effhd
Cape
Roco. The Vixen leaves at half-past one P.M. for
England. The squadron continues cruizing. The
time occupied by the steamers unshipping their floats
prior to their trial of sailing yesterday, as given by
signal, was—Sidon, 80 minutes; Avenger, 61 minutes;
Stromboli, 60 minutes ; Dragon, 55 minutes ; and
Odin, 50 minutes."
When the Vixen parted company for England the
squadron were off the rock of Gibraltar.

The Vixen steam-sloop, Co4'Snder A. P. Ryder,
came into the harbour this moiling, to replenish fuel,
and refit for foreign service "on station."
The Fury steam-sloop, Commander J. Wilcox, got
under weigh this morning, and proceeded to the
westward for a trip round the Isle of Wight to try
her engines. She goes direct to Rio, thence to the
East Indies.

The Geyser steam-sloop, Commander P. T. Brown,
hauled off from the dockyard this morning, to have
her compasses tried. It is understood this vessel and
the Fury will sail together for Plymouth about Satur-
day next.
The Howe, 120, Captain Sir James Stirling, is
taking out her powder, lower deck guns, &c., prepa-
ratory to coming into harbour, where she will be
docked to examine her bottom.

The Fisgard, 42, Captain Duntze, landed her
treasure to-day; it was in most excellent condition as
to the package, rather an unusual circumstance, which
reflects very great credit upon the officer most imme-
diately in connexion with its custody, Mr. T. H. C.
Gray, the clerk of the ship.
The Dockyard fire-brigade *as called out this
morning at four o'clock to assist at extinguishing a
fire in Clock-street, Common Hard, Portsea. By the
directions of Lieutenant Hall, the director of police
in the dockyard, the hose of the engines of the
establishment were fitted to the pipes in the yard, and
carried the whole length of the Hard, whereby so
immense a body of water was thrown upon the blazing
tenement that the fire was speedily extinguished,
though not before the house in which it originated
was gutted. Had not this assistance by Lieutenant
Hall and the men under his command been promptly
rendered, the whole of Common Hard must have been
destroyed, as a very, fresh breeze, amounting to half a
gale, had been blowing all night.
CHATHAM, SEPT. 19.—The Sealark, 10 gun brig,
Commander R. D. White, was towed into this har-
bour yesterday morning by: the African steam-vessel,
to be paid off, and this morning she disembarked the
crew of a Brazilian schooner, of the name of Ebro,
164 tons burden, which she captured on her passage
home, having 197 slaves on board, in 4 N. latitude,
and 22 West longitude, bound to Rio de Janeiro.
The crew of the slaver consists of Spaniards and
Brazilians, 14 in number, one of them having died
yesterday, on the passage to Chatham. They were
landed at the Sun-pier, and conveyed thence to Lon-
don, to be disposed of by order of the Government.
The Diligence, naval transport, Martin master,
with stores from Pembroke, arrived alongside the
dockyard this morning, and has commenced unloading.

LOSS OF TWO WHALERS.
(From the Hull Packet.)
We regret that we have this week to record the
total loss of two vessels, employed in the Davis'
Straits Fishery; one, the Bon Accord, of Hull, com-
manded by Captain Lee, and the other the Alfred,
of Boness. The following is an extract from a letter
received by Mr. Robert Collinson, of this town, ma-
naging owner of the Bon Accord, from the mate,
dated Egosminde, Danish Settlement, Davis' Straits,
July 28, 1647 :
" We lost our ship on the 3d of July, and after 20
days' hard suffering arrived here, and are now on
board the brig Peru, of Copenhagen. We had two
fishes, 25 tons. The ship was lost in 75 deg. north,
as was the Alfred, of Boness, also ; she had one fish.
The day before we saw fourteen sail about ten miles
north of us. The 29th of June, the Prince of Wales,
clean ; Lord Gambier, clean ; Truelove, one fish ;
Abram, one small fish, all of Hull ; Traveller, one ;
Joseph Green, one ; Resolution, one, all of Peter-
head. All the Dundee ships clean. The St. An-
drew, of Aberdeen, two fishes, and Pacific, same
port, clean ; Lady Jane, of Newcastle, one fish ; the
Kirkaldy ships clean ; the American ship, five fishes,
800 seals, 95 tuns. Signed Francis Lee, late mate of
the Bon Accord, of Hull."
In addition to the above, Mr. Robert Collinson,
who arrived here from Hamburgh on Wednesday,
states that there were in that port fourteen of the
gki,
114
crew of the Alfred, who had ar • -ed from Davis'
Straits, via Copenhagen ngkrepori *Att.& whole
of the crews of both tilt aed vess s 'wVIW saved,
one of the Bon ATco d; who dieclapsieviowly to
her loss, and another of the same crew byl4lling from
an iceberg. Both were Shetland melt,

The following int esting narrative of the su ingE
of the crew cord, after the los he
vessel, is extr ete um a lamer of the rrtate
wife, in this town :

" it was on the 3d of July that we lost the ship,
between three and four o'clock in the. morning. It was
then blowing a hurricane from the S.W., with con-
stant snow. The hands were called about a quarter
of an hour before she was lost. I had just time to get
my things upon me, when the two floes came toge-
ther. I never thought that I had so much strength,
for I carried my father like a doll and handed him
over the side. I then ran down into the cabin to save
his watch, but it was too late ; the deck under my
feet and the beams above my head were flying in all
directions, and it was with the greatest difficulty that
I reached the deck again. I have lost everything. I
never shall forget the sight. The Alfred was about 200
yards ahead of us. She took the nip first, and the ice
went right over her. Oh, what a sight I To see
98 men upon the ice, some of them cursing the hour
that gave them birth. I first looked at the wreck
and saw there was no shelter there. Then, with
horror, looked to the ice, and oh, what a sight met
my eyes I There was my poor aged parent wring-
ing his hands and tearing the hair off his head, pray-
ing to God to take his life. These eyes, I hope, will
never see the like again. We were twelve hours cn
the ice before we got a seat made for my father, and
a fire made. I then went down to the wreck, and
saved his chest and bedrug, one cask of pork, one
cask of bread, one cask of flour, four casks of ale,
and twenty gallons of brandy, which we took to his
tent, and got the crow's nest there also, to make a
bed cabin for him. We then made a tent for the
men, and a fire. I got' an empty bread cask and
made a tent for myself, but being wat through and
cold I could nut sleep. I got up and walked on the
ice to get warm, being almost perished. I went
into the men's tent, and they had a fire that would
have roasted a drove of oxen, but there was no
chance of getting near it. They were laid
oae upon another, but at length the fire dis-
appeared through the ice, and when they
awoke they were almost frozen. I then tra-
velled over to the Alfred's tents, and there they
were a great deal more comfortable, for they had saved
their bedclothes and chests all dry. The next day
was spent in getting our boats ready for launching
over the ice; constant snow, and the wird blowing
as hard as ever. We all suffered a great deal from
wet and cold this day. The fifth it fell calm, with a
very hot clothespair f
s driedtoo
stockings.
little.
My lu
went down to the wreck and my chest was floating
upon the water. It not being locked and being bot-
tom up, most of my clothes were gone out, the men
yrahtohter sun.ga W
gave me e ag shirttese m
aned a
had taken them out, and then turned my chest bottom
up, for the things that were underneath were gone,
and those that were laid upon top were saved. At
nine o'clock we commenced launching the boats over
the ice, and at two o'clock in the morning of the 6th
of July we got all the boats in a hole of water. I
then lost my eyesight for two days by the reflection
of the ice. I suffered a great deal, and I felt that I
could have lain down and died, had not the thoughts
of my wife and child borne me through all my trials
and sufferings. At four o'clock we launched
boat again and proceeded south, my father and otherthick
three boats in company. Midnight, very
of m
weather, with constant snow ; 1
lost sightt
was y
father and the three other boats,then
our
blowing very hard from the southward. I
run for smooth water to save our
lives. July 7th, moderate • noon, more mod , saw three
boats to the northward, which proved to be the
Alfred's. I then bore them company within 10 miles
of Duck Island, when it came on thick weather and
had to bear up and
I lost sight of them, blowing very strong from the
N.E., with a very nasty sea. Ten o'clock at night,
landed on a barren rock very little larger than our
boat, and made some tea. Midnight, a little more
one side oftheo
be island
one andof t
b lone A
lthefr e other.d,s
boats
Bth,
in
l
moderate ; left the rock and landed on a larger island.
I found out afterwards that the master of the Alfred
distress,w
provedason
heard
afterwards t
havinga g gun fired
shipped
o a these
a southand
o ffilled
;
island,
he
e IN. whichs
re-
tlsbioermveeeedot
oyal,ooohnkaevi
having
gttbheei
morning
first ownobrrnoi
broken
boats,egnm.y which took him in
tow and landed upon one of theeonsecmheeamsltlouripeslaptonudtmst.aokseeAaat,
calm anudvoerythicknd, ; four o'clock in the afternoon,
la
worn out with pulling, made
fire, and fried some meat in our old utensils ; six
o'clock, left the island, one boat in sight to the north-
ward ; midnight, a light breeze from the N.E., suf-
fered a great deal from cold, having to launch our
boats over very bad ice, knee-deep in wet snow, and I
had nothing but a pair of shoes on, having lost both
pairs of boots. July 9, six o'clock in the morning,
landed on an island to make some tea ; found five
dozen duck eggs on the island, fried them and made
a very hearty meal. There were one of our boats
and two boats of the Alfred left the island as I landed.
Eight o'clock, another of the Alfred's boats landed.
Ten o'clock, left the island in company with the
further
Alfred's boat. Noon, could not get any