The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-14 00:00:00

STATEMENT OF THE SURVIVORS.

John Heard, able-bodied seaman, states that he was one
of the lifeboat crew, and when Captain Burgoyne gave
an order he went over to leeward, and, seeing the pinnace,
swam for her, and was rescued by the second launch.
Dryburgh, A.B. states that he ran along the ship's
bottom (after she had capsized) as far as her bilge piece.
The sea then closed over him, and when he came to the
surface he caught hold of a spar. Seeing the launches he
let go the spar, and swam for them, and was saved.
James Freeman, ordinary seaman, states that he went
down a good distance with the ship, and was struck on the
head by something. On reaching the surface he swam for
the launch, and was the fifth man in her.
Lewis Warry, captain of the foretop, states that he was
coming along the weather gangway, and seeing the boat'
washed from their crutches, he jumped for one, but mis-
sing, sunk. When he came to the surface the boat was
some distance from him, and in trying to reach her he
again sank. He believed he was drawn down by the ship.
On rising he succeeded in reaching a boat, and assisted in
lashing the steer oar, although much exhausted.
Henry Grange, ordinary seaman, states that he jumped
on to the boats as they were leaving the ship.
John Walker, A. 8., states that when the ship gave a
lurch he got over the weather side. He does not recollect
anything more until he found himself being carried by a
sea towards the launch, which he succeeded in reaching.
Robert Tomlinson, ordinary seaman, states that he got
on the weather netting, and as the ship heeled over he
ran up the mizen tripod until he was washed off. He then
swam for the pinnace, and was rescued by the second

launch.
Charles Treganna, leading seaman, states that he worked
his way over the weather gunwale, and finally on to the
bottom of the ship. A sea washing him off he swam for
the launch, and succeeded in reaching her, and was hauled
in. He got on the steer oar, and kept at it until the boat
got to land, twelve hours afterwards.
George Bride, coxswain of the pinnace, states that he
went over to windward, and got on to a plank, about six
feet long, but two other men getting hold of it he let go
and swam for the launch, and was hauled in.
The statements of the remaining survivors do not throw
any additional light on the sad catastrophe. Mr. Charles
Walker, son of Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker, K.C.B.
(ani brother-in-law of Captain Burgoyne); Lieutenant

Nardenfelt, a Swedish gentleman ; and two Greek mid-
shipmen, one named Sactoris, were among those drowned.
The Captain was close hauled on the port tack at the time
of her sinking, and amid the fury of the elements the
shrieks of the stokers could be distinctly heard. Admiral
Sir Alexander Milne and the officers of the flag ship sub-
scribed a considerable sum for the survivors, and Captain
Sullivan and the officers and the crew of the
Volage contributed £6O for the fund which will
be raised for the families of those who have been lost.
Sir Alexander Milne accompanied the gift from his ship
with the following. memorandum :
" Mem.—The Commander in Chief sends to the seven-

teen men whose lives have been so mercifully preserved,
the small sum now enclosed, that they may have a few
shillings on arrival at home. It is with the deepest
sorrow he has found the last few days of his command
rendered days of sorrow for the sad and melancholy loss
of 'their shipmates, whose misfortune he will always
deeply regret."
The following has been received from the Portsmouth
correspondent of the Times : ',The Volage, screw cor-
vette, Captain Sullivan, arrived at Spithead shortly
before noon on Monday from the Channel fleet, which she
left on Friday morning, north of Cape Finisterre, with the
gunner and 17 seamen saved from the wreck of the Cap-
tain on board. Soon after the Volage had anchored at
Spithead, the Captain's men were disembarked from the
ship and landed at Portsmouth, where they were taken
possession of by a crowd of excited people, all anxious to
nquire for husbands, sons, brothers, or other relatives and
friends who had belonged to the ship. Admiral Milne's fur-
ther report upon the loss of the Captain, drawn up after
the depositions of Mr. May, the gunner, and the 17 seamen
who gained the Spanish coast, near Finisterre, in the Cap-
tain's second launch, had been taken on board the Lord
Warden, flagship, and was forwarded to the Admiralty in
charge of Mr. May, by the first up-train after the Volage's
arrival, a condensed report being in the meantime for-
warded through the telegraphic wire betweed the Port Ad-
miral's office here and Whitehall. Immediately following
upon the arrival of the Volage at Spithead, a list of the sur-
vivors of the Captain was posted at the dockyard gates.
All the men saved belonged to the starboard watch. The
watch was called, the men say, a few minutes past mid-
night, and as the men were going on deck to muster, the
ship gave a heavy lurch to starboard, but righted herself
again immediately. • Robert Hirst, able seaman, 'was
stationed on the forecastle, and mustered with the star-
board watch. There was a strong wind, and the ship was
then under her three topsails, double reefs in each, and
the foretopmast staysail. The yards were braced sharp
up, and the ship did not seem to have much way upon
her. As the watch were mustered, Captain Bur-
goyne gave the order, ' Let go the foretopsail halliards ;'
followed by ' Let go fore and main topsail sheets.' By
the time the men got to the topsail sheets the ship was
heeling over to starboard, so much that the men were
washed away off the deck, the ship lying down on her
side as she was gradually turning over, andtrembling with
every blow which the short jumping seas (the sea
now was white all round with the squall) struck

her, and the roar of the steam from the funnel
roaring horribly above everything, and continuing to do
so even when under water. Hirst, with two other men,
rushed to the weather forecastle netting, and jumped
overboard, and immediately afterwards they found them-
selves washed on to the bilge of the ship's bottom, but had
no sooner got there than the ship went down. Hirst and
his companions went down with the ship, but the next
feeling of consciousness by the former, was com-
ing in contact with a floating spar, to which
lie tied himself with his . black silk necker-
chief. He was soon afterwards, however, washed-
away from the spar, but got hold of the stern of the second
launch, which was floating as it was stowed on board the
ship—the Fecond being stowed inside the first launch, the
galley inside the second launch, and a canvas cover laced over
and lashed round all. Other men were there on the top of the
canvas covering. The fell in with the steam lifeboat pin-
nace (built by J. S. White, East Cowes, Isle of Wight),
bottom up, with Captain Burgoyne and a number of men
on her bottom, but could not distinguish how many.
Four men, of whom Mr. May, the gunner, proved to be
one, jumped from off the bottom of the steam pinnace
to the canvas covering of the galley and launches.
The canvas was immediately cut away, the
italley thrown out, the first launch floating away
from underneath the second, and the oars got out
in the second launch to pull up to the steam pinnace
'to take off Captain Burgoyne and the men remaining
there. Hirst says it was soon found impossible to do this.
As soon as they endeavoured to get the boat's head up to
the sea to row her up to windward to 'where the capsized
boat, with their captain and few shipmates with him, was
floating, the boat was swamped level to her thwarts, and
two of the men were washed out of her. The pump was
set going, and caps used for bailing the water out, and a
second attempt was made to row the boat up against the
sea. This proved as unsuccessful as the first. There we-
only nine oars in the boat, the remainder having )- ,•e
washed away, and one being in use for steering, out- seen
remained for pulling the boat. It would be • eight
_
prolong the tale. Nothing could be done umi- useless to
,
ditions, with a heavy boat such as the semi er such con-
her-" head was put for the shore before it pinnace and
but Captain Burgoyne was away to w' file wind and sea,
,rm
the bottom of a boat, in all that at- 'ndward, clinging to
1t is important to notice that tl• o of broken waters.
,e general opinion of the

men appeared to be that, with the ship having a slight
heel over, the pressure of a strong wind upon the
under part of the hurricane deck had a
greater effect, or leverage, to put the matter
more plainly, upon the hull of the ship than the pressure
of the wind in her three topsails had. They also
appeared to be nearly unanimous in their opinions that
when the Captain got her starboard side well down in the
water, with the, consequent weight of water on the star-
board side of the turret-deck, and the pressure of the wind
blowing from the port hand on the under surface of the
hurricane-deck and thus `pushing' the, ship right over,
she had no chance of righting herself again. One man
says that, in answer to Captain Burgoyne's inquiry as to
bow much the ship was heeling over, he heard the
answers given ' 18," 23," 25 ' degrees. This movement
was never checked for a moment, for immediately the
heel of the ship had been given as 25 degrees she was keel
uppermost, and about to make that tremendous down-
ward plunge, with the roar of the steam from her boilers
still forcing upwards and out-screaming the noise of the
storm. When Captain Burgoyne was last seen he was
holding on to the bows of the pinnace. Captain Com-
merell, of the Monarch, it is said, still holds out hope that
Captain Burgoyne may be picked up.
Commander Richard Sheepshanks, who was highly
spoken of in Admiral Milne's despatch, was mate of the
Ganges, 84, in the Pacific, from August, 1857,
until promoted to Lieutenant, May 19, 1859.
He was appointed additional of the Cambridge,
gunnery-ship, February 21, 1861, and in April
following joined the Immortalite, and sailed for the
West Indies, where he remained until the com-
mencement of 1863. On March, 11, 1863, he wat ap-
pointed to the Excellent, and was attached to that ship
until January, 1867. He was senior lieutenant in the
Royal Alfred, in the West Indies, from January, 1867,
to August, 1869, and was promoted to commander De-
cember 10 following. He aas appointed to the Asia for
service in the Captain, March 9, 1870.
Lieutenant Charles Giffard was sub-lieutenant in the
Brisk, 16, on the West Coast of Africa, from
September, 1860, until promoted to lieutenant
October 3, 1861. He was employed in the Forte,
39, flagship, on the south-east coast of America,
from May, 1862, until paid off in September, 1864.
He was appointed additional to the Exeellent on
the 20th of the month last named, and was attached to
that ship until February 9, 1866, when he joined the
Doris, 24, and shortly afterwards sailed for the North
American and West Indian station. He returned to
England, and was paid off June 16, 1869, and on April 30,
1870, was appointed to the Captain.
Navigating Sub-Lieutenant Arthur Gilbert Tregaskiss
was appointed, on the date of his rank, December 17,
1867, to the Octavia, 35, screw frigate, and served in the
Abyssinian Expedition, and was frequently engaged in
piloting ships in the transport service up the intricate and
unsurveyed portions of the Red Sea. He had served in
the Captain since April 23, 1870.
Private Charles Hankin, Royal Marines, of H.M.S.
Captain, is reported to be in the Lisbon Hospital, with
Midshipman Mayne.

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