The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-23 00:00:00

THE FOUNDERING OF THE SHIP
HOPE, OF LIVERPOOL, OFF ST. DAVID'S
HEAD.
INQUEST ON THE BODIES OF THE FROZEN
SUFFERERS.
NEWQM, SATURDAY.—The inquest on the remains
of the ten unfortunate sailors belonging to the ship Hope,
of Liverpool, recently lost off St. David's Head, who
were washed ashore in the long-beat, frozen to death, as
previously noticed in the Morning Post; was brought to
a conclusion by Mr. Hamley, the Coroner, yesterday,-
when several of the survivors were examined, and the
following additional facts were elicited relative to the
deplorable event:—
The names of the deceased persons are as follows:
William Elliot, of Plymouth! Jacob Williams, of Sweden;
David Hughes, of Caernarvon; Thomas Brown, of the
Isle of Bute; Richard Cutler, cf Plymouth; Charles
Colley, of Hull; William Lloyd, of Caernarvon; David
Roberts, of Liverpool; Thomas Collings, of America;
and another. name unknown.
The vessel, it appeared, was manned with a crew of
26, under the command of Mr. W. Jones, master. Sks
sailed from Rio for Liverpool about three months ago,
with a cargo of guano. Boisterous weather rendered
the voyage one of a tedious character, the provisions
ran short, and for two or three weeks the men were
placed on short allowance. On the 7th inst. the ship
got on shore on the Wicklow Bank, off the coast of Ire-
land, and the Captain, fearing she would go to pieces
had the boat lowered, and those belonging to the vessel
pushed off to the shore, which they succeeded in gain-
ing. The following day, finding she held together, they
determined, if possible, to get her off. This they ef-
fected, and the next day she was got under weigh, and
sailed for Liverpool, or the first port they could make.
Within a few hours after, however, the weather became
worse, the wind blowing a perfect gale, with a heavy fall
of snow; the vessel had already nine feet of water in her
hold, and it became evident that she would shortly foun-
der, as the pumps were choked. The Captain, per-
ceiving that her destruction was inevitable, called all
hands, and told them to save themselves, as he was
determined. to abandon her. The deceased and six
others got into the long boat, and the Captain, officers,
and remainder of the crew took to the gig, leaving the
vessel fast settling. They kept together as close as the
weather and heavy sea would admit, when in the course
of the afternoon a schooner bore down and picked up
those in the gig. Those in the long boat saw this, and
tried all in their power to get up to her, but could not,
and were soon lost sight of, there being at the time a
thick fail of snow. An attempt was then made to re-
gain the Irish coast, which also failed, three of the oars
having broken. They then hoisted a small sail that was
in the boat, and night coming Imi-they bore'liwav itithb
direction of the English coast, keeping the north star
astern for their steering mark. Having no provisions in
the boat, and being thinly clad, they suffered intensely.
The frost was terribly severe and covered their clothes
with ice. On the second night they made the Lundy
Island lights, and saw a brig, which they hailed, but
it merely showed a light and passed on, without
offering assistance, although it was quite clear
they were seen. Already had many of them fallen
victims to a horrible death, and their frozen
bodies laid prostrate in the bottom of the boat, and the
next night saw three or four others also dead. The boat
had been drifted to Trevore Head, from whence it was
carried by the current into Mawgan Bay, where it was
seen by the Coastguard. Ten of the boat's crew had by
that time expired, and the remaining six would
inevitably have been lost, had not one of the persons
assembled swam off to the boat, while on the
breakers, and with the aid of a line secured
to the boat, it was hauled safely through the surf to the
beach, and the poor fellows were taken out. The wit-
nesses detailed their sufferings to have been truly awful,
they were sadly frost-bitten, and it will be some time
ere they recover. The cost-guard, they said, had be •
hayed to them most humanely. They took them to
their own dwellings, where every attentiou and comfort
was paid them by their families, thus restoring them to
a state of consciousness.
The jury having viewed the bodies, which lay in a
barn adjacent to the Mawgan Forth Station of the coast-
guard, they returned a verdict, " That the deceased
died from the effects of starvation and intense cold."
The loss of the Hope is estimated at 10,0001.