The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-21 00:00:00

THE LOSS OF THE ONDINE.

PORTSMOUTH, FEB. 20.
Richard Burke, second mate, with two of the
passengers of this unfortunate vessel arrived here
this morning on board a pilot boat, which bad
taken them on board from the screw steamer
Thetis, in St. Helen's Roads, where she had an-
chored at a late hour last evening for the purpose
of landing the men. From what has been learnt
from the men it appears that the Thetis, from Lon.
don, bound on a foreign voyage, was steaming
down Channel between six and seven a.m. yester-
day, when the captain with his glass observed
what he thought was a man on a raft, floating on
the water some distance off. A boat with four
hands was at once lowered from the Thetis, and
proceeded to the spot, where the three men above
named were found to be floating on a lifeboat evi-
dently prevented from sinking by her cork lining.
They were immediately taken on board the Thetis,
and the two men, Marsh and Drew, who were very
much exhausted from the effects of the sea con-
stantly breaking over them and the cold north-
west wind, at once received the most prompt at-
tention from the commander of the Thetis and his
officers, who, by placing the two men in hot
blankets and other measures, succeeded in resusci-
tating them. The men declare they owe their
lives to the kind treatment they received on board
the Thetis. Drew had embarked on board the
Ondine at Falmouth, for London. Marsh went on
board her at Plymouth on Friday evening
.last
with his wife and two children. He is a miner,
and has been on a visit to his wife's relatives, who
reside there. His wife and two children left the
steamer in the same boat from which he himself
was rescued by the Thetis' boat, and were all
three drowned alongside him, and washed away
from the boht by the constant break of the sea,
one of the children dying in its father's
arms. From the statement made by Burke, it ap-
pears that the Ondine had landed on the previous
day, at Southampton, 42 soldiers, women, and chil-
dren, besides other passengers, that she afterwards
called at this port on her way to London, sailing
again from here at seven p.m., and on the following
morning the collision occurred, as we reported yes-
terday. Burke says the Ondine, immediately after
the collision took place, it was evident to all was fast
sinking, and the boats were got over the side. The
port lifeboat had been smashed by the collision, and
the other lifeboat was stove in getting her over the
side, as he :found :her up to her thwarts in water.
He then went on board to procure two buckets to
bale her out, and on his return found in the boat 12
There
three women, and two children, all passengers.
Mere was a lady passenger, the chief stewardess, and
the remaining woman and two children were
Marsh's wife and children. Captain Hunt looked
over the quarter and said to Burke," Whatever you
do, take in the lady passenger," to which Burke re-
plied," I have her in, but the boat is full of water."
side,lhe boattok woepahs then
er pushednlearb
of the
off
vortfreoxi,nwthheen steamer'sah
went
down, and all three men agree in stating that there
were a good many people on board, the majority
women and children, with some soldiers returning
from furlough, for they say, " As we were leaving
the ship, and Captain Hunt was speaking to Burke
in the boat about the lady passenger, a good many
faces were looking down at us." The cutter and jolly
boat were still available at this time for the people
on board the sinking vessel with the crew in one of
them alongside.. Of the. management of the boats
alongside the ship, or
.m. getting them over the side,
men. When the
but little that was. positive could be learnt from the
eintiffierflobfnithtebontlstteeramer,
she was so
deeply submerged. that the water reached up to the
people's waists.as they sat on the thwarts, she being
by the cork in -
kept from entirely sinking.
partments. lefceobnoda matesh Ci veld'
Berke stood in the bows on the fore-
partments.
fore-
thwart, and steered with an oar to keep her before
the sea, of which there was a good deal at the time,
with a fresh breeze from the north west, and at times
the sea would make a clear breach over them. In
less than half an hour from leaving the steamer he
saw her rear her bows up in the air and go down
'stern first. Soon afterwards the people in the boat
began to be exhausted from the seai breaking__arsband
over
lt
them, and dropping one by one. is. M
swept
one of her children wore first overcome and
•
away, ono dying from exhaustion consequent on
the wash of the sea and the bitter north-west wind,
is its father's arms. The lady passenger and
stewardess next followed, and so on, one after the
other, until only the three rescued were left. The
numbers who had perished and been washed out of
the boat had considerably lightened her, and also
enabled the people to be the more readily distin-
guished by any passing vessel. Burke says there
were four oars in the boat, but they were useless
from her immersion under the water, and that he
stood on the fore thwart to endeavour to steer her
with one of the oars, and keep her before the sea;
he found he could not get aft owing to the passen-
gers having croweded there as much as they could,.
especially the women and children. All three of
the men have lost everything but the clothes they
had on. 31arsh states that what little money be
had was in his wife's possession, they having been
on a visit to her relatives at Plymouth.
TheThetis has since the morning removed to a
more sheltered anchorage nearer the Motherbank,
a strong northwest wind, with heavy squalls, hav-
ing prevailed during the day.