The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-08 00:00:00

(Prom the 'Vele York Courier and Inquirer.)
There was on hoard the Routledge, at the time she
struck the iceberg, 144 souls. Two had been lost over.
board previous to that time. So far as known, but one
of that large member now survives. All but him have
no doubt ere this met with a terrible death. The calamity
is appalling. We subjoin the narrative made by Thee.
Nye, the rescued sailor :
" The John Routledge left Liverpool on Jan. 16. She
was loaded quite deep, and had on board an assorted
cargo, including a large quantity of iron. She also bad
121 passengers in the steerage. The officers and crew
numbered. 26 men. The name of the first mate was At-
kinson, and he was from Philadelphia. We encountered
the most tempestuous weather, and lost a man from the
jibbooln. We also lost a passanger, who was washed
overboard by a sea. On the 18th Feb., at noon, in ion.
40.54 W., lat. 45.34, we encountered field is; and, in
making-our way through it, „truck one or two heavy
pieces projecting some-four or five feet out of the water.
The weather was hazy, and we could not see far ahead.
The wind was aft, and the ship, being closely surrour ded
by field ice, would not steer well. We could not eel)
clear of the heavy masses of ice. At last, early the next
morning, the ship struck heavily upon an iceberg, and
started planks from the forefoot. The pumps were
sounded, and it was found that the ship was leaking at
a fearful rate. Two pumps were set going, and the crew
and passengers divided into two watches of 12 each to
work them. A quantity of salt and crates of crockery
in gre tt number were hoisted out of the hold and thrown
overb rani. By this means the leak was got at, and
some pillows and clothing were stuffed into it. But
they seemed to do little good, and it soon became
evident that the ship was filling rapidly. Preparations
were then made to abandon her and take to the boats.
There were fire, boats attached to the ship, which I
think would. not have carried all on borne]. As it was,
some tweeteefive or thirty were left to go down
with the wreck, of whom all but the mate and car.
penter were passengers. The boat that I was in ware
the last to shove off. It was the intention of the mate
and Carreenter to have joined us ; but they went to
sound thee pumps, and while doing so, our boat broke
adrift. Indeed, had we lain alongside a few minutes
longer, we should have been swamped. We soon lost
sight of the ship, and found ourselves, fifteen in number,
upon the wide ocean, with but about a gallon of water,
and six or eight pounds of bread. The party in the boat
consisted of the boatswain, a Scotch sailor, five men,
four- women, and a little girl, passengers, and myself.
One of the women was the mate's wife. The weather
was intensely cold, an,l the boat shipped a great quantity
of water, and from the effects of both the sufferings that
we were to encounter were not long delayed. Tne two
other sailors, Mrs. Atkinson, and myself were warmly
clothed ; but the passengers, with the exception of one
lady, were not. That lady was wrapped up in two
blankets. We had a compass in the boat, but Mrs.
Atkinson, in jumping to, broke it. It would have been
of little use, the boat was so unsteady. We made no
effart to retch any particular point, our only hope being
that we should be seen awl picked up by some passing
vessels. Mrs. Atkinson took charge of the bread and
water, and would give but little out. She and the boat-
swain drank most of the water. Both wi re soon ex.
hausted, and then the bitter cold begat' to tell upon mt.
It is my opinion that if we had been well supplied with
food and water, most of us could have withstood the
cold. On the third day in the boat, a male passenger
died. He was very thinly dressed—a light coat being
his only one. He was followed, the next day, by a
woman, whose husband survived her for a day or twr.
We this day saw a brig running free, with a light wind.
Our hearts were cheered with a prospect of speedy relief.
We raised a signal on an oar, and pulled for her with.
all our strength. NVe gained on her for some time, and
I bad begun to picture to myself the hearty welcome
that would be extended to the shipwrecked by her
captain and crew. But a breeze soon sprung up, and
our hopes were crushed. She gradually left us. I
thought we were near enough to be seen from her deck,
but no notice was taken of us. Notwithstanding this
great disappointment, I endeavoured to keep up my
spirits. On the fifth day, all those in the boat with me
began to drink sea water. I warned there against it,
but they persisted. I got, very little of the water takeu
from the ship, but I drenic no sea water. When my
mouth became very parched and dry, I rinsed it out with
sea water, but swallowed none. Some snow fell one day,
which I found a great relief. After the others began to
(kink the sea water, they died in quick succession. On
the seventh clay the last one died, and left me the only
living bring in the boat. The dead who first succumbed
were thrown overboard ; but the four last were beyond
my little remaining strioigth, and for Inure than two days
I wns forced to sit with their diitorted bodies before me,
and with little hope that a better fate would be mine.
The last who died was a passenger—an English lady, of
slight form—the mother of the little girl. Her daughter
preceded her a few hours. I cannot remember the order
in which the others died. The boatswain, the night be-
fore his death, became delirious and furious. He as-
saulted Mrs. Atkinson, bit her severely on the arm, aid
scratched her. He threw the bucket overboard, and
attempted to throw the oars overboard also. Irle assaulted
me with the canteen, and struck me a blow on the face,
the marks of which I still bear. He died about neon,
some hours before which he became listless and stupid.
Nearly all the others became delirious. Mrs. Atkinson
called in the most agonising tones fur water, stretching
out her hands to receive it. They all died like the boat-
swain, and in many instances the first notice I had that
another victim had fallen was by his pitching over when
the boot lurched heavily. When all my companions were
dead I fixed an oar upright, with a woollen shirt and a
red silk handkerchief waving from the top as a signal.
This was the first permanent signal that had been erected.
My feet and legs had bec)mo very badly frozen, and I
was hardly able to move. I lay in the bow of the boat.
It would ship a sea occasionally, and I wood rouse my-
self and bale it out. I would then lie down again. On
the 28th Feb., when I hal been nine days in the boat,
I saw a ship hearing down towards me. I eas now
confident that I would be rescued. I was directly in her
path. As she neared me she hove-to and sent a boat to
my relief. Myself and the boat which had borne me so
long in midercean were hoisted or, board. The bodies
were consigned to the deep. I found the ship to be the
Germania, Captain Woed, from Havre to New York.
I attribute the continuance of my existence beyond that
of my companions to my abstaining from the use of sea-
water. I used some of the ice that formed upon the
boat. It was only a little bitter, having lost the brackish
taste peculiar to sea-water, and was without its injurious
effect upon the system. My companions appeared to
suffer great pain after they had drank sea-water.
Regarding the scene on board the ship, when it wag
resolved to abandon her, the state iient is silent. But we
understand from the officers of the Germania that Nye
told them that some of those who remained did so from
choice—the mate and carpenter among the number. This
does not agree with the above statement, harmonisenooratbutnu.
with the presence of the mate's wife in theo
boat,
to
deubtedly has some foundation. It is s
imagine that there were those who preferredt c difficult
he i
chances
in a water-logged ship to those in an open boat, without
food or water in mid-winter. The want of an adequate
supply of water ie
perhaps, explained by a statement
not very clear, in a log found in the boat with Nye (kept
probably
by the mate), to the effect that the water tanks
of the ship had been stove in a violent storm a few days
before entering the ice.
The John Rout ledge was a vessel of 1,008 ton register,
built at Baltimore in 1851, and insured in New York
and Philadelphia for 64,000 dollars, principally in New
York. Freights and passage money insured for 6,000
dollars. The cargo was an assorted one, valued at from
75,000 dollars to 101,000 dollars, and is largely covered
by insurances in Wall-street.