The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-23 00:00:00

fantry hold them may be judged of from the fact
that at the termination of bur last march but one
—the hazardous, but completely successful move-
ment between the sea and the lagoons—when there
was skirmishing on the heights above our position,
and the soldiers, looking down from the rocky
summits, saw Moorish cavalry moving in the plain
below, a battalion was extremely indignant because
it was not allowed to descend and charge them
with the bayonet. _

The only Moors as yet seen to -day have been two
or three small parties wandering over the ground of
yesterday's combat, probably looking for wounded,
and collecting dead. With a glass one can see
some horses lying about on the hills. A number
of arms were brought in yesterday, among them
several goomias. These are much the shape of a
butcher's knife—broad and square next the handle
or hilt, with a projecting corner, and tapering off
to a point. The edge of most of those that have
been taken since the war began was ground as
sharp as that of a razor. The length of the blade
is about 18 or 20 inches. Yesterday a sabre was
also brought in, which apparently belonged to an
officer or some person of distinction. It was in a
scabbard of red leather, with brass tip and bands,
with slings of crimson cord. Edge and point were
as sharp as grindstone could make them. For a
cavalry sabre it was short—a heavy, ill-balanced
weapon, with a cramped, inconvenient guard.
General Prim has got a haick of crimson cloth, and
in such clean and good condition that I hear he in-
tends wearing it. Another capture, and by far the
most interesting, made yesterday by the soldiers
in their pursuit of the flying Moors, was a hand-
some album, in a case, containing drawings and
paintings of scenery and positions, some in this
neighbourhood, with manuscript notes. It came
into possession of Gen. Enrique O'Donnell, brother
of the Commander-in-Chief, and he had it under
his arm, when, in passing on foot through part
of the camp, after dark, he unfortunately lost it,
and all the efforts that have been made to find it
have hitherto proved unsuccessful. This loss is
much to be regretted.
I find that nobody attempts to estimate the num-
ber of the Moors who yesterday attacked, and,
in Iced, it is the wisest plan not to do so, for the
reason I have more than once given. The positions,
they occupied could hardly be less than four miles
in length. They were met by seven battalions,
which, being stronger than some we have here,
must be reckoned at quite 4,000 men. Of these
oily four battalions, Toledo, Castilla, Savoya, and
Cordova were actually engaged ; the others were
were in reserve. The first-named two particularly
distinguished themselves by the charges they made.
Cordova is the battalion that suffered so much on
the Ist inst., and is even said to have shown symp-
toms of faltering, at which moment it was that
Marshal O'Donnell galloped forward to the front
and place' himself and staff in a heavy fire, as
described to you in a previous letter. A Spanish
artist who accompanies this army has made a
spirited sketch of the scene, at the moment when
the Marshal put spurs to his horse and, shouting to
a battalion of light infantry close at hand, " Cazo-
doses ! ala bayoneta! Viva la Reina! " dashed up
the ascent. The Cordova Regiment has lost heavily
in the campaign ; its two senior field officers and a
number of others of all ranks have been killed or
wounded. The great loss of officers in the army of
Africa up to the present time shows that they do
their duty, and is also partly to be attributed to
their standing upright, while their men of course
get as much as possible under cover to load and fire,
and in the majority of instances have fought from
behind low parapets thrown up for the purpose of
affording them shelter. The casualties yesterday
were somewhat heavier than I thought, although
the Moorish fire was certainly very heavy at times,
until they were disheartened and driven to flight
by the bayonet charges and rapid advance of the
battalions above named, as well as by the rapid
discharge of 20 pieces of artillery. One battalion
I saw charging a discretion, as it is called, that is
to say, as the men like, without keeping ranks or
any sort of order ; it pushed on very rapidly, and
must have suffered from fire from the wood in which
the Moors sought shelter. Tho Spanish loss was
13 men killed, two field officers, 15 officers, and 149
men wounded. It is probable that many of the
wounds are alight. The Moors put slugs as well as
bullets in their epingardos. The Spaniards say that
some of the balls extracted from the men wounded
yesterday are English. But through the glasses
they just now wear, things hostile to them easily
assume an English tint. Some affirm that a man
in European costume was seen with the Moorish
troops on a hill in front of our position. They do
not profess to have recognised his face as well as
his dress ; but I fear Mr. Drummond Hay is sus-
pected of having commanded the Moors in chief on
the (for them) somewhat disastrous day of the 10th
of January. At Gibraltar they are in the- habit of
receiving rather highly-coloured accounts of Moorish
successes, of the guns, tents, mules, and prisoners
they have carried off. A friend on the Rock writes
me that up to four or five days ago they had
received no accounts from Tangiers. I cannot guess
in what light the Moors and their friends will en-
deavour to put the last combat, but, as one who
witnessed the whole of it, I can assure you that if
ever men were completely beaten and put to flight,
those were who provoked yesterday's affair. The
Moorish generals, or leaders, or sheiks, or chiefs, or
whatever they call themselves, are surely very
stupid people. They allow this army to pass unmo-
lested along paths and through defiles where they
might attack it with certainty of causing it ✓:such
loss, and of suffering little themselves, and three days
later they come and attack it in strong positions,
when its forces are concentrated, its parapets made,
its artillery at hand and ready to act at five mi-
nutes' notice. And they seem to have calculated on
sis nal success, for there were evidently men of rank
among them, judging from their equipments, and
from things found ; and the Spaniards say that
on the hills in the far distance were a number of
non-combatants, whom they take to be the curious
civilians come to witness the triumph of their army.
And, in the latter part of the day, on the crest of
the mountains to our right front, not far from
Tetuan, appeared a few horsemen who are here con-
jectured (but it is mere conjecture) to have been
Muley Abbas and his staff.

It was more than once mentioned to you that at
the commencement of the war the Moors, when
they found escape impossible, fought to the death,
refusing quarter. There are grounds for believing
that this desperate resolution on their part has since
not been strictly adhered to. I told you that on the
Ist inst., at Castillejo, five prisoners were made, and
I have lately heard of instances of Moors throwing
themselves on their knees and imploring their lives.
They might spare themselves the humiliation. The
Spaniards, knowing that no quarter is shown them,
give none, but pitilessly slay all who fall into their
power. It must have been by some peculiar con-
currence of circumstances, or perhaps in consequence
of an order given to that effect, that the prisoners
on the Ist inst. were made. Before then, only one
Moor had been taken. Believing that the Moors
not only kill, but torture the wounded who fall into
their power, the Spanish soldier is unsparing to
ferocity. It is certain that the Moors do not act in
a manner to entitle them to much pity. The unfor-
tunate canteenman who was brought in yesterday
had been most infamously maltreated.
To show how the Moors, thanks to wood and
jungle, may and do lurk unsuspected in our imme-
diate neighbourhood, I will mention that this morn-
ing a body of troops having gone just aside
the camp to discharge their muskets, and having
sent a volley into a thicket, ten horsemen scampered
out of it in great terror, doubtless thinking their
retreat discovered, and made for the hills.

There is no chance of the army marching, at
soonest, until the day after to-morrow. There is a
great deficiency of large boats for the landing of
stores, which proceeds very slowly—retarded, too, by
what appears to me a great want of method and proper
organisation. I was down on the beach for some time
to day, and the scene was one of much confusion.
A crowd was assembled, in which nine persons out
of ten had no business to be there, and served but
to impede progress. All that had been done up to
6 this evening was to get up to camp one day's ra-
tions of the most essential articles. Six rations must

be landed, drawn, and distributed, as a reserve, be-
fore the army can march. If a levanter were to
spring up to-night the vessels must leave, and we
should be again on the brink of starvation until a
convoy could be got by land from Ceuta, which
would take two days, even if the Moors did not
molest it and try to cut it off on the way. Fortu-
nately the wind seems pretty fixed in the west, but
on this coast and in this season it is more fickle even
than its proverbial reputation.

FATAL BOAT ACCIDENT AND DEATH

OF CAPTAIN lIARRISO.V.

The year which opened so gloomily for all con-
nected with the Great Eastern has already more
than fulfilled the most sinisterauguries of continued
ill fortune. Another most tragic incident has been
added to the long list of catastrophes which seem
to have dogged the course of this ill-fated vessel
from the very first day of her existence. The
victims in this case, however, are not poor stokers.
The lot of death in this instance has fallen, among
others, on no less than Captain Harrison himself—
the very type of an English sailor, of all that was
skilful and brave. It is quite impossible to describe
the gloom which this calamity has spread through-
out the town of Southampton. Grief and con-
sternation seemed, indeeklo sit on every counte-
nance ; business on Saturday was, for a while,
quite suspended, and the sorrow was more general
than was perhaps ever witnessed before for any
merely private individual, no matter what his
character or station. Though but a few
weeks, comparatively speaking, at Southampton,
yet Capt. Harrison was as well and widely known
as if he had dwelt in the town for years. A short
period sufficed to make all acquainted with his open
heart and kindly nature, and those who knew him
best liked him most, and were always those who
could say the most in his praise. Nor will the
feeling of heartfelt sorrow for his loss be confined
to the town over which it has shed so deep a gloom.
Liverpool—from which port he traded for so many
years, and earned his reputation as one of the ablest
navigators in the mercantile marine—will lament
his untimely death with equal grief. for there, pro-
bably, better than at any other place in England,
was his generous disposition known, and high abili-
ties appreciated. His loss to the perplexed share-
holders of the Great Eastern is irreparable, for no
man connected with the company in any way ever
enjoyed so large a portion of their confidence, and
none ever deserved it half as well. The circum-
stances which led to this last and most painful
catastrophe connected with this vessel are shortly
as follows.

From the time that the ship had been fairly
moored at her winter quarters, Capt. Harrison with
his wife and family had occupied a small villa,
called Hythe-house, on the opposite side of the
Solent to Southampton and almost facing Netley
Abbey. Every morning at about half-past nine
o'clock his gig, in charge of his coxswain, called for
him at Hythe pier, and thence he went by water
either to the Great Eastern or Southampton as the
business of the ship required. As usual the gig
started from the ship to call at Hythe at about 8
o'clock last Saturday morning. Captain Lay, the
chief purser, with his son, an engaging youth of 13,
left in the boat to breakfast with Capt. Harrison
befcre coming up to town. Ogden, as usual, was in
charge of the boat, with his crew of five picked
men.

It is the case in the Solent, as in all large inland
waters, that the wind in bad weather comes in
strong and heavy gusts, sweeping up the Channel
at times with the force of a hurricane, though
with intervals of almost perfect calm between. The
weather on Saturday morning was dull and
threatening, though there was but little wind when
the gig loft the ship, and not the most remote idea
was entertained that the boat would not be more
than equal to any squall she might encounter, else
one of the large cutters, capable of carrying 40 men
with ease, would have been sent instead. The cap-
tain's gig is a fine, though rather a light boat, 32
fi et long, by rather less than 5 feet broad ; of
course, very swift and light, though, like all boats
of her class, rather wet, and almost too fine for
very rough weather or very bold sailing. When
the wind favoured sho carried one large lug sail,
which was often set with a single reef in it, though
in leaving the Great Eastern on Saturday morning
last it was close reefed, for the sky looked bad,
t hough as yet the sea was tolerably calm. Ogden,
the captain's coxswain, who was always in charge
of her, was one of the most experienced boatmen
in the great ship, and. though a young man, was
well-known for his skill, and to be equal to manag-
ing any boat in any weather. His coolness, quick-
ness, and courage had more than once Leen so con-
spicuously displayed that the captain had the most
implicit confidence in his capabilities as a boatman.
For the last four years he had acted as captain's
coxswain, having entered his service while the hull
of the Great Eastern was still in course of construc-
tion at Milwall. Like all who served under Capt. Har-
rison, Ogden became devotedly attached to him, so
much so that when, at last, after all her mishaps, the
Great Eastern was ready to quit the river, Ogden,
though a young married man, shipped on board for
service, and was confirmed in his appointment as
the captain's coxswain. This brave young fellow,
too, is one of the victims of the late calamitous ac-
cident—surviving it, however, for many hours,
till he learnt that Captain Harrison was no more,
whet) he gradually sunk and died.
With this skilful sailor, therefore, having charge
of the lugsail, and with Captain Lay at the helm,
the gig quitted the Great Eastern at 8 on Saturday
morning. As we have already stated, the lug sail
was close reefed, lut the morning was still tolerably
fine, and the wind though high was fair, so the gig
made a fine and quick run down to Hythe-house.
Here Captain Lay and his son landed to breakfast
with Captain Harrison and his family, and with
Doctor Watson, the surgeon of the Great Eastern,
who lwd stayed at Hythe-house from the previous
evening. A few minutes before 10 o'clock Captain
Harrison, with Dr. Watson and Captaiu Lay, and
his son came down again to the pier to embark and
cross the water. Captain Harrison having that
morning received the customary cheques to pay the
weekly bills connected with the great ship, had, of
course, to get them cashed at Southampton before
going on board with the doctor. The whole party
therefore seated themselves in the gig, which im-
mediately got under way and stood straight across
the Solent for the entrance of the tidal dock at
Southampton.
But during the time that had elapsed since the
boat had first arrived at Hythe the weather had
changed sadly for the worso. The sky had gradu-
ally become overcast, the waves were white and
turgid, and everything seemed to threaten a squall
of no ordinary fierceness and duration. Between
nine and eleven o'clock, on the Southampton side of
the water, it blew almost a hurricane. Many gen-
tlemen connected with the docks who were in them
at the time slate that during the hour or so that
the squall lasted they had not seen such severe
weather for the last 17 years. A collier which
was being towed out of dock by a steam-tug
was blown back, tug and all, into the
harbour again. The Indus, which had ar-
rived off the docks in the night, was quite un-
able to attempt coming in, a thing almost unpre-
cedented at Southampton. She was compelled to let
go her anchor in the stream, about 150, or perhaps,
200 yards from the entrance to the tidal docks.
This, it may be said, was bad weather for any party
to venture out in an open gig, but it must be re-
membered that the wind was fair for coming over
to the docks, and that under the lee of the hills on
the other side the rough breeze was scarcely felt at
all. Dr. Watson distinctly states that though the
weather was bad, it was far from being at all dan-
gerous, or even very bad, when they left the oppo-
site shore.

According to this gentleman's statement, they
stood rapidly across the Solent with the wind fair
on the starboard tack. Captain Harrison sat in the
stern sheets at the helm, Dr. Watson and Captain
Lay and son were on the windward side. The crew
with Ogden, sat more forward, but mostly of course
on the windward side, to counterbalance the incli-
nation of the sail. During the run across the boat,
though rather wet, behaved well, but as it neared
the opposite side and the land opened out the squall
increased fearfully in violence, while the gig began
to pitch and move unsteadily to her helm. The
tide was very high, though juat beginning to set
out of the docks against the wind, making a chop-
ping, dangerous sea run high and broken, and which
appeared to get worse each moment. Through this
the boat held her own well for a time, though her
yawing and pitching heavily increased, so heavily,
indeed, as to attract the attention of some of the
officers and others on board the Indus: Still she
bore stoutly up, sending the foam from her bows,
though her yawing increased so that her helm
scarcely controlled her at all. When. she got into
the channel between the Indus and the docks, the
chopping sea was worse than ever. Capt. Harrison.
gave orders to stand by with the halyards, l and in-
mediately afterwards to clown with the sail. The
oreer was at once obeyed by the crew, but
both the sail and halyards were wet through ;
neither moved freely, and the sail, after
down a foot, stuck fast. The rest occurred in a
minute. The boat had still way enough on ber to
take her abreast of the opening to the decks, when
a counter eddy of wind struck her on
11e opposite
tack. The Instantly "jibed," as it is termed,
that is to say, the canvas was forced bv,ek against
the mast, and the boat in a second, heeling over on
the side on which most of the crew, were fitting,
filled and turned over.

Dr. Watson, who exerted himself so pAergetioally