The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-14 00:00:00

ward-room, who knew the danger of the ship,
struggled to their feet and opened the door leading
to the main deck. Here, for an instait, the scene

almost defies description. Amid loud shouts and
efforts to save...themselves, a =Awed mass of

sailors, boys, and marines, with deck-hatchets,
ropes, ladders, and everything that could get loose,
and which bad Mien back again to the port side,

were being hutled again in a mass across the
ship to staroar3. Dimly, and only for an instant,
could this be seen, with groups of men clinging
to the beams with all their might, with a mass

of water which had forced its -way in through
ports and decks, surging about ; and then, with
a tremendous crash, as the ship fell still deeper
over, the coal stowed on the main deck broke loose,
and, smashing everything before them, went over
among the rest to leeward. The coaldust hid every-
thing on the main deck in en instant, but the
crashing could still be heard going on iu all direc-
tions, as the lumps and sacks of coal, with stan-
chions, ladders, and mess tins went leaping about
the decks, pouring down the hatchways, and crash-
ing through the glass skylights into the engine
room below. Still it was not done, and, surging
again over another tremendous wave, the Agamem-
non dropped down still more to port, and the Coals

on the starboard side of the lolver deck gave way
als', and carried everything before them. Matter§

now became most serious, for it was evident that

-two or three more such lUrches and the masts would.

go like reeds, while half the crew might be maimed
or killed below. Captain Preedy was already on
the poop, with Lieut. Gibson, and it was "Hands,
weal: ship," at once, while Air: Brown, the inde-
fatigable chief engineer., was ordered to get up steam
immediately. • The crew gained the deck with diffi-

culty, and not till after a lapse of some minutes,
for all the ladders had been broken away and the,
men were grimed with coald'ust, and many bore
still more serious marks upon their face of how
they had been knocked about below. There was
some confusion at first, for the storm was fearful;
the officers were quite inaudible, and a wild dan-
gerous sea, running mountains high, heeled the
great ship back Wards and forwards, so that the
crew were unable' to keep their feet for an instant,

and in some cases were thrown across the decks in
a dreadful manner ; two marines went with a rush

head-foremost into the paying-out machine, as if
they meant to butt it over the side ; yet, strange
to say, neither the men nor the machine suffered.
What made matters worse, the ship's barge, though
lashed down t-, /lie fleck, ha-t rartly broken lolse'
and, dropping from side to side as the vessel lurched,
it threatened to crush any who ventured to pass it.
The regular discipline of the ship, however, soon pre-
veiled, and the crew set to work to wear the ship
on the starboard tack, while Lieuts. Robinson and
Murray went below to see after those who had been
hurt, and about the number of whom extravagant
rumours prevailed among the men. One of the
assistant-engineers (Mr. Harvey) was also buried
among the coals on the lower deck, and sustained
some severe internal injuries. The lurch of the
ship was calculated at 45 degrees each way for flee
times in rapid succession: The galley coppers were
only half filled with soup, yet, nevertheless, it
nearly all poured out, and scalded some of the
poor fellows who were extended on the decks hold-
ing on to aeything in reach. One fellow went head-
first from the main deck into the hold without being
hurt, and one in the orlop deck was " chevied'
about for some 10 minutes by the large casks of
oil which had got adrift, and one of which would
have flattened him like a pancake had they over-
taken him.
As soon as the Agamemnon had gone round on
the other tack the Niagara wore also, and bore
down as if to render assistance. She had witnessed
our danger, and, as we afterwards learnt, imagined
that the upper deck coil had broken loose and that
we were almost 'in a sinking condition. Things,
however, were not so bad as that, though they were
bad enough, Heaven knows, for everything seemed
to go wrong that day. The upper deck coil had
strained the ship to the very utmost, but still held
on fast ; but not so the coil in the main hold, which
had begun to get adrift, and the top kept working
and shifting over from side to side as the ship
lurched, tilt some 40 or 50 miles were in a hopeless
state of tangle, resembling nothing so much as a
cargo of live eels, and there was every prospect of
the tangle spreading deeper and deeper as the bad
weather continued.. „
Going round upon the starboard tack had eased
the ship .to a certain extent, but with such
a. wind sand suah a sea, both of which were
rather getting worse than better, it was line
possible to effect much for the Agamemnon's re-
lief, and so by 12 o'clock she was rolling almost as
bad as ever. The crew, who had been at work
since nearly 4 in the morning, were set to clear up
the decks from the masses of coal that covered
them, and white this was going forward a heavy
sea struck the stern, and smashed the large iron
guard frame, which had been fixed there to pre-
vent the cable fouling the screw in paying out.
This guard, which, from its peculiar hooped shape
suspended round the stern by chains, the sailors
had nicknamed " the crinoline," was about the
most cumbersome and ill-contrived piece of me-
chanism which could possibly have been adopted.
From the first hour every one had known that
it was perfectly useless for the purpose it was
intended to effect, and, what was worse than use-
lEss, that it was a source of positive danger
al-o. Now that one side had broken, it was
expected every moment that other parts would
go, and the pieces hanging down either smash
the screw or foul the rudder post. It is not over-
estimating the danger to say that had the latter
accident occurred in such a sea, and with a
vessel so over-laden, the chances would have been
sadly against the Agamemnon ever appearing at the
rendezvous. Fortunately it was found possible to
secure the broken frame temporarily with hawsers,
so as to prevent its dropping further, though no-
thing could hinder the fractured end from striking
against the vessel's side with such force as to lead
to serious apprehensions, that it would establish a
dangerous leak under water. It was near three in
the afternoon ere this was quite secured, the gale
still continuing, and the sea running even worse.
The condition of the masts too at this time was a
course of much anxieiy, both to Capt. Preedy and
Mr. Moriarty, the master. The heavy rolling had
strained and slackened the wire shrouds to such an
extent, that they had become perfectly useless as
supports. The lower masts bent visibly at every
roll, and once or twice it seemed as if they must go
by the board. Unfortunately nothing whatever
c rulcl be done to relieve this strain by sending down
any of the upper spars, since it was only her masts
which prevented her rolling still more and quicker,
and so every one knew that if once the were car-
ried away it might soon be all over with the ship,
as then the deck coil could not help going after
them. So there was noting for it but to watch in
anxious sicence the way they went 'and strained,
and trust in Providence for the result. About six
in the evening it was thought better to wear ship
again and stand for the rendezvous under easy
steam, and her head accordingly was put about,
and once more faced the storm. As she went
round she of course fell into the trough of the sea
again, and rolled so awfully as to breakjier waste
steam pipe, filling her engine room with steam,
and depriving her of the 'services of one boiler
when it was sorely needed. The sun set upon as
wild and wicked a night as ever taxed the courage
and coolness of a sailor. ' There were, of course,
men on board who were familiar with gales and
storms in all parts of the world, and there were
some who, with the writer of this article,
had witnes ed the tremendous hurricane which
swept ehe Black Sea on the memorable 14th of
November, when scores of vessels were lost and
seams n l.e. jibed by thousands. But of all on board
none had ever seen a fiercer or more dangerous sea
than regal throughout that night and the following
morning, tossing the Agamemnon from side to side
like a mere plaything among the waters.
Morning brought no change, Save that the storm
was still as fierce as 'ever, and though the sea could
not be higher or wilder, yet the additional amount
of broken water made it still more dahgerous to the
ship. Very dimly, and only now and then through
the thick scud, the Niagara Could be seen—one
moment on a monstrous hill of water and the next
qaite lost to view, as the Agamemnon went down
baween the waves. But now these glimpes showed
us that our transatlantic consortwaspiunging heavily
shipping seas, and evidently having a bad time of it,
though she got through it better than the Agamem-
non, as, of course she could, having only the same
load though 2,000 tons larger. Suddenly it came
en
olook
for
on darker and thicker, and we lost sight of her in
the'thick spray, and had only ourselves
s knows, to
after, which was quite enough, Heaven
every minute made matters woise, and the aspect
of affairs began lo excite most serious misgivings
in the winds of those in oharge. The Agamemnon
ie one of the finest hoc-of-battle ships in the whole
such a, stop m, and so heavily over-
laden,a could she do bat make bad weather
strain and labour and fall in the trough
navy,
t' cfotrlste butsNave-'l a i
,d as if she was going down head foremost.
Three or roar Lours more and the vessel had borne
all which stie could bear with safety ; the masts
were rapidly getting worse, the deck coil worked
more and more with each tremendous plunge, and,
even if both these held, it was evident that the
ship itself would soon strain to pieces if the weather
c wtirnied so'. The sea, forcing its way through
ports and naas4-I.ules, had a,..cuarulatod un the
lower deck to such an extent that it flooded the
stoke-ho:e, so Unit the men could scarcely remain
at their posts. Everything went smashing and
rolling about. One plunge put all the electrical
inArutnents hors de combat at a blow, and staved
8-hae }Arras of strong solution of sulphate of cop-