The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-23 00:00:00

Captain Doane, of the barque Clara, has given
the following account of the loss of his vessel :
About two o'clock a.m. on the 25th of Oct., when
in lat. 40 to 42, and long. 60, we experienced a
strong gale from the N.N.E., and were obliged to
heave to under double-reefed topsails. About five
o'clock a.m. the vessel sprung a leak, and we were
obliged to keep the pumps constantly going, the
men relieving each other by turns, and nine work-
ing at a time, as our crew consisted of 18 men, all
told. The water gained on us faster than we could
pump it out, however,:at the rate of six inches every
four hours. We kept the pumps going in this
manner all through the day and the following
night and day, and on the evening of the next day
(the 26th) sounded the ship, and found that there
were six feet of water in the hold. The storm con-
tinued to increase in violence, and on the evening
I of the 26th, at six o'clock, we had our maintopsail
blown away. On the morning of the 27th there
was no change in the storm, which continued to
blow with unabated fury, the ship in the meantime
labouring heavily. We then had our spanker blown
away from the mizenmast, and could not keep the
ship steady. The ship now appeared to be settling
down, and the wind veered a little to the eastward.
The sea made a clean breach over her, and all the
crew were working at the pumps together to keep
her afloat. We now got out the boats and had
them swung, to be in readiness to leave her; but we
lost the two first boats we attempted to lower. We
got ready the long boat, and provided her with water
and bread to last all hands one week. When she
was ready the mate and two men got into her, and
were no sooner in than, contrary to my orders, they
cut the ropes and pushed off, leaving the rest of us
to our fate, and endeavouring to get clear of the ship
as soon as possiblo. They had only proceeded as
far as the bows when they came under the martin-
gale of the vessel, which knocked a hole in the boat,
and she began to fill. They then tried to bale her
out, and we lowered planks that they might catch
hold of if she sunk. These were of no avail, how-
ever, for she soon filled, and they clung to the
gunwale as long as we could see them, which
was about fifteen minutes. - The crew were now
able to do Very little, from exhaustion ; and the
remainder of the day and the succeeding night
were spent in awful gloom. On the night of
the 27th the gale moderated, but the sea still ran
very high. At daylight we saw the bark Mary
Stewart to the windward and she immediately
bore down towards us and sent a boat, which took
off' five of our men. The bark Essex, of Boston,
had in the meantime hove in sight, and she sent
a boat and took off five more. The Mary Stewart
then sent back her boat, and took the remaining
five, of which I was one. When we left our own
vessel her hold was full of water, and she was set-
tled in the sea with the water making a clean
breach over her main deck. This was on Thurs-
day, and the Sunday following we were transferred
from the Mary Stewart to the Francis B. Cut-
ting, which conveyed us to this port. The Mary
Stewart herself was in distress, and had her bul-
warks stauncheons, &c., washed away. She
was endeavouring to make the nearest port the
wind might carry her to—either St. John's, Bos-
ton, or Halifax. Our vessel (the Clara) was bound
factom Shields to New York, with a cargo of coals
dwe were out 19 days when the storm corn.m need.

ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THE STORM.
Capt. Russell, of the ship Cultivator, gives the
following account of the storm which wrecked the
Clara :—On the evening of the 25th the wind was
blowing stiff from the north north-east. At two
a.m. of the 26th it was blowing a gale, and we took
in sail anit kept the ship under reefed topsails and
reefed foresails. Before night our foresail was
blown away, and the ship was then hard to steer.
At night the gale increased to a perfect hurricane
from the north and from the north-westward, but
we still managed to keep her before it. She was
now twenty-nine hours before the gale, and we
endeavoured to set a trysail on the mizen to keep
her steady-, but it would not stand. We then
boarded the mizen rigging with planks to supply
the place of canvas. The starboard quarterboat
was now stove in by the waves, and the second
mate was severely injured by one of the pieces
striking him on the head. 'the cabin and galley
doors were also stove in, the rails of the poop were
washed away and the boat on the after house stove
to pieces. The maintopsail halliards were snapped
in two by the force of a wave which washed over
the ship and struck the block. I expected all the
masts to go over at any moment for twenty-nine
hours. On the 28th the gale declined and backed
towards the northward and north-westward, and
we got two reefed topsails set. Altogether, it was
the most terrific storm I have ever experienced.

SHIPWRECK AND LOSS OF EIGHT
LIVES.

The packet ship Eliza 'Bell, Capt. Johnston, ar-
rived here on Wednesday from London, bringing
the survivors of the British ship Claude, six in all,
who were rescued from that vessel by the exertions
of Capt. Johnston and crew. The following are the
particulars of the wreck of the vessel and loss of
eight lives, including the captain's wife :
The British barque Claude, of Shoreham, Capt.
Chas. Chesham, 344 tons register, sailed the 18th
ult. from Sunderland, with a full cargo of timber.
The first five days of the voyage passed all well ;
the 23d ult. the wind began to blow strong from
the west. The 24th the wind shifted suddenly to
east to east north-east, noon, latitude 45 45 north,
longitude 57 49 west, sail was shortened to close
reefed topsails only. The 25th strong gales, vio-
lent squalls, heavy sea and rains, handed fore top-
sail ; noon, latitude 44 44, longitude 57 10, water
gaining about two inches an hour, and pumps at-
tended to every half-hour. • The 26th the bad
weather continued, wind east north-east. About
3 a.m. an exceedingly heavy sea struck the ship on
the port bow, causing a fresh leak. All hands at
the pumps, but could not get them to suck. At 10
a.m. the weather was worse, heavy seas shipped,
and part of the bulwarks washed away, main top-
sail clewed up, the yard being hauled aback to ease
the ship as much as possible. The men incessantly
at the pumps.
The 29th, the wind and weather about the same;
vessel labouring more heavily, all hands being kept
constantly at the pumps, received each about every
two hours a glass:of grog anda biscuit to cheer them
up. At 10 a.m. water gaining very fast, and at 11
a.m. reaching the cabin floor, a continuation of the
pumping was useless. Provisions and fresh water
sufficient to last a fortnight, the ship's instruments
and the most valuable portable effects of the captain
and the crew were taken to the tops, not the slightest
fear of the vessel capsizing or sinking being enter-
tained, from the nature of her cargo, and the sea
being so heavy, it was not safe to launch the boats.
About noon, the ship filling fast, the captain's wife
was taken to the maintop, and the crew were pre-
paring to follow, when the ship fell ever to star-
board, and went down on her broadside, the yards
and masts being totally submerged. The captain's
wife got entangled in the rigging and was drowned
almost immediately. The whole of the crew were
washed off, and only 9 out of the 13 succeeded in
reaching the ship, which was on her broadside for
about an hour, during which time three or more of
the crew were washed off and lost.-
About one p.m., the ship getting freed of every-
thing on deck, and all her masts and yards, except
the mainmast and mainyard, righted herself, and
the decks began to break up fast. The gale con-
tinued all day and night, but the rain ceased.
Through the unexpected capsising of the ship the
survivors 'were without food, water, or change of
clothes—they were, in fact, absolutely destitute.
The body of the captain's wife was still in the
rigging, but that was so much torn and the vessei
plunged and rolled so fearfully that the men could
not get at the corpse to bury it in the sea. The next
morning the crew were much cramped from clinging
to the rigging, and suffered severely from thirst.
About 11 a.m. they saw a vessel standing towards
them, about ten miles distant, which proved to be
the ship Isaac Bell, Captain Johnstone: of New
York, who, as soon as the wreck was discovered,
being then about four miles to the windward, bore
down towards it.

As quickly as
.possible, although the high cross
seas and strong wind rendered the undertaking:very
dangerous, a boat was lowered, commanded by Mr.
Aldacre, chief officer, and manned by a volunteer
crew. The unfortunate survivors were brought
safely on board the Isaac Bell in two trips, the
weather being too rough to allow the boat to re-
ceive more than three in addition to the crew at a
time. The body of the captain's wife from necessity
was left in the rigging, greatly to the regret of her
unhappy husband and his men, who were received
and treated by Captain Johnstone with all the