The Sun.
London, England, 1867-11-22 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, NO V. 22, 1867.

The long-expected arrival of the Douro yesterday
at Plymouth has brought us at last specific intelli-
gence concerning the disasters in the West Indies.
So far as the worst report is concerned, the sub-
mersion of the island of Tortola, rumour has, as
usual, been a marvellous magnifier. The island
bas been visited by the hurricane, and great damage
and loss of life has been occasioned by it. The
sfory of the submersion is altogether denied by the
captain of the Solent, whose vessel lay only about
two miles from the town. The captain estimates
the loss of life at about one hundred persons, and
these were killed by the fall of the houses. With
respect to Tortola, then, the news is a great relief,
for though there could be little question that the
10,000 lost and the death of every living thing
were exaggerated statements, our intelligence was
so conflicting and uncertain, and the hurricane was
known to have been of so terrible and devastating a
character, that there were grounds for the deepest
uneasiness. In other respects, however, the news
is bad enough, and the crowds of anxious friends
who so eagerly watched for the arrival of the Douro
will for the most part have but mournful tidings.
The accounts confirm the impressions previously
given as to the extent of the disasters. The hurri-
cane of the 29th October is said to have been the
most terrific ever known without premonitory
warning. At St. Thomas's the destruction was
fearful. Houses were unroofed and thrown down,
and blocks of stone whirled into the air and carried
a considerable distance. For several days business
was at a complete standstill, and even when the
Douro left on Nov. 5 the people were hardly begin-
ning to recover. The offices of every description, offi-
cial, merchants', and printing, were so much wrecked
that a connected account of the destruction was
impossible. But at sea the devastation was so great
that it cast the troubles of those on shore into the
shade. About 80 vessels are known to have been
sunk or blown ashore, and many have foundered
whose names and destinations were unknown. The
loss of life was enormous. Three hundred bodies
were picked up and buried on the shores of St.
Thomas, being only a portion of those actually lost.
The greatest loss was of course the Rhone mail
steamer, which had left for Peter Island the day
before. On being struck with the gale she
parted her cables, and tried to get away to
the open sea, but was driven on the
rocks and sunk, one passenger being saved and 23
of the crew out of 13 5. The Wye, another of the
mail ships, was totally wrecked on Buck Island,
while also trying to get out to sea, 13 men being
saved out of a crew of 70. The loss of life at St.
Thomas's on the day of the hurricane on shore, in
the harbour, and among the shipping in the vacinity
is roughly calculated at 500, and judging from the
nature and extent of the disasters there seems little
ground for hoping that this estimate is too large.
The destruction of property is of lesser conse-
quence, though that is in itself serious, and
would be a calamity of considerable magnitude
if the tempest had been less fatal. It will be some
time before the island recovers from the shock. Un-
happily from the nature of the climate there is
little hope of being able to guard against similar mis-
fortunes in the future, as no human prescience can
always foretel the nature and extent of these sudden
storms, and the rapidity with which they reach
their height defeats all calculation An officer
of one of the damaged ships reports that the de-
struction was occasioned by two hurricanes. The
glass fell a good deal on the morning of the 29th
October, and the captains of the Rhone
and the Conway, which were close to-
gether, consulted how best to secure their
ships from the threatened storm. At 11 o'clock
a fearful hurricane blew from N.N.W., half N.,
which lulled a little after twelve, and at hslf-past
twelve the Rhone was seen steaming to sea, it be-
ing almost calm. Ten minutes later it grew nearly
dark, a fearful rush of wind from S.S.E., half E.,
set in, and the unfortunate Rhone was driven mid-
ships on a reef. The Conway was driven ashore,
and damaged, but not lost. We have a proof of the
uncertainty of the best apparent provisions for
safety in such seasons. At the first threat-
ening of the storm the Conway, a smal-
ler vessel, lay, as we have said, near the
Rhone, and was transferring her passengers to
the larger vessel. One passenger was heard to say
to his wife when they had passed over, " Thank
GOD, we're safe here." Unfortunately the result
proved completely different. A letter from Mr.
LAMB, the British Consul at St. Thomas's, confirms
the accounts brought from other sources. It is, he
says, impossible to give an idea of the occurrences of
those four short hours, which can never be forgotten
by any who lived through them. The following
morning the inhabitants wandered out from their
dismantled houses to realise the immense destruction,
to lock after the dying, and to bury the dead. The
shore was strewed with wrecks and corpses, and, up
to the date of his letter, Nov. 4, the crews of the
wrecked vessels and the soldiers of the garrison had
been occupied in burying the dead. The losses of
the Royal Mail Company in ships, wharves, and
factories he estimates at £240,000, and the losses of
public and private property in full proportion ; but
it is impossible to state with any accuracy the
amount of damage when all is wreck and confusion.
No doubt, with the characteristic energy and fortitude
of British colonists, matters will soon be tolerably
adjusted, and all that enterprise and courage can
do to retrieve the disasters will be done ; but the
history of the 29th October, 1867, will long remain
a mournful record in West Indian history.