The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-20 00:00:00

THEr"SUN e LONDON, FRIDAY EVENIN(4, SPT E EEt 20, 1861.

not change, it will be many days before we can reach
land in this manner. The pumps are all going. I
do rot like the sound, bnt am assured that they hay
complete mastery over the water. The water has
got in through the ports and by way of the deck.
The captain is a brave fellow, and keeps his spirits up
wonderfully. He is ever keeping the men steady at
the wheel, although the rudder has been gone for
many hours. He knows the alarm a knowledge of
this would create. I overhear a consultation between
the captain and some of the officers. Something
must be done to try and turn the ship's head, and
then, if the wind abates, sail will be set, and we
may reach a port in safety. How is it to be done P
A large spar, marked as weighing four tons, is to be
heavily loaded with iron, then fastened to an im
mense hawser, and thrown overboard. This method
has been successfully employed on similar occasions
with great success. It is being prepared, and Igo
down in the meantime to have another investigation
below. Luncheon is set in the dining saloon ; some
cannot eat, but still many seats are occupied. The
rolling—or now, more properly
speaking, " rock-
ing," for the movement is violently from side to
side—comes on again with renewed force. The
passengers catch hold of the tables to support them-
selves. The tables are not fastened, for whoever
supposed the big ship would become so rampant ?
The tables give way, and the scene of the grand
saloon is enacted again with fearful violence. The
stewards rush in to the rescue, but in two minutes
every piece of crockery is inevitably smashed,
knives and forks fly about in reckless confusion,
and the scene closes by a general accumulation of
tables, chairs, crockery, passengers, and stewards in
the middle of the saloon. The destruction of property
by this one casualty may be counted by hundreds.
I return to the deck. The spar is being thrown over,
and it certainly steadies our movements. But we
are still in the trough of the sea—still at the mercy
of the winds. It is now evening. It is the second
day of our misfortunes, and we do not see the end
of them. A mee ing of the passengers is held.
They face the difficulties manfully. We are out of
the track of vessels. It may be some days before we
meet with aid. In the meantime we must be care-
ful
of our resources. A committee is eppoint'd to
confer with the captain, and a working committee
to watch and protect the interests of the passengers.
The captain and officers must save the ship—we
must aid in preserving discipline. lam appointed
chairman of the working committee, and go through
the ship by virtue of my office. I.t 'us learn much
more of the destruction of property and the condi-
tion of the passengers than I knew before. The
noise produced by the continued rolling of the vessel
is dreadful. Bottles, broken crockery, knives, forks,
and plated articles, constantly dashed violently from
side to side of an iron ship, produce the very agony
of discord ; and the chorus is brought up by a tallow
cask weighing many cwt., and a chain cable weigh-
ing many tons, which have got loose in a large
comp trtment of the vessel, and spread consternation
and terror throughout the ship. We get these mat-
ters remedied, and we take very stringent precau-
tions against fire, which is the only element re-
quired to make our misery complete. There are
more aching hearts than sleeping eyes to-night.

SATURDAY, 5.30 A.M.

A friend comes to tell my cabin companion that
the water is making fast on the pumps, that all hopes
of safety are now over, and that it is only a question
of time when the boats shall be lowered. I dress
quickly, and take, as I consider, a farewell view of
my cabin. On getting to deck I find the alarm a
false one. He had only learnt what I already knew
as to the steerage, and the water was not gaining
upon the pumps; but the hatches were open, and
the noise of the water rushing from side to side,
with the rocking of the ship, is realty alarming.
The gale has in a great measure subsided, but there
is still a strong swell. We are drifting steadily
along, whether we hardly know. A little later I
find our course has been much as follows :—Yester-
day we were going nearly due north, to-day we are
going south-west. Our chief hope now lies in
sighting some vessel ; but we are still miles from the
line of ships. Many anxious eyes scan the horizon,
and many learn, almost for the first time, of the
dreary loneliness of the great ocean, except in the
beaten tracts of commerce.

A new subject of interest arises. There is scarcely
a cabin in the ship to which the water has not found
its way. Many require a change of clothes, and
the hatchways of the baggage stores are opened.
The scene that presents itself defies all description.
The water has got in, and in sufficient force to float
even many of the larger articles. The rocking of
the ship has set the whole mass in motion. It has
the free range of a compartment some 60ft, square,
and 24 hours of such friction has reduced portman-
teaus, hatboxes, dressing-cases, and all the personal
chattels incident to 400 passengers into a mass of
pulp such as could not be rivalled by one of the most
powerful shoddy mills in the West Riding of York-
shire. Igo down, for I have a personal interest in
this mass of ruin. Identity is out of the question.
Here are the spangles of the dress of an actress;
and there sleeves of an officer's coat. On this side
the rim of a hat, on that the leg of a dress boot.
There has been gross negligence in this matter, and
the misery which will be occasioned to some portion
of the passengers I need not dwell upon, because
words cannot adequately express it. Later, I see
men feeling cautiously with their bare feet for
jewels and money, in which this desolation is said
to be rich. How they will identify their own, and
resist the temptation of taking that which is not
theirs, is beyond my philosophy.
The sea is getting more quiet, and a new hope
springs up. An American gentleman, a Mr. Towle,
a civil engineer, and a passenger, suggests a means
of repairing our rudder. The captain places the
engineer department at his disposal, To-morrow
will decide. We still look out for a friendly sail,
and rockets go up, and blue lights burn as darkness
comes on. 9.3o.—There is a cry, ,i A sail !" " A
sail !" I look. It is close upon us. A small brig.
She is the Magnet cf Halifax, and has seen our
distress Lsignals. Now for the first time during
three days there are signs of rejoicing on board.
Husbands embrace their wives; fathers and mothers
their children ; she agrees to lie by us for the night, 1
and we retire with renewed hopes.

SUNDAY.
The sea is calm by comparison. We have drifted
about 100 miles in two days; at first in the wrong
direction, but are now getting right again, and are
going south•west. I ask the doctor how many
casualties have come under his charge. He says 27,
but adds that there are many more. He has only
dealt with the worst. We have had no loaf bread
for two days. This is chiefly occasioned by a severe
accident to the baker, who was thrown across the
bakehouse during the raging of the storm, and has
a compound fracture of the leg. Barrels of biscuits
are lashed in various conspicous places, and we help
ourselves. An American service is read by the Rev.
W. Patten, D.D., of New York. The steering ar-
rangements are'going on well, and hope is expressed
on all sides, it is written upon all faces. s.3o—There
is a joy which does not find its expression in words
or cheers. The ship moves not by the drifting of
the sea,
of which we have grown so tired during the
last few days, but by means of her screw, and her
bead is being brought round, but her direction is
home. Neither the temporary expedient which is
now steering us nor the general condition of the
ship Justify the captain in remaining in the Atlan-
tic. We are 280 miles from Cape Clear. We may
hope the screw will take us eight knots per hour,
and shall see land in 36 hours. An English service,
conducted by the Rev. W. B. Banister of Liverpool,
was held as soon as we were well on our way. The
moon shines brightly, the sea has assumed almost a
dead calm, the decks are gay, and we are all com-
paratively happy.

MONDAY.
We are progressing steadily in a dead calm. At
10 a.m. we sight the Persia. We meet her with
mingled feelings of joy and disappointment. She
left port four days after us, and will carry obscure
tidings of cur misfortune to New York, for we can-
not stop our engines without imperilling our tempo•
rarysteerin g arrangement& She sees we are distressed
and comes round us. She clearly does not understand
why we do not stay our course, and she proceeds on
her course, for she carries the mails. She has impor-
tant despatches for many here, myself among the
number► It adds anothei link to the chain of our

misfortunes. Noon—All goes well. We are putting
our house in order as far as possible. This evening
we have bad a meeting of passengers convene`` to
consider the incidents of this unfortunate voyage.
It is well attended, and the resolutions will be given
in detail hereafter. They draw attention to many
points of grave importance, which I hope will re-
ceive proper weight in the management and form
an appropriate conclusion to this narrative.

TUESDAY.

We are in sight of land, and there is great rejoic-
ing. 10 a.m.—We are off Queenstown, and boats
are coming to us. The destination of the ship is
Milford. We have lost no lives, and the baker is
the only person at all in danger.
The damage to the ship and its fittings must be
estimated by thousands. The paddlewheels are
doubled up like pieces of iron hoop, and have now
disappeared down to the shaft. The rudder post
was composed of solid iron, some six or eight inches
square. The stern post was still more massive. The
boats can be replaced readily. The destruction to
the fittings is more serious, and implies an entire
renovation. The mockery and glass is an entire
loss, and the stores have been destroyed in the most
wholesale manner.

Captain Walker was formerly a commander in the
Cunard line. He left to join the Galway Company,
and was appointed to the command of the Great
Eastern only ten days before we sailed this time.

The following resolutions were passed at a general
meeting of the passengers of the Great Eastern, held
on her return to port, 17th Sept., 1861 :
" 1. That we recognise with gratitude the kind
care of Almighty God in protecting us during the
peril of the storm and bringing us at last safely out
of our danger.

" 2. That we feel it to be our imperative duty to
state that the Great Eastern was sent to sea
thoroughly unprepared to face the storms which
every one must expect to meet in crossing the At-
lantic; and that, if it had not been for the extra-
ordinary strength of the hull, and the skill which
was manifested in the construction of the vessel and
its engines, is all human probability every soul on
board would have perished. We call particular
attention to the ballasting of the Great Eastern,
the state of her paddle-wheels, the position of the
boats, the insecure and most perilous character of
her internal fittings, and the careless way in which
she was stowed, owing to which carelessness, in
fact, a large portion of our luggage has been most
recklessly and utterly destroyed.
" 3. That we desire to express our satisfaction
with the conduct of the captain, especially since the
occurrence of the disaster which overtook the ship,
which has been marked by a high degree of courage,
fertility of resources, energy, untiring perseverance,
and nautical skill, to which the safety of the ship
and passengers is in a great measure attributable.
"4. That we would also acknowledge with deep
thankfulness the sense we entertain of the valuable
scientific suggestions of one of the cabin passen-
gers, Hamilton E. Towle, of Boston, U.S., civil
engineer, made in order to repair the injuries sus-
tained by the steering apparatus of the vessel; and
of the patient attention with which, at much per-
sonal inconvenience, he assisted Captain Walker
until the ship was enabled again to proceed.
" 5. That some suitable testimonial of our appre-
ciation of the skill and services of Mr. Towle be
provided and presented to him by the passengers.
" 6. That we regret being obliged to condemn in
the strongest terms the confusion and mi,manage-
ment evident in every arrangement relating to the
comfort and convenience of passengers of all classes,
and we have been grieved by the waste and wanton
destruction which we have witnessed.

"7. That feeling that there is ground for the
gravest possible censure, we respectfully urge that
the Board of Trade sip tild
Ile asked to make imme-
diate inquiry into the Lcitdi ion of the ship when
she was sent to sea.

"8. The names of the committee appointed to pro-
tect and consider the interests of the passengers are
Benjamin F. Angel, New York ; Thomas B. For-
ward, Livexpool ; Montgomery Gibbs, New York ;
D. V. M'Lean, Easton, Pennsylvania ; Cecil Mor-
timer, London ; James Palen, Paris ; Cornelius
Walford, London.
" 9. That the unanimous and heartfelt thanks of
this meeting of the passengers of the Great Eastern
be given to the captain of the brig Magnet, of Hali-
fax, Nova Scotia, for his ready response to our
appeal to stand by us in distress on the night of
Saturday, the 14th inst., and the following day."

Mr. P. de Corvin, another passenger on board

the Great Eastern, writes :—This day week the

Great Eastern left the Mersey, amid the cheering
of hundreds of thousands of spectators, the roaring
of guns, and the playing of bands. Very portly
directors, with red geraniums in their buttonholes,
and shining, benignant, after-dinner faces, had been
inspecting the great ship, and said that all was very
well. They mustered the crew, and the sturdy
fellows passed by them pulling their forelocks or
doffing their caps. I was glad when these gentle-
men left by the Emperor for shore, for I had not
the slightest confidence in their praises, as far as
their judgment about sea matters is concerned.
We found on board the ship the greatest dis-
order, and the worst possible arrangement. All the
passengers complained; comparisons between the
order on board the Great Eastern and the Cunard
steamers were made, very much to the advantage
of the latter. However, all went on smoothly and
well until we passed Cape Clear. In the morning
of Thursday last a rather fresh breeze sprang up,
which increased every moment, and became a storm
about noon. It was one of those heavy equinoctial
gales which are the terror of the seafarer. lam
not much of a sailor, but captains on board her say
it was one of the heaviest gales they ever expe-
rienced. The Great Eastern was tossed about as
if she had been an eggshell ; the waves rose as high
as Primrose-hill, and to walk on board was impos-
sible. Even the oldest sailors could not find their
sea legs. Some of them were hurled against you,
or the gunwale, or down some dark hole. The
cook broke his leg in three places. A lady broke
her arm in her cabin, and broken noses and black
eyes were to be seen everywhere. Two cows had
been, very properly, accommodated just over the
ladies' saloon. This miserable shed gave way at
once. One cow popped her head through a window
to take refuge against the bad weather in the
ladies' saloon, but she unfortunately broke her leg,
and was thus prevented further progress. A sailor
came running up the staircase, a long knife in his
hand, and eagerly crying out, " I am going to kill
the cow to save her life." That fellow was certainly
an Irishman, and this " bull" is not fabricated, for
I heard it myself and enjoyed it, notwithstanding
all the roaring of the sea.

The night was indeed frightful. The very paddle
boxes were plunged into the foaming sea ; that is
something, if you consider the height of this vessel.
The sea was knocking furiously for admittance
against my cabin window. I thought it much better
to die comfortably, and went to bed, but I was
obliged to tie my arm to the bed-post. My cabin
was close to the first dining saloon, where a horrible
noise was going on. Attracted by curiosity, I
peeped through the windows of my neighbour's
cabin, and saw the most curious sight I ever saw.
Tables and chairs were dancing a hornpipe; the
stove joined most heartily in the fun, and the dan-
cers seemed determined to break down the nicely-
turned mahogany columns and bannisters, which
snapped like glass. It was a noise as if rocks were
shifted to and fro by an angry surf. In the grand
saloon the devastation was almost greater still. A
marble slab joined a high-nosed gentleman in the
enterprise of smashing the largest mirror. Of
course, nose and mirror had the worst of it. Only
with danger of life could people cross one of these
saloons. The gentlemen were more frightened than
the ladies, who behaved, without exception, as men
ought to do, but there were plenty of old women
among the men.

The Great Eastern is a very strong ship, but her
paddles and rudder were not in proportion. The
paddles were twisted, broken, and carried away,
and also the rudder,swhere an iron bar ten inches
in diameter snapped like a lucifer-match. The storm
continued, and the vessel was not to be steered. She
was lying in the trough of the sea, and the waves
were dashing against her broadside. She proved a
most determined cradle, and the oldest man luti not

been rocked in all his life as much as we were in these
few days. They say the fault was in the want of
cargo. To steady her we attempted to set some
sails, but they were blown away.

At last there came help by an American engineer
returning to his country on board the Great
Eastern, Mr. Hamilton E. Towle. He suggested a
plan to mend the rudder, and succeeded perfectly,
notwithstanding the roaring of the sea. I have
been down in the steerage, and admired very much
his very simple and, at the same time, scientific
arrangements. The apparatus is very ingenious,
and, at the same time, as strong as possible.
Whether it would have stood in a heavy gale is
another question, but it was perfectly sufficient to
bring us to the entrance of the harbour of Queens-
town. The captain of the Great Eastern did his
duty ; if the benignantly smiling directors had
done the same we should not have suffered so much.

After the storm we met a little brig, the Magnet,
from Halifax. She was requested to sty with us
all night, and did so, but the next morning we
turned her off rather ungraciously. The same was
the case with the Persia, for which we all longed.
A board was held up stating that we had lost our
rudder, and that she might go to our lee side. She
did as requested, but we were running before her
nine knots an hour (only by screw), and I do not
wonder that the captain of the Persia tho•ight us
rather foolish. He stopped and made off, probably
not seeing a board on which was written " We
cannot stop the machine," and which was held up
too late.

The water entered not only a great many cabins,
but, what was worse, the hold, where all the lug-
gage was kept. If you had seen down into this
room you would never forget that sight. Deal
boxes were smashed to atoms, and their contents
were floating about—lndia shawls, and silk dresses,
and things of every description. Leather trunks
looked as if they had been for months in the water.
Everywhere sparkling gold chains, watches, and
jewelry.
What the Great Ship Company are going to do I
do not know, but I hope they will pay back the
passage money and indemnify the poor sufferers for
the loss of their luggage. The worst off are the
steerage passengers. We are just entering port,
and I conclude this letter.