The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-29 00:00:00

7IIE GREAT EASTERN IN A STORiII.

We copy from the New York Tribune the sub-
joined account of a series of disasters which befel
the Great Easterb during a violent gale on the sth
inst. :—At four o'clock in the morning a strong
southerly gale sprung up, which increased in seve-
rity until nine o'clock, when it became almost a
hurricane. A great deal of rain fell, and the sea
was uncommonly high. The ship now began to
roll in a manner which none of the officers had ever
anticipated. So confident had everybody been as
regarded her steadiness under any circumstances
that the ordinary precautions of securing furniture
and other movable articles had not been taken.
The large tables in the saloons, which had not been
screwed down, were all overturned, and piled,
together with chairs and lounges, in a broken heap.
Some of the sofas started with their occupants on
little sliding voyages about the cabins, and one pas-
senger, careless of his balance, was thrown some
distance with such violence as to break away part of
the banister of a staircase against which he fell.
Several breakfasts and lunches were wrecked in the
ordinary course of things, but the table-guards pre-
vented any general devastation in this respect.
On the whole, the passengers did not suffer much
discomfort, for, with all the rolling, the motion
was so gradual, and free from sudden
shocks, that no person found difficulty in accommo-
dating himself to it. Early in the afternoon, one
of the heavy chain gangs which held the gaff of
the foremast in its place broke in two, leaving the
huge spar almost wholly unsupported on one side.
This chain, like others which afterwards parted,
was supposed to have been ill adjusted, and also to
have rusted to such a degree as to render it unequal
to the great strain now imposed upon it. The gaff,
a timber of some 18 cwt., began to sway back and
forth with each lurch of the ship, and presently
flew through the air at full swing, a long chain
which hung from its end like a whiplash, snapping
through the rigging at the same time, and causing
considerable damage. It not only cut in and out
remorselessly among the ropes, but also endangered
one of the tall smoke funnels, against which it was
flung with immense force each minute. Several of
the skylights of the grand saloon were broken in
by the fragments of the rigging which fell upon
them. It was thought necessary to ask ladies to
withdraw from the saloon, lest they should suffer
inconvenience in case of the smoke funnel (which
passes through it) being torn away. In the course
of an hour the gaff was secured and lowered, the
furniture below having meanwhile been set to rights
and properly fastened down. To prevent, if possi-
ble any further misadventures with the masts, it
was decided to lower the five remaining gaffs. In
order to accomplish this the more readily, the vessel
was turned from her course, and brought head to
wind. The cessation of motion was instantaneous,
and the quiet of the four preceding days was at
once restored. But before much had been done
towards getting down the spars it was attempted
to resume the direct course at half-speed. The re-
sult was unlucky. The ship was met and struck
by a heavy sea, the shock of which knocked one of
the main gaffs out of its jaw or socket, and left it
dangling precariously by chains. This, with
rather more difficulty than the other, was in
turn secured,': and the ship was again put off
its course, with the same success as before.
But the accidents of the day were not ended.
Just as one of the remaining gaffs began
to be lowered it broke loose, and fell from its
place to the deck, splintering a companion-way and
breaking the glass of three or four dining saloon
skylights, to the particular consternation of the
passengers, who were dining at the time. Another
and more serious casualty occurred. A boatswain's
mate got entangled in a tackle, and suffered a
serious fracture of the leg—so serious that his re•
covery, it was found, would depend upon a long
interval of rest. This storm was quite sufficient to
test the real powers of the Great Eastern. To any
other ship afloat it would doubtless have been a
disastrous experience. The Great Eastern escaped
without the slightest injury, save the unimportant
ones before mentioned, which were due to entire
exceptional circumstances. On examination after
the gale had subsided, it was found that no per-
ceptible strain or displacement could be detected,
even in the most delicate works. The engines
operated admirably throughout. It was also dis-
tinctly settled that no advantage could b 3 gained
from the use of her sails, beyond the negative use
of steadying the ship under certain conditions."